From all of us here at Skymirror, I would like to say a huge thank you to Anne Morley for being our first ever photographer in residence! Anne was one of the first photographers displayed in our gallery and her work continues to be some of our most popular to this day.
Beginning on the 21st of August, Anne didn't get a lot of time working for us out of lockdowns, however, the lack of travellers stopping by hasn't stopped her from doing plenty of amazing work! Here's what she had to say when I asked her reflect on her experience of working in our gallery.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows my work that Lake Tyrrell is my favourite place to photograph. It is the most dynamic landscape I've ever worked with, constantly surprising and delighting me with ever-changing scenes. No two visits are ever the same! So when Skymirror gallery owner, Rohan Mott, invited me to take on the role of inaugural Photographer In Residence (PIR) I naturally jumped at the opportunity.
The original plan was for the PIR to welcome visitors to the gallery, share knowledge and experience of photographing the lake, in addition to running photography workshops. However, the lockdown of Regional VIC brought those plans to an abrupt halt.
So for the past five weeks I have assisted in organising new building works at the gallery which have enhanced the flow for visitors and expanded the available wall space. Meanwhile, Rohan has been busy fitting out a new commercial kitchen to expand the capabilities of the in-house cafe.
The gallery currently houses a beautiful and diverse collection of prints from eighteen photographers and we continue to expand that collection. I have been busily cataloguing the prints and arranging new archival storage systems. Once the painters have finished the new wall we will hang a new look display featuring images of Lake Tyrrell. There is also a dedicated wall for the incumbent PIR as well as an Open Wall where visitors can share their images of the region.
As well as the prints, which can be purchased in store or online, we have been busy expanding the retail area to showcase other products from the region. These include the stunning range from the Lake Tyrrell Salt Company; books on Lake Tyrrell and the Mallee; drinking chocolate range by Grounded Pleasures; earrings, keyrings and hanging essential oil diffusers by DrMallee Designs; as well as postcards of the lake.
Most photographers will know that horrible sinking feeling when they've visited a photogenic location, only to find they've left at home an essential item from their kit bag. With this in mind, the gallery is now stocking a few basic necessities such as tripods, tripod connector plates, head torches, and car chargers for a couple of the most popular DSLR camera makes. We also have tripods for smartphones which will enable users to experiment with longer exposures or time lapse movies at the lake.
With my time here sadly drawing to a close, I'm passing the baton to Aaron Stanley who will continue with the work currently underway as well as bringing his own expertise and ideas to the role of PIR. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with Rohan and effervescent cafe manager Chantell. When travel restrictions permitted, I've visited the lake at every opportunity and enjoyed many sunrises, sunsets, and starry nights, and have been fortunate to photograph a fog bow, a sun halo, the full moon rising, a meteor reflected in the lake, wildlife, birdlife, and many other scenes. Living on the lake's doorstep in Sea Lake has provided me the opportunity to explore further afield to parts of the lake I'd not previously visited. Thank you Rohan for entrusting me with the PIR role; I look forward to seeing the gallery continue to grow and evolve. It is a credit to you and your staff and all involved in its development and running. I'm taking home with me great memories and a stack of full memory cards too numerous to mention!
We would like to thank Anne for doing such a great job and setting things up so well for our future PIRs to come. Speaking of which, we would like to give a warm welcome to Aaron Stanley who started as our new photographer in residence on Sunday!