Visiting Australian Fashion Week for my CIT course
The final parade of the fashions at The Edit Show on Thursday night
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 800, 200mm, f/4.0 and 1/320])
As part of the photography course that I am undertaking at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) the teacher organised an optional trip to Sydney so that we could attend parts of Australian Fashion Week (AFW), which was being held at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). The aim was to expose us to various genres of photography, including fashion runway. We attended AFW on the Thursday and Friday of its week long program, but we seemed to pack a lot into those days. Most of my photography over those two days was very far removed from wildlife photography but the experience was still incredibly useful. I had a chance to use my photography in different lighting conditions, trying to capture subjects moving at different speeds, while also thinking about composition. All conditions very similar to photographing wildlife.
The runway
The runway is the hub of a fashion show, with designers planning shows that will present their apparel in the best possible way. The runway is about dynamism, it shows how the garment will move and flow on the wearer. The runway area is normally well lit, with lighting approximating daylight, so that viewers see the garments in the best possible light. I attended three shows, although my shots from the first show were not that great. The two shows represented below are Thursday evening’s The Edit, based on consumer ready fashion, and on Friday morning for the designer Gary Bigeni.
Other aspects of a runway show
Four women at the show, all looking in different directions, all probably thinking different thoughts
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 800, 200mm, f/4.0 and 1/320])
I am not that interested in fashion, so after a few models had strutted along the runway, I started looking around for other things to photograph. I scanned the crowd for interesting shots, looking for reactions to the fashion or just how people were watching the show. The photo above is an example of that. There are four women, all of whom are looking in different directions and probably thinking about different things. I liked the shot because it showed different experiences in the same time and place. I also found it interesting, when the show finished and it was possible to go and photograph the audience. There were some stunning people who were very happy to be photographed.
Street fashion photography
An AFW attendee, who arrived early, casts a shadow up the stairs
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 100, 169mm, f/4.0 and 1/11250])
It was also clear that the fashion on the runway was not the only fashion on display at AFW. It is no surprise that fashion shows attract people who are interested in fashion. Some of the attendees looked liked they should have been walking the runway themselves. I met designers and students who were there to see and be seen. That part of Sydney is also a well to do area, so there were also very fashionably dressed people walking past. Knowing that, on the Friday, I arrived at the MCA area at around 8AM just to see the people of Sydney on their way to work.
Photographers
One of my fellow students, Grace, an amazing and creative photographer - posing at the Rocks
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 320, 79mm, f/4.0 and 1/320])
One aspect of AFW that I hadn’t realised before I attended was how nice it was to meet so many other photographers. They were all such wonderful people. Sure, there were tiers of photographers, in the sense that there were professionals, accredited to brands or photography agencies, who were there as there main job, through to us aspiring photographers. However, the feeling in the media pit at the runway was collegiate and cooperative, with the more experienced passing on great advice. I also had a chance to speak to a number of the other photographers. The first one I met was Franz, who had travelled from Perth for the show and had been invited by one of the designers to their show. I also met Holly Williams, (top left in the grid below) who lives in Canberra but works in Sydney. We exchanged Instagrams and I was blown away by her stunning photography. Then there was Yeoni (bottom right in the grid below), a Korean, now based in Sydney. Her photographs of the event were just so much better than mine. I was also lucky that one of my fellow students, Grace, also attended the trip. She is a gifted and talented photographer, who is also incredibly creative. I have learnt so much from her, and she is a genuinely nice person as well. All these photographers, the professionals and aspiring professionals, helped to cover the AFW. From the official media feed to gifted amateurs posting stunning images to social media.
Sydney
Australian White Ibis at the Rocks
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 100, 124mm, f/4.0 and 1/400])
Sydney is my home town, although I haven’t lived there for decades. Normally, when we are back in Sydney we are visiting family so I don’t get out and about. So it was refreshing to have some time to wander around a very nice part of Sydney, Circular Quay and the Rocks. I hadn’t been to the Rocks for decades and I was stunned with how amazing it looked, with all its little alleyways and the colours of the buildings. I had a wonderful time walking around the area taking photographs, while also finding some time to enjoy a coffee and delicious baked goods at La Renaissance patisserie and cafe.
While I enjoyed this trip, it didn’t entice me to become a fashion photographer. It was a wonderful experience but I was also very happy when I found an Australian White Ibis in the Rocks to photograph. I heard a member of a group of people walking past say something along the lines of, “I suppose a bin chicken would be interesting if you hadn’t seen one before.” I smiled to myself, I found it interesting because it was the genre of photography that I liked and it was nice to be taking images of that wonderfully iconic bird. My time in Sydney was an interesting diversion from wildlife photography but I am looking forward to getting back out in nature to photograph more birds and wildlife.
