Mike’s annual house concert returned with great music from Jhana Allan, Alice Cotton, and newcomer Anousha Victoire, and I was lucky enough to bring my camera along. Shot on the Canon R8 with a vintage Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8, mosquitoes aside, it was absolutely worth it.

I headed to Brisbane with Evelyn from Peacock Photography to finally catch Viagra Boys live, turning the trip into a full day of street photography with a 35mm manual lens. Shooting in the heat and chaos of the city pushed me well outside my comfort zone, but even with only a few standout images, it proved to be a valuable learning experience.

Just weeks into the new year, I found myself photographing something completely outside my usual wheelhouse at the Glen Innes Cup. Between the blistering high-country sun, huge crowds, and plenty of candid moments, it turned into a surprisingly fun day of people-watching, problem-solving, and making images I’m genuinely happy with.

A week at Lennox Head was the perfect way to wrap up 2025, offering a much-needed reset after a hectic end to the year. Shot simply with a Canon R8 and a vintage 35mm lens, this photo journal captures quiet sunrises, family moments, long coastal walks, and the shifting moods of the beach. From Christmas morning calm to surfer silhouettes at dawn, it’s a relaxed reflection on slowing down, finding a visual voice, and ending the year on a high.

In 2025, I began stepping back from my long-running Trolley project and found myself searching for a new long-term photographic focus. That search led to The Morning Chorus Project, born from my near-daily 5:30am walks and built around quietly documenting whatever draws my eye along the same route, week after week. Shot in a stripped-back 1:1 format with deliberately limiting gear, the project has already revealed a clear theme, and I’m excited to see how it evolves with the changing seasons, and where it might ultimately lead.

A December work trip for Scotts Group took me further north in Queensland than ever before, all the way to Bundaberg, trading inland travel for beaches and unfamiliar territory. Between filming at Turtle Sands and a quick stop in Bargara, I managed to squeeze in a few personal photos while getting to grips with entirely new equipment. The trip wrapped up with a moody visit to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre, where crowded conditions made shooting difficult, but the experience itself was still something genuinely special.

After a couple of years working with Living Entertainment, I was invited to their first Christmas party since reopening in Toowoomba, making the five-hour road trip well worth it. Armed with my Canon 200D and a flash, I documented a relaxed night with a team that feels far more like friends than coworkers. What followed was a loose, collaborative set of black-and-white images capturing a bunch of us playing pool and enjoying being together

Glen Innes Council invited me to cover the annual Christmas in the Highlands event, marking my first time attending and celebrating the festive season in the high country. This year included a light festival component, and it was especially exciting to see my short film Fly Away Home projected as part of the program. Despite the large, spread-out crowd making it a demanding solo shoot, it was an exhausting but fantastic experience, and I’m keen to continue working with the council in the future.

Yesterday I made it out to the Walcha Motorcycle Rally with my family, and although my dad and I had planned to ride, the wet weather meant he drove down from the Northern Rivers instead. My wife and I never pass up a chance to visit Walcha, and as always, the town was full of some of the kindest and most relaxed people you could ever hope to meet. It was a fantastic day, great conversations, plenty of photos, and even a surprise portfolio shot. That’s why the news of what happened later that night was so shocking, and our thoughts go out to everyone affected in such a small, close-knit community.

I was unexpectedly asked to photograph Armidale Secondary College’s Year 12 formal, despite event and portrait photography not being my usual focus. What should have been a straightforward shoot was disrupted by a sudden storm that wiped out my planned lighting and forced a last-minute change of location. While challenging, the experience was rewarding, and it was refreshing to step outside my usual wheelhouse.