just a moment

a photographic journal by Fremantle photographer and journalist Georgina Barker http://georginabarkerphotography.smugmug.com

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Fresh tracks. Warroora Station, Western Australia. The first of many hours of boogie boarding down dunes over an amazing two weeks at @warroora_station. Starting with wet dunes under grey clouds and finishing with dry dunes under blue skies, stunning sunsets and a near-full moon. @visitwesternaustralia #georginabarkerphotography #warroorastation #camping #coralcoast (at Warroora Station) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR6SEscDhT2/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Paula Nelson, director, Fremantle Prison, Fremantle. It’s been quiet in the tunnels beneath Fremantle Prison for the past 15 months. When the WA Government imposed the shutdown in March last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the @fremantleprison remained closed for 75 days. The tunnels are still closed—with no end in sight—because of the confined air space. It’s remained fairly quiet above ground also. No international tourists and the opening of state borders doing little to boost numbers, which remain at around 50 per cent of pre-COVID numbers. However, there’s been plenty going on behind the old limestone walls of the State’s only World Heritage built site. “There are lots of projects that are normally really hard to do so as soon as we closed, we got stuck into them straight away,” says Paula. “We re-deployed our entire visitor services team. Everyone was fantastic in their willingness to do new activities.” A skills audit identified some great skills. Staff also learnt new skills, including brickwork and limewashing taught by the stonemason. Staff re-created the garden that used to be there when it was a functioning prison. Extra produce has been going to St Patrick’s Community Support Centre. The whole research library has been digitised. All the cells have been photographed in 360 degrees—conserving for prosperity as well as to offer the prison experience to people who can’t access the site. “Ultimately, our goal here is to conserve the site for future generations. Tourism is a tool to help us do that. During the closure we just focused on the conservation.” In the process, staff have had more of an opportunity to work in teams, build connections and strengthen personal relationships. And this has continued. “We’ve set a new scene with our guides—a pattern of acting in other roles, which offers job diversity and satisfaction… It’s great that we’re able to really look after our people.” With $3.2m Federal and State COVID recovery funding recently awarded, significant conservation works are now underway, including making the Commissariat accessible—yes this will be the prison’s first lift. @freochamber @visitfremantle (at Fremantle, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQV4HmUDjwD/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Cold winter early morning colour, North Cottesloe Beach, Cottesloe. #cottesloe #northcott #ncslsc #earlymorning (at Cottesloe, Western Australia, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQMvpzND_uT/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Chouara Tannery, Fez, Morocco 2007. Step inside the Medina of Fez and it feels like you’re stepping back many centuries. Indeed, Chouara Tannery—one of the oldest tanneries in the world—continues to operate in the same way as when it was established in the 11th Century. Smell and all! The tannery is covered with round stone vessels filled with dye or white liquids for softening the hides, which you can smell throughout the World Heritage Site. Well, you could back in 2007. I’ve pulled these images from the film archives. #35mm #georginabarkerphotography #fez #morocco #chouaratannery #travelphotography #filmphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/CNb2kUhDjic/?igshid=w5zhkyx9ajj9

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Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Hobart, Tasmania. Computer-controlled nozzles drip words streamed from real-time Google searches in German artist Julius Popp’s bit.fall @monamuseum where the grounds and buildings offer nearly as much interest as the wonders within. https://www.instagram.com/p/CM69GG1DWOc/?igshid=1sdl911jcyor8

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Gobble gobble. Turkeys in the car park at Wing’s Wildlife Park, Tasmania. @wingswildlifepark #wingswildlifepark #tasmania #turkeys #tasmaniawithkids https://www.instagram.com/p/CMv-Qidjge-/?igshid=sixj8ll57a7s

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Kevin Sanderson, co-owner, Corner Store, Fremantle. Corner Store is a family business, but the owners are not stuck in their ways. This meant they approached the coronavirus pandemic with eyes wide open. They were responsive and open to change. It resulted in 2020 being a successful year for the much-loved furniture, homewares and gifts store on South Terrace. During the State’s initial shut down nearly a year ago, Kevin didn’t open the store out of respect for both staff and clients. “We opened by appointment only and were flexible with our hours… I think people felt an obligation to buy something. We started delivering. Even if it was just a $9.95 cup, we weren’t doing anything else, so we thought, let’s drive and deliver it. We consolidated our stock and ended up with more space. We started sourcing more local content. We have amazing local content on our doorstep, so it’s something we should have been doing anyway, but the situation forced our hand with the supply issues from interstate and overseas. Mokoh down the road closed and we immediately stocked their products.” It’s an all-round local outcome. Since re-opening, Kevin noticed an increase in people shopping locally. “We particularly saw this in the lead-up to Christmas, with people saying they wanted to shop locally – they wanted to throw money into their own community.” As for the gained space, it has been sectioned off and is available for hire. The studio is mostly used for yoga, but various creatives are also using it. “It’s all about bringing people together – giving more reasons for people to come here.” Welcoming spaces with a joyful and humorous mix of nostalgic and well-considered design incorporating furniture, furnishings, homewares, gifts, curios, coffee, hair and beauty, yoga… what more could you want? @cornerstoreshop @chidohair @flirtygertiebeautybar @mokohdesign @freochamber (at Fremantle, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSArgojJi5/?igshid=bckrsu1qaj2s

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Natasha Du, owner, Michele's Crepe Suzette, Fremantle Markets, Fremantle. It’s been a pretty tough time for Natasha. Since @fremantlemarkets reopened in July last year—after a four-month closure due to COVID-19–it’s been the quietest @michelescrepessuzette has been since Natasha took over the iconic shop a decade ago. Fridays are particularly bad. There’s no longer a lunch rush. “Now it’s just unpredictable,” says Natasha. “It’s difficult to judge how many staff I need to have on because it’s so up and down.” JobKeeper helped for a while but when Natasha had to apply a second time it was during the school holidays and business was better so she didn’t qualify. Natasha now realises how much the markets rely on tourism. “I’m hoping the government will have another look at the tourism industry and re-evaluate how they will assist… We’re just trying to hold on as long as we can. We have our regulars and they have been hugely supportive.” Natasha is also thinking of what else she can do. Her home-made sauces—garlic, mushroom and chocolate mousse—are particularly popular so she’s considering bottling them up and selling them. (at Fremantle, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLWwYXNDfjg/?igshid=1xycssnrmy19r

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Fish market. Split, Croatia 2007. Working on boats in the Mediterranean a decade-and-a-half ago was a bit of a love-hate job for me. One of the loves was visiting fish markets early in the morning at any port where I had an opportunity to get off the boat, be it for provisioning or pleasure. Some were fairly civilised. Others, I imagined, hadn’t changed much in the past couple of centuries. But all were a feast for the senses. The bustle, the stench, the variety of fish and sea creatures on display, the weathered characters hacking through carcasses and weighing slabs of flesh on traditional scales with weights... real and raw! https://www.instagram.com/p/CLVlihnDLY7/?igshid=1idlm984xjgj4

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Dave Folly-Hans, owner/artist, DaRawNature Coffee Lounge, Fremantle. I stumbled across a little oasis in the heart of Freo’s West End the other day—tucked away down a laneway on Henry Street. Dave opened the café/gallery in late February 2020, not long after a solo exhibition at @ps.artspace where he fused art and fashion in a New York-style fashion show. “Initially I just wanted a place to work and show my artwork. The moment I got here, I felt a real sense of presence and stillness, which is something I practise. This is a space in the middle of the city so I thought, let’s open up this place as something that I long for myself—a place to come and empty your mind.” As soon as you reach the end of the laneway you get a sense of what Dave is saying. There’s no sense of being in the middle of the city. There’s a stillness, a presence, complemented by meditation music and a strict rule of no shoes. You can peruse Dave’s stunning art, plonk yourself on a rug and meditate, read a book, plug in your laptop, whatever takes your fancy. Dave made me a delicious coffee using beans from one of my favourite local roasters @geshacoffeeco and told me his story, including his first attempt at photography—trying to capture a beautiful sunset. He realised it’s pretty impossible to put vivid reality onto a tangible paper, but the moment changed his life. “It’s not what we see but the awareness beyond. The presence. When I’m creating—photographing or painting—I don’t think about it, I just create.” When Dave opened @darawnaturecoffeelounge it was an exciting first couple of weeks. But then came the coronavirus pandemic. As a café/gallery, Dave was forced to close. He never stopped creating and has had been extremely productive in his studio space. As for the gallery/café space, it remained closed for three months and has been extremely quiet since reopening. Dave puts it down to lack of awareness and lack of tourists. He’s getting more street signage and over the next few months he hopes more people become aware of the space. He doesn’t want crowds—no more than 15 at any one time—so that everyone can enjoy being there for what was intended. (at Fremantle, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKDpQ5lDb64/?igshid=1uhj8qdug8dq5

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The Aquarium, Yallingup, Western Australia. When I visited The Aquarium near Yallingup on a steamy afternoon last week I had a moment of feeling like I was in Italy or Croatia—a crowded little rocky cove with crushed shells for sand, people lounging on ledges and in the shallows, others jumping off rocks into the crystal clear channel. Quite the picture and a rare afternoon scene on the west of the cape, usually blown out by the sea breeze. And a huge contrast to my experience the following morning when I had The Aquarium all to myself after branching off the Cape to Cape track during a solo early morning run from Smiths Beach to Injidup and back. (at Yallingup, Western Australia, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKDkrzIDDlt/?igshid=qmzlj21f54x2

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Outside the city wall, Dubrovnik, Croatia 2007. The reward for poking my head through an unassuming doorway in Dubrovnik’s old city wall that dates back to the 12th century. It didn’t take me long to climb down the cliff and submerge in the blue blue water of the Adriatic Sea. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIj_dCzjzY9/?igshid=g2b9tu307sc9

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The benefits of coming home from school and finding a photo shoot going on in your house. Your mate’s mum is the photographer and your mum’s friend is the recipe developer and food stylist who is doing a job for @sweeterbanana and has whipped up some banana, caramel and gingernut ice cream sandwiches that are just waiting to get some little hands and mouths wrapped around them. Thanks Wilf and Freddie for being such obliging models! And thanks @kateflowerfood for a fun day of bananas. You have proved this humble fruit—already a favourite in so many households—to be super versatile and delicious in so many other ways be it sweet, savoury or as a drink. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYLF-7DduP/?igshid=axbxhxixp8a7

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Pauline McCabe, owner and senior stylist, Rock Paper Scissors, South Fremantle. “It’s been a wild ride—so unexpected and filled with uncertainty. It’s like the carpet was pulled from under our feet.” That’s how Pauline sums up the past nine months. In March, Pauline made it home from the International Hairdressing Awards in Madrid by the skin of her teeth—and was thankful for pulling the pin (for other reasons) on her usual four-week trip for shows in Milan, Paris and New York. Beauty salons were soon ordered to shut and although hair dressing salons were allowed to remain open, Pauline decided to close her South Terrace salon. “I felt like it was the right thing to do. We’ve got a big team and they are like family. They were my main concern, and also the duty of care to our clients.” Pauline sent messages to her clients and was amazed at how supportive they were in their responses—they would be waiting at the door when the salon reopened. Pauline went to her bookkeeper and cleared the debt and put everything else on ice so she could just sit tight. The landlord put a hold on Pauline’s rent for the three weeks the salon was closed. “Going into hibernation was the key to survival. You had to act really quickly and decisively to come out robust at the other side.” @rockpaperscissorsfreo has certainly been robust since reopening. As promised, clients were waiting at the door. Pauline has since taken on a senior stylist who had lost her job, and four more apprentices including one who had lost her apprenticeship. Last month, Pauline was a finalist for Australian hairdresser of the year at the Australian Hair Fashion Awards. She pulled together 55 finalists from the WA hair dressing industry for a gala celebration during the live stream of the awards from Sydney. “It was great celebrating together… In some ways it’s really made us think what’s important – bringing down the barriers of competition, and collaborating and helping each other.” That’s exactly what Pauline did during the Melbourne lock down—doing live education to teams over there to help keep them motivated and inspired. “It was nice to feel I could help in some way.” (at South Fremantle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIS4whljdE1/?igshid=riq7kc9ipaxf

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Excited to have played a small part in @kateflowerfood’s Christmas gem that oozes colour and delicious local goodness. Kate launched her Christmas e-book A Local Table yesterday. Celebrating WA’s wonderful produce and designed for warm weather, it’s full of festive food ideas for home cooks. Check out her socials to get your copy and be in the running for more than $1200 worth of gourmet goodies showcased in the book. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIGDEapDiWi/?igshid=qtwjuuahl7b9

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Anna Kanaris, director, Artitja Fine Art Gallery, South Fremantle. In March, Artitja Fine Art Gallery was one week into an exhibition when Anna chose to close it amid the mounting concern of the coronavirus pandemic. The next day, the Federal Government announced galleries had to close. The exhibition went online but during WA’s shutdown, no one was buying. It was the calm before the storm. @artitjafineartgallery is a by-appointment art gallery specialising in Australian Aboriginal art from remote and regional desert communities. It holds up to six exhibitions a year in a variety of gallery spaces. Panicking about where things were heading, Anna got in touch with arts centres in remote communities asking them to send more work. “I got some really beautiful work,” she said. “I thought I had too much, but we upped our online presence and started weekly newsletters and we got a great response. We started getting a lot of appointments and people started buying. People weren’t travelling and instead, they were putting money into art, putting their refunds from cancelled travel into art. We noticed we were selling large works—I think because people who could afford larger works weren’t travelling. We were also pushing the point that artists’ income was greatly affected. As soon as a piece was sold, the money went immediately to the artist. We were able to send a steady stream of money back to the communities we work with.” Sales continue to be steady. “I think interest in Aboriginal art has increased. ‘Black Lives Matter’ has created more awareness across the world. People are becoming more interested in First Nations culture and art and are wanting to know more.” Artitja’s exhibitions are always accompanied by an educational element and Anna is always sharing stories of the artists and their works. The current exhibition ‘Cultural Connections – The Gift of Story’ is on at Early Work Gallery in South Fremantle until this Sunday 22 November. @earlywork.gallery @visitfremantle @freochamber (at South Fremantle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHtxdV3jKu2/?igshid=1rttbakodfoj

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Fremantle Corona Diaries. Nick Tsalikis, manager, Bodkin’s Bootery, Fremantle. It’s easy to think it’s business as usual in our WA bubble. But it’s certainly not the case at Bodkin’s Bootery, where Nick has been the manager for more than 30 years. “These are the hardest trading conditions we’ve ever come across,” says Nick. “It’s uncharted waters and we really don’t know where we’re heading.” Having barely any customers is one issue. A lack of stock is the other. The High Street shop dropped back to very limited trading hours during the WA lockdown. “We came out of that period and then winter orders couldn’t be fulfilled out of England. Now England has gone into another lockdown. One of our major suppliers of English footwear and accessories is closed until into December. Then there’s the Christmas period. Melbourne is coming out of lockdown but doesn’t have back-up stock.” @bodkins_bootery custom, locally-made footwear Anastazi is keeping the business afloat. “We’re fortunate we’ve had the government stimulus packages but that’s coming to an end and we’re on our own. The business can’t work without customers and stock. We need our suppliers on board and we need our tourists back.” Nick has made a few sales to people specifically spending their JobKeeper money. “It’s nice when people put their JobKeeper money back into the economy.” (at Fremantle, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHh-RqkjeIF/?igshid=1lv01m1zs9y0d