Tell Jesus the bitch is back

I'm Wayne, 40, from Sydney Australia. I swear a lot. You'll find Anne Hathaway, Britney Spears, K Pop, tennis, the Chicago Cubs/Blackhawks, as well as a lot of personal content.

[waynefromaustralia]

I got to work with Sophia, a Canadian model living in Sydney, on Sunday with some awesome off camera flash set ups

[waynefromaustralia]

Love these shots from a shoot I did yesterday with Hex. There were 3 photographers shooting, and we all wanted different things from our model - I always want attitude, and Hex is so good food at channeling Jennie Kim from Blackpink to give me what I need from her

We shot on an island on Sydney Harbour so we had to get the ferry across, and I got to spend a lot of time before and after with Hex. This is our second time working together now, and it was nice hearing that I was her favourite photographer out of the three of us. I have suffered from a lack of confidence for so long with my work, but recently I feel like I have gone to another level and it's great to be recognised for that

[waynefromaustralia]

Hex

[waynefromaustralia]

I work in a team of 5 (including myself), and the other 4 in the team are all women of colour. I do two jobs and have been with the company for 8 years, where 3 of the women have been with the company for 6-8 months, and they were hired as juniors to keep the costs down. Because of my work load and my seniority (and because they are junior employees), I assumed I would be paid a few grand a year more than them, when in fact they all earn more than me

I was talking with one of my team mates today, and when I mentioned it to her she replied with 'I just assumed because you're a white male, you would be getting paid way more than me' I still cannot stop laughing nearly an hour later

[waynefromaustralia]

I am trying to put myself in front of the camera more in 2024

[waynefromaustralia]

Natasha

[waynefromaustralia]

I have spoken about the girl (Erica) a couple of times now, and I last left it where she needed a break to study for her medical exams, and we hadn't spoken for about 3 weeks at that point

We finished on what I thought was a really high note - she spoke about us having a proper virtual date, and I was counting down the days until we could speak again, so I was incredibly confused when we went for just under 10 weeks without talking. I tried to reach out to her a few times through Reddit and Instagram - I even recorded a video for her birthday in December - but the closest I got was when she viewed my Instagram stories on her birthday, and then again Christmas day. I got desperate just after New Year's and put up a story only she would understand (I would call her Taylor, and she would call me Henry after characters in my favourite book that she ended up reading for me)

When she didn't view the story or reach out, I was pretty pissed off so I sent her a message basically begging her to either talk to me, or tell me it's over so I could move on with my life. It surprisingly worked, and she sent me a message via Telegram explaining things - it basically came down to her feeling rejected because I couldn't say 'I love you' back so she was angry with me, she then got really sick with COVID and missed me, but felt that far too much time had passed and she didn't know how to reach out to me. She also got back with her ex boyfriend which meant that things with us were over, but she suggested a call that weekend so we could both have some closure

It was very awkward to start with, but once the ice was broken we had some really late night chats to 5am my time (there is a 3 hour time difference between us currently), and we were very slowly getting back into a rhythm again. She was petrified to talk again on the phone, and she had to have several drinks before our first call to calm her nerves. In the end, we had 6 glorious weeks together, and they were 6 of the best weeks of my life. She would be working late most nights, so I would go to bed at 9.30pm my time, she would call anytime between 1am to 2.30am, and we would talk until 4.30am-5am before I went back to bed

It wasn't all smooth sailing though - I am very confident that we are going to end up with each other, and I told her one night that would be once again wearing the 'W' necklace, and yeah I really freaked her out. There were also at least 2 occasions where she set a date for our 'good bye call', but she would then freak herself out and ask to postpone it for another date. I was falling in love with her, and we both ultimately agreed to keep the door open with each other, and we both wanted to hang out in Sydney in August, even if it's just as friends.

We had our final phone call two Sunday nights ago, and she dropped the bomb that she had broken up with her ex. They had been together on and off for 6 years, and she basically she said that I showed her what it's like to be really loved and adored, she couldn't settle for anything less anymore, and that she needed to take the time to work on herself now. When we first met, she told was a runner - she was scared when things got real, so instead of sticking around and facing up to the issue, she would run. The week before, in speaking about myself and her boyfriend, she made a comment that unlike me, he was actually living in the same country, so her breaking up with him and making the really tough decision really showed how much she had grown in our time together

So now it's a waiting game. She needs time to work on herself, which as much as I deeply miss her, I completely understand. She is coming out of a 6 year relationship, and she needs to get her head in the right spot again. I am still hoping that she will be here in August, and I cannot wait to hold her in my arms

The thing that I love so much about her is how bloody smart she is. She came 11th in the country for her medical exams at the end of last year, and she was made chief resident at her hospital last month. She made a comment that most guys would be intimidated by her, but my god it's the complete opposite for me. I am more than happy to be the man supporting her career, watching her kicking so much arse, and achieving everything that she dreams about

[waynefromaustralia]

I haven't spoken to the girl in just over 3 weeks now, and I didn't know that it was possible to miss someone so much. She needed time and space to concentrate on her exams at the hospital, and I was expecting to hear from her 2 weeks ago now, but yeah it's been nothing but silence. I told her that I would respect her and let her find me again when she is ready, but I can't take this anymore so I am going to try and reach out to her tonight

I have a ton of her voice and text recordings saved in Telegram, and I have been too scared to listen again in case this is the end. I gave in this afternoon though, and my heart was melting every time I heard her giggle, the excitement and anticipation in her voice when she spoke about our upcoming phone calls, and just the sweet messages like 'Good morning handsome' There are also a few short video messages, and just seeing her face makes me feel so happy deep in my soul

[waynefromaustralia]

I wrote previously about my job situation, and in short I've been the acting Team Leader while also doing my normal day to day role without getting any compensation for the extra stuff I'm doing. I have been on edge for a while, and in early October I had a really bad break down in front of the 2 of the girls in my team - we had to have all of this work completed that night, I would basically be in the office trying to finish it until at least midnight, and I told them I was leaving and never coming back again as I was crying when I realised how much had to be done. The girls had already finished for the day, but they were genuinely scared I was going to walk out, so they stayed with me for a few hours to make sure I was okay, and to help get some of the work done. From there, I told my manager I was taking a week off so I wouldn't be completely burnt out

I've been on leave this week, and had to log in twice to finish work that had to be done. It wasn't ideal, but there was no choice. Once it was done, I felt like I could finally relax. It's now Friday, and one of the girls in my team called on behalf of our manager needing emails to be saved in a folder as an emergency - I stupidly said I would do it, and then I got another message 20 minutes later wanting more work done. I said I would do the emails, and everything else could wait until Monday

After I sent the message, I got really fucking angry. They are already taking advantage of me during work hours, and now they want to pull the same crap now when I told them I am not to be contacted this week. So I told them I am not doing it, and if my manager has an issue with it he can talk to me on Monday during my working hours. I don't give a fuck anymore

I'm at the point where I'm ready to refuse to do the extra work unless they actually hire me as a full time Team Leader, and actually pay me for the role. I'm getting paid significantly less than a phone agent who takes retention calls, and I so fucking done with the bullshit

[waynefromaustralia]

I've been on Reddit for years now, but it was in May this year that I started to use it to blow off some steam from work. It was never anything serious from my side - I was speaking to a few different girls on a daily basis, and other girls as a one off, but like I said it was never anything serious. Well, until one girl came along on September 20th that changed everything

She answered my post late that Wednesday night, and there was something there right from the start. We spoke over Telegram for the next few days, organised a phone call on the Saturday night, and then she got cold feet and ended up not calling before she deleted our conversation without warning the next morning. I reached out to her to see what was going on, and she admitted she had a crush on me and we started a new conversation from there

Long story short she is 31, a doctor in Manila, and has family in Sydney so she will be here again in August next year. As a sign of faith, I gave her my Instagram a few weeks back - she accidentally looked at one of my stories, and when I checked her (private) profile she had linked her Facebook, so naturally I snooped. Everything she had told me checked out (I went back to 2017, and I could see her growing up and going through med school) , and a friend of a friend has interacted with her on the page so I know she is a real person that actually exists

We were calling each other most nights, and I was really happy when I discovered I could hook Telegram up through my car speakers, which means we've been able to talk for long periods of time when I'm driving to and from photoshoots. I wasn't expecting to fall for a girl from Reddit, and I definitely wasn't looking for a long distance relationship, but yeah I have deep feelings for this girl and I can see a future with her

We spoke for about 4 hours Sunday night a few weeks back, and everything was going great until she broke down in tears. I always told her that I wouldn't stand in her way if she found someone IRL that she wanted to be with, but yeah it turns out she is in love with me, and felt that she needed to stop things to protect herself. I thought it was all over, and then we ended up speaking last week for 3 days before she left again to study for a major exam she has on November 12th. She has told me we will speak again after that, and she wants to have a virtual date to celebrate finishing her exams

I know this all sounds ridiculous, and I may come out of this looking like an absolute fool. But at the same time, she might just be the best thing to ever happen to me. She loves to read as well, and she read my all time favourite book ('Second Chance Summer') which is something I have been wanting to share with a girl for over 10 years now. If nothing else happens, the fact that I got to discuss this book with her, and that she recorded herself reading the most heartbreaking moment that makes me cry every single time, would be enough for me

I had honestly given up on ever finding a girl, and pretty much accepted I'll die alone. Again, this might all be a pile of BS, or we don't make it to August next year when we can finally meet, but it's given me some hope that there is someone out there for me

[waynefromaustralia]

Some early shots from my shoot with the nude art model a couple of weeks ago. The model was phenomenal, she has 10 plus years experience with these kinds of shoots, and I felt comfortable right from the start

There was one funny moment when her bum was the centre of attention - she got up from the sand where one bum cheek was sandy, and the other cheek was untouched, so I had to ask her to sand up both cheeks so it looked even

It was a really beautiful location, and I would love to shoot there moving forward, but I'm not sure the clothed models would feel comfortable shooting with a bunch of nude guys staring at them

[waynefromaustralia]

Some of my work from the last 5-6 months. I have zero confidence when it comes to my photography. I know I have some good shots, but I feel like they were all set up by other photographers, and I didn't have to do the work

I wrote previously that I was in a little posse of photographers, and we had a bust up which has since been mended. It means that we are not shooting together anymore - at the time, I thought it was the worst thing that could have happened, but now I can see that it was sorely needed because I was relying on them way too much. Same when I do workshops with other photographers, I feel that I rely on them to set up the shots for me

I'm doing a shoot tomorrow with a nude art model, at a nude beach in Sydney. It will be the first time where I am the only photographer, but she will be leading a lot of what we do so it won't count. I have a shoot booked next Saturday night in the city with a model I've worked with before (she is the model above between the trees) and it's my chance to really drive things for the first time

I am confident in so many things in life, I just wish that this was one of them

[waynefromaustralia]

Lexi at Bronte Beach

[waynefromaustralia]

What is your favorite and least favorite thing about Sydney?

Thanks so much for the ask, John! Favourite is the weather and outdoor lifestyle. We have stunning weather all year around, none of that horrible snow and freezing temperatures! I'm able to be in shorts all of winter without freezing to death which is huge plus

Least favourite is probably the cost of actually living in Sydney. I cannot see a way where I'll afford a home loan

[waynefromaustralia]

I wrote previously about my job situation, and it's been a very interesting 4-5 months. Our team was split into 2, with our Team Leader and 3 agents going to a different part of the business, with 5 of us moving back under the Contract Centre, with our Area Manager initially coming with us to help with the transition while the Contact Centre waited for their new manager. While that was happening, 2 of the 5 resigned, and then our Area Manager went on leave for 5 weeks which meant I was unofficial in charge while trying to keep everything on track

At the end of June, our Area Manager returned from leave before being made redundant and exiting the business within a few days, I got 2 new agents and a manager, but the manager was hands off and only lasted 6 weeks before he resigned. Another agent finished up to have a baby, and once again we got a new agent

Our team before all of this was miserable and toxic AF. We all hated our Team Leader and Area Manager with a passion, and now that I was unofficially in charge I was determined to turn that around. I have a team of 4 girls, and I worked my arse off to give them a safe space where they knew I supported them, that I would never throw them under the bus, and I always have their backs. I had a few issues with 1 agent in particular - it would have been very easy to bury my head in the sand, however I took responsibility for letting her down, and committed to working with her to make sure it doesn't happen again

It hasn't been easy. I have been overwhelmed, frustrated, pissed off, and had a mini breakdown last week where I had a cry in the toilets. Things are hopefully looking up - our new manager started this week, the team is as strong as it's ever been, and I am hoping I will be made the official Team Leader soon

[waynefromaustralia]

I got contacted last year by a company called Boss Fotos, and I finally did my first event for them on the weekend. Basically it's up to me as the photographer to find local sporting events where I shoot the action, and then network with the parents/families of the players so they'll buy my shots, and then occasionally they'll be the official photographer for an event, and they'll ask one of their local photographers to cover it

I was the photographer on Saturday for the Sydney Road Titles, an event organised by Cycling Australia. It was my first time shooting cycling, and I was extremely nervous leading up to the day but I loved every second of it. I had some of the competitors asking where they could find the shots, and I was making sure to talk to some of the competitors so they knew why I was there. I would only make money if they purchased a shot, and I went in with zero expectations - if I sold one photo, it would be success

The hardest part was editing the shots. Normally I'll select a handful of shots that I love, but for this I needed to edit every single shot (I did delete shots that were out of focus, but everything else stayed) which took a few days. I know moving forward, I need to cut down on this time

I just got the news that I've sold 5 photos!!! It's not much, and it equals less than $30 in sales, but this is the first time anyone has ever bought one of my photos!!!!! I'm hoping this will be the start of many more sales in the future

[waynefromaustralia]

I did a shoot with Gwyn on Saturday at Bronte Beach. It's winter in Australia, but luckily it was a beautiful 23c/73f

I got some really amazing shots (and still have another 500 plus to get through) and learnt a lot. The other 2 photographers had a flash system which took their shots to that next level, so it's the next step for me now