Season’s Greetings Film Fam!
This newsletter is part of my FREE series called ‘Through My Viewfinder’ and is a storytelling of my 35mm Film adventures, with a focus on emotional connection, catching up with friends, road trips, plus all the good stuff that helps make a lasting memory!
Here’s what you can expect from the ‘Josie On Film’ Newsletters:
Occasional free educational newsletters - such as recaps of content events, current film news, new camera gear or repairs I’m doing, film resources, etc. These will be more casual and much shorter.
I’m working on a more in depth blog about Pushing Film + a Night Time Portrait Editorial due to drop in late December or early January. These kinds of blogs are full of all the technical info you’d ever want or need to know about learning specific film techniques - these will be accessible to paid subscribers only.
‘Behind The Scenes’ of client work and ‘First Look’ content will be split between some free and paid newsletters here on my Substack, and after approx 1-2 weeks the images will appear on my other websites. My latest event I attended - ‘For The Girls’ Charity Car Show - will be coming next week, so keep an eye out for that as well.
As always my newsletters will still have the vibe of catching up with that one friend you haven’t seen in a while who’s just very passionate about all things film. So if that’s your kind of jam, you’re in the right place!
So, without further ado - let’s get into the second newsletter of this free series shall we?
Our (and our car’s) Origin Story:
My gorgeous childhood friend Julia and I have known each other since we were in pre-school. Once upon a time we were even next-door neighbors but we didn’t know each other then as we were merely babies. Still, when we did meet, we were 4 year old little terrors running around being absolute gremlins (nothing has changed!), and somehow we’ve always been pulled back into each other's life. Granted we didn’t get super close until high school, but we’ve been pretty much inseparable and consider each other like sisters at this point.
We’ve had plenty of ups and downs as most friendships do - but now as ‘real adults’ we’ve kind of set aside all the angst and teenage drama that comes with being young women trying to navigate a complicated world, and we have settled into a good place where there's genuine appreciation and a reciprocal exchange of energy and care within our connection.
Julia is one of my favourite people, she’s funny, quirky, and always down for anything. She has total clown energy in the best of ways and is guaranteed to cheer you up with her antics. I can always rely on her to go along with my creative ideas as well, and to make it even better - she’s actually a Model herself!
A while ago I created an Editorial photoshoot for her and her car when it was fairly new, and we had a whole heap of fun creating a soft feminine look for her while also showing off her little Jimny as a soft launch for it.
Of course things have been upgraded and changed since then, so it only made sense that I would capture some film on our latest adventure together.
She asks me innocently to bring my camera up every time I plan to visit. Claims she trusts me more than anyone else to see her, to capture her naturally now that we’re much older and have grown into our skin. [An excerpt from a poem written by Josie Goris - April 24th, 2022]
The thing you need to know most for context is that Julia and I had an unhealthy obsession with the video game Halo. We often spent afternoons after school playing split screen, accusing one another of cheating for kills, and just generally being big old nerds together… (she’s even got a tattoo of an energy sword!) We’d always playfully fight over who got to drive the Warthog buggy or the Scorpion tank (are we connecting the dots already?), and of course would sabotage one another’s vehicles while collapsing into a fit of giggles. It was a really fun and simple way to unwind from the seemingly huge stressors we faced in high school.
We’ve always been into cars too, and camping followed soon after, along with the idea of exploring and road tripping together. We’ve both been drawn to the enjoyment of self discovery through challenging ourselves, and have a similar desire of cultivating a super close female bond, being able to go on adventures together, and overall grow into ourselves in a fun, supportive environment. As with most things in both of our lives, it’s taken a little longer than most to start to achieve that, but as they say, there’s nothing wrong with slow and steady progress.
In our late twenties we’ve both got our own ‘Warthog’ and ‘Scorpion’ for real, and finally after 2 years - a road trip happened. Granted a small local one, but it’s just the start of many more to come. I’m so bloody excited for it!
Wiseman’s Ferry
Julia and I live a few hours apart, not that that’s an issue because either one of us enjoys a long drive - and this time decided to meet halfway for the both of us, about a 1.5hrs drive each. And that middle point is Wiseman’s Ferry - the oldest ferry crossing that is still operational in New South Wales.
It’s located in the heart of the Hawkesbury River, and is around an hour or so from the City. Surrounded by national parks, it’s this gorgeous little rustic village full of character and charm. And there’s two different crossings to choose from, depending on which direction you want to explore beyond the main town.
We met up at the Hotel for lunch and caught up with each other’s life, chatting over the most delicious roast pumpkin and quinoa salad I’ve had in my life, and truly enjoying each other’s company. Eventually we were full of belly laughs and plenty of food before finally agreeing to set up our cars for our little trip with the goal to explore for a few hours - with me and my 1991 GQ Patrol ‘Scorpion’ leading the way, and her little ‘Warthog’ Suzuki Jimny following close behind.
I’d never crossed on the ferry before and she wanted me to be up front and center so I could have a better view - that I am so appreciative of because wow, it was gorgeous! I will admit that being on a car on a ferry is a really weird feeling and not at all what I was expecting. It’s kind of trippy but an experience that brought so much joy and playfulness out of the both of us.
Dharug National Park
Once we got across the ferry, we began our little road trip driving and talking mad shit on our UHF radios until we came across the first National Park. We stopped here and I suggested we line the cars up and snap some film shots before we explored deeper.
As always, Julia loves to get content for her car themed Instagram and I watched her get to work, crawling around to get the perfect angles on her phone, while I snapped a little candid of her in action. I truly don’t know how she managed to do it in her wedges, I would have lost my balance!
Julia then sat on her car’s bull bar and posed for a nice photo, before telling me that she can shake her whole car. Of course I encouraged her to show me, and she proceeded to climb on the top of her car, and shake it by rocking back and forth on top of the roof racks. Nevermind the fact she nearly fell off…
Should I also mention that her car is absolutely covered references to video games? Star Wars, The Witcher, Halo, Pokemon - you name it, if she’s into it, there’s a sticker on her car and a matching tattoo on her body. I mean her numberplate is a reference to the Sith Lord ‘Revan’ if you didn’t catch on already.
After snapping photos we drove around a bit, exploring a nearby camp site which was simple but had all the basic amenities needed if you planned to stay a few nights.
The only downside is that you can’t actually camp next to your car - and seeing as both of us have our rigs set up for exactly that style of camping, we made note that this campsite wouldn’t be the best one for a future overnight stay. You can bet I’ll have my camera with me when we eventually plan a proper camping trip.
The area is surrounded by lush trees, and there’s a bridge crossing with a little river that I’m sure would be flowing if there had been more rain in the area. But other than that it was gorgeous - if a little stuffy and steamy - and I enjoyed stretching my legs after several hours of driving.
We didn’t end up tackling the lookout tracks as they were quite a long and intense hike to do so, and not at all disability accessible for me - so we simply walked around the park area for a little bit before going back to our cars and planning the next little stop.
Hawkesbury River
East from Wombat Cafe (heading away from it back towards Wiseman’s Ferry) there’s a stretch of road along Wiseman’s Ferry Road where the Hawkesbury River is right up against the bank. That’s where we pulled over to get some ‘aesthetic’ shots of our cars.
You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see a Blue bus called ‘Hobo’s Heaven’ on the right hand side of the road.
We spent a good half an hour here, hanging out and chatting while I played around with a vintage ‘Aurora’ rainbow filter which gives some really interesting effects depending on which way the filter is turned. I played with my little CCD Digicam here as well, and ended up making a short reel out of it.
I really love the results and adore the photos I got to take of our two dream rigs, finally together after all this time!
It was so much fun hanging out, exploring with a close friend. And there’s something so fun about following behind Julia’s zippy little rig that filled me with a sense of pride in realizing we had both finally reached a major milestone our teenage selves had only ever dreamed of reaching.
I would like to think our younger selves would think we’re really bloody cool for still being friends, getting 4WDs and then naming them after our childhood video game - even if sometimes it’s a little cringe to tell that part of the story!
If there’s one thing I learned about this trip, it’s this:
Get lost in the moment more often!
I spent most of the day totally wrapped up in having fun, laughing with Julia (occasional at her, like her almost falling off her car), and enjoying her company. Because of this I don’t have as many photos as I normally would have shot, nor did I capture anything before or after the two main stops me made. All I have is what I’ve shared here, and yes as always we forgot to get an actual selfie together… oops.
But isn’t that what life is all about? Living in the moment, soaking in the experience and only capturing a few important memories here and there without getting stuck behind a phone or camera screen the entire time.
It’s something I’m a lot more conscious of. I can get so caught up in ‘needing to record keep’ that I miss feeling grounded and enjoying it wholeheartedly. I often ruminate afterwards about how disconnected I was because I was too focused on snapping photos the entire damn time. Heck, I’ve even started going on little trips without my camera at all - something I would have never in a million years done before these last few months.
Sometimes, the road trips and moments are just for me, and not for a wider audience - and that’s perfectly okay too. Not every moment of my life needs to make it to the ‘highlight’ reel so to speak. And not all my trips are ‘content worthy’ or designed for sharing to a newsletter. I hope I continue to keep a small element of my life private and entirely my own.
I’d love to know if you feel the same way at all. Are you practicing being more conscious of how present you are? Or are you still only experiencing the world through your viewfinder as I often find myself doing? And what can you do to connect with yourself (or others) more next time?
See you next time!
Thanks for tuning into this second installment of ‘Through My Viewfinder’ - please leave a comment and let me know if you enjoyed reading this style of ‘show and tell’ newsletters!
Coming soon:
A paid subscriber newsletter with a look at some of the shots from 5 (!!!) rolls of film I shot for a charity car event hosted by ‘For The Girls.’
I had so much fun developing the film, and have pushed through and done that plus the scanning within 48 hours. I just need to convert and edit which can take up to a week, but as soon as they’re ready, you’ll get a little sneak peek at them before they land elsewhere on my sites.I’ll be developing some film from a Workshop I attended last weekend, hosted by my friend Clyde featuring Sony cameras.
I pushed Kodak Vision3 500T to 800, and Kodak Ultramax to 1600. I cannot wait to see how they turn out and to share the process with you more in depth!Another newsletter featuring some kickass portraits I shot at Port Kembla and outside of 7/11 with my wonderful friend Mel - I used Ultramax pushed to 800 + some yummy 200T and 250D.
There’s so much cool educational content coming super soon - and yes of course there will be some freebies thrown in the mix as well.
P.S -
Keep your eyes peeled for early next year when my next round of 35mm Film Workshop tickets will be announced - along with a separate FREE content creation event where fellow creatives can catch up, hang out, and maybe even have a chance to snap some cool content for portfolio use.
It’s super important to me that I keep providing an inclusive and accessible space - even as I try to pivot towards being compensated for my hard work and unique skill set as a 35mm Film Specialist.
If you love what I do, you can upgrade to be a paid subscriber, or if you’d just love to chuck a few dollarydoos my way to help support my ongoing art, you can donate directly HERE.
And as always, there’s no obligation to do so if you’re just hanging out for the free goodies!
So in saying that - if you’re in the Blue Mountains, South Coast, or wider Sydney area, there will more info about signing up to these upcoming event coming soon. I’ll be sure to announce it both here and on my Instagram.
Until the next roll, take care!
xoxo, Josie