Passing Franco Cozzo and the Changing Face of Footscray

The changing landscape of the Melbourne suburb of Footscray is immense. Here we see the former furniture store of Franco Cozzo and in the background cranes and tower blocks of new residential towers. As people and memories of the built environment pass, new memories emerge...the cycle is endless, immense and intense... #footscray #footscraylife #footscraymelbourne #melbourne #melbournesuburbs #development #demolition #melbournedevelopment #francocozzo #memories #landscapephotography #streetphotographymelbourne #concretejungle #ausphotomag #capturemagazine

Cremorne Melbourne - Documenting Memory before it’s Lost Forever

I’ve been visiting the suburb of Cremorne in Melbourne over several years for a project documenting the suburb's rapid rate of change. Many of my projects are long term ranging from weeks, months and even decades.

Reviewing my current photographic collection for the Cremorne project I have amassed in excess of 20,000 photographs and countless visits (this number only includes those keyworded with “Cremorne” and doesn’t include files I’ve yet to keyword!) Repeatedly exploring a given location forms part of my creative process. How the light changes throughout the day and seasons means the opportunities to create photography are constantly variable. Mix this with a suburb under immense change due to redevelopment, Cremorne provides a rich playground for documentary photography.

All these visits and photographs got me thinking as to why I go back again and again. I remember once when I was out photographing in Launceston for my Tasmanian Art Deco and Modernism project a passerby struck up a conversation with me and jokingly said haven't you got everything already, mentioning this as I had said I had been shooting the project for over two decades.

For me I think it’s about the chase for perfection. The irony is there can never be perfect, but how the light shapes the built environment plays a pivotal role in how I make images that I’m happy with. The time of day and/or season are central in keeping me coming back again and again in the pursuit of finding the “best” conditions to represent my vision. I guess having an archive of photographs of the same scene allows me to look back and choose a particular mood I’m after, or think about how a series of photographs will work as a series side by side to tell the story of this suburb's dramatic change.

Here I share a few photos explaining my process of how I go about making and selecting photos, of a subject I’ve photographed many times over.

The sun had just started to hit the corner of the building, not what I was after…

Success! Coming back around half hour later clouds blocked the sun…and still no cars parked!

This former manufacturing/industrial building is typical of the once booming era of manufacturing in Melbourne and is typical of many of designs in Cremorne. They are fast becoming a memory being demolished for new offices, this one pictured above has recently been slated for demolition. Capturing these buildings before they are lost forever is paramount to me for there to be a record for posterity when such places are long forgotten. There are several things that go into planning for a photoshoot, and for this scene (and many others) includes how the light is hitting the building and traffic. I wanted even light and overcast days are of course great for this. The forecast was for a cloudy morning with cloud breaking in late morning. Of course, as is often the case, the weather didn’t play good and there was more sun than cloud. The other major challenge is car parking which is in front of this building. I want a building with no obstructions and this building is very difficult to capture without cars, it involves many trips back for success. I won’t photograph scenes if there’s a car parked out front, preferring to return when there are none. It lets the architecture speak without distraction.

As the sun was rising it was hitting the top corner of the building, to me this was distracting so whilst there were no cars I needed no sun on the building. Thankfully some large clouds from the south were moving over and I was able to make photographs some time later with the sun obscured. This gave me even lighting and only requiring a single exposure.

Coming back some time later when some clouds came over momentarily blocked the sun providing even light which is what I was after

The next photograph typifies Cremorne and it’s highrise change. Down come suburban homes of old for new tower blocks. I love the juxtaposition of small and large in my photos, a kind of unsettling feel of chance as well showing in a visually striking way the changes that are occurring in this once sleepy neighbourhood. With the clouds coming over I was able to make photographs on evenly lit light. Whilst I don’t mind the version with the sun out, it’s a little too harsh for my liking. Sure it emphasises the shapes of the high-rise concrete, but I feel I lose detail/attention in the cottages in the foreground. The clouds only lasted for 10 or so minutes, allowing me to capture a variety of lighting conditions.

Reflected light is beautiful to work with when making photographs

This is a relatively new building in Cremorne, and I love its rusty patina and a nod to the industrial architecture and history that was once prominent in the suburb. Here I shot the scene backlit, the sun is reflecting on the building behind me bouncing light back onto the subject creating interesting light patterns giving it depth and pop. This is just part of my process and thinking when I’m making photos out int the field. I feel like I’ve made progress on my Cremorne project after many years of shooting, and I look forward to sharing photographs on my website and social media. I have starte an Instagram page dedicated to my Cremorne project here

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BLOG - Thomas Ryan Photography

Cairns Masonic Temple

Far North Queensland has a rich diversity of design from the Art Deco and Modernist era. Having grown up here, the region has had a big influence on my architectural photography practice and documentation of my Tasmanian Modernism project. I would like to share some of the places and architecture of my childhood in future posts. Like my Tasmanian Art Deco and Modernism project I’ve worked on for over two decades, I have been documenting FNQ for over a similar period of time. This is the former Cairns Masonic Temple, designed in the 1930s. Fine art limited edition prints from this project are now available on my website.

Brunswick - Railway Hotel

I love the patina of this beautiful old hotel in Brunswick, Melbourne. This photograph is part of a larger body of work documenting Melbourne suburbia. My book ‘‘Suburbia: Keeping Up Appearances’’ is available through my website here

The fast changing landscape of suburbia in Melbourne - Box Hill

Box Hill is located just 20km to Melbourne CBD it continues to change at a rapid pace. Melbourne // Upwards & Outwards is an ongoing project exploring the transformation of change to Melbourne's residential skyline. Melbourne has a population of 4 million people, with predictions it could reach 10 million in the very near future. The project explores Melbourne residential architecture from the mid 20th Century through to the contemporary period. The landscape of Melbourne continues to be dramatically transformed. View project gallery here

Insignificant Moments - Book and Prints Available Now

I am excited to make available my latest publication - Insignificant Moments. Book and prints from the project available through my website via the link in the bio above. Thank you for your support!

About the project - Insignificant Moments explores concepts relating to the built environment we engage with every day, including loneliness, isolation, atomisation and vulnerability, and considers the notion that the insignificant moments in our daily lives are the soul of these man-made spaces. Steeped in the austere and the lonely, there is nevertheless an inherent beauty in these insignificant moments.

As a photographer, I regularly immerse myself in exploring the built environment to find inspiration for my projects. Here, I’m inspired by the architecture, streets, and fleeting moments in a rushed world.

Insignificant Moments provides me with the opportunity to capture the fragility and ephemeral nature of human presence in the built environment. Being surrounded by people moving around in their own worlds within this environment, it struck me that I could go days without conversing with another human being. These feelings and perceptions are emphasised in this project through solitary figures overshadowed and dwarfed by the structures they pass by.

Book + Prints from the project available now through my website here

Of What Remains...Southbank Melbourne

A capture for my project/s documenting the rapid change happening in Melbourne and its suburbs and for my project Insignificant Moments. On my walks I sometimes have a plan of what I want to shoot but a lot of the time I just walk for many kilometres and see what interests me. My photography is very project driven so scenes I come across can sometimes fit nicely into a multiplicity of possible project plans and ideas.

This scene is of one of the few remaining older buildings in the Southbank precinct, a reminder of what was a common sight in this once industrial and manufacturing landscape. Today the area is one of the most rapidly altered in terms of such rapid change to the built landscape. Since photographing here over many years a lot has been demolished, decaying and so many skyscrapers have taken their place. I find it interesting how it feels like another world from the touristy Southbank esplanade and how its like you've entered another dimension. View my project documenting Melbourne and its rapid change here. My book ''Insignificant Moments'' is now available through my website store

The industrial legacy of Geelong and Melbourne

The importance of Australia's industrial and manufacturing history is represented throughout the built landscape. Structures provide a visual link with our collective past.

Cities such as Melbourne and Geelong were the manufacturing and industrial powerhouses of Victoria and Australia. These industrial buildings are reminders of a time when what was produced within was also expressed through some beautiful industrial designs such as this beautiful mid 20th Century typeface and facade.

Whilst many industrial buildings are demolished, somehow some survive time and the wrecking ball. Throughout my 20+ years of being a photographer I've dedicated much time documenting industrial buildings all over Australia, from Tasmania to the sugar cane factories of Far North Queensland.

Long walks exploring the built environment are my happy space...I sat on the hill and marvelled at this beautiful design. The drop shadow from the typeface was just divine! If all I captured this day was this scene I would have gone home happy!

The Changing face of Footscray, Melbourne

Another photograph from my long term project documenting the dramatic changes happening to the landscape of Melbourne. Whilst CBD garners a lot of attention, the inner city suburbs are changing very quickly. This photograph captured in the fast changing suburb of Footscray highlights this immense change, where not long ago this scene was home to different manufacturing and industrial buildings. In just a short time its been totally transformed with little evidence of what once was. Overgrown lots of land where industry once ruled stand cheek by jowell with a sea of homes in the sky. Overgrown lots of land stand where industry once was amongst a sea of homes in the sky.

About the project - Melbourne // Upwards & Outwards is an ongoing project exploring the transformation of change to Melbourne's residential skyline. Melbourne has a population of 4 million people, with predictions it could reach 10 million in the very near future. The project explores Melbourne residential architecture from the mid 20th Century through to the contemporary period. The landscape of Melbourne continues to be dramatically transformed. View this project and all of my projects here