Photography Tales: The Lost Joys of Summer Ending

In slow motion, an ice cream falls to the ground. A woman watches in disbelief as her afternoon joy vanishes before her very eyes. Her focus was on something else, something that quickly became irrelevant to the point of it now being absent from my memory. She was leaning over when the fresh, oversized ball of ice cream couldn’t hold on any more and rolled right out of the cone. The five second rule was contemplated, no doubt, but before she could grab the frozen treat, her friend assured her it was lost to the well worn steps of Melbourne’s Southbank.

This morning, and for the past 2 days as well, I’ve walked my dog. That’s nothing new by any means. Puddles and I walk almost every day but what makes this week noteworthy is that I’ve worn a hoody each time we’ve strolled. And, to further illustrate my point, it’s been cool enough for the winter garment to stay on for the entire duration of our wandering adventures.

While the sun still bears down on us, it’s golden rays a welcome caress upon my pasty skin, just like the fallen ice treat, we are reminded that the warm daze of Summer is behind us. Long, glorious days are gradually getting shorter and in a couple of weeks, we shift back to the regular programming of a life without Daylight Savings.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Firstly, Winter looks great on black and white film. Foggy mountain tops, dark and mysterious figures greeting us at the forests’ edge and long shadows dance amongst trees as the Sun’s arch stays low on the horizon. The days may be shorter but golden hour seems to last a little while longer now.

There’s the old saying, “Summer bodies are made in Winter!” Sure, this is meant to entice you into the freezing cold concrete box of your local gym but perhaps there’s another way to look at it? Perhaps you could grow, develop and strengthen your mind.

Print out your work and spend the weekend laying them out on the floor and matching pairs. Take a darkroom class. Spend more time reading new books. As it gets harder, or less inviting to head outside, use this time to regroup and work on the things that will make next Spring and Summer even better.

A dropped ice cream certainly isn’t the end of all joy. There’s always going to be more ice creams in the future. And despite Daylight Savings nearing its end, we still have 24 hours in a day. How are you going to make the most of Winter?