While cruising around Preston, the reason for taking the photos I did were based largely on the memories and feelings they evoked. Immediately, my first thought was to go to the Preston Market, in which I photographed Lucchini’s café, the Lebanese nut shop, and some fruit and veg. I then continued to the Darebin Brass Band room, the Preston Town Hall and the Preston Library. All of these have nostalgic value; Lucchini’s was a café I frequented with my parents, while the nut shop is significant because of the ‘soycrisps’ that my mum bought from there and included in my lunch box throughout the entirety of primary and high school.
As a former member of the Darebin youth brass band, I cannot pass the sign without remembrance of the years I practised there. The Preston Town Hall held our annual concerts, however I was conscious to include it in the photos for other reasons. The grand building is a landmark in Preston, and is host to the many festivities and events held by the Darebin council. And finally the library was and still is somewhere that I enjoy visiting, representing to me a place of solace and productivity.
While shooting some of these places, I inadvertently found a pattern occurring. The signage of each place is the original that has been there for decades, and not one of them had been refurbished or replaced with a modern sign. Despite my living in Preston, I have spent the majority of my adolescence in Northcote. Northcote is undoubtedly hip and trendy, and where most of my friends reside. There has always been a stigma against Preston, one that I think can be attributed to its outdated atmosphere. Yet that’s what I, and what the rest of my neighbourhood, has come to appreciate about it. It’s daggy and old-fashioned, but there’s so much more to it than what meets the eye. The many restaurants that line High St are up to par with the ones in Northcote, without appearing as ostentatious. The only sign of gentrification would be within the Preston Market, in a recently renovated section called PAM Lane (Preston Artist Market), which is devoted to artisan stalls providing foods, drinks and other commodities. The shops here bear a similarity to the kind that you would find in Northcote or other ‘trendy’ areas. Yet this part of the market is something of a ghost town; the locals are bustling in the fruit and veg stalls while the workers in this part sit silent and waiting for customers. There is an obvious juxtaposition in the atmosphere, and in hindsight I wish I had have taken photos of this scene to better show the contrast – an idea I may explore deeper further into the semester.
It was noted in the feedback to the presentation that the nut shop was an interesting inclusion, as I had drawn attention to its smell. Every time I pass it I get a distinct waft of the spices from within. I think it’s important to shoot photos that can stimulate something that cannot be seen at face value, whether this is a smell or a movement, or something even more ulterior.
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