About Me — and My Family

Hello!

What is this, you ask? This is a home for my film photography from the many places I’ve travelled — part storytelling project, part art shop, and part space for travel-tinged ramblings on food and everything in between.

I think of photography as a kind of anthropological storytelling. Having dyslexia, I often process the world in a way that is visual, sensory and associative rather than linear. I gravitate toward multidimensional and meaningful encounters because this is how I understand things: through image, sound, atmosphere, movement, conversation and direct engagement.

I’m Millie. Born in the Snowy Mountains of so-called Australia, I now live on Gadigal Country in Sydney. I’m an avid solo traveller, adventure-seeker and food lover, and I try to capture my experiences on my late grandma Winnie’s Nikon FM.

The Nikon FM was a gift from my dad. It belonged to my grandmother, Winifred Abernethy, and, like its previous operators, has travelled far and wide across three generations. Photography is in my genes, but I’m no pro. I’m a hobbyist who attempts to capture moments, often most inspired to pick up the camera when I’m off on my own. I’m awkward at taking photos of food and hesitant to point the lens at strangers — maybe that’s a good thing — but I’m working on it.

Exploring runs in my blood. Grandma Winnie travelled extensively despite growing up on a farm in Central Otago, Aotearoa/New Zealand. She lived in England, explored Europe, lived in Indonesia, and journeyed through Central and Southeast Asia. My late grandfather shared that same adventurous streak, and our family is scattered across the globe.

My maternal grandparents never ventured far from this big island continent, but my grandfather, Arthur, had a remarkable curiosity about the world. He often knew more about a place than I did, no matter where I went. My parents and their siblings are equally travel-hungry: my parents spent part of their early twenties in India, and my mum did a lot of it solo. I wasn’t brave enough to go to India alone — go, Mum.

Cheers!