Visiting Australia with the Rotary
I was fortunate enough to be chosen to take part in a Group Study Exchange program organised by the Rotary. During this I took part in a mix of presentations, vocational and cultural activities in Melbourne and Victoria, Australia. The vocational days saw me going into a range of creative businesses, from photographic studios to design agencies, seeing how they worked and sharing tips and advice. I even had the opportunity to visit the Victoria Forensic Police Services to see how they use photography.
On the presentation front, I gave numerous presentations about myself, my career and my experiences of the Group Study Exchange program. The largest presentation was to 650 people at the Rotary District Conference, with smaller audiences ranging from 50 - 200 people. Despite a few last minute nerves I feel the presentations all went well, and it was interesting to see how the dynamics of the presentation changed as the audience numbers varied. Spotlights on us during the presentation to 650 people also helped, the audience can see you, but you can't see them very well.
I was also able to see a wide range of the Victorian landscape, from coastal to 'bush' scenery, and discover new animals I'd never seen before including wallabies, kangaroos, koalas,and Fairy Penguins to name just a few. The photograph shown above was taken at Mornington Peninsula.
Overall the experience allowed me to meet lots of new people and create new friendships, learn more about photography and the photographic industry and discover more about the world in which I live. The whole trip was amazing.