It wasn’t always like that. When I was young I had dreadful motion sickness and so our road trips being 2 hours away from home was plenty for me.

However when I was 17 years old my sister and I did a 1700km road trip to the Gold Coast, yes where I live now. I didn’t do a huge amount of road trips after that, but enough to keep me keen.

That changed two years ago when the hospital I loved working at, as a nurse, closed and I had the time to do something that had been forming in my mind for 6 months, a road trip to North Queensland. It was only for 10 days but I drove from Cairns to Uluru and saw amazing things, captured incredible sights and knew this wasn’t the only road trip I’d be doing.

From that time I’ve embarked on more road trips, more opportunities to capture Australia from all corners. My plans for this year are quite ambitious but we’ll see how they go.

Last month was the first road trip for the year. I drove from Adelaide to Broken Hill to the Great Ocean Road and back to Adelaide. I also got to visit friends and family along the way and all in the space of 5 days. People think I’d gone for weeks but it all happens in short, intense bursts. I’ve also had quite a few people asking to come along but to do what I do in the time I have needs a lot of focus. Most of the time on the road I just drive, photograph, sleep and post. Eating usually just happens when I’m driving or posting.

One of the reasons I wanted to capture the Great Ocean Road was that I don’t know how long the 12 apostles have left. To be honest I don’t know how long any of us have left on earth so I want to make the most of it. I don’t want to sit back and wait for later when now is available.

What I see is beautiful and I want others to see and experience it as well. In saying that welcome to 2019 and we’ll see where we go.

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My 2018 was huge and so I chose a photo from each month (almost) and have presented them in order as a way of condensing down the year. Of course there were many more outings but this is a small sample.

January 1st: Flying out of Adelaide when I was about to embark on my 4000+km road trip from Alice Springs to Perth.

February 25th: Storms means lightning and even though I would have preferred to have the lightning over the Gold Coast this was as close as I got.

March 31st: Easter Saturday when I went to O’Reillys and these red browed wrens were willing to have their photo when distracted by the leftover seed.

April 22nd: Another road trip, this time Brisbane to Donald to Melbourne. I left Donald while the stars were still out so when I got to Waubra the sun was rising and I got to see how big and loud these wind turbines are.

May 11th: In my desire to capture autumn colours, even though I live in the Gold Coast, I drove down to Armidale and discovered this gorgeous chapel covered in autumn leaves.

June 15th: The night I got this shot I wasn’t feeling that motivated but I’d driven to Maclean, NSW, and had done all this research for better milky way photography so I went out and found the darkest beach with a camp fire in the distance.

July 28th: The plan has always been to go to W.A. in July but when I discovered the blood moon was at the end of the month and this was the only state you’d see the whole eclipse it determined what date I’d be there. 

August 7th: This was a local shot. I saw the cygnets while going for my morning run so one morning instead of running I got my camera and took photos instead.

September 23rd: I was meaning to get a sunrise shot at the Swell Festival at Currumbin beach the whole fortnight it was on. However this was the last day and it was also the most incredible sunrise with it.

September 30th: I’ve lost count of the sunrises I’ve tried to capture at Burleigh. Even yesterday I was there at 4:30am. I want to capture its character and this is the best one I’ve got. 

October 31st: Volunteering on the YWAM medical ship in PNG was a huge step in my photography. I wasn’t sure what I expected but when I saw the position I knew it was something I could do. This photo was the moment that I saw this elderly lady transform into someone proud of her culture and her people and I caught it.

December 20th: Right before Christmas I drove up to the Brisbane lookout and waited for the fireworks to go off over the city. I also met a lady who was photographing next to me and she unintentionally inspired me to buy my new camera.

So that’s a wrap. It was difficult to scale down to 12 photos but it shows where the year has taken me and even though its been quite a few places it feels like nothing compared to what I’m wanting for 2019. Thank you all for your encouragement, likes, joining in my journey and being a part of this.

Now it’s time for 2019. I’ve already been out and photographed today’s sunrise and it was incredible. I also may have finally had my computer die today. It’s been slowly coming but this might be it. However there’s always new things around the corner, including I guess a new computer.

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This might sound like a weird resolution but I want to write more blogs in 2019. Over the year I’ve read that photographers need to write blogs for google search to notice you. I looked at my last blog and it’s 2017! It wasn’t even a real blog as it was a facebook post that I edited into a blog. Is that cheating?

So what is the purpose of this blog? The main aim is to just to do it. Sometimes I go out with the camera and I don’t necessarily feel like “doing it”. I can’t be bothered, I’m tired but I’m usually on the road when this thought comes and I know that I have to just keep going. I also know that if I don’t it won’t happen. I know that if I go out I have a chance of capturing something amazing. It doesn’t always happen but it happens always more than if I don’t go out!

I’m not ready to review the year that was… yet. There’s still another week or so for 2018. Instead this is me looking forward. I am excited about what 2019 will bring for my photography. This year my first week of 2017 I had a 4000+km road trip. 2018 I have a wedding shoot in my first week. After that I have a lot of ideas that I hope can come to pass.

My main aim is to be a ray of light for people when this can be a dark world. If people smile, have joy, gain peace, even for a moment because I’m sharing the beauty of this world then that is good. There is evil in this world but there is also joy, love, peace, kindness and that’s what I want to show.

Earlier this year I went to Papua New Guinea as a volunteer photographer on a medical ship. When I was there I realised how distracted we get by our “stuff”. The locals there were so welcoming and caring and accepting of us. In our “advanced” life we have so much holding us back from the joy they had in their simplified life. Maybe that trip can be another day’s blog.

What I want to say is you, I , we might have plans to make things more simple. They can be so clear when we have holidays (like possibly now) but when we go back to work they become tossed aside. How about you decide which ones give you peace and hold onto those. Write them down, make peace a priority. You might not feel like you have time to have that walk on the beach, or that 5 minute breather but make time for it. Isn’t having peace worth making it a priority?

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At the beginning of the year I had my first photography exhibition. It was a huge event. I had never done anything like it before and although it was really hectic leading up to the night I was amazed at the result. It was such a beautiful celebration of Australian beauty and I was so grateful to many friends helping bring it to fruition.

I grew up in a small town called Donald, in country Victoria. It’s notable feature is a tree that has a stump shaped like a buloke’s head. When it floods the discussion is “will the buloke drink”. When I was there for my mum’s birthday I took this shot and thought “this is the best photo this tree has ever had”. Now this canvas print sits in the Donald Cafe’.

I love what an animal’s love can mean to a person. Although I don’t have a lot of experience with horses I wanted to capture this love between a horse and their owner. This was my first horse session in doing it. Pally and Shelby were the perfect models for the event, even if Pally jolted at the end of the session when she realised she could.

On Easter morning there was a sunrise church service that I was attending. I’d been asked to take a few photos and so was arriving a little early. When I got there these kangaroos were on the beach. I’ve never seen kangaroos on the Gold  Coast beach and it really was an amazing moment and morning.

One person who attended my exhibition asked me to capture a special place that they held dear and then produce it on 3 canvas panels, a tryptych. It was a challenge and I wanted to get the moment right. Afterward I thought others might have a special place they had so I created an offshoot of Jona Photography called Your special place captured.

In May the hospital I loved working in as a theatre nurse shut. It was such a shock and in the weeks proceeding it I actually had time to do things because I didn’t have nursing. One thing that I did was visit my favourite local swan on my running track. One early morning I captured this.

This is possibly my favourite 2017 photo. The morning I took it I drove out of Alice Springs hoping to find a hot air balloon sailing in the sky. I didn’t know where to go but I prayed I’d get an amazing shot. On the way back from not finding the balloons the sky filled with colour. I couldn’t contain it in a single shot and so this is about 5 photos stitched together.

A few months ago before photo I saw a similar shot. It shocked me. As someone who’d grown up with pet budgerigars it had never occurred to me that they were out in the wild. That’s why when I experienced with my own eye, my own lens is was such an incredible experience. For an hour these budgies darted all over the waterhole, dipping in and out of the water. It also convinced me that I needed a real telephoto lens.

Early one morning my husband wanted me to get up and take a photo of the moon. He was so insistent that he went and got my tripod out and convinced me to get up. This was the shot I got. Some photos are lessons and this one was “even though you don’t always want to get out of bed for the shot doesn’t mean you shouldn’t”.

About three years ago I tried to get a photo of a peacock, it was a friends peacock so I didn’t think it would be too difficult. However the day I went Alex was in a bad mood with his owner so I didn’t succeed. Then about two years ago I went to this peacock park to get a photo and all I got was about 100 insect bites. This year I went to the peacock park, I even was carrying my lens ready to snap if I saw a peacock. When a local resident saw me and my jumbo lens they pointed me the direction to walk and I go this.

I’ll admit I have a special bond with animals. I don’t fear them, I don’t get intimidated by them, instead I want to photograph them. On my birthday my husband took me to the Australia Zoo. They have a lot of animals but I saw this wombat timidly coming out of his hutch. As I walked toward his enclosure he walked toward me and got this shot.

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Recently I’ve discovered another meaning to Jona. The Joy Of Nature & Animals. That is my photography in a nutshell. I have so much joy in capturing the beauty of this world. I’ve even started a photography group at my local Baptist Church called the Joy of Photography, or for short the JOPs. A few months after our first meet up I went to a Joy Of Photography Workshop by Steve Parish, like I said Ahead of My Time.

Joy is important. It gives me joy to photograph but I also want to pass on the joy. There is so much pain and suffering in the world that I’m out there capturing the joy of nature & animals. I want to remind people that worrying isn’t going to add a single minute to your life. In fact it can start to paralyse you, make you believe there is no way out. Instead I’d encourage you to take a moment to look around, go to the park, the beach, outdoors. Turn off the computer, the phone, disconnect from social media and breathe.

Happiness is based your circumstances but I believe joy is from having peace and hope. For me that comes from my faith in something, someone, that can’t be seen but is known. Without peace and hope you have torment and hopelessness.

A woman wrote in her sister’s obituary “Here is the truth: You have value. You have worth. You are loved. Trust the voices of those who love you. Trust the enormous chorus of voices that say only one thing: You matter. Depression lies. We must tell the truth.”

Her words have power because they are true for everyone. No matter how isolated you are you are loved.

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So what to expect in 6 days?

A gallery full of my prints. A combination of landscape and animal prints. The landscape covers the dusty rural roads of Victoria, to spectacular cloud formations in Western Australia to the famous beaches of the Gold Coast. The animals are mainly Australian native wildlife however growing up in a farming community I see these farm animals also representing Australian life. There’s canvas prints, aluminium prints and photo prints ranging from $27 to $599. There will also be keyrings and books that I’ve made. Each photo has a story and as you walk around the gallery you’ll get to read and experience those stories.

My experience?

None with creating and organising an exhibition. That’s good and bad. The good is that I’m not basing it on what others have done but purely what I think is a good idea. The bad is I’d like to have more experience doing this.

The details?

Monday 6th February 6:30-9:30pm is the launch. It’s at Kirra Hill Community Centre, 1 Garrick St, Coolangatta. For those that can’t make the night the gallery is open to the public for the next two weeks Monday-Friday 9am-4:30pm. I really feel like a used car salesman, every time I see someone I whip out my card, recite the details and hope that another person gets to see my work.

The why?

I want people to see my work. I want to celebrate the beauty of Australia.  I have such a passion and desire to capture beauty but what’s the point if no-one gets to see it? Presenting it on facebook is nothing compared to presenting it large scale.

Buying?

There’s two avenues of getting the prints that you’ll see on the night.

The first is buying off the wall. Because I don’t want others coming to the gallery to miss out on seeing all the prints they will be displayed until the 20th February. After that the ones sold will be available for pickup from Divine Dance Tweed in Tweed Heads (5kms from the gallery). Those prints will be discounted 10%.

The 2nd is choosing your own size and print from the wall. Obviously I can’t sell the same print twice so if someone else has already bought the print you want off the wall you miss out on the 10%. However you will receive your product, delivered to your house, within 7 business days.

Destiny Rescue?

Finally I want to bless others with my work. I want to bless those who come along and get to see my work and bless those that purchase my work. I also have the opportunity to bless Destiny Rescue, a not for profit organisation dedicated to rescuing children from human trafficking & sexual exploitation, with 10% of all sales from the night.

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Ok so photography. I still love it. You put me in front of anything and I can get the pictures going in my head, the potential, the ideas, the plans. Being in the Gold Coast I have so many options which means inevitably I neglect growing the business side of Jona Photography. If the choice is going out at 2am because I know the milky way is going to look amazing rising up from behind Mount Warning (my thoughts on tonight) or sleeping through the night so I can work on marketing during the day, the decision isn’t hard. You can see my dilemma.

My last two photography gigs have been a family shoot and website photography for a surgeon. Not pet related but I’m beginning to understand that I go where the opportunities are.  The family shoot was at the beach and was a beautiful Gold Coast winter day, beautiful colours and all organised within a few days, before 3 of the 4 participants went back to their home country of Hong Kong. The website shoot meant having my camera in an office and in the operating theatre. I really enjoyed capturing someone in their own environment and I’m looking forward to seeing the new website with my shots.

In the last 6 months I’m unveiled my new website, which looks amazing thanks to the patient assistance of Jo, from Jo Kuipers Design. I’ve also set a date for my exhibition. That’s right my 1st exhibition is Monday 6th February 2017 in Kirra. There will be an opening night and then my work will be displayed for 2 weeks. At this stage I think it will be titled “Celebrating Australia”. There’s so much beauty in Australia and although there’s so much to explore, I’m getting there. I’ve been down to Victoria twice this year, 3 times if you count I returned to Gold Coast from Melbourne on the 1st of January and had my first trip to Western Australia. What an amazing place! I loved the beaches, the skies, the beauty of it all. With my sister there I’m sure to make a return trip soon. I’ve also worked out astrophotography and when the milky way rises and sets. The featured image is from last night’s outing.

I think the main theme for the last 6 months has been excitement. There is so much exciting potential to be captured and displayed. I remember realising 10 years ago that photography lifted me up, energised me and it still does. Now though I’m more excited by the results I can give.

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Today I’m sharing about my pet. I don’t want to put her into the category of favourite because I do have a 13 year old cat who is also very special to me. However this cat has an amazing story and she’s only been with us for four months.

In September I was doing volunteer photography for the local animal rescue group when I heard about a cat who’s elderly owner had died. From there Mika and another cat, I call it her cat buddy, had been living in someone’s garage until the person gave it to the animal rescue group. In hindsight this was the best thing for both cats because Mika’s buddy had been unable to eat due to a cancer while Mika, possibly in support of her buddy, also wasn’t eating. That meant they were dreadfully underweight. Mika’s buddy had died the week before and now they were needing to re-home Mika.

Walking into the rescue centre I saw Mika and knew she was for us. My husband and I weren’t looking for another cat but that didn’t matter. I went home, told my husband and he was ready within a minute to get her. However I wanted to confirm we could take her. I rang the centre, no-one answered. I left a text message and there was no response. I said maybe we’d wait til tomorrow since they could now be closed. I called a friend, just for a chat, and when I told her about Mika she ordered me off the phone to try the centre again. This time there was success. We drove down and brought her home that afternoon.

In that first month she was so receptive, so gentle, so affectionate, so vocal, even snorting in her excitement at times. However a month later something was wrong. Over a period of a weekend she lost her sight and became confused. We took her to the vet. Tests were inconclusive and after almost a week we took her home saying that if we now had Mika blind but comfortable that would be ok. Instead, miraculously, she returned to her original state…. the afternoon she got home. Yes she still has perfect sight.

Over the past few months we’ve had a few anxious times. Now she has regular medication that allows her to be mentally alert and physically able. She has put on weight and continues to be what her name means, a gift given by God. I have other stories and lots of photos but I’ll share this one as it was taken a few days after Mika’s sight came back. Like all pets I don’t know how long she’ll be with us but I’m grateful that she is now.

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