Lodestars has just released a magazine all about Sydney - the first issue of our brand new City Guides series. It contains a carefully selected collection of restaurants, activities, walks, swims, hotels and weekend escapes - and photographic travel inspiration aplenty - and is designed to help you fall in love with everything the Harbour City has to offer. The Guide was made and curated by editor Liz, and photographer and writer extraordinaire Marina Pliatsikas, who penned the publication’s glorious foreword.
To celebrate the guide’s release, we sat down with Marina to talk about life, photography and the best way to capture (and experience) Sydney, her glittering hometown.
When did you first fall in love with photography?
My dad was a huge photography fan and always had a dusty collection of film cameras floating around the house. But it wasn’t until the early days of Tumblr (though I never actually had a Tumblr account) that I decided to properly pick up a camera myself. I quickly became the oddball carrying one around with me everywhere, whether the situation called for it or not – I was basically the awkward uncle with the crappy entry-level DSLR at every family gathering and social event, but at 17.
I like to think my skills have somewhat improved since then, and things recently came full circle when my dad officially handed down his entire collection of film cameras to me. One of his old camera bags still contained ticket stubs and city maps from a trip he took to Canada in the 80s.
How did it feel to be able to capture your hometown for the guide?
Sydney has been the backdrop to so many big life moments and adventures that it’s easy to forget them all – unless you sit down and, well, create a book about it. The timing of this project was also significant. I shot the first story when my son was four months old, and we captured the rest of the content in the months following. So it’s felt like a brilliant opportunity to not only rediscover the city, but also myself – my own interests, skills and personality, outside those foggy early days of being a new parent.
Was there a particularly memorable shooting experience while making the city guide?
A bottomless disco brunch where drag queens serenade you and top up your cocktail glass all afternoon is always going to appeal to this not-entirely-reformed party girl. There were the hilarious looks of amusement (and maybe mild judgement) I got from fellow diners while I stood on chairs in restaurants trying to shoot tablescapes. But in seriousness, every single story was a blast to experience, shoot and write about, which I hope comes through when you flick through the pages.
What type of stories do you love telling – and is there a dream commission?
I think almost all stories we tell are human stories, when it comes down to it. You can write about nature, science, the economy, outer space, but inevitably you have to talk about the people who discovered, researched, changed or unearthed ‘the thing’. That being said, I love telling stories about what happens when humans come into contact with the natural world. One day I’d love to cover a big, longterm story in the mountains of mainland Greece and explore what’s been happening there over the last few years. They’re home to some of the world’s most pristine ecosystems, and the people living and working there are doing really cool things that are currently flying a bit under the radar.
Is there a piece of advice you've been given over the years that has really stuck with you?
Fairly recently I listened to a great interview with the author Michael Lewis. He said that when you start out writing, pretend you’re writing a letter to someone you love, like your mum. That way you won’t feel judged. As soon as you fear judgement, you clam up and can’t express yourself properly, or you start trying too hard to impress people. I really liked that take, and I feel I’ve been lucky to have had that non-judgemental eye from very early on with most colleagues, mentors and friends.
What would your younger self think about what you’re doing now?
I think she’d think we did fairly well and landed on our feet, despite occasionally meandering on and off the path over the years.
Can you describe a dream Sydney day?
There are so many wonderful ways to spend a day in Sydney. One my favourites, though, has to be waking up early and heading to the Royal National Park for a hike, swim and breakfast picnic, and then basking in that slightly smug feeling that comes with heading off just as the crowds start arriving. I love coming home to marinate in that hazy, post-sun-exposure daze, before heading back out to meet up with friends for drinks and dinner at an outdoor restaurant overlooking a body of water, and maybe catching a show or seeing an exhibition somewhere.
What does the word 'home' mean to you?
I think I’ve always been the kind of person who feels at home wherever I go. So rather than being a physical place, for me ‘home’ is those moments of overwhelming contentment that wash over you when you least expect it. Hanging out with your favourite people, or enjoying a really good meal with an amazing view. That fuzzy ‘all is right with the world’ feeling that you can’t just will into being – it needs to come to you. All you can do is get out there and experience stuff and create the opportunities in which it might grace you with its presence.
