River Cottage Australia

A few months back at the tail end of Autumn, Lara and I took a road trip to the picturesque town of Tilba Tilba to meet Paul West and visit the property of River Cottage, Australia. We met Paul at the local grocery store in town before following his ute up along a winding dirt track to be greeted by endless rocky mountainous views, Digger the dog and the famous veggie garden surrounded weatherboard cottage. We sat and drank tea outside in the sun before taking a tour of the farm where Paul introduced us to the chickens, ducks, pigs, goats and Bessie the cow. 
A little unseasoned to the world of TV, I was a bit embarrassed to tell Paul that I hadn't yet seen an episode of his show. In typical Aussie farmer banter fashion, he gave me a hard time about it. Of course as soon as I got home I got out my laptop and binge watched all three seasons. And of course I loved it. 
Thank you so much Paul and your family for generously hosting us for the afternoon. It was nothing short of special to spend an afternoon on your property in such an unspoiled idyllic part of this country. 

Saints of Old Florida - The Book

It is with absolute joy that I am finally able to announce the release of 'Saints of Old Florida', a coastal lifestyle book curated and written by my dear Floridian friends - Melissa Farrel, Christina McDermot and Emily Raffled.

I am so proud to say that I photographed this book. And after an impatient year and a half wait, this hard backed, linen bound, gold embossed beauty has finally arrived. All 252 pages worth. Inside the book you'll find five unique chapters, each sharing timeless stories, recipes and pictures from five small coastal towns on the Gulf Coast - St Joseph, St Vincent, St George, St Theresa and St Marks.

Because I am so excited for the books release, I wanted to give you a little preview as to what the book entails. As you scroll through below, you can see a collection of my favourite photos from our time shooting the book. Some you'll find inside the covers, others are outtakes from the four wonderful weeks we spent on location. Along with the photos, I also wanted to share a couple of personal stories with you, too. Firstly of how this Australian girl, temporarily living in Jacksonville Florida, came to get this incredible gig (I think it's an unlikely and fun story to tell) and secondly, a little excerpt from a  story that I was asked to write for the book.

Oh, I do hope you enjoy!
Happy release birthday Saints of Old Florida!

A stroke of luck story - How I got the gig.

I received an email from a lady who had recently seen my work and weekly article in Jacksonville Magazine. 'I would love to meet you Lean', it read. 'Would you like to meet up for coffee?’. It was the first time I had ever received an email from someone who liked my work and wanted to meet. Of course I said yes.

Suzannah and I spoke photographs and florida over cups of coffee and tea. ‘You have to come and visit my family home’, Suzannah said. ‘It is a converted lighthouse on Port St Joe bay and in just a couple of weeks it is the annual scallop festival. My dad is a fisherman and can take us all out on his boat to go scalloping on the bay. It’s a really special part of Florida. You and your family would be so welcome’. 

Two weeks later, my mum and step dad were visiting from Australia. We packed up the Jeep and headed west. We drove for four short hours, first on the I10 and then along rural back roads of the Panhandle to end up in Port St Joe, at the Raffields house, the one with the lighthouse on top. 

Just before we arrived, we received a phone call from Suzannah. ‘I’m so sorry Lean. But my car has broken down and I'm stuck on the I10. I’ve organised someone to come and pick me up, but it means that I will miss out on going scalloping with you. Don’t worry though, dad is there and waiting and would still love to take you out’. 

This could go either way, I thought. We are rocking up at a complete strangers house in an unfamiliar town about to commit to an afternoon on the bay in a fishing boat. Who were these people that we so willing to host us for the afternoon? Wasn't this a strange situation to be putting ourselves and them in? 

As it turned out, Danny Raffled was waiting and ready for us when we arrived at his light house home. In a thick southern accent, he warmly welcomed us, joked with us about being Australian and before we knew it we were carrying coolers and nets onto his sweet little fishing boat, JoAnne. With him was his daughter and Suzannah’s sister, Emily. We headed out on the water with Danny pointing out skipping mullet and Emily sharing stories with us about the bay. These people, I rethought, are the epitome of that southern hospitality that I had been hearing so much about.  

‘Lean’, Emily said above the hum off the boat motor and through the whipping bay wind, ‘Suzannah told me about your photography.’ ‘Yes’ I replied back, ‘I’m fairly new to it, but I love documenting and everything about taking photos so far’. ‘Well', Emily replied, 'my two friends and I have decided to make a book on the lifestyle of the local area and surrounding coastal towns. We are looking for a photographer to photograph our book. Would you be interested?’. 

I didn’t know the right thing to say, this was again the first time I had been asked this sort of question. I very quickly spoke up and said ‘Yes! Of course I would be interested! I will do it! For free!!’. 

Despite my wild enthusiasm, I thankfully didn't scare Emily or the other ladies off. And, as was insisted, I didn't do it for free. The next year and half became the most exhilarating, educational and creatively fulfilling career journey that I had ever experienced. I came back to Port St Joe four more times to photograph Emily, Melissa and Christina’s book. Three times that winter and once again the following summer. 

BOOK EXCERPT - LAST WORD
Special Place by Lean Timms

It takes a special place to make foreign blood feel instantly at home. To turn you swiftly from feeling like a stranger, to feeling welcomed, connected and relaxed. Often a place like this is unexpected, incomparable and full of endless treasure. Most times, overflowing with a rare type of generous people. 

...Oyster months. Citrus months. Grapefruit for breakfast and oyster roasts for supper. Crab legs, tupelo honey and smoked mullet dip served somewhere in-between. So much that was new and strange to me. Prawns were shrimp, frypans were skillets, scones were biscuits and gah-lee replaced all curse words. There were beach bonfires with their flying stoked embers and a pot of pompano stew bubbling a top. There were days of foggy beaches, pouring sporadic rain, boat rides on springs, alligators, palmetto palms and porch swings. I learned the beauty and hospitality of many an Old Florida home, how to clean snapper, eat fried oysters for lunch, drive a Jeep on the beach, and what it means to cook buttermilk pancakes on the griddle. And then there were the people. I had never met more generous, kind and genuine people. 

This hidden pocket of Florida and this way of life had opened my eyes to a whole new world - a world full of honest, admirable culture and real, endless treasure. It is a place of a slower, more considered lifestyle. Where traditions are valued, food is often foraged, meal times are shared, strangers are welcomed, and long summer evenings spent shucking oysters on porches hugged by palm trees are normal. Each visit was always so nourishing and never quite long enough.

...I’ll always feel indebted to the kind people of this area for inviting me into their bighearted community and letting me photograph their Old Florida stories. From my first boat ride on the bay to my last time shucking oysters on the porch, I’ll always think back and feel a piece of home here. No matter how foreign my blood or how many kilometres, oceans or time zones away.  

Although I have tried with the above stories, there really are not enough words for how thankful I am for the small part I was able to play during the creation of the Saints of Old Florida book. I stumble to share my experience with anyone who asks. Every visit, every moment was so good that when trying to explain my experience, the words just get stuck in my heart and all I do is feel a great sense of warmth, adoration and gratitude. Exactly the feels you get when you open and read through this book. 

My stories are but a drop in the ocean when it comes to the incredible vision, journey and creation of this book. There is just so much more to be read and felt among the pages of each chapter. I can only urge that if you are interested in coastal lifestyle, southern recipes and getting to know the cultural, historical and community vibe of a truly special area, do pick yourself up a copy of this book. You can do so here. 

 
We also have one copy to GIVEAWAY!
Melissa, Christina and Emily have kindly gifted one Saints of Old Florida book to send to one lucky duck. If you would like to enter and live State side, please leave a comment below telling us why you would like to get your hands on a copy of this book. Winners will be announced next Saturday, 18th June. Good luck!

EDIT - We have a winner! CONGRATULATIONS to Loran Polder! Thank you all for your entires and comments. Your stories were all so appreciated - we loved reading every one of them. We hope that you all get to enjoy the pages of the Saints of Old Florida book soon. 

Thank you so much,  ya'll. Happy reading. 

 

Gamla Stan, Stockholm.

Sweden has my heart. It always will. I may call Australia home, but Sweden is my soul country. When I am there, I feel more like me. When I am not, I miss it terribly.
Stockholm is a place that I like to visit often - all be it only in my mind.  It's a holder of some insanely wild memories. Good memories. Some difficult ones too. 
Gamla Stan in particular is a dear friend of mine, despite the occasional touristy hum. I can't wait to be back to hang out with it's corroded copper steeples, it's bold facades, those narrow, cobblestone old town streets and windows full of flickering candles and fika invites, soon. My next visit this June can't come quickly enough. I'll be there to spend a few summer days either side of a very special trip to Gotland, where I am so thrilled to be teaching at and co-hosting a slow living retreat along side my other dear friend - and the brilliantly illustrious - Beth Kirby. The snow will have made way for lush green summer and the archipelago will be all sorts of alive. To be back will be silly exciting. As will the chance to once again properly nourish the soul. 
Stockholm - vi ses snart. 

Daily Plenty Workshop

It’s difficult to summarise four rather spectacular days into one blog post. Perhaps that’s why it’s taken me the best part of five months to share photos from the Daily Plenty workshop from last September. Pulling up each image brings with it such vivid, joyful memories. But that’s why we take photos most of the time, isn’t it? So we can look back, no matter how many months have passed and allow the photographs to take us back for a bit and make us feel like we were there just yesterday.

As you scroll through these photos you will have to imagine all that was going on in the background during the rest of the four days here at Moorabinda Station. All that couldn’t simply be compressed into photographs or into this post. Imagine Annabelle Hickson and her children showing us through their garden, where a broody hen took care of little baby chicks and golden afternoon light strew across groves of budding pecan trees. Imagine Caitlin Melling in all her spring time glory, on the old wooden and corrugated iron veranda, arranging cream cans, rusted tin chests and buckets full of cascading purple wisteria, dancing heads of dusty pink hellebores and budding stone fruit blossoms. Imagine Luisa Brimble putting down her camera and picking up the tongs, calling out ‘next!’ as she heated pita bread to over the evening camp fire and handed them to a line of hungry people to make an ice-cream coned shape souvlaki of slow cooked lamb and salad. Imagine Megan Trousdale arriving with boxes of enamelware and aprons, brewing pots of coffee while standing in hushed window light and soaking up honest and heartfelt words to write down later. Imagine Sarah Glover, waking at dawn to pre-heat the wood fired oven in the original shearers quarters kitchen, where she would go on to make the likes of eucalyptus infused biscuits, duck egg meringue, breakfast cinnamon buns, upside down plum and sage cake and wallaby raggu. Imagine the long tables and picnic blankets full of people and chatter and roaring with thigh slapping laughter. Imagine the quiet moments too. Sunsets beaming through mountain gaps of the Dumaresq Valley, morning light filtering into rustic, wood paneled bedrooms and momentary midday naps, snuggling into pure linen sheets. All the generous, full and appreciated moments that come from being on a rural property miles from nowhere, without phone reception and with very little connection to the outside world.

Another exciting thought to imagine is that in three short months, we will be back here – the whole team – creating similar moments all over again. A second workshop. A KITCHEN STORIES + COOKBOOK CREATION workshop.  Sarah will create and make a mind blowing menu for us, recipes inspired by the local area and country scene. Caitlin Melling will be styling up a storm and sharing her tips and tricks. Luisa and I will be teaching photography and offering guidance behind the lense.  Megan will be there with props from her Nundle store and shedding light on the written word and getting published in the editorial world. And of course Annie will be opening and sharing her beautiful haven with us – flowers, photography, country life and light. 

If you would like to join us - and we would very much like to have you – then tickets are now on sale for this workshop – KITCHEN STORIES + COOKBOOK CREATION. As this post goes live, only a few tickets remain, so please jump in quick if all this imagining has made you want to come with. 

For more information, head on over here.