I recently encouraged people to go out and get started on a project (have you done it yet?) and I also wanted to expand on some ideas I raised there. Namely in how much planning you should really do.

A well thought out and executed plan can be efficient and deeply satisfying. However, being too strict can often lead to boring, derivative work, particularly with creative projects. Even if whatever you plan to do isn’t creative at all, I still believe it’s a good idea to not be too rigid with your methods.

Do you want to walk more this year? Try by starting with your feet, not a map.

Whatever drew you to an idea initially was probably based more on emotion rather than a rational plan. So keep that in mind, don’t get bogged down in planning a project at the expense of actually starting it.

Anyway, on to my project.

Tentatively I’ve called the project “The Streets of Western Sydney”

Nothing inspiring I know, but titles are hard ok? I can always come up with a better one later down the line. For now it serves it’s purpose of accurately describing exactly what an observer can expect from it.

Namely, “Street Photography” in and around “Western Sydney”

So why Western Sydney?

When it comes to Australian street photography, I see a lot of the same things. Amazing shots from around the capital cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane etc. — big bustling urban areas with a lot going on.

However for me, I’ve never liked the big city, it’s loud, busy and everyone is always in a rush. Even in my youth, I avoided going out in the city — it just never fit with me.

I’ve always been far more comfortable out in the suburbs, or smaller cities and towns like Liverpool. Even somewhere like Parramatta can be a little too busy for me.

Given that I am neither exceptional or unique. Surely, I thought, this experience is shared by many others as well. Yet I rarely see these smaller urban areas photographed actively.

So I decided to try and change that. Obviously, I’m not making a value judgement here. What I’m trying to do isn’t ‘better’ or more ‘real’ than the aforementioned photos of big cities. I’m just seeking to capture a part of the world that I feel is often overlooked.

The area contains 9% of Australia’s entire population alone, and it’s where almost half the entire population of Sydney lives.

Lastly, I think the area itself is incredibly interesting in and of itself. There is a fascinating blend of not only old and new architecture — but also diverse cultures. It is also quite large, with everything from heavily Urbanised areas to almost rural towns, all fitting in the district.

So with that in mind, I set about figuring out how best to capture this big area over the course of a year.

Thankfully, the Greater Western Sydney region is made up of 13 local government areas, two of which cover Parramatta. This essentially gave me 12 distinct local areas to target, one for each month of the year — perfect.

With Liverpool already covered (and an obvious choice) I went about doing some research and finding the places within each area that fit the general style I was after. I also took note of what areas seemed to have the most history and significance to the area.

From here I made a short list of all the locations I felt fit, making sure to have a backup for each area just incase things didn’t work out with my first choice. Each month I do some basic scouting online using Google Maps, pick a location and a date that fits, then head out.

Doing my scouting digitally isn’t just a way to be time efficient, it’s also part of the process for me. While I know some of the locations quite well, there are others I’ve merely passed through or never visited at all.

This gives me a nice clean slate to work from. With only a general idea of what I might find in any one area, I’m able to explore naturally — usually from a central point like a train station. This helps make the experience more authentic for me.

It also helps achieve my aim capturing the smaller, less traversed areas of these locations. The types of places that many might see every day, but not really spend much time in. It also helps the photos represent ‘my perspective’ in a more authentic way. I’m not targeting specific landmarks or popular places, I’m just walking and shooting what comes to me.

The walking is a key component as well. It’s not about fitness at all, that’s just a bonus. I just feel that if I was to drive between different hot spots, I’d miss all those small places and moments.

Photographically, I have not set any hard and fast rules. I’ve already used three different cameras for the project thus far and might even add a fourth of fifth if the mood takes me. The closest I’ve come to a rule is that the field of view should fit in the ‘normal’ range.

For the uninitiated, these are focal lengths from around 35mm — 70mm (assuming a full-frame camera is used). These are commonly considered to roughly approximate how we see the world naturally, particularly between 35mm-50mm.

Most street photographers will shoot with these focal lengths because it gives scenes and subjects an almost equal importance. This gives the images more of an ‘objective’ quality, giving the viewer the impression that they are observing the scene in a very organic way.

With that in mind, it felt like the best choice creatively and it would act as a thread connecting the images together across the entire project.

That’s basically it really, again I didn’t want to make things overly complicated.

The idea is well formed enough that I can continue it and finish it, but as I stated at the beginning, there’s still room for it to move and change as required. I’m only about half-way through the project right now, but I’ve found the whole process very enjoyable and I’m keen to finish it.

As to what I’ll do once it’s done? Still no plans there. Outside of publishing my favourite shots on my Instagram I don’t have anything set in place just yet regarding publication or exhibition.

I’m considering turning it into a book right now, but haven’t decided just yet. I think it will be a nice way to collate the entire project though, and I’m a big fan of printed photographs — so it seems like a good fit. Even if I only ever print one copy for myself.

So that’s the project so far, I Hope this was of some interest and helps inspire a few ideas for your own projects.

I think the key thing to take away here is that you don’t have to have all the details figured out before starting a project. I’ve already changed a few things just a few months into the project and I anticipate future images will be all the better for it.

You need balance how much direction your project has. For me, it’s just enough to give me a path to follow easily — but not so much that there’s no longer any excitement or surprises along the way.

I know you’ve got some great ideas — so get out there and get moving on them.