PRECEDE: The heart of the Hills is the families which make up communities across the region. Local photographer Tracey Sharp is searching for local families to share their story for an upcoming photography exhibition. Gazette journalist MATTHEW SIMS spoke to her about her love for photography, love for personal connection and love for motherhood.
BREAKOUT QUOTE: “Being a mother was something I’ve always wanted. When I want to smile for a camera, it’s thinking about my children that brings a smile to my face.“
Life is a series of moments, from a child’s smile to a family hug.
They pass as quickly as they arrived and fade quickly from memory and history.
Macclesfield-based photographer Tracey Sharp has launched a local project to capture the love and little moments found within families across the Hills.
Named Hills with Heart, each participant would receive a family photograph session, a printed and mounted photograph from their session, a place in the exhibition at the Hills Hub in Emerald this September and a double page spread in the Hills with Heart photo book.
Sharp said she was hoping to have 50 families included in the exhibition.
“The idea for Hills with Heart has been on my mind since the storms in 2020,“ she said.
“We all felt quite helpless to do anything of significance and there were so many people needing help.
“When one of the volunteers had a tree come down on their own home while out helping others, that was when I felt I didn’t just want to do something more, but I needed to.“
Sharp started her business Sharp Memories Photography in 2017, before undertaking study in 2018, with the business now starting to gain traction.
She said she initially wanted to launch the project to showcase local Hills men, and with the project never getting off the ground, she decided to open it up to families.
“I wanted to show they do have a vulnerable side to them,“ Sharp said.
“When the storm came through, so quickly on 13 February this year, I thought, I’ve got to try again and not give up.“
Sharp said she would be donating the $100 participating from each family to the CFA brigade or SES unit of their choice.
“I would love to hear from local Hills families who would like to take part and help support our local emergency services,“ she said.
“It’s such a great community project to be part of too.“
Sharp said her interest in supporting the local emergency workers, but also as a way of supporting her dad, who was a career firefighter in Upwey and Dandenong.
“That was all I knew as a child, Dad fights fires,“ she said.
Sharp said she could also thank her father for her love of photography.
“It was my Dad that gave me my first and also my second camera,“ she said.
“I still have the second one now and I just noticed the other day that it still has film in there.“
Sharp said she was keen to follow up the Hills with Heart project with a project highlighting local redheads, pets and mothers.
“I often hear people wanting to have a photography session say, “We are too busy in right now,“ or “I would like to lose some weight first,“ she said.
“I say who cares, this is you right now, this is your family’s moment.
“Your children won’t look back and see a tired mum, they will look back and see their mum, a mum who loved them and wanted to preserve these precious memories.
“A moment captured, to remember, always.“
Sharp said as an introvert, she found her photography was a way to feel out of sight and in her own world.
“Dad would always be hiding away behind his camera at family functions and events and it looked like a magical little world that he was in,“ she said.
“It gives me a place to hide in big situations.“
Sharp said the best part of the job was not just capturing moments, but capturing people’s stories behind the photos.
“I get to capture that connection within families,“ she said.
“I love hearing families tell their stories.“
Sharp said the only thing she wanted to be was a mother.
“I was definitely one of the creative ones, so I was naturally drawn towards a more creative world growing up, singing, sewing, making cakes with beautiful decorations, but I didn’t realise that a creative career was something that I could actually pursue,“ she said.
“I didn’t have much ambition to be anything, and I never wanted to be climbing a ladder in a corporate world.
“I didn’t want the career, I just wanted to stay home with my babies.“
Sharp said while life with her three sons, Harry, 17, Liam, 14, and Charlie, 13, and her husband David could be difficult at times, it was worth it when she sees them thriving.
“Home is my happy place, just as long as my family is there anyway,“ she said.
“I’m happiest when I’m being a mum, my boys are my everything.
“I want them to grow up happy and healthy and give them a loving and stable life.“
Sharp said she decided to enter into the world of professional photography when she received photos from her children’s kinder.
“The quality of the kinder photos was just awful,“ she said.
“It was nice to have that sort of light-bulb moment.
“I realised I could combine my love of being around children with my love of photography.“
Sharp said her favourite photograph of hers was of her grandmother when she was tending to her favourite cumquat tree.
“Photos are so powerful,“ she said.
“When you look at them, it brings you back to that time and place.“
Sharp said she often found herself looking back at the simpler times, when her children were more excited playing with the boxes their presents came in than the presents themselves.
“Kids do have this pure joy,“ she said.
“I love seeing the magic they can find in anything.
“As we grow up, we do lose a bit of that.“
Sharp said her love for motherhood continued to drive her to this day.
“Being a mother was something I’ve always wanted,“ she said.
“When I want to smile for a camera, it’s thinking about my children that brings a smile to my face.“
Sharp said the small moments in life were often the ones we cherished the most later in life.
“My real love of photography came from my boys and being their mum,“ she said.
“It started the moment we arrived home from hospital with my oldest, who is now 17 and on his L plates.
“A tiny little baby one moment, driving the next.
“Moments, they are precious, so grab them now.“
For more information, visit www.sharpmemories.com.au/hills-with-heart
