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Amanda Jane Summons

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The Ladies: Amelia

October 22, 2019

The Ladies collection is driven by the desire to give each of my ladies a chance to empower herself by stepping in front of my lens and by recording her written thoughts in the interviews about kindness, confidence and giant hamsters. The Ladies series can never truly be complete for there will be always be an endless list of ladies that I’d be honoured to capture in a frame. Want to take part or know more?
I’ll be posting my ladies’ interviews in whole (rather than the shortened versions in the books), featuring my personalised quotes and introductions. Enjoy!

The best time to make friends is before you need them.
–Ethel Barrymore 

Meals is one of my dearest Canberra ladies. We’ve had some incredible travel memories from the shores of the South Coast of NSW (where this photo was taken) to dancing to Ed Sheeran in Sydney; from the cobblestones of Ljubljana to golden hour at Lake Bled in Slovenia; from the rainy streets of Zagreb to the waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes in Croatia; from the storms of Split in Croatia to Nellie the Mellie in Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and all capped off with sunny swims in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We were lucky enough to share these memories with Emma, Gab and the second Kate in this series. Amelia, you are simply a delight to be around for you have the kindest heart. I’ll always remember meeting you in the hallway of my Melbourne apartment. The light was directly above you and with your gorgeous blonde hair, you glowed like an angel. Little did I know then how much I would need you, this gorgeous angel, in my life in the coming years. Thank you for everything so far!

If your house was burning down, what is the one non-living thing you would save?
My mum’s gold sapphire heart necklace, which she received as a gift from my dad when she was 17 and she handed it down to me. You’ll rarely see me without it on (it’s on under my jumper in the photo).

To you, what is confidence?
The ability to speak and act in accordance with your true self. Confidence is not arrogant and it does not need to be bold. A confident person should enable/make room for other people to shine too.

What is your favourite thing to do in Canberra and your hometown?
If I’m home, walk along Kingston Beach (Tasmania) with my family – I have many fond memories spending long days in the sun as a child there. If I’m in Canberra, go for a walk/run around Lake Burley Griffin or a hike at Namadgi/Tidbinbilla, followed by a Peanut Butter smoothie from Double Shot.

What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery?
An around-the-world ticket!

To you, what is happiness?
A feeling of equilibrium/balance and bliss within yourself. For me, it is the feeling I get when I see my family, or am immersed in nature. 

Who did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was young I wanted to be an artist, but after studying legal studies in Year 12, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. I like to think I am still creative as a lawyer, albeit in a different way.

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?
To never take anything or anyone for granted. Life is a gift and every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow. Be open to new ideas, new places and new people – you never know who you might meet or what adventures you may have!

What’s your favourite holiday memory?
Getting lost with one of my best friends while hiking in Loch Ness, Scotland. The scenery and fun I had on that day is a memory I’ll keep with me forever. 

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Salmon! Anyone who knows me knows I love salmon and honey – I firmly believe I was a bear in another life.

What book did you read last and what books are on your to-read list?
The Secret River written by Kate Grenville – it should be on everyone’s to-read list! My to-read list is never ending, next up is The Power of One written by Bryce Courtenay.

What have the females in your family taught you about being a woman?
Be strong, loud and proud. Being a woman is a gift – be kind to yourself and others.

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#52Ladies: Daniela

October 31, 2017

Inspired by International Women’s Day, I want to photograph 52 ladies, one for each week, from my life and recommended to me. To me, the most inspiring women in my life are my friends and family.

They are the ones who push me to go further and pick me up when I’m down. I couldn’t do anything without my girl gang. I want to empower my ladies to see themselves how I see them. Follow along on Instagram for inspiring quotes and shoutouts to other amazing women kicking butt.

Daniela and I met 13 years ago at high school in Bangkok, Thailand. My early memories of her include International Day at school where she hung out with the Aussies (she’s Lebanese/Australian and fluent in french) and we taught her Aussie slang, her endless love of chocolate, the millions of photos we took in her bedroom on her 15th birthday and the best hugs ever. We’ve gotten slack in the last few years but when she first moved to Australia after school, we caught up so much and made it to each other’s 21sts and even made speeches. Although, I say slack but we have briefly caught up this year twice – once even in a city we both don’t live in 😂 Niela is one of the bubbliest people I know and is such a bright ray of sunshine. I feel so lucky to call her one of my friends still to this day. I’m so proud of you following your research dream of getting your PhD. This photo was taken in fact when she was in town to present at a massage conference. You’re smashing it! You’reight and brilliant that stars wish they could sparkle like you do haha! Or the lights in this photo at the Hamlet! Love you gorgeous lady and thanks for being part of my project.

What is your personal mantra now?
“Carpe Diem”

What brings you happiness?
I find travelling exhilarating. I just came back from an amazing six-week trip where I was able to meet new people, old high-school friends and family.

How would you like the men in your life to empower you?
I have been fortunate that the men in my life have always supported me, respected my wishes and pushed me to be a better version of myself.

If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
My initial thought was chocolate? but that’s not a meal right…or could it be?

What would you choose as your Mr. Men/Little Miss character to describe your personality? 
Little Miss Giggles!!!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The world is your oyster – you can do whatever you want and go wherever you want. Let nothing stop you.

 

 

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L’Île aux Canards

July 24, 2014

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Nouméa, Nouvelle–Calédonie, is a beautiful place. Along with my best friend Maree, I was lucky enough to visit for a week this month. There are so many snapshots that I want to share but I am going to start with the smallest island we visited, on our first full day in New Caledonia. Coming from wintery Melbourne, the warmth was so lovely – being able to just wear summer dresses and sandals was divine. Because of this beautiful weather, we spent our first day by the sea. In fact, we spent most days by the water! How can you not when it is that blue?!?!

L’Île aux Canards is a tiny little island about 5 minutes by taxi boat from the main land. It is the weekend getaway for those from Nouméa or, on the weekdays, for the few token tourists that aren’t on cruises visit this little island. All that is really here is a little beach shack, umbrellas, chairs and coral sand! Yes, the sand is made from coral, which made the jumping photo below a little tricky – trying to avoid the coral! It was such a beautiful island, and so close, that we came back another day via kayak to snorkel around the island. 

It was a gorgeous place to start off our trip and these photos remind me of my sun-soaked memories, spending the day on a tiny little island, named after ducks! Even though there weren’t any on the island (:

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A.M.N.C.

 

Amanda
Maree
New
Caledonia

(:

 

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20/52

May 20, 2014

20a

Sara // Enjoying Golden Hour

20

Pub Golf Crawl // Just. Epic.

The first photo is my technical favourite photo but this last one is a sentimental favourite just because that day was so much fun and this picture encapsulates it all!

 

Project 52

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13/52

April 1, 2014

Monica 21st - AJS 12

Rachel // Flower Sister 1

Monica 21st - AJS 11

Rebecca // Flower Sister 2

Monica 21st - AJS 06

Rachel // Blue Fairy

Monica 21st - AJS 07

Ari // Badass Pixie

Monica 21st - AJS 05

Karrin // BBGurl

Monica 21st - AJS 04

Mel // My partner-in-glitter-crime

Monica 21st - Amanda

Jess // Queen

Monica 21st - AJS 08

Alice // Beautiful smile

Monica 21st - AJS 09

Mel // M for Melody

Monica 21st - AJS 10

Rachel // The Red Rachel

Monica 21st - AJS 02

Me // Sneaking a self-portait into the series

Monica 21st - AJS 01

Monica // The Festival Birthday Girl

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go to Monica’s Festival themed 21st. It was an amazing evening filled with glitter, yummy noms, amazing boogies, tasty bevs, cute cupcakes, lots and lots of rhinestones and many flowers! It was also an amazing opportunity to take beautiful portraits of my soccer friends. They all looked so beautiful that I couldn’t resist taking everyone’s portraits. These girls are all wonderful and it was so much fun to spend the weekend with them – especially walking back to the campsite at midnight in the pitch black! Thanks girls for being such lovely subjects – you all looked gorgeous!

Project 52

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1/52

March 27, 2014

1a

In the very first week of this year, I was lucky enough to see two of my absolute best friends, in two different countries (and strangely enough, they both swapped countries for those days, read on for the explanation). Because they both are so important to me, I had to have both featured this week. Hey it’s my series, I can have as many portraits as I want 😛

Stewart // In our natural habitat – the Harry Potter Studio Tour

We have been best friends now since I moved to Kansas back in September, 2000. We have been obsessed about Harry Potter for the same amount of time. It is the foundation on which our friendship blossomed. Before I moved to the States, I saw a program in New Zealand about the banning of Harry Potter books in libraries and the number one state in the country for banning it? Of course it was Kansas. So naturally I was very nervous about moving there and making friends. But this beautiful girl came into my life and we have been Ginny and ‘Mione ever since.

Stewart is currently working in France teaching English and she came to visit us while we were in London for New Years Eve. And of course while we were both there, we HAD to go to the Harry Potter Studio tour. Stew’s face above accurately depicts all the feels that were experience by simply being there. It was so overwhelmingly awesome, especially sharing it with her. And hence she is first in my 52 Loved Ones Project.

1b

Natalie // Visiting me in my exchange hometown of Lyon, France. So much fun to show her!

We’ve been best friends since the day we moved to Thailand – we arrived in the country on the same day as each other! Even though so much distance separates us, we have seen each other every year since I left in 2006 save 2012 which is no mean feat. Before this day in Lyon, I last saw her in Bangkok for a day and before that I saw her in London and Geneva. She has also visited me in Melbourne and I’ve met up with her in Sydney and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have also been to Beijing and Vietnam together, and not to mention on many trips around Thailand. It’s safe to say we will be friends for a long time coming.

Although Natalie lives in London, she was in Geneva the whole time but it worked out well because she came for a day trip to Lyon! I lived in Lyon for 6 months in 2011 and I loved getting to show it off to her. This is one my favourite places in Lyon – Place Bellecour, and its cute ferris wheel.

To be able to feature two of my best friends who I met in different countries (I met Stew 14 years ago in September, and Natalie 10 years ago in August) in the same week – as cheesy as it may sound, it is priceless.

Project 52

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Just Because I can

March 6, 2014

lyon

Two little gifs that brighten my day whenever I see them – so I hope they bring a smile to you too! Above is Natalie and I doing what we do best in Lyon, France – taking many photos! Below is Mum waving to me in the crowd of White Night.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Mum

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Cuddles Series

December 8, 2013

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The next portrait in the Cuddles series is of Chris and his beautiful wooden box. His story is below (:

My Mum gave it to me when I was a little kid. Apparently someone else gave it to her when she was little but I can’t remember who that was. Mum had used it to keep a little collection of odd and semi-precious stones and some old coins. I kept this collection, and added a few to it, before I grew out of that kind of stuff (just got too cool for it you know! Haha). It stayed in my cupboard for a very long time, but when the time came for me to move out of home it was one of the few things that I really wanted to bring with me (not really sure why, I guess it felt really special to me because I knew my Mum had cherished it too). At that time the varnish was starting to flake off it, so I gently sanded it back and applied some fresh coats to bring it back to life. Now I use it to store random little things like spare keys, watch links, membership cards and sometimes spare cash (not as much now that Maree knows where I hide it!).

 

Cuddles is a series of portraits capturing you and your favourite childhood toy or, like Chris, a special object.
Sam & Doggy
Isadora & Taj

 

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NaPhoPoMo #2

November 5, 2013

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Day 2: Derby Day at the races with 105,000 of our best friends! Everyone was dressed in black and white and it was gorgeous way to spend a spectacular Melbourne day! I even won a little bit of money (:

 

NaPhoPoMo 

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Spooktacular

October 31, 2013

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It’s Halloween! It is my second favourite holiday – with Christmas of course being my favourite. It comes from living in America for four years and I just love it. It is a ridiculous holiday that I just love celebrating because there is no real reason for it! To make my love for it actually have a point, I’ve started having a Halloween party – this is my second year having one and the new thing this year was the photobooth I set up! It wasn’t perfect but for its first outing, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Mostly, I just loved how many people loved using the remote for the camera – especially the guys!  I went as Mary Poppins – should I should branch out from my normal Hermione Granger. Was really happy with how it went as it gave me an excuse for some Umbrella Mondays photos!

It was an evening of Mary Poppins, Jelly Beans, Ghost Strawberries, Onesies, Tony Montanas, Penguins, Minnie Mouses, Foot Players, Flintstones, Wizards, Policemen, Vikings, Hippies, Stars, Mexicans, Screams, Pilots, Russians, Velmas, Cats, Skeletons, AND Royal Family Members!

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review

5 star review  Amanda is amazing! She is super friendly and an excellent photographer. Her pictures capture the essence of the moment :) I will totally recommend her

thumb Kaori Cubas
9/21/2020

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I am a passionate photographer, a creative graphic designer and a massive fan of sharing everyone’s but especially women’s stories.

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