John Trif is a self-taught photographer inspired by the habits of humans and someone who views life differently. This translates through his work – he strives for the uncommon view in the hope of sharing a different perspective.
He and his partner love the west and have been here for 12 months since their recent move.
“I’ve always liked the inner west, there’s so much diversity and history here. When we were looking to buy a house we instantly fell in love with Kingsville and felt this would be a great place to raise our daughter. We weren’t wrong – we have a strong group of friends that live in the inner west which really makes it feel like home.”
Perhaps the seed for this connection was the fact that John’s grandma lived in West Footscray, so he has always felt like this was a second home. He has many fond memories of walking around Footscray Market, shopping in Forges and having breakfast at Paisley’s Cafe.
Most of John’s time here so far has been during lockdown, but one thing he and his family have noticed is how the community quickly came together to help each other out.
“It was very impressive and we are so glad that we were part of it.”
For small joys every day, as a photographer John is constantly going for long walks, looking to discover new things to shoot.
“There are so many untouched and interesting spots in the west from Brutalist buildings, abandoned houses to old untouched shop-fronts, it’s a photographer’s dream. I’m hoping to capture as many photographs as I can and hopefully one day create a book of some sort.”
And what about John’s favourite hangouts, and places he looks forward to returning to soon?
“Everything Seddon; I love walking along Charles and Victoria Streets doing all my shopping at Happy Apple and Pompello’s, then a coffee and pastry at Sourdough Kitchen. Recently I have been obsessed with to D&K Asian Grocery in Footscray for all my Japanese snack addictions, and how can I forget Little French Bar although it has been awhile since I was there last. Come to think of it I also missed having a beer at Victoria Hotel too!
John hopes to stay here as long as possible and raise his daughter here, he and his partner see a great neighborhood and feel lucky to be here.
You can check out John’s work via facebook.com/johntrifphotography and instagram.com/johntrif
