Walking Along the Parramatta River
‘When you’re taking a picture with the 4x5 you also have to be present in every part of the process, because it’s an all-manual camera. It’s the perfect excuse to look around a little longer and think about what’s in front of you.’
Matteo Dal Vera came to photography through walking. As a young boy living in Italy and walking through the Dolomite Mountains in South Tyrol. As a student of photography at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), when he and fellow undergraduate Michael Weatherill spent time walking through over-grown desire paths by the Nepean River, taking pictures for their series The Bridge. And for his latest collection of images, commissioned by Powerhouse Museum, for which he spent 18 months walking along the Parramatta River, 24 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD and the site of the imminent Powerhouse Parramatta.
His technique may have evolved – from a compact digital camera picked up when he was 10, to a 4×5 large format apparatus and printing in his own darkroom – yet his vision has remained constant.
“I think, as a photographer you need to make a conscious effort to be observant, allowing the moment to come,” he says. “I need to experience something first, then let the picture come.”
