{"id":127506,"date":"2025-09-08T10:01:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/127506\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T10:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:01:16","slug":"warren-kirk-the-westographer-goes-to-the-country-and-captures-a-slice-of-life-that-is-disappearing-in-his-book-beyond-suburbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/127506\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Kirk, the Westographer, goes to the country and captures a slice of life that is disappearing in his book Beyond Suburbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond Suburbia features a mix of people and places but the pictures Kirk takes of people are no standard headshots. \u201cThey\u2019re environmental portraits, so you\u2019ve got the person in their environment \u2013 that tells the story of who they are. Unless someone\u2019s got an incredible face, just a shot with no context is boring. Their work environment, their home environment, the things they surround themselves with, it adds to the picture of who they are,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough for a photographer, Kirk doesn\u2019t want his own photo taken. He also prefers not to provide information about his shots, apart from the location, saying the image itself is enough. In this age of over-sharing, there\u2019s an inherent mystery to his pictures that inspire your imagination.<\/p>\n

\"Castlemaine.\"<\/p>\n

Castlemaine.Credit: Warren Kirk<\/p>\n

Slightly reluctantly, Kirk joined Instagram in 2023 with @pretty_0rdinary<\/a>. \u201cI was looking for somewhere to show all those beautiful old film shots from the \u201990s. Virtually every one of those old buildings would be knocked over.\u201d<\/p>\n

While traditionally known for suburban vistas and the rapidly changing landscape of our inner city, Kirk is clearly inspired by getting out of his own environment. \u201cThere\u2019s this feeling of being more open, not going about your own routine. It\u2019s a journey of discovery, the excitement of what am I going to find.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as the big sky overhead, the other bonus along the way is the people he meets. \u201cI hardly ever get a knockback in the country. They\u2019re not self-conscious at all. I just tell people I\u2019m a bit of a historian with a camera and they are generally fine with it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery rarely I\u2019ll get someone say, \u2018You can shoot in here but I don\u2019t want to be in the photo\u2019. I say, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s not a photo shoot, it\u2019s not a glamour shot\u2019. And they get it. Because that\u2019s what it is \u2013 it\u2019s real life. Things that are hiding in plain sight, things that aren\u2019t every day any more.<\/p>\n

\"Leitchville.\"<\/p>\n

Leitchville.Credit: Warren Kirk<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are quite happy to help me out; they\u2019re doing me a favour as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Describing himself as \u201cthe sort of person who gets obsessed with things\u201d, Kirk says sport was his focus back when he was given a camera some time in 1985. It quickly gave way to a new, all-consuming passion that has never left him.<\/p>\n

Since then, he has taken thousands of pictures, all the while documenting a changing world. His archive numbers about 80,000 images, including about 75,000 digital photographs and 5000-odd film shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a camera put into my hands and just instantly falling in love with the process, it was like a fated thing,\u201d he says. \u201cIt completely changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond Suburbia is published by Scribe.<\/p>\n

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n