Monday

illawarra folk festival: bulli 2012

to sum it up short and sweet: this folk festival was amazing.

day one. 

i walked into the festival by myself. i explored the massive grounds and started taking pictures of strangers. there was anyone you could imagine; teenage girls with flowers in their hair, hippy adults wearing rainbow clothing, musicians walking around with piles of instruments, dreadlocked hair and screaming children. there was also music wherever i went, it never stopped playing.

while i was shooting, a blue-eyed man tapped me on the shoulder and introduced himself as the woohoo revue's band manager, dan. he let me know that their band was playing on the main stage later that night and asked me nicely if i could take photos of them. i eventually also bumped into my high school music teacher and her nephew and the three of us walked around looking at all the little markets and tents propped up selling scented candles and free-spirited clothes.

after hours of sitting and walking around, watching people dance and sing, we headed off to the main stage to watch the woohoo revue perform. the tent was packed with dancing youth, as their gypsy music filled up the night, they were amazing. after the show we hung out til the early hours of the morning, sharing stories of road trips, music and everything in between. even though the stage music ended, musicians and punters alike formed little circles and jammed on their ukeleles, acoustic guitars and harmonicas in the late night.

day two. 

everyone camped in the torrential rain while i was cosy in bed. i got back to the festival and the entire ground was muddy and filled with puddles. today was the day my favourite shooting-boots were destroyed! it didn't stop anyone though, the soft acoustic music kept playing loud, strangers danced barefoot in the mud. everything i saw was a picture waiting to happen. 


accordions for sale.

the tantric turtle cafe, oh so lovelily decorated.

always.

i asked this man to spin around for me in the rain so i could take photos with his wonderful jacket.

 
a lovely three piece group that filled the room up with soft music.

the woohoo revue.

morning mud.

living room under the sun.

the bearded gypsy band - another of my favourites who played at the festival.

my new friends, hungover.

smiling youth and muddy feet.

leaving town.

sleepy-eyed spiderman.

a marching band marching through the entire festival.

the woohoo revue playing on the second day.



29 comments:

  1. These are lovely! I especially love the photo of the mother whispering to her daughter.

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  2. i love every single photo for you!

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  3. This looks like so much fun! I really want to go to a festival, they seem like the bee's knees!

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  4. woooow all these pictures are absolutely beautiful :') i love to do that to (watch people and take photographs of them)
    very inspiring post :) i think my favorite is the one B/W of the guy playing the violin

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  5. your photos are so beautiful.
    amazing moments.

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  6. great shots! my fave is the one of the sleeping spiderman.. so cute!

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  7. I really love love your pics and your handwriting in photos!

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  8. i really love your photos.

    which lense did you use for these photos?

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  9. Gorgeous photos, as always! It reminds me of the LEAF festival in Asheville, NC- another lovely music and art celebration filled with colorful, dreadlocked, gypsy folks! The sleeping spiderman photo is amazing, and also I love the girl who is kind of kneeling in the mud, and the other holding the coconut. Great moments! :)

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  10. what beautiful images! i love that all the children are such a part of the festival, how amazing!

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  11. I love love love these photos! They are so beautiful and filled with joy.

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  12. Absolutely inlove with your work! Great capture of the festival spirit.

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  13. absolutely amazing photos, never seen anything like this :)

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  14. Beautiful, beautiful photos. You have such an eye!

    abeautifulmaybe.blogspot.com - xo

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  15. love your style. you've captured some magic here.

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  16. amazing! absolutely beautiful. i love that music brings people together like this.

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  17. Stunning photos, absolutely stunning

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  18. wow! I always check your new posts and wished I know how to use my dslr :)!
    Lovely photos!

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  19. AHMAZINGGGGG photos! Love love love.....
    http://sepatuholig.blogspot.com/

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  20. Oh wow.. These photos you took are just lovely.. Makes me wanna go to that festival, too! Thanks so much for sharing these.. Can't tell you how much I enjoyed looking at them :)

    Kisses! xxx

    ilikeyourears.blogspot.com

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  21. thank you so much everyone!

    shaina: i would love to go to that festival! sounds amazing.

    mathilde: i used the 50mm f1.4 for the majority of the documentary photos and the 85mm f1.2 for the live music photos.

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  22. I love these!! They are so wenderful! Love your work Julia! :)

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  23. Amazing to see all those different people.

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  24. I just dicovered your blog, your photographs are amazing!!

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  25. ohh what beautiful photos! And such a surprise to find the bearded gypsies, they're friends of mine- I missed the festival and it's just so beautiful to see how it was captured :) xx

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  26. Whoah, I really love how you retouched these photos! Nothing too fancy - and that's what makes them look so special! Seems as if you just took the photos and just like that - they became out perfect :)

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  27. Hello, my name's Melissa. I was wondering if you would give me permission to use your photos in an assignment i have to complete for university (Unversity of Wollongong). We need to create a marketing campaign, and i think your photos would be absolutely perfect for the assignment! Would this be ok?

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