Lauren Curtis
Navy, Photographer
Born and bred a country kid, Lauren grew up just outside Ballarat in Victoria. Life was good and she fondly remembers playing with her younger brother.
“He was the creative one in the family. He could draw anything. I was so jealous! And Dad could sketch well, too. I didn’t seem to get that gene.”
When she reminisces on those days, she also remembers the thousands of photos that her father captured, and that were always a visual part of her life.
For her sixteenth birthday Lauren was gifted her first camera – a Canon. To this day, it’s still the only brand she chooses to use. A family road trip to Tasmania shortly after, saw Lauren make good use of her Canon. Her Mum’s positive commentary about the quality of her photography encouraged Lauren to begin looking at objects from as many different angles as possible and she began capturing common household objects in fascinating ways.
At school, Lauren’s love was science, rather than the creative arts. Undecided about where her future might lead her, she went to a university Expo, with every kind of career available for her consideration. She stopped at the military stand, where she began chatting to a navy representative. She remembered, fondly, how she would drag her grandfather to the coastline as a small child, to watch the ships, of all description, sail by. This seemed like something that may be of interest to her.
Lauren enlisted and was trained as a Hydrographic Surveyor. Her strong science background was a bonus as she learned to create detailed charts of both oceans and land masses. Based in Queensland, Lauren surveyed the northern coastline from Cairns to the Kimberleys in Western Australia.
One particularly exciting time in Lauren’s naval service was spent in Papua New Guinea (PNG), surveying the coastline.
“It reminded me of being in a National Geographic magazine. We lived on the naval vessel and visited the local people who were living in traditional huts and villages.
“One of Australia’s support roles for PNG was to survey and document outlying islands. There was one island off the mainland that was about six or eight hours away. It hadn’t been charted since the 1920’s and there was a lot of information to update. On the way, we passed two small island outcrops that had never been charted. It may sound strange, but we imagined how the first European explorers must have felt when they discovered new lands!”
Lauren was excited about an upcoming posting, which included another trip to PNG. However, it was at this time that she started experiencing severe pain and unexplained spasms in her back. Regretfully, this left Lauren unable to work and she was medically discharged.
This condition has not left Lauren, and its attacks are random and without any triggers. The frustration of her health having such control over her life led Lauren to depression.
“I didn’t pick up my camera for years.”
She felt that the best way to offer service to her community was by becoming a volunteer with the National Trust. As a volunteer, she had some control over her hours and her ability to work, when she was able.
Through meeting other veterans, she was encouraged to attend an Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (ANVAM) series of painting workshops.
“I can’t paint to save myself. But they encouraged me to pick up my camera again. I discovered that my passion for photography was buried, not dead.”
Lauren now devotes a large portion of her week to being a volunteer guide at an authentic bluestone mansion and stables called Barwon Park, run by the National Trust at Winchelsea in country Victoria.
“There’s so much to photograph. In quiet times, I sit with my camera and look for how the light plays on the building, inside and out. Through constant practice, I’m learning how to use my camera better. It’s incredibly therapeutic – both physically and mentally,” she says enthusiastically.
It was here that she also met Doug, who lovingly works on the upkeep and restoration of the furniture at Barwon Park. He has become Lauren’s mentor over the past few years and laughingly calls her his apprentice. She’s keen to learn as much as he can teach her as she enjoys the ‘old school stuff.’ Unfortunately, the lockdowns in Victoria and general uncertainty of living with Covid-19 impacted on Lauren’s ability to travel there regularly during 2020/21.
Her painful and intrusive back injury has inadvertently led her to a place of peace and harmony. Lauren now balances that trauma with a focus on her creativity and volunteering role. As so often happens in life, paths taken do not always lead to what is anticipated.
