Summer is ...
“dance with the waves,
move with the sea.
let the rhythm of the water
set your soul free.”
Summer is ... HOT!! This is North Queensland, of course it's hot but I still don't think that it's something that you ever get used to. Each year the days grow longer and the temperature rises and yet somehow we are all still a little suprised about how high the mercury is able to rise.
Summer is ... ice cold beer. There are very few things in the world better than a beer, the bottle frosted with ice and on the verge of freezing, to quench your thirst when it's 40C + in the SHADE!
Summer is ... intoxicating. There are limitless smells in summer that the rest of the year can't rival. The smell of freshly cut grass. The smell of rain from a summer storm. The smell of mangos, lychees and peaches. And maybe a little weird for some, but for me, the smell of rain on hot bitumen.
Summer is ... long. In North Queensland there are only two seasons (which makes teaching the seasons to kids a bit confusing). There is hot. There is cold, yes we think it's cold. There is no spring or autumn, no transition period, one morning you wake up and it's hot, not warm, HOT! And it will stay HOT for nine months of the year, so yes, summer feels a little long.
Summer is ... water. Where ever you can find it, it is life. Whether you drink it, swim in it, wallow in it or run through it, in summer you continually seek out water. Water is everything. It is much needed relief, it is life.
One thing is for certain we will never escape the onslaught of a Northern summer and nor would we want to. It is in us, it is how we have grown up, it runs deep. But that doesn't mean we aren't going to bitch about it every year, after all it is HOT!
Camilla French is a lifestyle and landscape photographer based in North Queensland. Camilla travels regularly and would love to meet you on one of her journeys or make a special trip just for that reason. If you want magical, real photos that ignore the perfect and capture your imperfect, cherished reality - get in touch so she can make that happen. x