Smith Journal: Red Brick Suburbia

Last month I was contacted by the good people at Smith Journal after they found my blog post on Red Brick Suburbia. Turns out they were writing an article on pretty much the same subject: the beauty of the humble post-war red brick house and they wanted to use some of my images.

The catch was they were looking for a full frame, front-on image of these houses which I had none of but I offered to take a wander through my local area and scout a few houses for them.

Outer-inner-westies will know that our area is red brick heaven, with some beautifully preserved and meticulously kept 50s houses so it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

I drove around while Bub was napping in the back and took a few reccie photos for them to choose from. All the while getting a bit nervous about taking photos for such a visually strong, prestigious publication.

Quietly I was sweating bullets but I thought why not? However when the decision was to made to make the article the cover story, they decided to commission architecture photographer Rene Vaile to shoot the story instead. But they did stay in the area.

I felt a sense of relief and disappointment at the time, but holding the finished product in my hand yesterday I was nothing but proud. So excited I could contribute to the documentation of these gems that deserve better than being demolished and their lots filled with monstrous duplexes and unkempt insta-gardens.

Volume 8 of Smith Journal is on sale September 2 but if you’re like us and your fella has a subscription should already have it in your hot little hands.

I highly recommend this issue and my fellow outer-inner-westies will get a giggle from seeing local houses and playing spot-o with them.

Images courtesy of Smith Journal

Correction: I had previously written Stuart Vokes took these images, but I had it mixed up. Stuart was the Brisbane-based architect who wrote the article. Sorry about that Stuart!