How Liminal Brought Sally Samins’ Photo Book ‘Fieldnotes’ to Life

Great photography can offer illumination and wisdom with which to understand the world around us.

Currently in production, ‘Fieldnotes’ is a collection of photographs by awarded artist Sally Samins. The printed booklet showcases Sally's latest photographic work, and is a collection that is firmly rooted in the meaning of place.

What started as a spontaneous creative pursuit on her travels, Sally has honed her images into something definitive in style. The locations of Morocco, New Zealand, the USA, Italy, and Vietnam are nothing like a lifestyle magazine - the focus is artistic, with a unique perspective on patterns, colour, and defining shapes. Her style is characterised by repetitive motifs and unique framing, and some seem to mirror her awarded paintings, and pay detailed attention to colour and composition.

Sally's career is as colourful as her artwork. She entered the industry as a photo-journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - (ABC). We at Liminal were particularly drawn to the story of how she flew - is that the right word?- across Australia in a hot air balloon in the 1980s as part of a photography project.

During this time and into the 90s, Sally was the chief photographer for the America’s Cup yacht race, with her photos still proudly framed upon the walls of the iconic Gino’s Italian Restaurant in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Since then, Sally has explored various mediums, with her paintings being highly successful - having been sold in galleries across the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

To map the defining moments in Sally’s career is mind-boggling. It’s a journey that is so full of high profile people and serendipitous stories, that there is a novel there in itself. But until then, the photography alone will have to do the talking.

This latest booklet is a culmination of Sally's recent artistic evolution. It showcases her unique ability to blend her photographic expertise with her painter's eye, creating images that cross between documentary and visual art.

We look forward to sharing this incredible project with you.