A rare moment of Lean in front of the camera, captured by Zoe Helene
I have only known Lean Timms and her work for the last couple of years, but she’s one of those people you wish was your childhood friend.
But in true ‘Lean style’ she treats you like one regardless of how little or much of life you have experienced together.
The most captivating thing about Lean is her ability to live in abundance. She isn’t someone who lives in fear, and you can feel this magnetic energy from her consistently.
Lean is a travel and interiors photographer and is most famous for her charismatic imagery that is carefully constructed on a solid foundation of storytelling. I urge you to find her and lose hours in her work. And I challenge you not to visit every single place she has. There have been moments I have caught myself physically swaying from side to side, anticipating the ocean I was not on, but simply staring at. “But of course”, says every Lean-fan out there.
The limited edition print for our Winter season is an offering from the magical world of Lean’s adventures. A glimpse into the deep, dark utopian forest, with this moment in time; A supporting visual to the winter scent ‘Eden at Night’, it was taken in the Snowy Mountains, NSW, Australia.
So whilst we appreciate our senses response to the art and perfumery, I encourage you to take a glimpse into the world of Lean Timms and a day in her life….
[Amanda]: “Lean, you have this adventurous life, where every day or week is different. There is an undeniable amount of variation. So often we are so caught up in our own lives, we couldn’t imagine anything else existing or even being possible.
Could you take our readers through a ‘Day in the Life of Lean Timms’?”
[Lean]: “I’d love to! It sure is an adventurous one, and you’re spot on, rarely are two days the same. Mostly I’m either on the road on photography assignments (the majority of my time) or back at home in Canberra, hanging with my pup and people. I love the excitement of travel and am fuelled by spontaneity, curiosity and the inspiration that exploring new places and meeting amazing people brings. I also love that you mentioned how so often we are caught up in our own lives – it’s so true, and it reminds me how grateful I am for the constant healthy doses of perspective travelling brings.
On the days that I am away from home, it often looks like jumping in the car or on a plane to head to a destination to photograph. Sometimes it’s just me on the road alone for days navigating a shotlist, or sometimes I’m with a stylist if it’s for an interiors or editorial shoot, or sometimes for the bigger commercial jobs I will be with a whole production crew. Shoot days are big days starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. Every job is so varied, and in between the shooting there’s teaching photography which I adore, as well as the admin, editing, planning, etc that freelancing brings.
One of the trickiest parts of my life is keeping a routine (even more so for friends and family), but thankfully I personally don’t need a lot of consistency to keep me grounded. I find the very act of photography helps with this and keeps me super present i.e. looking for and noticing small and beautiful moments in real time as they naturally occur. There are a few things I like to include in my everyday to keep a little bit of consistency though, such as classical music and lemon water first thing, and making time somewhere in my day to learn (podcasts/long form essays/memoirs) and do some sort of physical activity (usually yoga or a run).
Believe it or not I’m quite an introverted person in that I need solid downtime to recharge my batteries, so no matter where I am I’ll always make space in the evening for quiet time, and relish any moment I get to be alone (I love taking myself and a book out to dinner). At home I recharge with baths, nature walks with Ned the dog, gardening and wine time with my best mates.”
[A:] “What are your essential travel items?”
[L:] “Other than my camera bag and all its goodies, I’m always thinking of the weather (no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!) and often pack my own loose-leaf tea and infuser for a bit of comfort as well as an eye mask and good headphones.”
[A:] “Do you have any tips for packing (from the lips of a seasoned traveller)?”
[L:] Haha, I find packing so personal, but some tips that have helped me: reduce the shoes (I usually only pack two pairs), reduce the toiletries, and remember that other than your true essentials, if you forget anything you can borrow/buy/get creative.
[A:] “When do you have your moments of deep thinking?”
[L:] I looooove solo long distance driving for this. I do all my deep thinking and big dreaming then. I get into such a flow state – this has to be one of my all time favourite feelings.
[A:] “Are you able to tell us what you believe makes a great photo and even a great photographer?”
[L:] “One of the most beautiful things I find about people is how different we all see the world, quite literally. I love this when I teach photography. There’s only so much you can teach before the rest lands intrinsically and is guided by intuition. It’s incredible to me that two people and their cameras can be in the same place at the same time and capture things so uniquely. I love the way we are all drawn to different moments, be it the way we see light shapes or colour, or compose a frame, or even the way our senses guide us. I believe this is what makes a great photo – the pure joy of experiencing something the way someone else sees it. Trusting what we find interesting or beautiful and capturing that is the best place to create from. If someone else likes it, well, that’s just a bonus.”
Follow more of Leans adventures at @leantimms and find ‘Eden at Night’ here, for just a little while longer.
A World of Art – our Winter in-house artist – Lean Timms
I have only known Lean Timms and her work for the last couple of years, but she’s one of those people you wish was your childhood friend.
But in true ‘Lean style’ she treats you like one regardless of how little or much of life you have experienced together.
The most captivating thing about Lean is her ability to live in abundance. She isn’t someone who lives in fear, and you can feel this magnetic energy from her consistently.
Lean is a travel and interiors photographer and is most famous for her charismatic imagery that is carefully constructed on a solid foundation of storytelling. I urge you to find her and lose hours in her work. And I challenge you not to visit every single place she has. There have been moments I have caught myself physically swaying from side to side, anticipating the ocean I was not on, but simply staring at. “But of course”, says every Lean-fan out there.
The limited edition print for our Winter season is an offering from the magical world of Lean’s adventures. A glimpse into the deep, dark utopian forest, with this moment in time; A supporting visual to the winter scent ‘Eden at Night’, it was taken in the Snowy Mountains, NSW, Australia.
So whilst we appreciate our senses response to the art and perfumery, I encourage you to take a glimpse into the world of Lean Timms and a day in her life….
[Amanda]: “Lean, you have this adventurous life, where every day or week is different. There is an undeniable amount of variation. So often we are so caught up in our own lives, we couldn’t imagine anything else existing or even being possible.
Could you take our readers through a ‘Day in the Life of Lean Timms’?”
[Lean]: “I’d love to! It sure is an adventurous one, and you’re spot on, rarely are two days the same. Mostly I’m either on the road on photography assignments (the majority of my time) or back at home in Canberra, hanging with my pup and people. I love the excitement of travel and am fuelled by spontaneity, curiosity and the inspiration that exploring new places and meeting amazing people brings. I also love that you mentioned how so often we are caught up in our own lives – it’s so true, and it reminds me how grateful I am for the constant healthy doses of perspective travelling brings.
On the days that I am away from home, it often looks like jumping in the car or on a plane to head to a destination to photograph. Sometimes it’s just me on the road alone for days navigating a shotlist, or sometimes I’m with a stylist if it’s for an interiors or editorial shoot, or sometimes for the bigger commercial jobs I will be with a whole production crew. Shoot days are big days starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. Every job is so varied, and in between the shooting there’s teaching photography which I adore, as well as the admin, editing, planning, etc that freelancing brings.
One of the trickiest parts of my life is keeping a routine (even more so for friends and family), but thankfully I personally don’t need a lot of consistency to keep me grounded. I find the very act of photography helps with this and keeps me super present i.e. looking for and noticing small and beautiful moments in real time as they naturally occur. There are a few things I like to include in my everyday to keep a little bit of consistency though, such as classical music and lemon water first thing, and making time somewhere in my day to learn (podcasts/long form essays/memoirs) and do some sort of physical activity (usually yoga or a run).
Believe it or not I’m quite an introverted person in that I need solid downtime to recharge my batteries, so no matter where I am I’ll always make space in the evening for quiet time, and relish any moment I get to be alone (I love taking myself and a book out to dinner). At home I recharge with baths, nature walks with Ned the dog, gardening and wine time with my best mates.”
[A:] “What are your essential travel items?”
[L:] “Other than my camera bag and all its goodies, I’m always thinking of the weather (no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!) and often pack my own loose-leaf tea and infuser for a bit of comfort as well as an eye mask and good headphones.”
[A:] “Do you have any tips for packing (from the lips of a seasoned traveller)?”
[L:] Haha, I find packing so personal, but some tips that have helped me: reduce the shoes (I usually only pack two pairs), reduce the toiletries, and remember that other than your true essentials, if you forget anything you can borrow/buy/get creative.
[A:] “When do you have your moments of deep thinking?”
[L:] I looooove solo long distance driving for this. I do all my deep thinking and big dreaming then. I get into such a flow state – this has to be one of my all time favourite feelings.
[A:] “Are you able to tell us what you believe makes a great photo and even a great photographer?”
[L:] “One of the most beautiful things I find about people is how different we all see the world, quite literally. I love this when I teach photography. There’s only so much you can teach before the rest lands intrinsically and is guided by intuition. It’s incredible to me that two people and their cameras can be in the same place at the same time and capture things so uniquely. I love the way we are all drawn to different moments, be it the way we see light shapes or colour, or compose a frame, or even the way our senses guide us. I believe this is what makes a great photo – the pure joy of experiencing something the way someone else sees it. Trusting what we find interesting or beautiful and capturing that is the best place to create from. If someone else likes it, well, that’s just a bonus.”
Follow more of Leans adventures at @leantimms and find ‘Eden at Night’ here, for just a little while longer.