Hi there, we are writer and photographer Jane Hodges and artist and photographer Maree Azzopardi and together we bring you Camera & Campari. Our blog is named to reflect two essentials on our travels – our cameras to capture the landscapes, food, faces and essence of the places we visit – and our duty-free Campari stash – for wherever we are in the world, our ritual at day’s end is to find a spot – our hotel balcony overlooking the city, a swish rooftop bar, a local hole in the wall or a shoes-optional beach bar to sit with a quiet drink, digest the highs and lows of the day and make plans for the night ahead!
Here we share our travel experiences and observations, stunning images and the tips of locals we meet along the way, with the aim of enhancing your travels – arming you with inspiring must dos, must eats and must sees as well as save you time and money. Connecting with locals is key to our travels – our approach is simple: we ask ‘local experts’ to reveal the secrets of their home – an expert doesn’t have to have a masters in archaeology or art history (although they might) … we seek out people who have lived in a place all their lives or at least long enough to consider themselves a local – they may be a cook – a hotel concierge – a taxi driver, a street food vendor – anyone who can unlock a destination. We always begin with ‘tell us about somewhere we wouldn’t find on my own ‘ … we’ve ended up in backstreet bars, markets in the middle of the night, and being invited into private houses for home cooked meals.
We’d love to hear your feedback and travel tips (especially fab bars and local haunts!)
Happy Travels!
Our Bios
Well-published Australian travel writer and photographer, Jane Hodges is forever in search of authentic experiences. She’s a firm believer in travel as tonic. “Like most true travellers, I’m heartily invigorated when experiencing something different to my own life. Travel imparts vitality and energy and shows us what we have in common and where we diverge.”
Jane’s favourite places include Queensland’s wonderous World Heritage Daintree Rainforest, the mountain village of Ubud in Indonesia, and Malaysia’s Sepilok jungle where an orang-utan once took her gently by the hand, “just as a human would.”
Apart from satisfying her wanderlust, Jane’s passions include art and design, practicing the energising Chinese discipline of Qi Gong and spending time with her comical dachshund, Ruby, “a limousine on legs whose full-time job is the pursuit of food, walks and affection.”
Exuberant photographer Maree Azzopardi has made art and photography her life’s work. Sell-out shows in Australia, Rome, Sweden and Malta and gracing the cover of ARTnews New York mark the peaks of her career; but for Maree, it’s all about capturing moments in time. “In a split second the scene changes and you’ve either got it or you haven’t. “That’s why there’s always something new to photograph or a fresh take on a well-documented subject. “I approach my work with the words of the late, great American documentary photographer Dorothea Lange firmly in mind: ‘Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still,’ ” says Maree. When she’s not on assignment, Maree is creating her large scale photoworks or painting, preparing for another international exhibition, indulging her passion for cooking for friends or swimming and snorkeling in the pristine waters of the Central Coast of Sydney.