Sesame Ellis

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Sesame Ellis

Sesame Ellis :
Visual storytelling. Photography. Blogging. Life. Based on actual events.

Rachel Devine is a professional photographer by trade, mother of 3 children, author of 3 books and the creative mind behind photography blog Sesame Ellis.

11/05/2022

I don't shoot a lot of weddings, but when I do it is for families that I adore. Just loved this photo too much not to share.

17/03/2022

Fresh air and no internet…
Booked ages ago and rescheduled twice due to lockdowns, we finally got to go glamping on a micro farm in country Victoria.
I couldn’t believe this gorgeous spot is just under two hours drive from our home.
No fish were caught, but it was incredible to just sit in the stillness and watch kangaroos in the distance. For a little while I had no idea what was happening anywhere but right in front of me.
Dusty* loved her weekend in nature. She’s a camping queen. Because of the wedge-tailed eagle circling above the paddock she had to stay leashed and close to us away from our campsite. She is snack sized for those giant birds. Dusty still got her zoomies though.
Thank you for the hospitality , we loved every minute.

More photos to come.

*Gem stayed home with Chilli.

12/10/2020

I guess this really is a thing now.
It was colder than I expected. The sun was out but wind was the enemy.
Yet it isn't despite the cold, that I love these dips... it is because of the cold.
In the soul numbing monotony of this year, I crave the exhilaration.
And the peace. It is strange to think of those two elements coming together, but they do so perfectly here. And the only reason I can come up with is that you must completely focus your mind on relaxing or the cold takes over. It is the power of having control over nothing but yourself.
Also, this time I came prepared with a towel and a dry tee shirt.
Funny thing was. As I started to walk back up the path, one of the actual swimmers in full wetsuit, goggles dangling from his wrist as he took out some sort of fancy swimming ear plug said it was nice to see a new face... I've made it folks! From walking past those swimmers in the bay and thinking I never could do that to being welcomed to their domain in my soggy sports bra and sunglasses!
Just to be clear, I would not say what I am doing is anywhere NEAR swimming, I might need to find out about those ear plugs. I still have a bit of the sea in my right ear.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

02/10/2020

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

I have always avoided discomfort. In many ways. I have as much disdain for swimming in cold water as I do for confrontation. This year though has been nothing but confrontational. As I near fifty, I want to face a few fears head on and get more comfortable with being uncomfortable. On my runs, I have often looked at the people swimming and thought it looked exhilarating, but I could never do it.
The water is too cold, I can't. But I want to.
So this morning my friend Emma and I didn't let each other talk ourselves out of a plunge. It was windy and we both hesitated... Any excuse, right?
We went and while I can work up to a proper swim over time, just going in all the way was absolutely fantastic. I came out of that freaking cold water feeling so energised.
We are already planning our next visit...see if we can stand it a bit longer. We are lucky that about 2km of our 5km radius extends out into the bay.

It doesn't matter how small the fear, there is no judgement. Just encouragement to go from "I can't." to "I did!"
I'm going to be doing more of these in the build up to fifty and I am inviting you to join me. Let's see what we can do together.

@ Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

26/09/2020

Apparently it is .
I woke up sad and just couldn't shake that feeling. My phone randomly pulled up a photo today on the rotating screen saver gallery that made me miss my mom and then I saw all the shares of people and their daughters on Facebook and Instagram.
Clearly these photos are from a long time ago when my daughters were little, the world felt lighter and I was still a daughter myself. I didn't know there was a holiday that could make me feel worse than mothers day, yet here we are.
The days are long, but the years are unfairly short.
I'm still proud to be your daughter, mom even if calling myself a daughter feels so hollow now without you. Wherever you are tonight, I hope you know I loved being yours.
And to my girls, being your mom is a dream come true. No matter what, I hope you know how much I love you.

Happy daughters day. To those who might feel lost tonight missing their daughters or missing being called someone's daughter, my heart has felt you all day.

XO

22/09/2020

Harry Pawter, y'all.

Chilli is ever so patient with us. Especially when treats are involved.

16/09/2020

No winter lasts forever. No spring skips its turn. No swimming pool actually cleans itself.
The weather has been so nice that we decided to take the cover off and underneath we found a pond. I don't remember it ever being this green. It matches Clover's holiday hair.
It is lovely when I decided to look at it as it exists and not as the hassle it will be to get it clear again. Related, apparently algae is the only plant I don't kill.

Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions day forty five. Third day of the two week extension. Our numbers are now in the low 40 range and we are the last tiny bit of Australia left in strict lock down.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

14/09/2020

Déjà senti.
One of the weirdest aspect of the type of epilepsy I have are episodes that I called before diagnosis, forced memories of feelings. And even more absurd than the experiences themselves is what triggers them. Certain specific sounds, like distant traffic at night or an airplane high in the sky, invoke sadness or rather a deep feeling of melancholy. The other seemingly random trigger of a different feeling, less sad - more wistful and with attached fleeting memories of a time long ago in my life, is looking at the sky. Not always and not every sky, but specifically clear blue skies, blue skies with big white clouds and the plain steel grey skies of a cold winter.
Today was one of those skies. The blue one.
These feelings, seizures or auras to seizures (we are still working that out), last less than a minute. And you couldn't tell when I am having them... They do not alter my level of awareness at all. While vivid when they happen, the details are forgotten as soon as it is over. Hence why they are nearly impossible to describe.
They have a name. Déjà senti. It translates to 'already felt'.
Did you know the déjà vu is actually a term that encompasses three different déjà experiences? I get all three with my epilepsy, but to what degree depends now on my anti epileptic medication.
No wonder this neurological disease is often misdiagnosed as a mental illness.

Yesterday was the final day of the original six week Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions. We are into the step down phase to regular, well COVID-19 regular, life again. I will try to keep up the daily photo journal. It has been a bit of camera therapy for me through this and I am so grateful for all the messages on how my images have helped or inspired you.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

10/09/2020

May my pure activities be endless,
My good qualities boundless,
And through abiding in immeasurable activity, May I actualize infinite emanations.
Limitless is the end of space,
Likewise, limitless are living beings,
Thus, limitless are karma and afflictions.
May my aspiration’s reach be limitless as well.
- King of Prayers

This whole year has been one difficult thing after another and six months of isolation has left me feeling so disconnected from people. When my mom left this world, she took her supply of Pollyanna outlook on life with her. I can no longer call her to replenish my supply of positivity. I've been looking for a new well of it, but never did I think I would find it on Twitter. However, one day a tweet came into my feed sharing a request from another motherless daughter. She wanted to send photos of her mom to people around the world so in some small way, her mother could travel. I instantly knew I wanted to help her, so I reached out and Lindsay mailed me a photo of her mom. It took over a month to arrive and I nearly thought she might have forgotten.
Today I took that photo on a walk with me. I felt like my own mom joined us with a camellia on the path.
Deborah Ann Richter-Wallace finally got to go to a beach in Australia. Something she would have loved.
In turn, a photo of my mom, Rae Lou, will be headed to New York City and two strangers a world away from each other have each made a new friend.
💛 to you and thank you for letting me share.
On the walk home, the brightest feather I have ever seen.

Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions day thirty nine. The day where not everything was terrible.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

05/09/2020

My vice.
Since my epilepsy diagnosis, I have stopped all casual drinking. I have had sake twice with takeaway sushi since lock down began, but that is it. No wine. I just have zero desire for it anymore. Maybe I will want a glass with friends when we can get out to a bar again someday. Who knows? One thing I don't mind is the weight loss that has come with no longer drinking so many calories.
What I do crave though is caffeine. And I love Diet Coke. I know it is terrible for me, but I'm not interested in debating. It is what I have left. So much of my has changed in the last nearly two years since my mom died. I cling to what reminds me of me.

Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions day thirty four. Wearing a path to the fridge.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

30/08/2020

The ducks fly away if we go outside to look at them, so we all just watch from behind the glass like we are in some backwards zoo.

Chilli sits in the alcove between all the kids' bedrooms and waits for her invitation. The doors are closed most days with growing up children. I wonder if that makes her sad. It does me.

Sunday is my day to get organised for the week ahead. And I have all my bases covered so I don't forget a thing and that my photos look right on all screens. IPad, Android and laptop. Pen and paper to catch my thoughts.

Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions day twenty eight. It is windy and dreary out as if to remind Melbourne that we still must stay at home.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

23/08/2020

I've always photographed the little details of my life. I think of these images as the sentences that eventually string together an entire story.
This lock down journal photography project has taught me to notice the individual moments that differentiate days which on the surface seem the same. But they are unique if you really pay attention.

Melbourne State of Disaster Stage Four restrictions day twenty one. I finally had enough of Netflix and went in search of some puddles to jump in. Then some balloons reminded me that I'm probably too old for that.

@ Hampton, Victoria, Australia

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