By Dongyun Kwon
A local has added one more title ‘artist’ in his job list.
Yarra Ranges deputy mayor David Eastham, who has spent his whole life in the Yarra Valley, has successfully launched an exhibition Shooting the Black Dog for the entire month of September.
The exhibition showcases his photographic journey as well as his new hobby of painting.
Eastham said the big part of the reason that he put this exhibition on was to prove to himself that he could do it.
“When I first started doing photography a few years ago, I never would have thought that I’d do an exhibition,” he said.
“Hopefully, by putting the exhibition on, people can see that there are options out there to help with mental health, and you just have to find what that thing is for you.
“The other thing is when people come in and look at the images, most of the people see a bit about my story because I’ve got my story written up around, and a lot of the time, it does lead to a conversation around mental health.
“It is important because I think the more people that are talking about mental health, the better.”
In the exhibition, there is a collection of over 30 images and paintings about wildlife and nature.
The photographer said most of them were taken locally but there are some which were taken from overseas.
“A lot are taken from within the Yarra Valley or the Mount Dandenong area,” Eastham said.
“I’ve got a number of images that are from Ireland because my wife is Irish and I go to Ireland quite a fair bit and also images that were taken from a recent trip to Canada over to the Rockies.
“On top of the images, I also have a number of paintings that are inspired by photos that I’ve taken but obviously the colours are a little bit exaggerated from what you’d see out in the wild.”
Eastham’s painting journey started about a year ago and his passion for wildlife and nature photography has gone over into his paintings.
“I was always interested in painting but hadn’t had the real passion and commitment to get into it,” the artist said.
“About 12 months ago, when I wasn’t feeling that passionate to go out and take photos, I decided to embrace painting and grabbed a bunch of essential materials and started painting.”
The remarkable achiever, not only in his professional career but also in his hobby, has a special behind story regarding the reason he has gotten into photography.
Eastham was in his late 20s with a career rapidly on the rise when he experienced a mental breakdown out of the blue.
Eastham said he started his hobby of photography to deal with his mental breakdown.
“A number of years ago, I had a pretty mental breakdown and ended up with severe depression and anxiety, and I went through the traditional recovery process like medication, regular visits to a psychologist,” he said.
“But after about a year or two of that, for me, I just knew that I wanted to do something else other than just relying on medication and psychologists.
“So I looked into what was beneficial to mental health, and a lot of people and research were pointing towards taking up a hobby and something creative.
The reason Eastham chose photography as a new hobby was because he was inspired by one of his friends who was a good photographer.
“For the first few months, I pretty much just grabbed my camera and I’d walk around in the bush and take photos of wildlife and nature,” the photographer said.
“After a while, I realised my mental health was improving a lot.”
His passion led him to write a book Shooting the Black Dog: How the Art of Photography Can Improve Your Mental Health and Wellbeing, which introduces his own experience coping with mental breakdowns to help people who are struggling as well as provide tips for and raise awareness around preventative measures for mental breakdowns.
“I’ve got a science background, and I started wondering why is it that photography has been so important,” Eastham said.
“I hope my story can serve as a bit of inspiration for people who are struggling.”
Eastham’s exhibition has been held at the Warburton Waterwheel with free entry.
Through his exhibition, the artist would like to share messages with people who are in their dark days at the moment.
Eastham said even though you might be going through some dark days, there can be a light at the end of the tunnel.
“To invest in yourself and put yourself first, if need be, try to find something that inspires you and that you enjoy doing, replenishes your batteries and gives you energy,” he said.
“Make some time for that and prioritise yourself.
“If anyone’s out there thinking of a friend who might be struggling, I’d encourage you to reach out and check in with them.”
