Last year, before I moved from Melbourne to New York, my friend Stef asked me to teach her a few tips on using her new camera in manual mode. I love photography, and had so much fun sharing what I’ve learned so far with her – she’s such a quick learner and has a great eye. The Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne is a perfect place for practicing photography, because there are plenty of beautiful things to photograph, both big and small, close up and far away. It’s a great place for learning how to manipulate perspectives and the size of your subject relative to it’s background too.

I acknowledge the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung people as the First Nations owners of the lands now recognised as Melbourne. I pay respect to their Elders, lores, customs and creation spirits. I recognise that these lands have always been places of great natural beauty, culture and community. 

In Photos is a series I started on this blog to share lots of photos of a particular place, without needing to have a longer story or guide attached. For more practical Melbourne tips, check out my Melbourne Travel Guide and my itinerary for three days in Melbourne.

I usually go on solo photography excursions, because until now, I didn’t have any other friends who were interested in photography. It was so much fun to go with a friend, and to be able to spend half the time chatting before splitting off to follow wherever our cameras took us.

The Fitzroy Gardens is one of Melbourne’s major Victorian era public gardens, and one of the most-loved in the city. It’s on the edge of the Melbourne CBD in Fitzroy, and spans 26 hectares (64 acres). It’s a great place to lose the city, and inside there are peaceful tree-lined pathways, lawns perfect for picnic-ing, a lake, Captain Cook’s Cottage (brought from England to Australia in the 1930s), and a beautiful Spanish-style conservatory garden.

The Conservatory

The Conservatory is built in a romantic, Spanish mission style, and is brimming with exotic plants and flowers. It opened in the 1930s, and is one of the most beloved free attractions in Melbourne. Unfortunately, it’s now closed for major renovations until late 2020. I’m so glad Stef and I had a chance to photograph it before it closed to the public!

Have you been to the Fitzroy Gardens? What do you like to use as a subject for photography practice? Where are the most beautiful gardens you’ve ever seen? Let me know in the comments!