The family storyteller: how my camera keeps us connected

The greatest gift my parents ever gave me is my sister, Lucy. We were born just 20 months apart and grew up together between Hong Kong and Australia. As we’re mixed, part Chinese and part Australian, it meant that wherever we lived, a side of the family was always missing out. Inspired by my grandparents’ love to film and photograph on old celluloid, my parents made a point of capturing our lives to share with them.

My dad dove head first into his role as our Head of Content, documenting our childhood so thoroughly that our friends nicknamed him “Papa-razzi”. My sister and I were thrilled to be the main characters in his ongoing documentary. He captured the plays and the family excursions, but best of all was filming a random Tuesday night at home where we put on an impromptu performance with sequinned scarves. Once, Dad caught Lu on camera walking me around the flat on a balloon string tied to my beaded necklace, barking for her to feed me water out of a saucer on the floor. Weirdos. For our 18th birthdays, Dad gave us each a hard drive full of photos and videos labelled “Childhood”. The footage contains vestiges of every lost tooth, home cut fringe, dolphin paraphernalia, popped pimple – it is without a doubt the most magical thing we own.

My favourite clips are the ones where Lu would sneak the camcorder into her room to produce artful music videos staring out of rainy windows and cutting shapes to Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff. A truly glorious ’90s kid, perfectly preserved. That footage has been a goldmine for alchemising birthday films, memorial tributes and framed photos for our family and friends. Even as I write this, it makes me reflect on how instrumental it likely was in prompting me to become a videographer and photographer.

Fast forward to present day – Lu and her husband Adam shared the happiest news that they were having a baby! A little boy. So my parents and I flew in from London, Hong Kong and New Zealand to meet him in Sydney and celebrate my sister’s birthday together. I brought my trusty camera and an old camcorder to capture Lu and her new family. 

Meeting baby Otis? Well, that completely exploded my heart. When Lu handed him to me, we both burst into tears – so dramatic! – but it was one of the most significant moments of our lives and we could both feel it. I held this tiny little ball and I could properly see him up close. I could see the features he’d inherited from Lucy and those from Adam, and I thought he even looked a bit like! His godfather Ryota and I had wanted to get Otis a very British present, so we bought a knitted cardigan from the brand Shrimps. Pulling his little arms through the yellow sleeves made me and Lu cry again; over the years, we had done this with countless dolls and teddies, and today we were doing it with this new and perfect family member. 

Watching my sister expertly lift her son up and bounce him so naturally, I caught myself marvelling at how grown up she was now. It felt like she was born to be his mum and he didn’t know yet how lucky he was to have her and Adam as his parents. We stood in the room and danced to a new song by Olivia Dean called “Man I Need”, giving Otis a taste of what he had to look forward to – a life of performances and artful music videos, at the nucleus of the shared life of his mum and Auntie, two quirky ’90s kids. While we swayed, Otis in her arms, and his little hands in mine, I realised that this day was the marking of our next big chapter – adulthood.

This chapter wouldn’t properly begin, however, without the two most important adults in our lives. Our mum and dad who had patiently put up with us through every phase. My sister turned 31 a couple of days after I met Otis and our family of five went out for lunch to celebrate – it’s a rare occurrence to be together on one of our birthdays as we all live in different countries. Seeing my parents with Otis was a full-circle moment. I’m so glad I had my camera with me so I could take a couple of photos and videos, and that they could be in them. I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert at family portrait photography, but I loved my subject matter and we all found it really fun.

For my sister’s birthday, all she wanted as a present was a little photoshoot with Otis, Adam and their dog Penny. I also printed and framed one of the photos, as it’s just so nice to have physical copies on display. She has now put this pride of place in her living room and we shared them with Adam’s family in Canada, my husband in London and other family and friends so they could be a part of it, too. I feel very grateful that I became a photographer and videographer, and I’m so excited to grow into the role as the family’s new Head of Content, particularly as Otis and new family members arrive in the world. 

I am so thankful I got to be there to celebrate my sister and to meet Otis when he was so new to the world. I’ll admit, I did shed a tear or two on the plane back to London. I won’t see my family again for another five months so Otis will change a lot and I will miss it. I should be used to it by now, but it’s never easy saying goodbye to my family. Luckily, I had my camera in my carry-on so I spent most of the flight scrolling through the photos and editing a little film of my time with Lu, Adam and Oaty. I’m delighted I have these photos and videos of that special time being introduced to our new best friend. I can’t wait for all that’s still to come.