Who is Natalie Finney?
I am a fine art and portrait photographer based on Bunurong Country, Bayside Victoria. I work across both digital and analogue processes. I don’t tend to favour one over the other.
My images almost always centre around a person or a botanical element, often both. I’m drawn to the space where beauty, memory, and perception intersect, where something feels familiar, but not entirely certain.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I live by no regrets!
Who inspires you and why?
The list is really endless. First and foremost, my children inspire me every day to create and make pictures. They remind me how to live curiously, instinctively, without overthinking.
My childhood memories also shape a lot of my work with adventures in the bush with my sister and long summers by the ocean. It was a kind of freedom that feels harder to access as an adult.
Aesthetically and from a technical standpoint, Bill Henson and Sally Mann are artists I return to often. Their work carries a depth and emotional weight that resonates deeply with me.
And locally, I’m constantly inspired by the community of women photographers around me who take time to document their worlds while holding everything else that life asks of them.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Slow it down a little. Create more space to notice what’s real and what’s of true value.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
It’s a definite split between Lefkada, an island in the Ionian seas of Greece which is a place tied to my family history, and the Howqua River in the Victorian high country.
Both feel grounding in different ways. One connects me to where I come from, the other to the life we’re building now. Both are places where time seems to stretch out, and life’s stresses unravel.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
I live close to the Mornington Peninsula, which I try not to take for granted. If they were up for it, I’d take them for an early morning bush walk and swim around Flinders. It has this rugged, otherworldly quality to it which feels very mystical. Then we’d follow that with a long lunch and wine tasting at one of the many beautiful wineries in Red Hill.
What are you currently reading?
I’m in a bit of an ebb with reading at the moment. The last series I read was by John Boyne: Earth, Fire, Water and Air. I couldn’t put them down. They are a confronting, beautifully written exploration of the darker edges of human nature.
What are you currently listening to?
I’ve had Laufey on repeat lately which was introduced to me by my 12-year-old daughter! I’m brushing up so I can properly sing along when we see her in July. She’s like a beautiful blend of Björk and Ella Fitzgerald.
Happiness is?
Waking up in a tent to the sound of kookaburras laughing, on the banks of the Howqua River.
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully just a whole lot more making – maybe even delving into more mixed mediums with my photographic practice. Who knows!
Natalie will present her photographic exhibition Second Nature – on display at Cube 37 – Frankston Arts Centre, as part of the 2026 South Side Festival, from 9 May. For more information, visit: www.southsidefestival.com.au for details.
Image: Natalie Finney (supplied)