FOR those of us that have lived in regional WA, it's an all-familiar feeling - that sense of elation that washes over you as you drive through the last set of city traffic lights before heading back home to the bush.
It is that sentiment that Denmark photographer Nic Duncan wanted to encapsulate with her exhibition, Beyond the Traffic Lights, in showcasing how people live beyond the city boundaries.
"Life is different out there, and I wanted people living in the metropolitan area to be able to get a glimpse of that through my photographs," Ms Duncan said.
So she spent six months gathering more than 100 portraits throughout regional WA last year, and on her return struck a deal with Screenwest to display them.
And what better place to do that than right in the heart of the Perth central business district, where the heart-warming images lit up the circular screen of the Yagan Square Digital Tower at the intersection of Wellington and William Streets, throughout December.
Although she wasn't able to travel to Perth during that time to see the photographs, Ms Duncan was understandably thrilled to have such a unique venue to exhibit the images.
It's certainly not something she would have envisaged when she moved to the south coast of WA 17 years ago as a single parent to one child with a signmaking and graphic design business.
The move marked the start of her ongoing 'Lives Well Lived' personal portrait project, and her transition into professional photography.
Things grew from there, to the point that Ms Duncan became an accredited photographer, and built a business around wedding photography and portraiture.
In 2015 she was named AIPP WA Professional Portrait Photographer of the Year and is a double-finalist in the 2020 National Photographic Portrait Prize, the winner of which will be announced at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on Friday, March 13.
"During our meander around WA last year, my Lives Well Lived project expanded to include side-projects (and hashtags) of Living Life Differently and Living Life Well," she said.
"I love doing environmental and character portraits - by showing the person in their own environment, you can tell a part of their story, whether it's in their living room surrounded by their belongings, or outside with their sheepdog."
It's this love for telling a story with a photograph that resulted in Ms Duncan's "meander", a journey the length of WA last year, and culminating in Beyond the Traffic Lights.
In March 2019 she and husband Steve, and their Labradoodle Jazzy, set off in a 4WD towing an off-road camper, for what would be a six month and 22,000 kilometre adventure purely aimed at gathering images.
With almost a "whichever way the wind blew" mindset, they had no solid plans for the route they would take north from their south coast Denmark home, other than needing to make it to Broome by June for Steve to fulfil a work contract.
"We had no set route and no set time frame - we made it up as we went along, and just did what felt right," Ms Duncan said.
They began the adventure with five weeks in the Wheatbelt before venturing into station country, travelling inland through to Carnarvon and then along the coast up to Broome, then Wyndham and Kununurra.
On their return route they went back down through places like Marble Bar and Paraburdoo, weaving their way through inland WA through the Goldfields.
"We spent the majority of our time on dirt roads - if we had a choice between a sealed and dirt road we'd always choose the dirt track, even if it added 800 kilometres to our trip," she said.
They also avoided staying in caravan parks as much as they could, preferring to camp on stations or next to a shearing shed on properties where Ms Duncan had taken photographs.
She said their first stop after setting off was the Wheatbelt town of Lake Grace, where she photographed several of the town's elders and artists, as well as taking some professional photos for some local businesses and some family portraits.
Once she'd finished there, it was simply a case of where to next?
They were going to stop in Corrigin, but lingering smoke from stubble burn-offs was not ideal for her lungs recovering from a bout of pneumonia, so they continued along to Bruce Rock.
"We were contacted by Bruce Rock photographer, De Strange who offered us a spot to camp on their farm," Ms Duncan said.
"Through De we met and photographed some wonderful characters and made lasting friendships along the way."
Word of mouth dictated things to a degree - Ms Duncan received a phone call from someone looking to have family portraits done in Kalannie, so that was the way they headed.
"As it turned out, some of my favourite portraits from our trip were taken around Kalannie, including those of father and son famers, Robert and Robin Hester," she said.
Of all the places they stopped at, Ms Duncan said two of the most fun places on their trip were Wyndham and Marble Bar.
"We loved the people there, and the fact they were small towns untouched and unspoilt, attracting occasional travellers rather than regular tourists," she said.
"We loved them for all the things they weren't, not what they were.
"It was also really easy to meet the locals, who were really welcoming and friendly."
Ms Duncan said they could be photographing people in the day, and then having a gin and tonic with them in the evening.
Pleasingly she didn't have any reluctant subjects, everyone she approached was happy to be photographed.
"I am genuinely interested in people and their stories, and people generally enjoy sharing their stories," she said.
"I also soon realised that a lot of people didn't necessarily have access to photographic services so they were grateful for the opportunity."
One memorable subject was Wyndham's Pixie Ferguson, who Ms Duncan describes as a real character and whom she has spoken to a number of times since returning home.
Pixie runs Pixie's Tin Shed at the old port in the town, which contains a real eclectic mix of things such as old vinyl records and second hand books.
She tells the story of how Pixie is the founder, and possibly only member, of Pixie's Yacht Club.
"As she deftly rolled herself a smoke and tucked it into her black cigarette holder Pixie told me how she wasn't allowed to call it the Wyndham Yacht Club or the Royal Yacht Club," Ms Duncan said.
"She also confessed that she doesn't actually own a boat or even know how to sail one.
"So when visiting boats moor up in Wyndham Port, I asked do the yachties take her sailing?
"'They have to,' she said, 'I'm the commodore'."
Another memorable encounter was while at the Marble Bar Ironclad Hotel, where she happened across five NASA research scientists.
"One evening five men dressed in polo shirts and cargo pants appeared in the hotel, looking very out of place amongst the gold prospectors," she said.
"I couldn't help but ask them where they were from, and it turned out they were studying fossils around the town as part of the 2020 Mars Landing."
While some people they spent a lot of time with, others were just chance encounters literally on the road.
One such incident was on their way to Carey Downs station, and there was a road block between Gascoyne Junction and Wooleen Station.
"Here, in the middle of nowhere, I photographed a girl making popcorn on a gas stove on the side of the road," Ms Duncan said.
On her return, she said each portrait subject was sent a fine-art print or digital files of their photograph.
"I always try to give something back to the people who let me loose with my camera," she explained.
Through Screenwest 106 of Nic's portraits were shown at Yagan Square throughout December, right at a time when big numbers of the metropolitan population flock to the city before Christmas, and as they have the rights for 12 months are likely to exhibit them again this year.
When deciding on the name, Beyond the Traffic Lights, for the exhibition, Ms Duncan said she couldn't help but think about how she felt when driving home to Denmark from a trip to Perth, and the feeling of driving through the last set of traffic lights before beginning the trek south along Albany Highway.
"I always feel like tooting the horn in celebration that I'm heading back out into the country, away from the city," she said.
But this is by no means the end of this photographic project, with Ms Duncan already thinking about the next big road trip.
"We could spend six months just in the Wheatbelt alone," she said.
"Originally our plan was to do WA in 2019, and then in another year or two maybe South Australia, or rural New South Wales.
"But since we've come back, we've been thinking that maybe we haven't finished with WA yet."
"We're already looking for suggestions of people and places, and ideally camping spots on people's properties.
"Camping that way not only allows us to stay on the road longer but it's a great introduction into local communities."
The trip has also had a profound personal impact on the couple, changing them and the way they see the world.
"After spending 90 per cent of our time outdoors for six months, we really struggled being back in the house," she said.
"We now see our hometown through fresh eyes, and we also realised that we don't need any more than a camper - everything we need to live can fit in a camper.
"It definitely changed us, and we can't wait to do it again."