Tyra Jane of @tjane12 seems to embark on some pretty special adventures for her work. Her gorgeous feed documents these, along with a nice mix of food, flowers, animals and fun. Here, she shares more about what goes on behind-the-scenes of @tjane12.
Tyra, this shot is stunning, we can tell you’re a big fan of spending time in the water. Where are your favourite beach spots, and what goes in your day bag for the adventure?
If you want to know what makes me happy, it’s sea, sand and sun! The beach is the one place I LOVE to escape to as it’s the one place where I’m truly in my element and can switch off. As a result of this, I’m a strategic beach planner (weird, I know). I’m always hunting for the quietest beaches so I can have 100% uninterrupted beach time. Favourites would include Cabarita and even Kawana, which is near where I grew up!
This pic was taken on a beautiful afternoon at Currumbin Beach with a good friend of mine. We were actually there to shoot some models but they didn’t arrive so she forced me in front of the camera. What I loved about this day was that due to it being Summer, the afternoon water was just SO perfect. Summer can’t come soon enough!
My beach essentials usually include minimal items! You’ll find me with no make up on, bikinis great for tanning, oil and of course… Cocobella coconut water!
You recently took a trip to Mykonos, which looked so beautiful. What has been your most rewarding overseas adventure so far, and what’s on your list of to-dos?
Mykonos… now this is a story to remember! Imagine your first day at your new job being on the beaches of Platis Yialos, Mykonos! Hard to believe right? Well, this happened (long story, let’s save that for another time) and this image was actually shot from the balcony of my beautiful Villa. Fun fact, Steve Aoki and Lindsay Lohan were on the big black yacht you can see at the back of the image.
As far as destinations go, Mykonos was SO inspiring. From the incredible crisp white buildings to the crystal clear water to the cobble stones on the streets – it’s feels unreal and is totally unforgettable! It definitely has been my most rewarding trip so far and has inspired me to want to travel Europe next year to experience a proper #EUROSUMMER!
We love this snap! What an exciting experience this must have been. Are you a bit of a daredevil and constantly embarking on wild adventures? Or do you need to consciously try to step outside of your comfort zone for new experiences?
Sky diving was one of the most incredible moments of my life and was an experience I got to share with my sister on her 25th birthday, making it extra special. We had talked about it for some time and were extremely eager to hurry up and make it happen and when it finally did… WOW.
I think what amazed me the most about sky diving was that not at any point did I feel fear. All I felt was pure joy! Making it super rewarding, and probably me a little crazy, right?
I’m the kind of girl who will put her hand up for anything, regardless of judgement. It’s not rare for me to volunteer myself for something crazy or make a fool of myself just to have a little fun! So I guess you can say that I crave a sense of excitement and find it in odd ways.
Tyra, can you tell us a bit about your relationship with animals? We can see a lot of cute creatures in your feed; cows, horses, dogs, cats, koalas, kangaroos and even elephants!
My mum raised me without fear of animals and it’s something I’m truly grateful for! It’s common to find me stopping randoms on the street to ask about their dogs or sharing stories of random situations I’ve been in (e.g. working with elephants in Bali) or jumping fences to get a little closer. There’s something about animals that amaze me, I truly think that we are so blessed to have such incredible creatures sharing the planet with us and find so many species fascinating!
Probably one of my most loved animals (aside from being obsessed with lions) is cows. This pic was taken when I was driving out to my mother-in-laws property and got lost and couldn’t help but pull over at this paddock (it was very convenient to get lost and end up there). It was such a beautiful moment – as I walked up to the fence they started walking over out of curiosity and then even let me pat them. I stayed here for ages just taking in the moment. Cows are usually quite solo creatures so it was so magical.
Wow, this sunflower farm looks breath-taking, it must have been magical to experience in real life! You must get to visit a lot of incredible locations with your job as a photographer. Can you tell us about some other stunning spots you’ve visited in Australia?
At the top of my list of obsessions is sunflowers. I’ve always said that if I was a flower, I would be one. Why? Because they stand tall, are vibrant and follow the sun!
For this season we left it a little late to head out to this field in Warwick. Resulting in us driving around for hours to find a crop that was still alive. Just as we were giving up and leaving town we spotted this field. If you want to know what pure joy looks like, it’s me spotting the field, and then getting amongst it!
What a lot of people probably don’t know is that it’s extremely hot out there (middle of Summer, in the country), the flies are insane and to be careful when jumping barb-wire fences. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me with a barb in your knee!
A lot of location shoots that I do are for personal enjoyment (for example, this one). I shoot fashion during the week and on weekends if I’m not at the beach, I’ll be hunting for a new waterfall or local destination where I can escape the city and take some beautiful photos. A location that I love but haven’t taken photos at yet (my camera was broken at the time) was Yamba. Walking the trails and watching migrating humpback whales and examining the different textures of the rocks and dunes was so inspiring. Definitely going back with a camera soon.