10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Today I’ve got the talented Jo here to share where she finds all the brilliant places she photographs in Perth. Jo has a knack of discovering the most beautiful, brightly-coloured walls where ever she goes. Today she’s sharing her top ten. I’d love to feature more awesome walls around Australia, so if you’re a keen photographer and feel like doing a guest post, please get in touch. But first here’s Jo {find more from Jo over at her blog}.

Hands up if you love colour?

And exploring?

And art?

And photography?

Well, read on because today I’m sharing some of my fave colour pops from my hometown of Perth in the form of artistic walls that are just begging to be rocked!

It’s become such a burgeoning trend in Perth for artists to choose the streets as one huge canvas for their work.  So much so that businesses and Local Councils are commissioning artists all over the world to show their work here.  The days of unwanted graffiti and tags done in the middle of the night have well and truly moved over {or been painted over?} making way for emerging and established artists who are helping turn Perth’s once concrete jungle into a colourful urban streetscape.

I totally get that street art might not be everyone’s thing.  But to me that is what really makes it so great.  It’s subjective, so if it’s not your cup of tea, no problem, just keep walking.

I’ve been seeking out cool walls for as long as I’ve been on Instagram.  It started as a little hobby around the time my son was born {he’s now 3.5 years} that I thought was a cool way to record his growth and also some of the more colourful parts of our city.  I honestly thought it might last a couple of months but we’ve now rocked more than 200 walls in three years, some before he could even walk! You can see them here.

Some general rules I try to stick to when planning a good wall-rocking shot:

  • Shoot in the shade: shadows and walls aren’t friends. Try and avoid direct sun when the light is at its harshest and the shadows detract from the artwork;
  • Scale is important: try to include something that shows how big and detailed the space is, either with a prop {see below} or including the wall’s roof-line or the ground;
  • Props are important: much like the above they help show scale. Most of my shots feature my little wallflower but if you don’t have a little one that is keen to be photographed, try to find a prop like a bike, or a street sign or hold something in your hands, like a coffee cup. Better yet, put yourself in the frame and get a friend to shoot you!
  • Take the photo “square on” by standing parallel with the wall. Use the grid lines on your phone to make sure you are shooting straight and not on an angle. This is where framing the photo showing a bit of ground is helpful {only if the ground there is straight in the first place of course!}
  • If using your kids as props, candid shots work just as well as staged ones. I often get Mr O to “point to the aeroplane”, “show me your silly face” or “run as fast as you can along the wall” as well as the old faithful “say cheese!”.Keep it interesting and fun for them too.
  • Make sure you have lots of free phone memory as you will inevitably take about 20 shots for one good one to share online!
  • Safety first: many of the walls are in lane-ways or car parks so keep one eye on your surroundings and one ear to the ground while taking your pics.

So to answer the question I get asked a lot “where do you find all these cool walls?” today I’m sharing my top 10.  I gotta say, it was HARD to narrow it down to just this selection but so fun remembering too.

So, buckle up, and let me take you on a colourful ride…

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Lucky 9 florist/convenience store, 527 Beaufort Street, Highgate {opposite the Queens Hotel}.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Grill’d Restaurant, 128 Oxford Street, Leederville {there is a similar one inside too!}.

Artist:  This is Klara.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Ria Malaysian Restaurant, 106 Oxford Street, Leederville {this wall is HUGE and this only shows about one third of it}.

Artist:  The Black Mountains.

Wall 4 - pink stripes

Location: Central Institute of Technology, Richmond and Oxford Streets, Leederville.  There is a very similar version of this in black and aqua in Chinatown, Northbridge.

Artist:  Brett Chan.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Wolf Lane, 321 Murray Street, Perth.  This is inside a locked car park so it’s best to visit mid-week.

Artist:  Anya Brock.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Wolf Lane, 321 Murray Street, Perth.  Showing just how popular this this wall is, when I visited this day there were another five wedding parties waiting in the wings for their turn!

Artist:  Maya Hayuk.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Ootong & Lincoln cafe, 258 South Terrace, South Fremantle.  And in case you’re wondering, the zebras names are Ootong & Lincoln {although I’m not sure which is which}!

Artist:  Anya Brock.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Grosvenor Lane, Mount Lawley {part of the Laneway Collective} and yes that’s a real lemon tree behind the fence… look closely and you can see the fruit!}

Artist:  Paul Deej.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Bathers Beach carpark, 47 Mews Road, Fremantle.  This whole building, which is the electrical sub-station, is painted with summer and nautical influences.

Artist:  Too Much Colour.

10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth

Location: Telstra Exchange Building {yes really, and so new the paint is still wet!}, 1331 Albany Highway, Cannington.  This photo is about a quarter of the building, so many opportunities for colour here!

Artist:  Leanne Bray.

I so hope that colour makes you happy and if you’re a local or visiting our sunny shores, I’d love to say hello at some of these colour pop spots!

Which one is your fave?

18 thoughts on “10 of the best walls to photograph in Perth”

    • I totally thought the same but once I started looking I realised they were everywhere! Most of these are random finds on our way out to brekkie or the park etc 🙂

    • A series would be fantastic huh! {Hello, Qantas…? haha!} I’ve shared my top 10 from the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast on my blog, after a little trip there a few weeks back. But would love to see/do more! 🙂

  1. Thanks again for having me Chantelle! I loved doing this, and helping share a little bit of WA with your readers. Would love to do more with you next year xx

    • Yes! I’ve seen it as part of sixtwothreezero. I used to travel to Bunno a lot for work, not so much these days but might head down after the next release, I think it’s only a couple of weeks away?

  2. Ok so this is not a ‘wall’ as such, but you might love the rainbow tunnel in Thornlie! It is in the walkway underpass closest to Thornlie high on Regency Drive. You access it via Ovens Rd. I love it!

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