3000 Streets is the photographic trace of Mike Reed’s near and far wanderings in the worlds’ arteries with the odd servings of meatier bites than others but always a lean towards the unusual and quirky.

In retirement, Reed has travelled more the less travelled roads around Melbourne, Australia and overseas. Ever observant in this vast playhouse of life, Reed endeavours to capture a unique, unrepeatable moment in time, a slice of reality, and honest, unstaged, comical side at “f 8 and 1/125 “. No Photoshopping, Instagram or Snapchat filters either, and shooting always with a camera and not a phone.

In Reed’s early years, he meandered the Elster Creek, streets and lanes around East Brighton, peeking into strangers’ backyards or just rambling for a quiet time alone. Reed’s father was a rag and bone man, collecting iron, copper and lead to make ends meet. Reed has assimilated him with his books, art and human detritus and with now more so his photographic witticisms. With his first camera, Reed ventured out at first to document his “sightseeing” and wanderings in a VW.

In 35 years as a film editor, he observed, selected, evaluated, spotted the good takes of wild or planned action rolling through at 25 frames a second. He learned to compute and react very quickly “to see”. So, when not chasing deadlines, Reed was out capturing the quirky world around him in grain and pixel during the short infrequent breaks in the torrent of brain numbing schedules. Now off the time line, photography is number one priority for expression and creativity, ever seeking the comedy or odd twist and from “outside the square”.