Stepping outside the box……………..

Those of you that have read this blog before know that I shoot people..mostly. Models, kids, everyday Joes’, this is the genre for me. I have even started taking an interest in weddings #@!%#@ !!!!!..yep, now that a more editorial style is becoming popular and moving away from the 5 or 6 standard poses, its starting to be a bit creative. People like Sue Bryce, Paul Mac and JM Tran are really pushing into new and fun territory. Even Nathan and the guys from Dreamspace productions are getting involved.

So from what you have just read you are now expecting to see an image from a wedding, a cake, shoes or a cutesy wedding ring with heart shadow..wrong, what this post is about is stepping out of the comfort zone, trying something new. From my last post you will see that I have also played with seascapes (arrgh, harder than I thought). Well today folks I will present a faux HDR of a construction project, faux because I haven’t invested in the program as yet. I have shown this image and others like it to a few commercial would be clients recently and almost to a man they have expressed interest in having at least some of this style in their commercial advertising material. I haven’t signed anybody up for it yet, but I strongly believe in perseverance , bug them enough and they will give in just to shut me up. If nothing else it made me look at a pile of steel in a different way. I wonder what an ebony model in a silver catsuit would look like in this, umm……………

Seascape photography…….bloody hard work!!

Those of you that know me realise that I subscribe to the photographic persuasion that believes “if the subject doesn’t have eyes, its boring”. Well soon to be stunned reader, I let you into a revelation, Seascape photography is complex, difficult and anything but boring. The waves don’t stand still, they refuse to take direction, they will not reset because the photographer would like to change angle. Then there is the lighting, you can’t move light modifiers to suit a new composition and try placing a flag or gobo on the rapidly rising sun. Sure there are clouds to help soften or spread the light, but lets face it they drift around aimlessly anyway.

If these issues’ weren’t enough to deal with, no sooner do you set your tripod up on wet sand but it starts to sink, or, and this happened to me just the other day, a particularly devilish wave sneaks up while you are adjusting settings with the sole intention of testing the water tight integrity of the mighty Nikon…not funny, Poseidon . Then just as you are getting comfy with the ever-changing environment,  you realise that settings are changing faster than the incoming tide and you require at least 5 more stops of filter to compensate for the sun frying your sensor.

So you get a few shots, pack up your gear, wash your tripod in fresh water  and then download your images to the Mac only to find…….lets see, umm mediocre at best. This seascape thing, whilst still not my passion, is no doddle. You cannot just take a point and shoot to a pretty location and bingo, have a hangable masterpiece, no this genre takes practice, dedication and perhaps a degree of insomnia. One of the masters of this art form here in Queensland , William from Liquid Boulevard, said to me only two days ago,” If you’re not on the beach by 3.45am, your too late”, OMG !!

The plus side beside the chance to record some stunning emerging light, is that this genre gets you outside taking in the natural wonders that are on our doorstep here on the sunny ( at about 4.15am ) Gold Coast, I have to say though I kept thinking “wouldn’t a raven haired model wrapped in golden silk look good on that rock”,  sorry I still like eyes……………

Its a hard life (not)………

When a designer says ” do you think you would have time to do some shots of some of my designs for a magazine editorial?’, I have to say it doesn’t take long to reply yes!!.

The logistics of these style of shoots can blow all out of proportion to the end result, but for this shoot for award-winning designer Nerina Battaglia, it was easy. Her design office is located one street back from Gold Coast party central, Caville Ave, in an 18 story building with two pool decks,nice!! With the setting sun as a backdrop for the first part of the shoot, mother nature provided a colourful canvas. Using only two Nikon SB600s as fill we managed to capture both the amazing detail of Nerinas workmanship and the beautiful display that so often is provided at sunset here on the Gold Coast of Queensland.

The awesome ability of Olivia from Warpaint Make Up meant that by the time we had relocated to the lower pool deck opposite the Hard Rock Cafe, our South Australian model Sheree had a complete clothing change and new make up applied. Never underestimate the importance of a great make up artist, not only do they do the make up but their ever critical eye can pick up all the faults that take so long in post production to fix. All too soon, thanks to the great team we had, the shoot was over, and I was left realising that, taking pictures with great Nikon products surrounded by talented, enthusiastic people in one of the world most beautiful locations isn’t so bad. It’s a hard life, not!   

History surrounds us…..

In this very young nation, we tend as a whole, to be focussed on looking forward and only remembering snippets of our short colonisation history.

Older countries such as England or Italy revere their past, and even the good ‘ole USA pays homage to the early settlers with much more fanfare than here in Oz. The older city’s of our great nation have monuments dotted around and some truly wonderful examples of colonial architecture. But one area that we tend to shun is cemeteries. These are archeological sites where no digging (creepy) is required.

Overseas’ it is seen as quite normal to make a wax rubbing of a persons headstone, whether they be famous, infamous or that the headstone is unusual. Here in Australia, there are only a handful of groups that participate in this art of recording the past. I am aware that there are only a relative few famous headstones that can be viewed or rubbed, however there are small, obscure grave sites dotted all over the wide brown land, and they tell stories of hardship, boom and bust and diversity. Next time you’re in the country and you see a small grave site, take a five minute break and have a look. It’s not disrespectful, after all your just stopping by to say gidday.

The following image was taken in a relocated cemetery near the Qld/NSW border that had been moved for the construction of the freeway. Headstones in this location dated as far back as 1824, a long time in our short history