Ivor the Tiger

No, Garth Wood actually. Powerhouse middleweight contender to the crown.

Had a great shoot with the man. Confident and focussed, yet refreshingly humble. He was pretty good too, hehe. Would not like to be on the receiving end of that right hook! Anthony Mundine will be, for their fight in December. Go Garth! Many thanks to the team that contributed, Michelle Dube as MUA, her site is here and photo assisted by Sam Burns. Check out Sams site here.

Rare

There is something in this little word that has power and attraction. I know, I'm under its spell. I'm like the millions of other anoraks out there (even though I don't actually own an anorak). Like all that suffer under the mantle of the of the collector stigma, I am just a little thrilled by the notion that some of the material objects  i have procured in my life are just that little bit harder to acquire now, and, if you wanted it you would have spend the time and the money to get your paws on it. I'm not saying the object in question had to have been made from pure plutonium, by a octogenarian pygmy in a himalayan village at 3500m above sea level, or have been through the digestive tract of a forest animal (that one actually exists already) but I digress....I just have an appreciation for the fact that, whatever the thing in question is, it was made well, by someone who cares a little bit about their craft, possibly some time ago when quality was not a marketing hype, and preferably not in China. And hey,  if its hard to find the other one....even better.

Ok, Like I say, this is probably a blaring indicator that I'm getting dangerously old, but don't jump to conclusions. The disciples of cool have also latched onto this or there wouldn't be so many Melbournian hipsters cruising around on late seventies Colnagos, but I'm jumping ahead of myself here.

I've lost my train of thought.....anyway. What's brought this to my attention is that as I trawl the dark recesses of that happy hunting ground for things you probably-don't-need-but-want-anyway, ebay, I find that when I want something, no matter how obscure, 50 other bastards want it too, and will fight for it. The other day I was after a nice vintage suitcase to keep my portfolio in, and whatdaya know, everybody in Australia had the same idea.

Still , here I am, always with an eye out for that something. It might be something that I'm passionate about and have built a knowledge of over the years (old Porsches as a f'rinstance), or something that I chance upon and appreciate for the above reasons, and additionally, the notion that I'll have one of the few ever made- sick, I know, but its part of who I am, my personal taste, an eclectic collection of things that collectively describe who I am. Its not about how rare, or expensive, or if it was made in a shed, but rather that I truly love the way it looks, feels, works. Sidebar: I don't get excited about stamps, just not enough to love, but thats just me. Rare by accident, but I'm probably showing ignorance.

BTW, It would seem to me that the retro movement has for awhile now infiltrated the Church of the Disciples of Cool, and this is not necessarily a good thing. If the Disciples dictate, and followers follow, then the the matter of personal taste and choice is lost, and that defeats the purpose. Much like music, people follow what they think is cool simply because thats what the radio says.  It also means there are more people driving up the prices, but thats a vicious circle. Great if you bought in early, but again I'm off topic. I'm also tired, and I don't quite no where I'm going with this- or even what I'm talking about.

Mmm

Just a weird scene, captured on iPhone

The thing with being a photog in the advertising industry is that the jobs you quoted- possibly wrote a treatment for, went through all the associated bumpf but missed out on for whatever reason-be it creative differences or simply budget- often appear to taunt you on billboards and bus shelters, as they were executed by whoever landed the job. Thats fine, its all part of the deal.

What really, really ticks me is when a prestigious brand belonging to a major company, as in the major-est (read Cola) will cut costs to the point that the campaign looks just plain frikkin' amateur. Now I'm not going into specifics here mainly because these internet ramblings thing have a habit of biting in the bum later, but I saw a new campaign that I happen to know some history behind, and I'm sorry to say, this is a product of post GFC advertising. The lowest bidder got the job, and produced a second rate job of the photography. This is fine and good if your product is Country Betsy's homemade jam cakes, but when its a pretty premium version of sugar water which costs more than fresh blood. C'mon people.

Now if your'e thinking I'm just sour grapes, you'd be wrong, this wasn't a job I lost out on. But my eyes are open to the fact that the previous ad campaign for this product was pretty well done, with beautiful photography befitting the calibre of the product, and I also happen to know that a new agency is now handling the brand, and I've been around long enough to know that its not necessarily their fault (although it may well be), but the whole issue is that it is indicative of what is going on in our industry. An acceptance of mediocrity as a solution to ever tightening budgets.

The notion that, if average is cheap, then its just fine, as nobody will really notice, and thats just the thing- they will notice. Even if its subliminal, a low craft job for a premium product is just not on.

Now, I don't really know what brought on a particular flurry of disgust in this case, because this is happening everywhere, and all the time. Maybe because in this example the regression in quality was so sudden, from first rate to third rate in one campaign. Just like that. The sad thing is that its symptomatic of the way thing are being done now. Quickly and cheaply. Get it on, get it out.

Over Indulgent Alcohol Consumption

Loved working on the Government Binge Drinking awareness campaign with veteran creative David Joubert @ GPYR Sydney. The TV shoot was done by Taxi productions ' director Gemma Lee. Now, I've been on a fair few TVC's and hell, even directed a few, so it was eye opening to see how the game has changed. Filming was done exclusively on a 5D Mkll. Fast lenses/shallow depth primes, ease of movement, and not burning film at 50fps sure does open up the creative possibilities, and speed of shooting. Its exciting and slightly scary what the possibilities are.