NEC PA301

I've spoilt myself with a gorgeous (if a screen can be) NEC 30 inch hardware calibrated monitor to replace my ageing Eizo. I've done the research, and finally took the leap.

What I found truly amazing is that after the purchase, like a month later, I got an email from Jeremy at +Image Science to say there had been a price drop and he would credit me the difference. That is amazing and he has secured me as a customer for the future.

Jeremy also writes a hugely informative Knowledgebase on his site http://www.imagescience.com.au/pages/Knowledge.html

Hungry Jacks Menu Board

For the third time in my life I've embarked on a massive overhaul of a QSR (Quick Service Retail)( fast food) brand.
The previous times these month long shoots involved the famous Chicken, but this time its for that great Aussie brand Hungry Jacks.

Got involved in the development of the photographic style which we carried through, and got better as we went along.

We shot burgers, sundaes, fries and all things nice for a bleary eyed 29 consecutive days.

It was EPIC. We grew beards. And got a little fatter. And older.

Had a fantastic team in the unflappable Ben Masters (food) Leesa Murray (stylist), Jan Edwards (stylist), my trusted assistant Craig, and Senior Creative Baz Baker from Clemenger.

My fantastic producer Penni deserved a medal for her tireless work behind the scenes.

Feast Magazine

I enjoyed the experience of shooting for SBS Feast Magazine. It was a high paced shoot and I was in a hired studio, which can be challenging, but I got a shot which I'm happy to put in my book.

Its not about the money when shooting for the editorials, as once the agents cut, studio, assistant and file handling time is factored in, we come out with about $40 an hour, but editorial is still an opportunity for creative exploration, and trendspotting.

Pizza Test shoot for Pizza Hut

Got asked to submit a test shoot for Pizza Hut, as they are in the market for a new shooter. Was a good opportunity to work with Ben Masters, whom I'll be working with a lot in the future as we are teaming up for a Hungry Jacks project. We will have to refine our pizza pull technique though...

Allianz Inflatable

Enjoyed shooting for this campaign which required a lot of 3D by +AnimalLogic and retouching by Innes at +ElectricArt. Had to be shot alongside the TVC so it was not my own set to control, which is a bit of a challenge when needing to shoot plates.

Abbotts Village Bakery and Burgen

One of the images I shot for my portfolio last Easter caught the eye of some fine creatives at DDB Sydney and they sold the look to their client George Weston Foods for their Abbott's Village Bakery bread range. Its great to see your own image as reference to your advertising brief.

Worked with stylist Sally Parker and shot both ads in a bright kitchen in Mosman. Would have liked to shoot the moody execution in a studio, and with a little more time, but we work with the tools we have.

Ben Quilty shoot

After reading some time ago that Archibald Winner +Ben Quilty owns a car that coincidentally appeared in one of my images as it lay undiscovered in a yard in Hill End, I was stoked to meet the man and shoot his portrait in his studio in Robertson. Subsequently his agent requested an image for Ben's promotional purposes in Asia.

He was amazed to see the V8 Ford in the image and I sent a print to him. Maybe he sends me something in return...

Shaving the Monkey

It is always a challenge shooting alongside the filming of a TVC. Where normally the photographer controls the shoot, on TV filmset the photog has to conform to the schedule and hierarchy of the TV shoot, grabbing the smallest opportunity (as in seconds to minutes) to get the shots the brief calls for. Add to this the historical animosity of the filmcrew as they get their jobs done, and the overburdened talent who would rather take a break than get a lens in their face for the three hundredth time that day, and the chance of getting a bonus shot from a TVC day is slim.

However when I was shooting a print brief alongside the filming of the current ING TVC,  AD Ben Pearce and I saw this cool barbershop near the the location and thought "that might be a nice shot". When a ten minute window between filming presented itself, a quick negotiation with said barber and some very fast lighting and ten frames of shooting resulted in an image that the agency could present as a bonus to the client.

Client loved the image and decided to run it.

Doesn't happen often...

Annie Leibovitz

So the good thing about Annie Leibovitz having a financial wobble is that it led to a travelling retrospective exhibition that swung by the MCA for a while, and it was of course, my professional responsibility to swing by and have a gander.

So while I was studying photography in the early 90's, she was hot shit and one of the masters of the time. Hell, being the go-to shooter for Rolling Stone can be a career maker in itself, but she did do some pioneering work that will forever speak about that time in photography

And that is just the thing. The digital age has produced a high standard of imagery that we take for granted now, but it also has yielded a glut of mediocre over-treated slap-dash work that has drowned the market and cheapened the medium. So I had to  recalibrate my mind to the fact that the are prints mostly unretouched, technically perfect, and breathtakingly beautiful in some cases, and confronting for the time.

The very personal snapshots in B/W were a nice touch, and a testament that a true photographer is constantly shooting personal shots, sometimes despite great pain

I guess thats what makes real Masters of Photography.

White Rabbit

I must admit I had never really thought about contemporary Chinese art, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that. I think most people could not even contrive a mental picture, but instead a default image of some ancient Chinese artifact might spring to mind.

When I was commissioned to do a portrait of Judith Neilson, the powerhouse founder of White Rabbit Gallery, I did a bit of Google snooping on what exactly encompasses Chinese modern art. Well, quite a lot it seems.

In my limited understanding, since the fall of Communism/ rise of Consumerism and exposure to Western influences- good and bad- free thinking artists from the Worlds biggest economic powerhouse,  unconstrained by purism or tradition and with space and materials, are free to create some seriously whack stuff that defies belief

I particularly enjoyed the latest hanging, with pieces like a full scale Beijing jeep made from tiny triangles of twisted wire, or a full scale alley scene made of embroidery- yes- embroidery. Lets not mention two traditional Chinese garments knitted from a Chinese/English dictionary, so that the alphabetic characters are still visible in the "wool"

Many of the works are so excruciatingly complex in their craft and construction that the appreciation of art itself is diluted by the appreciation of its execution.

Housed in a gorgeous renovated building in Chippendale, with free entry, its a must see and a MF of note.

Mark Jensen enjoys a golden shower

Not that type of golden shower for all you sicko's snickering to yourselves. Started as an idea over coffee, admittedly not mine, and pulled off just for fun. Would make a cute scam ad for pasta or bathroomware I guess.

Mr Jensen is executive chef and part owner of Red Lantern in Surry Hills and is best known for his guest appearances on Ready Steady Cook.

Interestingly, he is also a serious cyclist, which as far as chefs go must be quite a rare combination of talents, not to stereotype or anything.

Styling by Andrew de Sousa and retouching by Todd Sotheren at Creation Theory 

Sod fireman, I wanna be a Photographer

Remember when you were growing up and some well-meaning aunt trying to make conversation with a 7,10,14 year old asked "what would you like to be when you grow up?" Immediately you were transported 10 years into  the future in which in your imagination rendered you in movie poster pose, fighting a monster fire while carrying a svelte damsel...er scratch that..puppy- if you were 7.

So if fireman wasn't your thing it might have been cowboy or nurse or police(person) or something else romantic and exciting given you were naively unaware of the stigma of public service or blue collar endeavors.

Personally I plucked the vocation "Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist" out of thin air because I figured with such a small area of expertise there can't be much to learn ey? Boy, was I wrong about that.

I'm certain that many glamorous vocations were imagined by pimply adolescents over the decades as these jobs were popularized by TV programmmes of the era, I mean who didn't want to be a chopper pilot after watching a barely sober(?) Jan Michael Vincent in "Airwolf" (OK that was the 80's) or more recently every kid wants to be a CSI since the  questionable performance of David Caruso as Horatio made that look uber-cool.

Yes, it might look like they work in a warm -gelled architectural glittering masterpiece where there is are dozens of fancy machines that blip and bleep and spit out data, and all computers announce a verdict in flashing red banners with more bleeps like a frikkin' poker machine, but as anyone who has ever worked in a government lab of any description will tell you, they are grey,  deeply depressing and devoid of energy, and that decomp has a presence on the nose that literally induces the gag-and-flee reflex in any normal human being. Glamorous it aint folks.

So I hear that every Gen YZ'er now has photographer on the top their list of wannabe vocations (aside from just living off their parents), and why not, you just buy a camera and do a quick course and you are set to go. Exotic locations, beautiful models and fame await all who simply take a few pics of their sk8'r buddies and post them on Flick'r.
There is no tedious study or exams involved, you don't have to be bright or clever, and you will never have to wear a suit or cut your hair. Its basically like being a surfer. Only with more chicks.

I get asked all the time "My son/brother/boyfriend wants to be a photographer, what do you think? I have to use restraint not to pull a face and say "Has he considered the exciting world of tax auditing?"
Don't get me wrong, I encourage young fresh talent who push like a railway shunter to get into this industry- because they will crack it-Eventually. If their work has merit and they are mad-keen living /eating /sleeping the medium then nothing will hold 'em back. Just know that there are many of those out there- far more than there used to be- and the pool of work is getting smaller and the money less. We are no longer revered as the alchemists who could capture a scene or object on transparency film with a 4x5 view camera and make it look better than reality. The digital age has given the impression that its just a press of a button (click-SHIFT-F8), but its even more layered than ever. There is so much to learn and know and stay abreast of, and its changing fast. You can use software to do almost anything, but TALENT is God given, and VISION has to be absorbed over years of practicing the craft.

The top end of photographers have worked for years, and will continue to work tirelessly on every aspect of their craft to continuously impress the client today, and in addition will spend half their life on continual self-promotion to ensure that  clients will remember them tomorrow. No guarantees, precious little loyalty, no dental, no pension, and even when you are not physically working you are thinking about some aspect of work. You don't switch off at 5.

 So the question is not whether junior wants to be a photographer- but how BADLY he/she want to pursue this and how MANY YEARS it will take to build a decent portfolio and life sustaining client base to get to a point where nothing will ever be certain anyway. Sound like a good deal?

Some work with Andrew de Sousa

Been doing some projects with Mr de Sousa and really enjoyed working with the man. I must admit most of the stylists I've worked with in the past have been women so its good to be able to shoot the breeze with one of the blokes whilst working. Andrew is a passionate foodie and an absolute Nazi for good ingredient and produce. He also knows where to get the best stuff in Sydney. I hope to do many more shoots as a team.

Rant #?

I don't rant that much..OK maybe I do but thats what happens when you have an opinion, but I don't WHINE, except when I'm really peeved, so here goes....

Why is it that most of the litter I see around, often in the same spot every day, originates from McDonalds. Maccas packaging must be the most recognized form of litter blowing around the streets. OK, maybe second by a small margin to the ever present Coca Cola bottle.

Now I'm not going to climb atop my soapbox all holier than thou, but c'mon, what is the common denominator here.

Clearly there are not enough garbage bins provided or the council is simply not working hard enough to pick up after Mr Macca Snacca. I would never allude to the possibility that Mr Macca Snacca might be inspired to actually walk the 25 paces to where a garbage bin is provided, or, no wait, I'm going way to far to imply he might actually hold onto his packaging until a convenient garbage disposal solution presents itself.

Now to what does one draw a parallel here? Lots of people eat Maccas or KFC or whatever and clearly 99% of those actually do dispose of the evidence properly or we would be swimming in McNugget pouches. So what's up with the rest. Did mommy's little darlings always pick up behind them or is it just a rebel-without-a-clue attitude that "someone below me will pick up after me, co's thats just how I roll"

I'll put money on the fact that within 100m of any fast food outlet is a cluster of packaging, and let me tell you Mr Fast Food Giant, your branding aint lookin' so good when its trash on the street ey?

Now what triggers this little rant is that as visual people we are probably impressed a little more than most by the awesome (overused word but in context here) natural beauty of little corners of the earth we have the pleasure to see in our travels, local and abroad. But why on Gods green earth does some idiot, whilst standing where I'm standing and looking at the same breathtaking scenery, decide that here would be just fine to chuck his frigging Dr Pepper or BonzaBrekkie wrapper I mean, who the hell is expected to follow after m'Lord and pick up the junk that is so thoughtlessly pitched to the ground. The throwaway generation is defining itself by doing just that, but please aim it at the bins provided, if its not too much effort.Ta

Lets not get started on the tagging thing which can't even pretend to be real graffitti.

Peace out

The Defection

Ok, this is frikken weird, as I begin writing this blog, the next bit of music on the iPod random play (and following Linkin no less) is a classical piece entitled simply "Canon in D-Major". Its a genteel little piece that conjures up images of Summer high tea and blokes in stockings. I digress, but seriously, as I hinted in a previous post, I've made up my mind.

After almost 20 years (Ok most of that time shooting was on medium format film and then digital), I'm going to move over to the dark side. Canon has fortified itself as the industry standard. This becomes obvious when gear hire establishments will only hold Canon stuff. Using a Nikon in our circles is becoming , well, like using a PC. There nothing wrong with it. It works, it just isn't the industry standard.

BUT, Canon has another brand new market. Its video capabilities are making it a standard tool of trade for the film guys. Whole episodes of House and 24, not to mention countless scenes in feature films, are being shot on a 5D. TVC's- sure. If they can get away with it, it beats lugging a 35mm Arriflex, and the results are cinematic with a wonderful shallow DOF that, up to now, has not been possible. ( i don't think?)

I'm not going to go to detail, but I'm keen on this stuff. I had a taste of Directing TVC's and I see the confluence of still and motion inevitable in our future. 

So, I'm embarking on that band wagon in an exciting direction, along with many other shooters, and as we photogs blend into the melting pot of film guys and wedding videographers(horror) and all other, we are bound to see those with a visual signature create some beautiful clips- and we are bound to see a plethora of crap too.

Binge Drinking (and other passtimes)

Been holding off on showing these until the Campaign launched, and that was held up for a while, but finally I can show some of the images from GPYR's "When to say When" shoot for the NSW Gov. Anti Binge Drinking thingy. AD was masterfully pulled of by Dave Joubert who was nursing a hangover and precious little sleep. Despite this, the man was a pleasure to work with, and I'm super stoked to have had the opportunity to do so.

Shooting was done in tandem the TV crew, but thankfully I had the time to inherit the set after filming, re-light with flash to freeze the action, and get the cast while they were still warm. Performances were excellent, and kudos to Director Gemma Lee (TaxiFilms) for a fantastic casting job.
I used the opportunity to try a Nikon D3S in tandem (lots of tandems today) with my D700. (Medium format was not needed). Although the unit is of course superb, I didn't feel it quite lived up to the launch hype, and unless you really need the high ISO stuff...well, lets just say I didn't feel the need to own it. In fact, I get the feeling that my near 20 year relationship with Nikon is about to come to an end. More about that later

The images I'm posting here are from a personal alternative story to the stuff that ran.

The message comes across clearly methinks...drink too much and you will make a tool of yourself at the least, or get into serious shit (or dead) at worst.