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.

Garth Wood

+Garth Wood knocked out Anthony Mundine in 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCxXbzJxF5M
and I got him to throw a few punches at me, all of which he thankfully missed on purpose, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this.

Garth grew up tough on the mean streets of Redfern (when they were meaner and there were no hipsters and tapas bars) and after a career in footy he found his salvation in boxing.

MUA Michelle Dube had an opportunity to shoot with the man and I jumped at it. There was no "tough guy" attitude from Garth which was refreshing and he spoke freely about his fears and dreams.

I wish him all the best in his career.

Update: This image won a Silver with Distinction Award at the APPA awards.

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.