Well, I’m off to go camping in another country with a bunch of strangers from the internet!  Ok, it’s not really as creepy as it sounds. It all started with a self portrait application, submitted to Pictory, to be a part of the second year of Phoot Camp.  It was an amazing opportunity to hang out, collaborate and meet with inspiring creatives and photographers.  So I’m in Los Angeles right now, in a few hours I’ll head out to stay at a mansion with 27 photographers for a weekend of fun.  That’s pretty much all I really know for now, I’ll update in a few days!

Working with creative people, particularly musicians, is always a pleasure.  It often feels more like a collaboration of creative ideas, rather than a strict brief.  I met up with Brisbane singer/songwriter Scott Spark, to discuss his new album and the imagery he wanted to back it.  We talked about a few themes and locations that he felt would suit best.  Eventually, we decided on two locations, both indoor and out.  Here are some of my favourite shots from the shoot.

Scott’s album, “Fail Like You Mean It” is due for release in August.  For a preview, you can check out his stuff here: http://scottspark.bandcamp.com and on iTunes.

Following a few busy months since my last BNE project shoot, I met up with John Davis a guitar repairer based up in Red Hill in Brisbane.  For those unfamiliar with the project, every person selected for the BNE project is chosen by a previous BNE participant.  John Davis was selected as the inspiration of one of my early BNE portraits, Dan from Dan and Dilmah.

I caught up with John a few days before the shoot at his store and spent a few hours chatting and observing, amongst a constant influx of passionate guitar lovers frequenting the store.  One of the things I noticed about John is that when he was working, he was constantly in motion.  Whether it was chatting to three customers at once or restringing a guitar, the man is always on the move!  I came back a few days later and despite having scheduled the shoot after hours to avoid interruptions, John was still juggling customers and fixing guitars into the night.  This passion for his work, people, and guitars is something I really wanted to capture with this shoot.

I recently did a shoot for Hailey Calvert, an incredibly talented Brisbane singer-songwriter.  We set out to shoot a few different locations based on some of Hailey’s inspirations and tell the story of her and her music.  You can check out some of Hailey’s music here: myspace.com/haileycalvert.
Here are a few of my favourite shots:

Brisbane’s creative community can feel like one big happy family at times, so shooting for Finders Keepers this weekend was lots of fun.  An event originating in Sydney, the Finders Keepers markets supports local designers and artists through a two day independent market. I spent most of the day strolling around, listening to music and chatting to stall owners about their creations and the ideas behind them.  It’s really left me feeling re-inspired to focus a bit more on my side projects like VonVintage, and the BNE project, to bring more to a photograph than just a print on a wall or an image online.   Here are some of my favourite stalls and shots from the day.  More images can be found here and soon in the Finders Keepers gallery.

In support of the Inspire Foundation and to help raise funds and awareness for the prevention of suicide and improvement of mental health and well being in men, the “Man Book” was launched today.  Put together by the very inspiring Mark Pollard and Gavin Heaton, the book titled The Perfect Gift for a Man – 30 Stories about Reinventing Manhood, focuses on the stories of 30 contributors on topics such as respect, fragility and loss.  Although I didn’t manage to write anything for the book, I was honoured to play a part through my contribution as a photographer.  2 images, destined to spend the rest of their lives on my hard drive, were given life and purpose again through use on the front cover and within the book!  For more information on the book, head to theperfectgiftforaman.com.au or you can support the Inspire Foundation by buying an

eBook:
http://www.theperfectgiftforaman.com.au/products-page/

or a

Real life physical book!
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/915312

Please buy this perfect gift for the men in your life.

Earlier in the year, as part of my BNE Project, I did a shoot with Joshua Levi (Brisbane photographer, gallery owner, entrepreneur), while he was working on the construction of a second new gallery.  I had always intended on doing the second portrait for the series back in the same space once it had been finished, but also really wanted to somehow incorporate more of Josh as well as his trademark bathtub at his main gallery.  Residing mainly at Joshua Levi Galleries in Woolloongabba, the vintage clawfoot tub had been used in helping to promote his past shows as well as in his latest combined photographic exhibition “Coke Can Spirituality” where it even found itself on the back of a ute in front of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s electoral office.

Like most of my shoots, we threw around a couple of ideas and tried out a few different approaches before deciding how we wanted in the shot to look and everything to work.  After rehanging and rearranging all of Josh’s own “bathtub” photography a few times and having to refill the tub (and clean up) after a few explosive splashes, we finally ended up with what we wanted.

As I did with the previous shoot, I also shot a time lapse video:

The first portrait and timelapse of Josh from the BNE project series photo shoots:

Last month I had a photo shoot with Gold Coast band Hobo Obituaries.  I was told they had a space where they did all their recording and spent most of their time hanging out, and although I hadn’t seen it until the day, was pretty sure it would make for some interesting photos.  I approached the shoot with a few fairly loose ideas, but with the main intention of just capturing the brothers being themselves in their own environment.  From Jack Russells to low rider bicycles we had a lot of fun incorporating as much of their lives into the shoot.  It really reinforced my view of working with people to achieve something fun and real, rather than just directing them.

Video from the shoot:

I love visiting Japan and I specifically love the city of Tokyo, where I spent a lot of my childhood.  Although I’ll often spend a lot of time catching up with family, and this time, actually spent a lot of it catching up on work, I made some time to take some photos around town.  I’m fascinated with documenting the lifestyle, and history of the country, all within such a rapidly evolving culture.  I’ve chosen a few images to share, from ‘Old Japan’ to the faces of Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s famous shopping and entertainment districts.

Last night I attended the preview opening of ‘Underexposed’ an exhibition showcasing some amazing live band photography from Brisbane Photographers.  With well over a dozen photographers, such as Dane Beesley, Kylie Keene and Elleni Toumpas showcasing their work, the walls were filled with hundreds of images over the last 20 years of music history.  It was great to finally meet some photographers who’s work I have seen through various street press, online and social media.  With local music from local bands and musicians the atmosphere couldn’t be more fitting.  Underexposed opens tonight at Joshua Levi Galleries in Wooloongabba and will be featuring live music in the gallery every Friday and Saturday until the end of the show.  More details and gig dates below.

UNDEREXPOSED @

JOSHUA LEVI GALLERIES

4 Ipswich Rd
Woolloongabba

April 17 – May 4 2009

LINKS

Underexposed: underexposed.com.au
Joshua Levi Galleries: joshualevigalleries.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/event.php?eid=64634172081

GIGS

Tickets: available here

FRI APR 17 – OPENING NIGHT

BLACK MARKET RHYTHM CO / Drawn from Bees / Tim Loydell and the Deckchairs / Banawurun / Mikki Ross & MORE SOON!

SAT APR 18

SCREAMFEEDER / My Fiction / Grand Atlantic / The Cairos / Parlour Style / Chloe Tully & MORE SOON!

FRI APR 24 – HIP HOP NIGHT

IMPOSSIBLE ODDS / 333 / XXI / TSO & MORE SOON!

SAT APR 25

VILLAINS OF WILHELM / The Bloodpoets / Davey Spicer and the Creatures of Habit / High Plains Drifter / White Mansions & MORE SOON!

FRI MAY 1

RHIANNON HART / Georgia Potter & Band / Yeo and the Fresh Goods / Mick McCombe / The Horse Darkly / Dave Di Marco & MORE SOON!

SAT MAY 2  – CLOSING NIGHT PARTY

THE TRAVELLING SO & SO’S / Blame Ringo! / The Quills / Pear and the Awkward Orchestra / Dan & Dilmah / Bernie Carson  & MORE SOON! (more…)