This year brought a number of exiting new experiences, both professionally and personally. I walked 100km, photographed under the stars of the Californian desert and surpassed my record for the most number of shoots in a year! It felt so fast though, and I’m still struggling to understand how I managed to pack it all into a year. Here is my top 14 from 2014 in photographs:
Graze – There were a few new additions to my playful food photography series, including some hot potatoes.
Shotkit – I was asked to photograph and talk about some of the gear I use, organised neatly, so I put together a little timelapse video of the process:
360 – Melbourne Hip Hop artist 360, was the subject of an “Ink not Mink” campaign which I photographed for PETA.
Do Lectures Australia and USA – I photographed Do Lectures Australia and also made my way to Do Lectures USA where I met some great minds. I came back inspired and ready to make some big changes.
Oxfam Trailwalker – A painful and exhausting experience, but a truly rewarding and memorable one was training with a group of friends to walk 100km in 34 hours, to raise money for Oxfam Australia, and we did it! Registrations for Trailwalker 2015 is closing soon, get in quick!
Scott Spark – Scott Spark released his new album, muscle memory, which I had photographed the album artwork and promotional photography for. I had taken some playful photographs on a Nishika 3D lenticular film camera during our shoot, which I scanned and turned into this gif:
Peter Berner – I worked with Australian comedian and TV personality Peter Berner, on some new promotional imagery and finally got to use the yellow backdrop that I had been wanting to use for months!
…And I got in! I photographed this night portrait of William Wilkinson, late at night in the desert at Phoot Camp.
PDN Cover – One of the most incredible things that came out of the Phoot Camp experience was this collaboration with Nate Bolt, who flew his drone across the desert as we captured it’s light painting. We ended up getting the cover of the January 2015 issue of PDN!
Travel things – I tacked on a few extra things to my US trip, which included attending Do Lectures USA, a Creative Mornings summit in New York, catching up with colleagues, friends and family and going to Sleep No More (if you’re ever in NYC, it’s a MUST). This is a summary of the experience in one photo:
Squam Lake – Between events, I spent a day out at Squam Lake, New Hampshire. Exactly what I needed to see me off on the last leg of my journey to New York. I also put a photo essay up on Exposure, which you can see here.
Handy Series – Although still in it’s early days, what started out as a series on gang signs, soon turned into a series on creatives and the work they do with their hands. I’ve got a bunch of people lined up to take part in this project so stay tuned for an update!
And for a special bonus 15th, I wanted to share my favourite gif with a bunch of new friends from different Creative Mornings chapters, getting down and attempting to moonwalk at the Summit After party (photo by smilebooth):
Have a great holiday season everyone and all the best for 2015!!!
I worked with the singing, songwriting genius that is Scott Spark again on the artwork and promotional photography for his new album Muscle Memory, which was just been released. Scott has a real knack for not only knowing, but also being able articulate what he wants to see in the photography that goes along side his music and at the same time was able to give me the trust and confidence for me do what I do best. It’s something I love about working with creative people and I think it shows in the photography and the fun gifs we created with my Nishika 3D lenticular camera.
I was in Melbourne on the weekend as the photographer for the Finders Keepers Markets, a rapidly growing bi-annual event held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. It was the first Finders Keepers held in Melbourne and was probably their biggest yet. I think it’s says a lot about the creative community in Melbourne. Here are a few of my favourite shots:
I’m currently expanding to base myself out of both Brisbane and Melbourne so don’t hesitate to get in contact for any portrait, commercial or wedding photography in the area!
I’ve always been a fan of the photography in Frankie and clients will sometimes refer to the work they see in the magazine as a reference to photography they like. So it’s an honour that Scott Spark chose this photo I took to be in his writeup in the mag. You can read and see more photos from my shoot with Scott here.
Scott’s album, “Fail Like You Mean It”, was just released and you can listen/buy it on iTunes or get it at Avid Reader (Brisbane) and JB Hi-Fi.
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:
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.
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.
Some of you may remember Levi Kereama from Australian Idol, or perhaps the R&B group Lethbridge comprised of him and his brothers. Earlier this year I shot the promotional photography for their latest reincarnation, The Bridge. Starting out at Alhambra Lounge in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, we worked the club and headed out to a familiar location where I did the photography for Brisbane Band Dan & Dilmah. With a perfect sky and beautiful clouds, I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
February 13th marked the official launch party of Australia’s dedicated music distributors, Musicadium. With live bands, a great atmosphere and held at one of Brisbane’s best live music venues, the launch party was a huge success.
Playing live gigs , recording, and of course, getting their photo taken, Brisbane band Mr. Rascal have been a busy bunch. With a single launch coming up next week, I worked with the band on photos from a live shoot as well as on location, up in the hills of Brisbane. Much like shooting a band live, it’s always a thrill working outdoors in an uncontrolled environment. With the shoot scheduled for sunset, time of day and weather were the all important variables. We made the most of the overcast sky, and in the dying light, shot a range of different locations. You can see more photos from both shoots on the band’s profile on myspace. Also, be sure to check out their newly uploaded tracks.
The single launch will held at 8pm on the 13th of February at The Troubadour and to top off the night, make sure you make your way to The Zoo afterwards for the Musicadium Launch Partyfeaturing more live music from Ranger, The Westminsters, and The Frankie Band!
For the last few weeks Brisbane based duo ‘Dan and Dilmah’ have been topping Australian radio station, Triple J’s ‘unearthed’ charts, hitting the number one spot in both the ‘overall’ and ‘indie’ categories. I was recently approached by Dan to work on the photography for their press kit and was keen to get on board.
We started the day with a relatively blank slate, but with one intention, to capture the light hearted fun reflected in Dan and Dilmah’s music. With one concept inspiring the next, we went off with a range of different styles. I’ve settled on uploading a shot of Dan body slamming Dilmah. The aftermath wasn’t pretty so I won’t post those… only kidding, a quick thinking Dilmah countered with an uppercut the the left shin and was fine.
You can check out Dan and Dilmah’s page on the unearthed site here. Have a listen to their track ‘awkard turtle’ and if you love it, pop them a comment or vote to keep them in the charts.
