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Bixby Creek Bridge

May 1, 2017 – 1:10 pm

I recently made another visit to the United Stated to attend the Creative Mornings Summit in Austin, Texas.  We started our road trip with Creative Mornings crews from Oakland, Montevideo, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Tijuana and Melbourne.  Following the event, I joined Phoot Camp friends David Worthington and Kristina Yamamoto for another road trip from Portland back down to LA where we drove, hiked and photographed some of the most beautiful spots in between. We had almost made it to LA, with coastal fog obscuring most of our Big Sur drive. Despite the poor visibility, it actually made for some dramatic photos which I hope to share more of soon. This was the Bixby Creek Bridge which apparently rarely ever looks like this.

Bixby Creek Bridge | Mark Lobo Photography | Melbourne

Experiments with Infrared Photography

May 31, 2016 – 2:53 pm

I recently converted one of my old backup cameras into a “Full Spectrum” DSLR.  The process allows me to use the camera to filter out specific ranges of light using filters.  I was specifically interested in photographing in the infrared spectrum of light and brought my camera along to a weekend away with a few talented photographers in Mt. Beauty, a few hours drive from Melbourne.  This is one of my favourites from the weekend. Im thrilled with the results! I’ll update the “Projects” section of my website soon with a few more, once I get around to sitting down in front of it all!

Infrared Photography | Mark Lobo | Melbourne

My office walls, thanks to One Fine Print

April 28, 2016 – 8:23 pm

Sharing a studio with One Fine Print has its perks. We had some fun filling up our massive office walls with some huge new prints! You can read more about them here and check out the little timelapse we made below!

Honest Flatlay

March 31, 2016 – 4:01 pm

After wrapping up a shoot early last week, I decided to dump literally everything I had in my bag out and arrange it into a tidy flat-lay.  I think this could be the start of yet another series…

Mark Lobo | Melbourne | Honest Flatlay

Phillip Island

January 31, 2016 – 6:58 pm

I recently joined a few Instagrammers out on Phillip Island, just under two hours out of Melbourne, for a tour of the beautiful coastline out at Cape Woolamai. There wasn’t much of a sunset like we had hoped for, but it made for the most peaceful night, shooting long exposures of the waves and seeing the silhouettes of thousands of Short-tailed Shearwaters flying above. It was so refreshing to get excited about photography outside of my professional style of work and just have some fun.  This is what I saw:

Mark Lobo Photography | Phillip Island

Mark Lobo Photography | Phillip Island

Mark Lobo Photography | Phillip Island

Mark Lobo Photography | Phillip Island

Mark Lobo Photography | Phillip Island

15 from 15 | My Year in Photographs

December 15, 2015 – 6:06 pm

Since 2010, I’ve ended each year by wrapping up with some of my favourite moments through the photographs I’ve taken. It’s been a great year for pushing myself to experiment in new areas and styles of photography, both commercially and personally. I found myself heading in a few new directions with the primary focus being on creating new personal work, selling my work as prints and to continue to grow my portfolio photography business, “Foliolio”. Looking back on my photography from the year, it’s interesting to see how well these three things seemed to fit together and helped one another grow. This is my top 15 from 2015.

The Deer Of Nara - Mark LoboAlthough I spent much of my childhood in Japan, and still head back over to Tokyo at least once a year, I’ve never really had a chance to play tourist and actually explore some of the most beautiful and interesting places that Japan has to offer. This year I made a conscious effort to do just that and as a result, saw some incredible things. One of them being the beautiful deer of Nara.

One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_3I teamed up with One Fine Print who helped me get my personal work onto people’s walls, something I’ve been striving to do well for years. Not only did they do an exceptional job at that, they also got one of my prints on the air and into the penthouse of Shay and Dean, the winners of “The Block” a reality TV show about renovations with a strong focus on interior design and styling. If you’re in Melbourne, be sure to check them out on the walls of the Pop Up shop before it closes!

Playful Food Photography - FrankenfruitI continued to work on my playful food photography series, “Graze“. It’s an experimental food photography series in which I give myself some studio time and some “ingredients” to see what kind of playful food creations I can come up with. This was the result, I call it “Frankenfruit”.

Foliolio - Fonda - Wild Hen DesignFoliolio, my side-photography business which focusses on working with designers who want their work photographed well, quickly gained momentum and I worked with some incredibly talented designers. This was one of my favourites from a colourful shoot with Wild Hen on the design work they did for Fonda Mexican.

Photography Studio - Mark LoboWith the growth of Foliolio, I found the perfect studio to work out of. This small decision resulted in the ability to create some great work and I’m so glad I decided to find a dedicated space to work out of. It even has a space for my hammock, what more can I say!

Spill Project | Mark Lobo | MilkIn between shoots, things got pretty messy in the studio thanks to a new photo series “spill”, but now everything smells great (ie. like coffee)!

The Creation of Donut…and I continued to play with my food.

Magdalena Ksiezak | Okay Kiosk | Handy SeriesMy main photo series of the year was “Handy“, which features creative people and what they do with their hands. One of my favourites was this one with Magdalena Ksiezak who makes adorable paper crafted creations.

Stuff You Can't Do With Novelty Sized Hands - Mark LoboAbandoning the seriousness of photography and with this new fascination with hands, I adopted a more playful approach, with a light-hearted spin-off series called, “Stuff you can’t do with Novelty Sized Hands“.

Ice Sculpture Photography - HandThe series fed other ideas, which led to some experiments, including the idea to create an “ice sculpture” using the novelty sized hands as the mould.

Spenceroni - Hello Play - Mark Lobo PhotographyI worked with friend and graphic artist, Spencer Harrison AKA Spenceroni on some promotional imagery for Hello Play, his exhibition at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne’s CBD. We created a series of playful photographs, showcasing Spencer’s work, all the while “playing” and experimenting as we did.

Drone Photography - PDN Magazine - Mark Lobo - Nate BoltI was featured on the front cover of PDN Magazine’s January issue. It was an issue on innovation, featuring the work I created with Nate Bolt and the long exposure of his drone over the Californian desert.

Do Lectures Australia - Mark LoboA 7 hour drive from Melbourne, Do Lectures Australia once again took place in the beautiful Victorian high country in Glen Valley atPayne’s Hut.  It’s a land without phone reception or internet access, and a sky with seemingly more stars than negative space.  I couldn’t have been happier being back in the thick it all to photograph for another 6 days of incredible people, great conversation and a good community.

I started to get a bit more involved with Melbourne’s photography and Instagram community. I met some great folks and got to be a tourist on Phillip Island, shooting late into the night and witnessing thousands of Short-tailed Shearwaters flying overhead. I have to say, it feels like things are coming full circle and am feeling inspired by landscapes once again. I’m looking forward to where this all heads in the new year! Playful, experimental, handy landscapes for people’s walls?

Chili Philli |Mark Lobo | Handy SeriesAnd Lucky last, this ridiculous selfie I took with Phil Ferguson aka @ChiliPhilli when we did our Handy Series shoot.

Have a great holiday season everyone and all the best for 2016!!!

One Fine Print on Dean and Shay’s walls on The Block

November 2, 2015 – 10:59 pm

Leaf Photography Print from The Block - Mark Lobo

If you’re a fan of the TV show The Block, you may have seen one of my leaf prints on the walls of Dean and Shay’s apartment last night!  I had known that a photographic print of mine had been used to decorate the foyer of their penthouse apartment, but didn’t really know whether or not we’d get much love from the judges. But my jaw hit the floor when judges Neale Whitaker and Darren Palmer pointed out the work and commented on how beautiful it was, likening the space to an art gallery.  I couldn’t have asked for a better debut of one of my prints to the Blocktagon!

If you’ve been interested in the print for the walls of your own home, it can be found here on the One Fine Print Website:

http://www.onefineprint.com.au/shop/autumn-finds/

You can read a bit more on how it all went down and see the other One Fine Print artists on the walls of the space here.

Leaf Print | The Block | Shay and Dean

One Fine Print – Pop Up in Brunswick

October 30, 2015 – 6:35 pm

One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_3

I’m pretty excited to announce that I’ve been working on a few new prints for One Fine Print’s latest pop-up store.  After an amazing response to it’s first pop-up on Smith Street in Fitzroy, it’s just re-opened it’s doors in Brunswick, in Melbourne’s North.  So if you’ve been wanting some large, printed photographic work of your own, come and have a look. It’s a great time to go see them big and on real walls! I’m in good company, sharing the space with Danish Furniture from Retropia, and some incredibly talented professional photographers.  I’ve got a few new prints up in there now and am finally working on some more colourful still lifes too!  I’ve included a few of my favourite prints available through the store, both physically and online below.

The store is open until the end of December @ 70 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, next to “Gelobar”. Keep an eye out for “the bananas” in the window! Hope you can check it out 🙂

One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_4
One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_5
One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_6
One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne
One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo
One Fine Print | Pop Up Store | Melbourne | Mark Lobo_2
Bananas - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo
Autumn Finds - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo
Bananas - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

 

New Spill – Ice Cream

September 30, 2015 – 1:05 pm

After an AMAZING trip to Japan, I’m finally back in the studio, spilling stuff and cleaning up heaps. I’ve started to continue to photograph more images for my “Spill Series“.  This one was probably one of the messiest, but delicious.

Ice Cream - Spill Project - MarkLobo

See #lobospill for more from this series on Instagram.

The Deer of Nara

August 26, 2015 – 11:51 am

Nara_Deer_Lobo_08

Although I spent much of my childhood in Japan, and still head back over to Tokyo at least once a year, I’ve never really had a chance to play tourist and actually explore some of the most beautiful and interesting places that Japan has to offer. I just returned from a few weeks of doing exactly that, with a camera by my side and have a few images to share. While staying in Osaka, I took a day trip out to Nara which is home to several historically significant artworks and temples, and also to several hundred wild (but relatively tame) deer. With deer casually roaming around old sites, dating back to the 8th century, it made for quite a surreal experience. This is what I saw.

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Nara Deer - Japan - Mark Lobo

Making and photographing a handy ice scultpure

July 27, 2015 – 5:03 pm

I’ve been focussing a lot more on shooting still-life photography recently, mostly due to the Melbourne weather being so damn unpredictable and cold, making cozy studio time much more appealing than being rained out on a location shoot. It’s set off a chain of experimental personal projects which are all currently in progress, but a few of which you can preview on my Instagram account, here.

What started out as a fun, light hearted series called “Stuff you can’t do with novelty sized hands”, ended up sparking the idea to create an “ice sculpture” using the novelty sized hands as the mould.

Stuff You Can't Do With Novelty Sized Hands - Mark Lobo

I didn’t let myself think through the details too much, allowing it to be more of a creative excercise.  I got started on making the ice hand and figured I’d photograph it and work it all out through experimentation, when I next had a break in my schedule. So I cleared some space in the freezer and had this creepy thing in there for 2 months… (please excuse the next few terrible photos off my phone).

Hand In The Freezer

Over 2 days, I experimented with a few different lighting set ups and figured that lighting it from below with some gels was the best approach in capturing the translucency of ice. I used some Profoto B1 flashes which were the perfect height to place between two low tables with a plate of glass over the top.  Not to mention, completely wireless and could stand on their own. Look mom, no stands!

Profoto B1 Flash - Mark Lobo

I rolled out some seamless backdrops and cut a hole through it to let some light through.  I went with a darker grey, lit with blue gels.

Seemless Blue Gel Backdrop - Mark Lobo

Then came the hardest part. Actually getting the ice out of the mould without breaking it. I melted the hand to loosen it away from the glove, but carelessly broke off some fingers in an attempt to free it.  It turns out there is a fine art to evenly melting an ice hand out of a novelty sized hand.

Release The Hands

I made two more smaller hands and patiently waited to cut them free the following day. Unfortunately, I had the same problem and ended up losing some fingers, but was successful in getting the second one out in-tact.  I pumped up the air con, mid-winter and was good to go!

Release The Hands

Here’s what I ended up with:

Ice Scultpure Photography - Hands - Mark Lobo

 

One Fine Print

February 28, 2015 – 6:26 pm

Bananas - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Working as a one man band, trying to balance both professional and personal work often leaves me too “time poor” to see my personal projects reach their final and ultimate materialisation… PRINT.  I’ve done this many times before, through exhibitions, a print store for Von Vintage and countless, tedious one-off sales over email.  I have to say, it always takes over my life!  With relief and elation,  I’m happy to announce that I have partnered with One Fine Print to bring to life the work that I most truly love to create.

With a pop-up showcase coming up on Smith street in Fitzroy, Melbourne and online sales through their website, some of my favourite pieces will finally be available in large printed form.   Stay tuned for more info on the launch on 30th of March and in the meantime, check out all the beautiful work from all the incredible photographers involved.

One Fine Print – Pop Up Showcase and Launch
327 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Open Daily 10am – 6pm
March 30 – April 26

www.onefineprint.com.au

Squam Lake - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Potatoes - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Bananas - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Autumn Finds - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Cabbage - Graze - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

Hakone - One Fine Print - Mark Lobo

 

14 from 14 | My year in Photographs

December 19, 2014 – 5:48 pm

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.
Potatoes - Graze Series - Mark Lobo Photography

Foliolio – I created a photographic service for designers who want their work photographed well.
Portfolio Photography - Foliolio - Pennant

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.
360 - Hip Hop Artist - Peta Campaign

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.
Do Lectures Australia 2014

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!
Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne - 2014

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:
Scott Spark |3D gif | Mark Lobo

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!
Peter Berner - Mark Lobo Photography 2014

Phoot Camp Selfie – I photographed the most ambitions selfie I’ve ever attempted as my application to get into Phoot Camp 2014.
Mark Lobo - Self Portrait - Phoot Camp

…And I got in! I photographed this night portrait of William Wilkinson, late at night in the desert at Phoot Camp.
William Wilkinson - Phoot Camp - Joshua tree

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!
PDN Magazine - Mark Lobo |Nate Bolt - January 21Issue

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:
Travel Things 2014

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.
Squam Lake Story - Mark Lobo Photography

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!
Handy Series - Mark Lobo Photography

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):

Creative Mornings Summit Smile Booth

Have a great holiday season everyone and all the best for 2015!!!

 

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The photography gear I use. Organised neatly.

October 30, 2014 – 4:13 pm

I don’t consider myself to be much of a gear head.   As long as the gear I use is designed to last and does what a certain job or project needs it to do, I’m not worried.  The reality is every job needs different tools, so I have a basic kit that I can rely on, and hire everything else.  If I start to use that gear regularly enough, then I’ll stop hiring it and buy it.  I was asked by shotkit to showcase what’s in my bag and this is what I photographed. You can see all the details on what everything is here: shotkit.com/mark-lobo

Shot Kit - Mark Lobo

and here’s a little video of the process:

Squam Lake

September 30, 2014 – 12:32 pm

I’m currently on a month long trip across the United States, attending Phoot Camp, Do Lectures and a Creatives Mornings Summit.  I found a bit of down time to unwind and reflect on all the great lessons I’ve learnt and people I’ve met along the way.  A day out at Lake Squam, New Hampshire was just what I needed to see me off on the last leg of my journey to New York.  This is what I saw: Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Kayaking Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Rattlesnake Trail - Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam LRattlesnake Trail - Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Loboake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Rattlesnake Trail - Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo Squam Lake - New Hampshire - Mark Lobo

Favourites from July

July 31, 2014 – 10:03 am

Taking photos for myself and working on personal projects is something that I value strongly as a photographer, but sometimes balancing it with client work can make it a bit tricky and I can go weeks without taking a single frame for myself. I don’t always share every single photo I take or like, nor do I feel like that I have to.  But I do feel that sharing my personal work often leads to working with great people on projects that I love to death.  So I’ve decided this blog is probably the perfect place to start putting them out there, instead of sitting in an archive!  I’ve decided to post a few of my favourite personal photographs at the end of every month. Here are a few from July. It’s interesting to see that this month has been very “Naturey”.

I befriended a horse as the sun rose out in Daylesford, Victoria.
Dayleford Horse - Mark Lobo Photography

The above is a film photograph from over 2 years ago, but only just scanned it in this month. So I guess that counts. I took an instagram of it too at the time, here’s the iphone version.
Hand Held Butterfly - Mark Lobo Photography

July was a month of ridiculous sunny/rainy weather.
Rain Drops - Mark Lobo Photography

In between shoots for Foliolio, I started finding time to shoot for myself.
Stacked Leaves - Mark Lobo Photography

And I also stood in for myself a bunch of times to test some lighting setups.
Stand in - Mark Lobo Photography

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