I was invited back to attend Phoot Camp 2011 which saw 30 photographers road tripping from all around the United States towards Marfa, Texas.  This was from a stop at the beautiful White Sands, New Mexico.  Neil Berrett puts his body on the line for the sake of photography. Thanks Neil!

I photographed (and devoured) some of the most delicious dishes from Marriott Brisbane’s new restaurant, Motion bar and Grill. Delicious.

The saying “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” was put to the test, leaving my “big camera” at home and challenging myself with just my iPhone. As a result, I fell in love with Instagram.

This was one of the coolest projects I got to work on this year for Made In The Now.  Not only did I get to design and shoot the image for the shirt, but I was also lucky enough to be involved in it’s earlier stages with the t-shirt and model photography.

A huge mile stone for me was launching Von Vintage and it’s online store.  It was a side passion project that had me shooting on film again and intentionally slowing down my photographic process.  I had some great fun exhibiting this work.

I got involved with photographing a poster for Rise, a fundraiser for the Brisbane flood recovery efforts. I love the way it turned out and was happy to hear that the event raised over $10,000 for The Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

One of my favourite shots that came from my visit to Japan was from Yamanakako, an area near Mt. Fuji where we used to visit every summer.  The crisp air greeted me with a flood of incredible memories from my childhood.

I was invited to climb Brisbane’s Story Bridge and bring my camera gear with me, giving me a refreshing and almost calming perspective of the city.

I felt the immense positivity that surrounded the “Together Brisbane” Campaign and was thrilled to see images that I shot for the campaign on billboards, bus shelters and even on the ground.

I shot some of my favourite photos at White Sands, this is the last photograph I shot there. It was a great afternoon. Cody had just captured a lightning strike on his instax, Nate Bolt started a really fun series and Neil did some epic dune jumping. It was no doubt one of the most beautiful highlights of the road trip.

And lucky last is a 3D image of Daniel Seung Lee, from a project I started called “Ghetto Stereo“. Using two disposable cameras side by side, I created a “Ghetto” stereoscopic 3D camera. I’m currently working on a new series using a “quadra lens” system.

Have a safe silly season everyone, and I hope to hear from you in the New Year!

Over the last few months, I’ve been working with Brand Development Agency, Underbrand on the photography for the new restaurant, Motion Bar and Grill at The Marriott, Brisbane. I had previously worked with Underbrand on projects such as the photography for Jam Jar and as always, was a pleasure to work with a team of highly motivated visual perfectionists!

Here are a few of the final images and artwork that resulted from the shoot. As a lover of nice wood grain, I’m thrilled that we were able to tie all the shots together with such a nice brown tone and texture.  You can see more of my shots on the Motion Bar and Grill website.

In a year where Brisbane has faced some of it’s most challenging of times, working on a positive campaign promoting the city and encouraging people to make it a better place was a great experience.  I shot a range of images from all around Brisbane for the Together Brisbane project, which can now be seen around the city on Billboards, buses, bus stops and the Together Brisbane website among other places. Now, with the Brisbane Festival coming up, user submitted images are being rolled out throughout the city. I can’t be more excited about the use of photography to tell the stories of the people of Brisbane, something I’ve been focused on through my own project, The BNE Project. Many thanks to the great team from Big Fish who I worked with on the campaign and to David Byrne who photographed the above image.

Here are a few images of the work I’ve shot for the campaign:

Please excuse quality of the iphone shots… “The best camera is the one on you.” right?

And the accompanying TVC in which I was working along side on the project:

I spent my high school years on the Sunshine Coast, living in the coastal town of Noosa before moving inland to the quiet town of Eumundi, most well known for it’s weekly markets. So it was with great pleasure that I worked on my latest assignment with Tiger Airways’ inflight magazine, which was also my third cover for them. The photography for the piece focused on the Sunshine Coast art trail and was to feature the work of local artists, particularly Katz, a local body painter.  Carrying a light weight portable lighting kit, we braved the wet weather and mosquitoes off the trail to shoot the works. This is one of my favourite shots from the shoot as well as the image selected for the cover!

I was recently invited up to climb the story bridge by fellow photography lover and Story Bridge Climb CEO, Paul Lewin. I gladly accepted and was keen to experiment a bit and see what would go in to shooting a portrait at the top of the bridge. There were quite a few restrictions on what gear I could take up there, but was still able to manage a few lenses, speedlights as well as a small customised diffuser for the flashes.
I chose to shoot at sunset but found the harsh silhouetting of the sun stetting behind Brisbane city was a bit too much for a portrait and low powered lighting. i can’t wait to see what it’s like up there at sunrise! Here are a few snaps from the afternoon. Many thanks to Brisbane Photographer, Toby Scott who came and helped out with the shoot!

One of the biggest highlights of last year was no doubt the opportunity to head over to Los Angeles to meet and hang out with some inspiring, creative minds at Phootcamp. This year, I’m doing it all again in Marfa, Texas!  As part of the application process, we had to shoot a self portrait (see last year’s here).  The portrait was inspired by everything I learned at last year’s camp and included a few recurring themes from other people’s photos! The shirt I’m wearing is inspired by this “Nate Bolt!” shirt by Steph Goralnick. The portrait has also been featured along with the many other talented Phoot Camp attendees here on Pictory, an always beautiful and inspiring website created by Phootcamp founder, Laura Miner.  I can’t wait to meet all the new faces and really dig deep into getting creative with such an awesome bunch of people!

Here’s a timelapse video of the creation of the shot!  It was all shot with speedlights, for a higher sync speed and water resistance! Thanks to Elleni, Toby and Michael for all their help!

Here are a few of my shots from Phoot Camp last year:

Earlier in the year, I worked on an editorial piece for Tiger Airways’ in flight magazine, Tiger Tales. I was asked to capture a different side of Brisbane, focusing more on the local culture rather than it’s “touristy” surrounds. The story was structured around 9 streets in Brisbane and the unique offerings of each of them. As a local photographer, I was in my element when it came to capturing some of the city’s attractions. In addition, I was to capture some young Brisbanites for the cover (above). It was a really enjoyable shoot and gave me the excuse to visit some of my favourite cafes.

If you’re traveling on Tiger Airways before the end of April, be sure to pick up a copy. This was my second cover for Tiger Tales, with one more cover on the way. My first shoot with them had me standing on the back of a moving Harley, trying to get the cover shot! You can read more about it here.

In no particular order…

Japan – Momiji
I head back to Tokyo once or twice a year and most often in the winter time. At this time of the year, the Momiji leaves (Japanese maple) dominate the treeline and cover the ground in parks. I really love the way these leaves look against a nice bokeh.

Phoot Camp – Dan Busta
I traveled to New York, Boston and Los Angeles earlier in the year where I met some of the most inspiring and creative people and took part in Phoot Camp, where I shot this portrait.

Michael Hill Jeweler – Jewelery Photography
To be able to shoot for Michael Hill‘s catalog was a great experience. Working against an impressive existing collection, I learnt a few new tricks of the trade when it comes to this type of product photography. It’s probably some of the best product work I’ve done to date.

TEDxBrisbane – Event Photography
Modeled after the US based annual TED conferences, TEDxBrisbane was an Independently organised TED event. The day included talks from a diverse range of prolific thinkers and doers. I shot all the TEDx events held in Brisbane in 2010 and have been truly inspired by them all.

Green Heart – Campaign and Editorial Photography
I worked on an image library for Green Heart, an environmental sustainability program in Brisbane, with the focus on creating carbon-neutral city by 2026. It was great to work with and meet so many inspiring people dedicated to building a better and greener city to live in.

Philippines – Bohol Island
It was a busy time for me in January. I had just come back from a freezing winter in Tokyo, returning to spend a few hot days in a Brisbane summer. Before I had a chance to settle back in, I was off to shoot a wedding in an uncomfortably humid Philippines. With all the travel, changes in climate, and stress of working in a new environment, just watching the warm rain roll in took me to my happy place. With good music playing on my headphones, a big wedding shoot behind me, and big drops of warm rain splashing off my feet, it was the perfect way to unwind and enjoy the rest of my stay.

Tiger Airways – Cover shot and Editorial Photography
I had the pleasure of working on an exhilarating and colourful editorial shoot for Tiger Airways, which had me following biker Mac Swift around the Tweed Valley in Northern New South Wales. I was asked to capture the journey along some of the Valley’s beautiful rain-forests and beaches, which eventually led me to dangerously balancing on the back of a moving Harley, trying to get the cover shot! Definitely one of the most thrilling shoots of the year.

Von Vintage – Film Photography Project
2010 was a big year for film and creative work for me. With a new Hasselblad, I continued work on my film project, Von Vintage. The site is soon to be relaunched and will also be selling prints! Keep an eye out!

Lomography Spinner 360 – 35mm film toy camera
I’d have to say that my most used camera (other than my SLR) has to be the 360 spinner from Lomography. It’s a camera that literally spins 360 degrees (or more) in your hand, exposing a long strip of 35mm film, including the sprocket holes! I was in Melbourne, shooting the Finders Keepers Markets when I found this puddle. You can also see some other shots of mine on the PHOTOJOJO website!

Fadez – Promo Photography
I worked with former Reds rugby player, Charlie Fetoai and the team at Fadez Men’s Barbershops for a pitch they were putting together for MTV. This isn’t one of the images used, but I found the antics and outtakes to be some of the funnest.

And an extra one of myself from a series I’m working on…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It was a busy busy year, and there were quite a few other shoots that I wish I could have included in this list!  Coming in close, but not making it into my top 10 were : My shoot with Scott Spark, Help Portrait, the BNE project shoot with John Davis and working on the One Punch Can Kill Campaign!

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!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the incredible opportunity to be a part of Phoot Camp 2010 this year. Phoot Camp, hosted by one of my favourite websites Pictory, and sponsored by Virb, was an elaborate and crazy weekend of fun, based out of a mansion in Agoura Hills in LA.   As a newcomer to the camp, held previously in the wilderness of Northern California, I spent a lot of time getting to know the amazing, creative minds that made up the camp and shooting portraits. I came back from the camp nothing short of inspired by the great people and their work.

The official Phoot Camp site has just launched and will be showcasing the work of fellow Phoot Campers over the next few weeks. I had the honour of being the first to be featured. Be sure to bookmark the site which is going to be getting some great daily updates from all the photographers, so check it out!

www.phootcamp.com/marklobo

Simon Biswas

Lauren Randolph

Mark Trammell

Paul Octavious

Jen Giese

Matt Corbitt

And finally, here are a few videos that fellow Phoot Campers Simon Biswas and Paul Octavious put together, the first being the Phoot Camp trailer and the second, a series of video portraits followed by a few time lapse videos: