A Studio for all Seasons.....

Well here we are again.  The rain is beating down outside, green tree frogs are stuck to the studio windows and it is humid as hell - Welcome to the country...!!
January is creeping by and the year is getting underway. Christmas and New Years were hectic for me and my family. New home, new studio, new schools, no coffee ! Arrr...We are in the country and the nearest 'latte' is at least 5kms away. On the plus side our neighbours are terrific. Tim has already baled us out of a couple of sticky situations. He's probably already fed up with the 'City Folk'. So to new beginnings and wonderful endings. As we said farewell to our beautiful friends in Sydney and our life for 14 years we said hello to a new and exciting chapter. With this brings new challenges, particularly for me. I am trying to adapt to a new way of working whilst pushing my photography forward. But I am excited, the wonderful Marcus Bell is in Brisbane and I shall be visiting his studio. He is an award winning wedding and portrait photographer and definitely worth looking up at www.studioimpressions.com.au.
The tale end of last year so me fitting in quite a few jobs and in particular shoots for my good mate and top chef Darell Falstead at the Foveaux, a PR event and also a wedding. I haven't shot one for nearly 5 years and it was a challenge. This week I am playing around with and trying to learn how to use Marcus Bells layer Textures and Borders, these are truely terrific tools to have for creativity. The trick will be to not go over the top as my wife has already noticed. We'll see....Below are a few pics for consideration....
 

New Beginnings...

Well what a busy couple of months, apologies for leaving it so long since my last post. Lots has been happening with work and our home life. My family and I have finally made the decision to move to Queenslands beautiful hinterland. We have spent much of the past month filling out forms, running to and fro to the bank(s) and my lovely wife has been packing whilst I have been scouting for work in sunny QLD. The kids are excited about the move and are already planning what they will be up to. We are lucky enough to have found a piece of paradise, a beautiful house with 7 acres of land and my personal favourite a decent sized swimming pool. Heaven. In terms of work I am currently shooting new content for wonder chef Darell Falsteads 'Foveaux' restaurant in Surry Hills in Sydney. Last weekend Darell and I set up in the back lane to get some perspective on the food. The shots look beautiful as we had lovely conditions to shoot in, helped along by some handy reflectors and a sturdy tripod. As usual shots were produced on my trusty Mamiya 645 II with Leaf Aptus 65 Digital Back. Post work is done in Leaf Capture and Adobe Lightroom. I have also been shooting artwork and illustrations for Anne Townsend. Check out her beautiful work at heavenlyworks.net.

Coming up is my major show 'The Nature Table'. This work is very personal to me and part of a longer term project which will culminate in a book to be published by myself and my wife and distributed by the great guys at Berkelouw Books ( Thanks to Chris Town - Wonderful Artist and Book Purchaser ). The show has received good press and none other than Robert McFarlane himself has agreed to write a piece on the show. Robert is an absolute legend in art circles and a wonderful photographer and writer ( ozphotoreview.com ). The work stems from a change in fortune in my life. Four years ago I was struck by a car and nearly lost my life. Thanks to some loving children and a wonderful caring wife I am back on my feet after 4 years of recovery. During my rehabilitation I had to learn to walk again, my children and I used to walk around the local area and collect leaves, sticks, feathers, seed pods and many other interesting things. My children attend a steiner school which encourages free play and no commercialism. They have a nature table at home which they use as a display of the particular seasons gatherings, it's truely wonderful to see them play with this and build something out of their imagination. So for me I started to see something of myself in the forms and shapes and the photography followed. The images have been toned but I have not done any retouching as I wanted them to retain their original blemishes, something I still have like scars . The show runs from 29th November - 17th December ....Opening 3rd December @ 7pm ...Please come along for some yummy food and wine...

Anyway I hope this finds you well and thank you for following me this year......

The Nature Table

Hi Everyone, Well I have finally finished my show. I have posted a preview to the show here and on Facebook. The show offically opens on Friday 3rd December 7pm @ Storm Gallery 2/65-67 Foveaux Street Surry Hills....Tel 02 9211 3193. I look forward to seeing you all there and thanks for your continued support.

The photographs are part of an ongoing series based on 'Steiner' education and the practice of having different seasons on the table ie Spring, Summer etc. The photographs were made during my rehabilitation after a serious car accident in 2006. The whole process of collecting the flaura and fawna, walks with my children and being with family are all the things that have made my recovery possible. I really would like to thank my beautiful children Amalia and Hunter for being so caring and grounding me when I needed it. I owe a huge vote of thanks to my gorgeous wife Narell who has always supported me. 

Also I would like to thank a few people who gave me a start and help along the way. As always Philip Hargrave-Smith for giving me my start, Steve Baccon for constant inspiration, Stelios Papadakis, David Maurice Smith, Sasha Kenyon and Julie Sundberg. 

A Sneak Preview of my new show 'The Nature Table'

What an amazing year it has been. Lots of interesting and varied work, highs, lows and beautiful moments. This leads me to my show to be held in December at Storm Gallery in Surry Hills ( 02 9211 3193 ). Some years ago I had a brush with death, I was run over by a car and was lucky to survive. The subsequent years were challenging, not only for myself but for my wife and children. My injuries were severe and it took a very long time for them to heal. Some of that fateful day is still with me and I dare say will stay with me for many years to come, silently in the darkness of my mind. The aftermath has been an awakening both spiritually and professionally. My work has certainly moved in a new and exciting direction. So finally this brings me to 'The Nature Table'. During my rehabilitation I used to go on afternoon walks with my children around our local area. My children attend a steiner kindergarten ( Please look up Rudolph Steiner for more information on this type of education ) which trys to promote creative learning, nurturing, calmness and many many other great things. One of these is the nature table which is a seasonal table for the collection of flowers, leaves, sticks etc...All of these things are used to make stories about nature, animals and the change in weather....
On these walks we had many adventures and fun times and I started to notice the wonderful shapes and architecture of these seemingly inanimate objects. I found peace, love and the wonderful nature of my children very soothing and therapeutic. Below are a couple of images from the series. I will be posting more soon and hope to see you all at the exhibition in December........

More for Hugo...

I was going back over the shoot of Hugo and found a couple more great shots. They really convey Hugo's humanity and I think are almost 'Atherial'. I'll leave it to you, enjoy......

40 is the new 30...A Portrait for a friend....

I was very lucky this month as my good friend Hugo is turning 40 on Saturday and I took this as a great opportunity to create a special portrait for him. I spent a bit of time researching books for suitable looks and influences. Hugo has very smokey good looks and a gentle and trusting nature but I think he hides some of his feelings too well. Luckily for me the camera has a way of probing and searching for the more vulnerable sides of people. Hugo was a perfect subject - especially after I gave him a couple of beers to relax. He reminds me a little of Pacino, some De Niro and a little of a 60's Rock Star. Some of the above were photographed by the great 'Herb Ritts' ( herbritts.com ) who's clean lines and obsession with form made him a legend, I wanted to create something with these influences in mind. I hope you enjoy the Portraits, we will enjoy a good dinner with friends and some well deserved wine.
( I would also like to thank Steve Baccon and Stelios Papadakis for their constant support )

Mobile Phones to Quiet Snowy Peaks.....

Been a while since my last post.  I have recently completed my assignment for Restaurant Balzac and am now looking toward my December exhibition entitled 'The Nature Table'. More details to follow....
These are a few of my favourite images from the 'Balzac' shoots........