Thursday 21 April 2011

To prove a moment happened.


On a visit to British Columbia on Canada's beautiful west coast I came across a thundering river cascading over smooth, ageless boulders. I followed it upstream for a while until at one point it took a sharp right angled turn. In the noise and violence of so much water forcing itself through a dark, narrow gorge the river settled momentarily in a churning, frothing and sunlit pool.

Mesmerised by the new patterns and textures being created every millisecond, it took me a while to remember that I had my camera. I chose a very fast shutter speed to freeze a few of those moments - if only to prove they had indeed happened. Before long they had melded into a lost but not wasted hour.


To prove a moment happened - Images by Paul Foley

I have recently made some prints on Canson's beautiful Baryta Photographique paper. Using it reminds me of my early B&W printing days. The standard fibre papers of that time came out 'not quite gloss' and were then run through a 'glazer' for a full gloss finish. Baryta is modern version of that 'not quite gloss' effect.

These wet texture pictures, when printed large, relive those silent frozen iotas I experienced in the thundering noise of that Canadian gorge.

The B&W baryta prints show every shade from white through to deep black while the colour versions have subtle bluish tones. To purchase a moment just click on your favourite. The prints live their own life with more contrast, tonal range and beauty than can be shown on a monitor.

Enjoy!

Camera/Exposure Details:
Canon 5D II with EF 70-200 f2.8 IS USM lens @ 200mm
F4.5, 1/8000th of a second @ 400 iso

Wednesday 13 April 2011

One time..at band camp!


I just love that phrase and while in this case it should be 'One time ... at EP launch!' I hope you won't mind me borrowing it.

Last Friday night I went to the Great Northern pub in Newcastle, Australia. The last time I visited this grand hotel was in the late 70's when, in the old ballroom upstairs, (and wearing our best flares) my mates and I would check out the chicks as they 'bumped' each other under the glittering disco ball. Ahh the good old days!

This time I was downstairs in the main bar watching my nephew and his band, Crystal Cove, launch their debut EP. They describe themselves as Indie Pop and even if I am a biased observer they certainly have a very tight sound with an infectious beat.

Their stage presence is solid as well - the commitment to their sound and their audience is palpable and was enthusiastically appreciated by the fans. It was a great launch and I know the boys are headed for much bigger stages.



My early days of photography were mainly about surf pictures in the day and band photography at night. It had been a while since I had done any band pictures so I took along my Canon 1Ds, a couple of lenses and fading memories of my old lighting/exposure formulas.

Photography has changed since the 70's and it was great to have the instant feed back of the camera's LCD screen. What hasn't changed is the thrill of being up close to musicians who are totally lost in their music with the crowd pressing me almost onto the stage.

Initially I had the 70-200mm f2.8 zoom attached but soon switched to the 50mm f1.2. As great as Crystal Cove are there was no pit or security on this night so I was able to get up close and the f1.2 lets in a lot more light.

Last Friday I had in mind to make a video slideshow of the launch so I shot lots of fast bursts to create a story of the night. With just a little reorganising of the sequence I used the Slideshow feature in Lightroom 3 to put the video together to their track 'Slowly'.

While sitting at the computer putting this together I am reminded of back in the day when I was fortunate to photograph bands like the Oils, Angels and Chisel. In those days I did some work for a large rock venue and had back stage access. They were easier times - BE (Before Entourage) so there were no minders. One time... at a Chisel concert (there I go again) I was changing film behind the speakers when Jimmy Barnes came off stage for a 'rest' during a drum solo. He kindly offered me a swig from his vodka bottle - it seemed the polite thing to do and Mr Barnes is a very sharing fellow.

'til next time

Crystal Cove Bio

Genre: Pop, Indie
Region: Newcastle, NSW
Members: Sean Degan - vocals/guitar, Aidan Roe - bass/vocals, Rory Fennel - drums, Matthew March - guitar/vocals

Websites: http://crystalcove.bandcamp.com/ (for digital download of EP and to listen to tracks) and http://www.facebook.com/crystalcoveband

Originally an acoustic duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Sean Degan and guitarist Matthew March, Newcastle outfit Crystal Cove eventually grew into a full-on pop rock outfit. With the addition of bassist/vocalist Aidan Roe & drummer Rory Fennell the band hit the live scene running & with a steady flow of shows & online releases began gathering the attention of the public & promoters.

A stream of supports followed including opening for national heavyweights Gyroscope, After The Fall, & The Mission In Motion, as well as international acts Lydia, Valencia, and As Tall As Lions later this month.

The band will release their self-titled debut EP on Friday 8th April at the Great Northern Hotel. For the recording the band decided to get away from their hometown & locked themselves away in a small studio in Taree. Literally.

"We were hours from home & knew nobody in town, besides our engineer. Being an independent band we only had so much money we could pull from our pockets so we saved money by sleeping on the floors of the studio instead of a hotel, and recorded into the early hours of the morning." - March.

Recording & releasing the EP proved quite a battle for the band. "Between having to return back home to work our day jobs, our engineer double booking himself when we returned, & our singer having to get surgery right in the middle of recording, it felt like whatever could get in our way, did." March adds, "even after we'd wrapped up recording we were having to fight a contract dispute just to get our songs back."

"At the end of the day we've come out a much stronger unit. There were definitely moments of uncertainty but we refused to let anything beat us. We've come away with a handful of songs that we can hold our collective heads up high about".

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Be yourself...


I have been putting together video portraits and thought I would show you a few. Whether the changes between frames are subtle or exaggerated, when they are linked together, I love how I can discover more of a person's character and personality than might be present in a single frame still picture.

Over the years I have photographed a number of people and presented the pictures in what I call 'segments'. These are like proof sheets and feature a range of expressions captured on the fly over a short period of time.

These 'movies' are a natural progression that lend themselves to display in digital photoframes, on flat screens as well as phones and ipads. Add a favourite song or piece of music and it's a whole new way to show off family and loved ones. Even yourself!

The first one features my friend Summer Finlay who, you may remember, is the subject of my picture that was selected to hang in this years National Photographic Portrait Prize.


Summer (Music: Love Potion by Quazimodo Sound Consortium)

For Summer I set up a large soft light very close to her face just off to camera left. I had her stand against a light coloured wall and asked her to look into the camera. The only other instruction was to hold her head in place. I just made pictures as her expression changed (no doubt while she wondered what I was on about!)

The second video was made from out takes of a shoot from several years ago. I had been asked to photograph Max Cullen who is a widely talented Australian actor, artist and writer.


Max (Music: 'Whatever it takes' by Ben Lee. Purchase on iTunes)

For these pictures I had Max sit on a stool in his studio (an old picture theatre in Gunning, NSW). The only light hitting his face was through a large doorway while the studio was lit by the house lights.

It was Max's idea to provide me with a range of facial expressions and I just went along for the ride. And what a very enjoyable ride it was!

The last short but sweet video is of Isabella. As with any young, adventurous child there was no chance of having her stop in the one position! The session became a dance between the two of us as I tried to keep up with the ball of energy bouncing across the grass.


Isabella

I hope you'll let me know what you think and pass the link to this story around...


Below are the three 'proof' sheets for each of the videos.


Be yourself - Images by Paul Foley