Tuesday, April 17, 2012

est-ce qu'il a un chapeau





after spending a week, arguably the most glorious week in the history of this here spontaneous lamb, I find myself once again at Changi waiting to transfer to Brisbane, this time with a lot let stress as I've got a boarding pass in hand, a rare feeling of plane-boarding related security..  I found out i can't connect to the wireless without signing up or paying money so I've decided that a rant is in order, I have no goal in which i'm trying to write towards (a characteristic associated with 96-98% of my blog) and i find myself thinking of only Paris and Maeve.  

Paris is great, really really great to which I can attribute to, other than Maeve's presence, the unwavering possibilities of baguettes that consistently blew my mind, the coffee which was obviously ideal and the metro coupled with the general sense of luxury that we maintained for the entire week…  Will would be proud of my efforts involving team luxury.   Coming from brisbane, a place pertaining to public transport systems reminiscent of the late bronze age I was, and am still, blown away by how enjoyable the metro was!  I suppose the density of the city is the only reason it can exist and work so well, unlike brisbane, which sits there, sprawled around like a passed out version of the 8 foot tall German lady that served me beer on the train from brussels to frankfurt airport (from whence i came….  aeronautically) 

The trains were fun too (except for Maxim, the worst train ticket salesman on this planet) I got to sample some TGV action but spent the whole time going backwards, which wasn't bad at all, the best bit was the banking of the rails, it feels much like what I imagine Anikan's pod-racer, from the worst movie ever made, would feel like.

I took my film camera and digital camera and my d90, plus my old lenses that only agree with the film camera plus a 10-20 sigma that I scored from BCH.  Fortunately I left my charger in Brisbane and took a 25% full battery so I resorted fully to my film camera which I found more than ideal, regardless of the results.  I shot a few images on the digital, mainly for personal keepsakes but also a time-lapse from the Arc and another, small, handful of photos, all of which are down below.  I shot some ultrawide stuff on the film body but because the f90 only couples with lenses that have an aperture ring, i'm not sure if it'll work out.. Although I did the same (with a tokina crop frame) in south america and it worked swimmingly so it should be fine, either way the old 35 and 50 were the ones i used most and they're dolphin-like when it comes to swimming.

I also found a dynastically (adjective thanks to a poster advertising a rare vase museum in this airport) well stocked film store from which i acquired bulk e6 and c41 films at stupidly low prices and high levels of associated stoke.  I've shot one roll of each (and an 800iso film, a speed i've always desired by never acquired) which i'll hopefully have developed before i head down south upon getting back to Bris.  I'm especially excited for the ektachrome 100vs weeeee.

I went there to see Maeve and Maeve I saw, it was fantastic, she is fantastic, it was like having a guide that knew everywhere and everything I wanted to know and see but held (and kissed) my hand all the way, demanding to carry my things and striking adoration into frenchpeople's hearts along her travels.  I already want to go back.

I arrive in Brisbane tomorrow morning at 6:45 in preparation for a grand longboard voyage of creation and skating.  There are two world title events down in Sydney over two weekends so i'm going down there to have a serious go at creating properly good skate imagery, both still and vid.  I want to go deep into shooting skate on film with the eventual goal of shooting medium format skate shots and letting the world into the realirt of this sport, both fast and free, in a visual sense that is always adored.  

Upon having, for the first time in my life, way too many film photos in my backlog i was forced to address my opinions towards film and the way that i value it.  Because it costs money to make into photos that I can show to you it's always seemed more important than digital, it's always had something more associated with it and i think now that i'm certain of this not because of the cash moneys but because of the enjoyment i get out of it.  Shooting my own fullframe camera that i own, using manual lenses on a viewfinder that's big and bright, not knowing anything about what I just shot and receiving back results of whatever calibre mean I get deep in attachment, emotionally, not financially. Which is obviously an ideal scenario.  

I decided a little while ago, the last week of being in south america, that I need to use this to my advantage, with posting on this here blog still a favourite pastime of mine (ignore my inconsistency when considering this fact, it goes with everything else in my life) I need to begin valuing my work own work more than just the medium i made it with and the digital stuff, I don't respect it as much as I should…. I  need a website etc.. i've ranted about this before.  But what I want to do is post more film, starting now obviously as suspense is something I need to get better at making.




these are a series of film shots I shot in Vietnam in November 2010, I don't know why I still have these sitting around partly because of the age but i guess i feel that the longer i hold onto shots the less i think of them, under the assumption i'm progressing with time but a good image should disregard time i suppose.  all shot of efke 100 (and a nikon fm) which you can buy from B&H for $2!!!

apologies if i've uploaded these before and the poor focus etc..







ho chi minh city

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this image breaks my hard, had it been sharp i would've been a very happy lamb


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hoi an, a city of tailors and artists



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hanoi




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not from vietnam but the same roll, one of the few decayed images that didn't suck 


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some colour stuff from the same trip





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these are all from my first trip to Cunnumulla with Reuben and co for their shortfilm.  The winter in the outback gives the nicest lighting and makes shooting facades amazingly fun hahaha..  i want to go back out an work on that town some more, it's really pretty!







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Here are the digital ones from Paris, I've got a few rolls to get developed which I wont have a chance to do them for a while as the next 2 weeks i'm down




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these are all from ontop of the arc de triumph





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aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the thing i love most about general.


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i don't know how to fix this as i set the camera to 100% manual, no PC, no ADR and manual but it still flicks!  timelapses and i don't get on.













and i finally got around to editing this after months and months of it sitting in finalcut, tearing me but now its fine and i think it's really fun 












pretty much all we listened to in paris















Saturday, April 7, 2012

team frankfurt





Germany is so cool! I've only experienced the inside of major transport centres but even still, one cannot deny the presence of froth in my continually gasping mouth.  I'll have to come back and sample the finer things like bulk beers, infact i owe myself 2 litres of breakfast beer after flying for 19 hours, although they were some of the most luxurious 19 hours of my life as I indulged in countless hours of controlled media, champagne, salmon and endless massages and the small satisfaction I get after rubbing it in a little, which I feel is fine after having to sit in Brisbane airport for 12 hours queueing, sitting, lining up multiple times and just general tearing.  All of this is to be forgotten though as I'm now on my way to Paris to meet up with a dream that I had a while ago and spend this week being the happiest person I've ever known/concluded was possible. 








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this roll got destroyed somewhere along the line, silly lines everywhere


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Thursday, April 5, 2012

shrimpeyes and other forms of moderate tearing



I'm flying out to Paris as we speak!  In a very rough manner of speaking as I had planned to be on a plane at 1:30pm but did not get on that one so now I'm waiting till 8:30pm to get a flight to Dubai and then onto Paris, if not that one I'll be waiting till 12:30am for the same journey on Cathay, if not that one, then 2:45am there is another emirates flight and if not that I'll sleep here and try again tomorrow.. as you see, my dad is a pilot so I fly everywhere for free (basically) but anyone that pays full prices gets priority over me so whenever a flight is full I get teared, followed by a sending of depths that are completely unforeseeable, much like an abandoned well at night, rumoured to not have a determinable level; bulk levels.  


I'm also really tired from not being ready to leave until 3/4am this morning.

I can't really qualm though as had I not been in a bring back position thanks to me Pa, I wouldn't be flying to paris (or south america just recently.)  Plus the 'Free Wifi' signs that beckoned me to my laptop have finally brought me back, after denying me the simple pleasure that it preached for the first few hours of my stay at the airport.  I also did a rough cut on a skate clip I shot one afternoon to test the idea/possibility of me videoing myself in the future, entirely shot on gopro and skated by just me but the rough cut has come together pretty well so far in my opinion, I used a timeless ATDI track so I'm obviously set to be back.


I'm planning on shooting film for pretty much everything and I only brought my leitz 50f2 prime with me (yes, intrigue, but surely fine) although I've brought my d90 and a digital ultra wide (thanks Susan!!!) but I can see myself dealing in the leitz all day long, happily!  Plus I get to re-intrigue a winter climate which is beyond ideal!!!!

I'll probably post again tonight as the boredom may run high once more but I'm sure, now armed with the internet, my boredom will be kept to a controllable level; bulk minimum.







Salta, Argentina:  I caught a bus through a huge storm the night before and upon realising the same sort of weather scenario was going down again I went deep for a vantage of what I drove through the night before, got some glory from this storm, moreso than this shot (if you're around fortitude valley tonight one of them is up in the Judith Wright Centre) shot on the d90




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jake!


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chaddles shredding 3 corners, going to video this soon/when we're both sure we'll get it right



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a new pal.



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happier than she looks


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the weather has been so perfect in Bris!!  it feels like the winter when the suns low and soft but we've got so many more months until that happens, must just be the right amount of stuff in the atmos (stoke!!?!)


i can't seem to upload this without that strange banding in the blues, tears.


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these next 3 are film form times that i'm struggling to pinpoint how long ago i took them, except this one which is from Bolivia, inside Maragua Crater




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general sunset, unbalanced.

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i think this was an aiport it Vietnam but thats a chronologically deep preach.




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