converge film festival 2011

delighted to say that I made the top 3 films with ‘The Hardest Fight’ as shown at the Converge Film Festival held at the British Film Institute down on South Bank, 1st & 2nd March 2011.
Gutted I couldn’t be there to see it in person but apparently it was very well received by the audience and held up well on the big screen…Still can’t quite believe that this, my very first short film, is getting such great feedback from the HDDSLR community. Thanks so much guys – really appreciate it!!!!

Overall winner went to Jason Wingrove for his short 10/10/10 about the all year round open air swimming pool at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.

Congrats to all and I feel honoured to have been included in such highly respected company!!!

Special thanks to James Stoneley for keeping me updated. Cheers mate!!!

bear grylls

working for US Runners World I was stoked to meet all action adventure hero and survival specialist Bear Grylls.

It rained, rained and then rained a bit more….

There was a film crew shooting BTS of the photo shoot and I got to play in Bear’s den where he had some awesome props like the paramotor he strapped to his back and flew over the Himalayas.

Total respect….makes my job look like a walk in the park.

dark side of the lens

‘Even if I’m only just scraping a living, at least its a living worth scraping’
says surf photographer and film maker Mickey Smith in ‘The Dark Side of the Lens’.
Combining stunning, abstract and emotive cinematography with an almost poetic narration, Mickey has condensed in five short minutes the essence of just following your dreams and doing what you love doing and what inspires you most. It’s a luxury not all of us are willing to sacrifice for but if you do want to step outside your comfort zone, challenge the confines of social convention and embrace adventures of the mind, body and spirit then this is one of the best short film I’ve ever seen to advocate that message.
Take a look and tell me it doesn’t send a shiver down your spine.

This film makes me think of the day I was lucky enough to point my lens at world class surfer Clay Marzo
Clay was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2007 and getting direct eye contact with him can be a bit of a mission for a photographer.
As with most celebrity shots you rarely get given much time but portraits are all about making a connection and I knew I’d made a great one when later, sitting alone at lunch, Clay came in and scanned the room before walking over and sitting with me.
We didn’t speak once but I knew I’d got that rare moment of human contact that makes a good portrait stand out and connect back to you.
If you too are seriously into H2O be sure to check out the awesome footage on Clay after the still.

evolution

a short film I made with contemporary dancer Marie Gabrielle Rotie after taking some stills on sunset.

As soon as I shot the stills I knew I wanted to shoot moving film and I think it’s hard, if not impossible, to do both in the same space of time. When I’m shooting stills I see the motion and want to capture it and when I’m shooting motion I see the still frames that flicker past my eye and are committed to the moving image format.
It’s a fascinating conflict of interests to be caught up in.

Just like me, Marie is inspired by light, energy and movement and our photo shoot led to an artistic collaboration of motion that was all shot in one totally improvised afternoon.
I know the importance of pre productuon and planning in making a short film and I’m all up for it but when you get the chance don’t let your instincts down – just go for your shots and set your creativity free.