From the top...
WINNER: After completing the grueling Speights Coast to Coast (running/cycling/white water kayaking from one side of the South Island to the other) in one arduous day, the winner crossed the line to have his wife waiting for him. What made it even more poignant for him was that she told him that she was pregnant. Instead of joining the media throng at the finish line, I climbed up onto the top of the finish line, er, scaffolding, and photographed downwards - capturing the couple completely oblivious to the horde of photographers.
BEANS: I like coffee. And I photographed coffee roaster for C4 coffe and dubstep DJ Steel making up another batch of beans. He's very kinesthetic in his work - constantly touching the beans, getting a very personal feel for temperature, consistency and quality - so I used a macro lens with on-lens flash to capture this image - and to drop the background into darkness, I draped a black drop cloth over his lap to remove any distractions from the background.
JUST LIKE DAD: Fat Freddy's Drop played at Cheap as Chips a few years ago. As the band came on, so did one of the bandmember's sons - complete with miniature trombone - which he played. Admittedly it might not have been in tune or even in time, but he gave it a solid honk, and won the hearts of the crowd.
FIRESTARTER: I'm a night person - not the biggest fan of mornings. So one night when I couldn't sleep, I dressed, grabbed the camera and went for a wander around town. Where I found this street performer, juggling with a double ended fire staff. I love this image - the flames, the darkness - the tension as he's just about to grab the staff.
ENGINEROOM: If you ever have the chance to check out Minuit, you'll find they're a three piece group - and chances are you'll be captivated by the the enthralling Ruth out front, mesmerising you with her vocal dexterity. But in the background, often unnoticed, Ryan and Paul provide the audio cake for Ruth's vocal icing. I crawled down the back of the stage with a wide (16mm) lens to capture this image - the colours from the flood lights saturate the stage, and Ryan and Paul hunched over their keyboards provide an insight into what happens behind the scenes.
MMMMM-MUSSELS: I love mussels. Especially NZ green lipped mussels, with chili, white wine, onion and garlic. And served with toasted ciabata. Speaking of which, it's lunchtime. Back soon.
FUNKNSLOCUTS: Ryan, part of Minuit, also DJs under the handle FunknSlocuts - pouring generous helpings of breakbeat goodness. This image was shot with a single light - high and above the camera's main axis, and to provide some detail in the shadows, a mirror was placed under the camera lens to push some light back into the shadows under the hood. Considering that Ryan is a reasonably shy and reserved character, I think this image illustrates his hesitation to step into the spotlight, instead keeping himself to himself.
YUSSS!: Probably one of my favourite images. Shapeshifter's P Diggsss, having finished a track, basks in the adulation of his crowd. I had fought - almost literally - down to the area in front of the stage to capture images. The Christchurch Town Hall isn't set up with the barrier and the photographer's 'pit', so I was being banged around by dancing (I guess you could call it that) fans. Just when I was about to admit defeat and head out of the throng, a few larger lads surrounded me, braced the surging tide of dancers away from me, and gave me a few minutes of image capture that didn't make me feel like I was in a washing machine full of rocks. Cheers lads.
I'll have a few more images up in the next few few days - I'm still in the process of chipping away at the website, so in the meantime, enjoy. Also feel free to dig through some of the archived entries...
I think I like the top one best, and the irony that you're showing a personal moment being captured by so many cameras, but that you are capturing it with a camera yourself is not lost on me.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the Tribe at ? :)
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