bushpigs

white trash, redneck bushpigs is what a group of girls called some of the guys at the rodeo i attended last week with Kiwi. The rodeo was down at Stawell and let me tell you.. certainly was something.. different.. being the only 2 token asians for 99% of the day at the rodeo was a pretty daunting thing. There were about 2-3000 people there? not bad. lots of fun lots of Aussie bogans, scary at times, but most of the time they were a good laugh.

I've had a few people ask me "hey chris, howcome you went to shoot a rodeo down in Stawell?" how do i answer that? well.. the only thing i can think of is.. cos i can? haha nah i dunno.. i was jsut going through the net on things that looked awesome and what i could shoot and for some reason the rodeo ust popped in mind. Was a bit of work trying to find out where rodeos were in Victoria, as i'd never been to one or yet alone heard of many rodeo events. but they're huge.

got pretty close to the action. my cameras are due for a clean..

Very lady like behaviour. I think she asked him to buy her another drink, he said "fk off" she kicked him. Class all round.

lets not forget what rodeo is really about. There was alot of cattle rustling and of course the horse and bull riding. which was pretty fun to watch. Got pretty close and kept the 70-200 on the D80 all day. I'm happy the AF was fast and accurate enough to keep up with what i wanted. 

bro wasn't too happy. Horse fell under him and rolled over him. but he was alright. don't think he was happy that he fell off thought... death stare..  The rodeo continued on till about 930 that night, a lot of people had already head of and started making fires.. Kiwi and I walked past a few holes inthe ground and laughed as to what they were. the girls who said the guys were bushpigs, explained that they were burning pits "where the bush pigs burn all there shit in there and throw shit at you as you walk past." 

There was free camping at the rodeo. A few people took up that offer and let rip with their little bon fires.

Camping just next to the rodeo arena. 

Overall was a really good night. Got about 60 images from that night which isn't bad for a days shooting. We were planning on camping that night as well, however i sorta finished what i wanted to do in a day.. I thought that all the guys would go to a pub or something after the rodeo, but.. there was noting there.. just a rodeo in the middle of nowhere.. Not to worry.. next time. Anyways, hope all's well, back to shooting the CFA tomorrow and probably staying over at a near by motel for a 2 day shoot. we'll see how that goes! 

until then.

And now i'm going to show another..

wedding? no.. no weddings today.. but i am shooting another on Sunday.. busy busy week ahead.. anyways, like i said last week i'd try to get some CFA photos up. *hooray* So went up on Tuesday and spent a whole day there shooting. They were only just starting their practical training and this day was spent by blindfolding the recruits and making them do drills in the dark (pun intended)

Nice guys, let me roam around and do what i want. Had a quick induction to assure that i am ready to go on the 'hot fire' exercises. I got given a fireman suit which i'm pretty stoked about. I'll get a photo of it soon, overalls, jacket, helmet and gloves. best.

It's the old uniform so it looks pretty retro. The new one is a bone colour and thye are 3k a set. the recruits get 4... damn.. Like the Army, these guys march around all over the place

Pretty nice place at the CFA training grounds, like a hotel, there's rec. areas and i get free food! best.. can stay for lunch and dinner. Home cooked meals. 

Basically today was all about the recruits learning how to use their breathing apparatuses and walking around blind. the theory is that, if you can do it blind you can do it anytime. true i suppose. there's lots of photos so i'll just post a few that i like.

this reminded me of a line of ducklings haha

Search and rescue in the dark. 

Ok, all that from one day isn't bad. Shot 99% of the shots on the D3s which i must say is AWESOME.. if i haven't mentioned that already. Those last 3 shots were shot at 8000iso and look good to me. Got about 36 keepers from the first day, so im pretty confident i'll get a few good shots for the rest of the time i'm up there. Nice guys, looking forward to going back up. Next Wed, hopefully stay over till Thursday. see how we go. Anyways, watch this space for more CFA and weddings.. 

Happy Easter.

So this might just become..

a wedding blog? lol i hope not.. but i wouldn't be surprised if it did.. i mean, i probably am shooting more weddings currently than assignments. Will be shooting my CFA assignment next Tuesday, so look out for that one, hope it doesn't fail like my circus one... worst.. I need to get in contact with some industries. I've emailed a rodeo, and iron foundry, might need to chase them instead..

Anyways, another wedding, 19/3/10 this one was more organized and a little easier for the shoot. Things didn't change within the last second, better looking..... place...

The D3s certainly does do well in low light situations, Most of the shots which were indoors were shot around 6400iso. Having the ability to shoot this ISO really does make a huge difference. I'm not a fan for on camera flash and more into the 'natural' look and lighting of things. 

My friend made a really god point with some of my photos... there's a god damn mother f*cken fan in some of them.. I didn't notice it until i started shooting and the ceremony started.. if i REALLY have to, i may clone it out. Well i'll Simon to do it.. 

Yeah that'll do for now, just a quick look into some of the photos i picked out for Simon. I like the going into weddings taking it like a documentary and doing it in a real documentary style. Am struggling to find a reason to shoot my D80 now in wedding situations, but i really need the 2nd body when shooting. If this wedding photography gets serious and I start getting some income from this, a D700 is looking really tempting. Anyways, that's all for now. Until next time.. and maybe another wedding..

First Wedding

So, for those who keep up to date with me, i've gotten a gig as a 2nd shooter for weddings. Had my first gig last month and i tell you what.. its tough.. running around trying to be at the right place at the right time, focus, aperture, shutter speed, composition.. everything running at 1000 miles an hour.. sure, i've shot doco's before, but.. when i do that, i'm in my element.. cool, calm, clear idea of what i want. There's no pressure but for me to succeed.. weddings.. it's my neck and THEIR DAY if i stuff up.. argh... anyways.. had a go at it, and i did it my style.. doco.. 

The 28-70 is working well on FX, first "proper" run with it, and it's wide enough. most of the time. I'm still thinking about investing in either 17-35 or 16-35.. who knows.. wait till i get the money first.. still need the SU-800 first.. fk..

Shallow as it sounds, weddings don't look awesome unless you have awesome looking brides and grooms. This one was.. one of those.. But hey, as long as they think they look good. job complete.

Loving the 2.8 on FX. DOF just fades out, loving it. Funny thing, i thought that having a DX and FX body would compliment nicely, but i'll have to tell ya.. once you go FX.. man.. never wanna go back. Seriously considering a D700.. i'm happy to lose the "reach" on my longer lenses for the versatility of FX, and better noise control.

I'm quite enjoying being second shooter. Less pressure and the ability to just roam around and snap at things which Simon misses (photog)

Simon. Number 1 shooter. There's not much to it really being a second. Just get the FK out of his way if he's shooting. I made sure of this by staying behind him. playing it safe.

These kind of shots are what i'm pretty much paid to do lol.

like mentioned earlier, as a second i'm out of Simons wat when he shoots. No i didn't tell them to look at the sky like hero's, Simon was up on a ladder doing a high vantage shot, so.. being a 2nd, stay low and snap away!

Different angle from Simons but it's nice to have choice. So thats it for now kids.. Weddings.. who woulda thought.. I'm still not used to it yet, but i'm getting used to it. Got another gig tomorrow, another trial, before my first proper paid gig for Simon. don't wanna look like a noob >_< Anyways, i'll keep you all posted. CFA and circus shots up soon perhaps? we'll see how we go. Also, although early days. Might be off to HK to work by January.. but hush hush for now....

Absence makes the heart grow fonder..

OK, so here we are.. been a busy few.. weeks? yeah i think weeks. Sorry for those who read my blog, i haven't been around for a while.. I've been busy organizing shoots for Uni, one being the CFA and the other is a local circus just up the road from my place, so it should be a busy few weeks! which is good.. need to get back out there and start shooting..

Gotten myself a job as a... wait for it... wedding photographers assistant.... yeah..  -_-" look, not the thinkg i want to do ideally, but its money.. Simon, my wedding dude, is a pretty nice guy. First real gig is April 25th.. arghh so watch this space for that.. Anyways.. my point.. been shooting some video lately, and having shot my Tasmania video and really getting into the whole video thing, thought i'd do a proper one this time. more constructed, more thought out, more everything.. so here it is. i'll link you.





Sorry, not the greatest quality. i Dunno how to upload to youtube properly.. i know.. fail.. anyways when i finish the vid i'll upload a HQ version of it, i'll make sure of it.


Anyways, got a busy few weeks ahead of me, and this video to finish. hopefully it'll be done in a few weeks.. i think i'll take this slow and edit better etc etc.. anyways.. hope you're all well. let me know what you think of the video or just to comment on anything.


Ciao. =]

Werribee

Sorry guys, its been a while since i lasted posted. Been a bit busy/nothing to shoot. But i went to Werribee open range zoo the other day and took a few snaps. Nothing super awesome.. like.. it's a nice place and all but nothing super awesome. I remember it as a child and i was amazed by it.. but the older you get, the less cool things become. sigh.

As you'd imagine, i took the D3s out, used it mostly with the 70-200.. wait.. its all i used it for.. Not too used to the range yet, kinda shit focal length on FX 200 just.. isn't long enough, but fkn awesome lens. I hate pixel peepers who say it vignettes in the corners and isn't sharp. Who looks there anyways? fk.. whatever. i like it.

I don't like monkeys.. they kill people.. or.. no.. gorillas do but.. they're too smart.. don't like it. and they look like people..

did you know hippos are the leading cause of death in Africa? well.. animal killing human deaths. go figure. 

what a life.. the one on the left looks so happy ^^ hah

 

i like meerkats. I have a video of them playing but which i should upload, but youtube takes too long to upload shit. need to find a good way to upload things to my blog without youtube, i'll figure it out.

Went on the bus ride which Werribee has, which was pretty fun. The bus ride which looks at all the animals is included in the fare which i thought was fair cheap $24.50 for all day and a bus ride. not bad. the Aquarium is $32. fts.. but i'd still go. 

this looked better in my head. oh well. giraffes are huge. 

i like this photo. =] touch it up a little it'll be alright. haha big butts

Was quite lucky. Waked up to the lion exhibit and he was just chilling on the grass. RIGHT infront of me. was pretty good. nice view. lucky. I just love his face. The scars and scratches can tell so much about him. Fairly interesting. 

His Missus came over to join the party and got quite close as well.

got some video of kangaroos too which i should upload somehow. I'll make sure i figure it out next time guys! even if it means youtube. sigh.. anyways. something short nothing amazing. Feel shit using hte D3 for petty things like this. but i guess its only what i make of it. Anyways enjoy, be safe

Ciao.

Tasmania - The Video

Hi again guys, 

I've spent the last few days trying to edit some video footage which i took during my trip to Tas with my new D3s. The footage is not the best as i didn't really focus on making a video, was more like video for fun. So anyways, mosto f the footage is shot at 720x1280 and the other is shot at... i dunno.. 640X something something. using DX mode reduces the video quality so some of it is not as nice as it could be.

Next time i'll try and make a proper movie with better panning techniques, focus, movement, lighting etc etc. Certainly was fun to play with. Hopefully i can do more of this in the future. Anyways. quick film with a quick edit. There's one scene where the aspect ratio is wrong. i need to fix that up, so ignore that.

Anyways. D3s, 70-200, 28-70 for most of the shots.

p.s the footage is a little squashed in my blog. so if u want to see properly, click on it again and it should open in youtube. sorry.. enjoy.