Fun Food!

Who doesn’t love fun food! I’m talking burgers, chips, wings and sando’s. This month I took my bold, raw, minimal style and worked with Tippler’s Tap on some bright fun food images.

I have been very inspired to shoot some poppy food pictures the last few months so when the opportunity to work with Tippler’s came about I was ecstatic!

To achieve this look I used harsh light. A lot of photographers are scared to use direct flash and rather go the safe option with soft light... Not me. Turn that bad boy on 100%, point it at the subject and let’s get some glistening highlights and crisp shadows.

This kind of set up lends itself nicely to simple backgrounds allowing the subject to pop and be the centre of attention.

What made this shoot so fun for me was the subject matter. It’s not junk food, but it’s not your fine dining experience either. It’s the kind of food that you know your eating when your out with friends just having a great time!

Head chef Jake did a great job preparing the food, styling and even lending his hand for some modelling. (the other hand has fallen victim to chef life a few to many times 😅)

I’m excited to work on more food projects (not just for the post shoot treats 😁) so if you have a client or brief that wants to stand out I’d love to hear about it!

My Favourite Project This Year - ICONS Jewellery

I have been waiting SO long to share these! Earlier this year I shot the hero images for a new jewellery brand ICONS, who are changing the game in the world of modular jewellery.

I met Amrith (founder) on a personal project I was doing (another reason to always pursue personal projects) and from the moment he began telling me about his vision I knew we would be working together in some way.

After showing him my work he immediately said, ‘Dude, can you do your thing exactly how you do it for my brand?!’
Both of us wanting to challenge the norms of our prospective industries I was ecstatic to have creative freedom to bring his vision to life.

‘I want the opposite of the typical soft, earth tone jewellery look for ICONS’, is what was clearly stated in the brief. My style is BOLD, RAW and MINIMAL, so you could say this brief was written just for me.

Amrith made my job easy, already having the shoot concept sorted and model selected. On shoot day with my talented videographer buddy Nick from VSNZ, and incredible hair and makeup artist Tania Travers we proceeded to make some iconic, bold, artistic images.

Not only is the jewellery itself gorgeous but the locking mechanism that attaches each icon to its base is insanely satisfying to play with. This new, innovative patented design is a game changer in the modular jewellery industry.

With heaps of ICONS to choose from and all the bases including rings, necklace, bangle, and earrings, the combinations and versatility of the ICONS platform is endless.

If you can’t tell already I am a massive fan boy of this new brand, and being a bit of a bower bird myself loving shiny things, this project ticked all the boxes for me.

I cannot wait to work together with the great team again and hopefully build a relationship shooting ICON campaigns well into the future.

You can see some BTS from the shoot on my about page here.

'On Camera Flash is for Amateurs' - Personal Project

I was recently triggered by another photographer proclaiming that, ‘on camera flash is for amateurs’ , so naturally I grabbed some friends and went out to prove that they were wrong.

I wanted to bring that ‘on camera flash look’ to my sports work as it brings a fresh but nostalgic feel to images. We all remember when our mums would bring the point and shoot and set to auto to our soccer and basket ball games!

Bringing that memory and applying a commercial lens to it was the idea for this shoot. (and to prove him wrong 😜)

As talent for this idea I had brothers Attila and Adam throw down some hoops and have some friendly competition.

I’m weary of anyone that paints any creative tools or mediums with such a broad stroke as it’s not about the tools but how you use them.

I’m stoked with how this set turned out and think I have achieved my point. 😁

I’d love to hear what you think! Do you agree with the statement that ‘on camera flash is for amateur’ or that it’s how you use your tools as a creative?

Double Denim - Erik & Phoebe

Two of my favourite humans Erik and Phoebe joined me for a personal shoot titled ‘Double Denim’ and damn they look cute!

Rolling up in West End with my 64 Impala we shot a series of couple portraits while dodging traffic through the streets.

I decided to shoot this series on my Fujifilm camera system because in my opinion Fuji’s colours are the most vibrant, classic and superior straight out of camera which lends itself nicely to my style of portraiture.

Fuji’s glass (lenses) is also absolutely beautiful. A lot of modern cameras are clinically sharp, which takes away from the organic look that great portraiture entails. Fujifilm’s lenses are not excessively sharp and have a gorgeous contrast to them that brings a timeless feel to images.

I am excited to shoot more of my personal projects that I are in the pipeline over the next few months so keep your eyes pealed!

IRONMAN - Zac Dunn

This weekend I will be hanging out with IRONMAN athlete Zac Dunn again as he is in town to compete in the Brisbane Marathon.

Zac and I first met by a chance encounter with a mutual friend on our yearly snowboarding expedition to Japan. Ever since we have shared our love of sports, training and the outdoors.

Zac not only loves the challenge of endurance sports but is an avid lifter with a grueling training regime. This is what leads to his impressive physique, having him usually about 10-20kg heavier than his endurance competitors. 😂

I look forward to watching him rip the marathon and the post event meal we gorge ourselves on, with many laughs and tails of our 6 months since meeting last.

IRONMAN - Ride

Part 2/3 of my IRONMAN - Swim, Ride, Run series ‘Ride’.

Banging out 60km to over 90km sessions a couple times a week when in prep for an IRONMAN is an incredible amount of volume for normies like us but athlete Zac Dunn froths them with ease.

This set was shot at a gorgeous spot in my home town Mackay and I really enjoy the back lighting coming through the pine trees making it look like it could of been shot in the hills somewhere else in the world.

Keep an eye out for my final set ‘Run’.

Montez Portfolio Update

Good morning all! Recently I have been shooting with my friend Mr. Relentless, Montez Wilkins updating his acting and commercial modeling portfolio. We wanted to do some raw studio images that really capture his personality and charisma.

Working from the amazing Gold Coast Studio, Montez just had to be himself and let it flow in front of my lens and I think you can feel his energy. I like to conduct a small interview with my subject to get to know who they are and what they believe then have them show me this in our session. Following this shoot Montez used these images to land representation by one of Australia’s leading modeling agencies Wink Models! Congratulations to him.

We have also recently shot a sports campaign portfolio which I will be releasing with you all soon.

Have a Sick day!