Photobooth - Peoples Day 1/12/13

We had a fun time at the Big West Festival - Peoples Day with the Open Photobooth. Despite the hot, windy 30 C+ degree conditions, we had a steady stream of visitors to the photobooth. Due to the windy conditions we were unable to use the grey paper backdrop. Luckily the graffitied wall on the rooftop of the Little Saigon Market provided a suitably gritty backdrop.

This was the first time we'd used a Mola beauty dish as the light modifer for the photobooth. It proved to be winner. The light was crisp, funky and made everyone looked their best. Mounted on the C-Stand, the beauty dish stood up at all that weather could throw at us as well.

For light and power we used the Elinchrom Ranger RX with A head. The only glitch been the reliability of the Skyport tranceiver. As we we were already tethered to the iPad by wire, running a sync cord between the camera and Ranger was not an issue. I'm beginning to form the opinion that wiring together all the devices is the way to go for rock solid photbooth reliability.

For quick turn around of the images I cropped and enhanced the photos using the iPad's native photo editing tools. I then uploaded the images them to the Web site via Dropbox. Updating the Dropbox app for iOS7 fixed a bug that meant that images were been uploaded without their filters.

Open Photo Booth - Hyde Street Art Show & Family Fun Night

Last Wednesday night we set up the open photo booth at the Hyde Street Art Show & Family Fun Night. It was lot's of fun and we raised some money for a good cause. Sonia did a great job with the props that you can see in the chest. We'll be setting up again for the Big West Festival at Braybrooks Big Day Out and Peoples Day.

MIFF 2013: Yes, We Are Watching You: Persons of Interest

Yes, We Are Watching You: Persons of Interest was a public panel presentation presented in MIFF for 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. Academic Robert Manne, Institute of Public Affairs Research fellow Chris Berg, revolutionary Arthur Dent and the Persons of Interest themselves – Gary Foley, Michael Hyde, as well as Alan Hardy and director Haydn Keenan – discussed the consequences of state surveillance, and the dividing line between safeguarding public interest and public harassment.

This was the sixth and final event I covered for MIFF 2013. My final challenge was how to work with a panelist who didn't want to be photographed. Fortunately the subject sat on the end of the panel and it was relatively straightforward to exclude him from the frame. Later in post-production I found out that a further two panel members had opted out. It was a good thing that I had the D800's high resolution power to fall back on. 

MIFF 2013: Caught in the Act: Indonesia and The Act of Killing

Caught in the Act: Indonesia and The Act of Killing a public panel presentation that will be presented in MIFF for 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. Tito Ambyo talked to director Joshua Oppenheimer via Skype link and special guests Jess Melvin with Tom Zubrycki about capturing the atrocity of the Indonesian 1965-66 killings, and doing it via the lens of pop cultural fixation.

This was the fifth event out of six I covered for MIFF 2013. After the challenges of the lighting at the Forum Theater I felt more relaxed about the Wheeler Center. However I was presented with another challenge, one of the panelists was projected overhead via Skype. This time the challenge was not in the lighting but in the composition. One of the ways I attempted to rise to the challenge was to capture Joshua's image on the laptop.

For this event I used the Nikon D800 which up until now I'd been avoiding due to its large file size. As it turned out it proved to be the best camera of them all. The high resolution providing almost limitless scope for cropping. The ability to crop in event photography is priceless, as it is not always possible to get sufficiently close to subjects.

MIFF 2013: Long, Clear View: Tim Winton's The Turning

Long, Clear View: Tim Winton's The Turning is a public panel presentation that will be presented in MIFF for 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. The Turning was an epic labour of love, with 17 Australian directors interpreting Tim Winton's bestselling book of short stories, in a series of short films that come together to make a spectacular whole. 

Each of the events I photographed at MIFF 2013 presented it's own unique challenge. The Turning had two - the lighting and the sheer number of panelists on stage. I found that I never really mastered the lighting  challenge, even though I was using the Nikon D4. I found that I underexposed images in order to mitigate the blown highlights in the red channel. In retrospect the blown red channel would not have been as big an issue as the under exposure was in Light Room.

MIFF 2013: A First Film, Forever: Giuseppe Tornatore

A First Film, Forever: Giuseppe Tornatore was a public panel presentation presented in MIFF 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. Oscar-winner Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the enduringly beloved Cinema Paradiso, came to MIFF in 2013 year with his newest film, The Best Offer, starring Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland. Tornatore in conversation with David Stratton talked about his passion for cinema, and making every film your first film.

This was the third of a series of six events I photographed for MIFF 2013 (Melbourne International Festival). The Forum Theater is an ornate venue well suited to the the great Italian film director Giuseppe Tornatore. I photographed this event with the Nikon D4 and the 70-200mm f2.8. To capture the grandeur of the venue I added the Nikkor 10mm DX Fisheye to my arsenal.

MIFF 2013 - Melbourne Meets its Maker: On the Beach and the End of Everything

Melbourne Meets its Maker: On the Beach and the End of Everything was a public panel presentation presented in MIFF for 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. Famously (mis) quoted as being “the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world”, Stanley Kramer’s On the Beach (MIFF 2013) saw Melbourne reimagined in the end times of Nevil Shute’s novel, complete with attending Hollywood glamour in the guise of Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. Lawrence Johnston, film writer Tom Ryan, Phillip Davey and commentator and academic Deane Williams in conversation with Paul Harris to talked about Melbourne City as Hollywood history.

This was the second in a series of six events that I photographed for MIFF 2013. Capturing this event using natural light was incredibly challenging. The whole room was blacked out and the panels sat behind a blacked out table. Added to that, the panel also all chose to wear black. One of the solutions was to process some of the photos in black and white. Given the stark nature of the panel discussion regarding nuclear fallout, black and white proved to be an appropriate metaphor.

MIFF 2013 - Ivan Sen & Aaron Pederson: All Roads Lead

Ivan Sen & Aaron Pederson: All Roads Lead was a public panel presentation presented in MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival) for 2013 as part of the Talking Pictures Program. Emerging with each new film as one of Australia’s most accomplished auteurs, Ivan Sen (Beneath Clouds, Toomelah) returned to MIFF in 2013 as writer, director, director of photography, editor and composer for Mystery Road, starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten and Jack Charles.

All Roads was the first of a series of panel discussions I photographed for MIFF. I used the Nikon D700 with the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8, supplemented by the Nikkor 50mm f1.8. The D700 proved to be a solid workhorse with its high ISO capabilities easily able to handle the ambient light.