Jun
30
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After seeing the results from the photo shoot that I did for Tash’s class at Schoolcreative, the Artistic Director asked me to do a similar shoot for the other group of students that are graduating at the end of the month. This shoot was a bit of a challenge because it was the first time meeting the group, so in the short time I needed to work out the group dynamics and see what each individual was comfortable with. The girls wore sexy cocktail dresses with feather boa’s, tiara’s and sparkling jewellery while the guys wore some slick suits with ties and hats. The whole setup worked well to tie in with the theme of their final showcase plays which was New York City. Most of the shoot was done against the raw red brick wall in the studio and I felt that black and white worked well with the final process.
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Here are a few photos from the shoot… let me know what you think!
 
 
 
 
The entire shoot is in the photo gallery.
Jun
28
Steve has been staying with us for the last couple of days before he heads back to Perth after a 5 month stint around North America, and we decided to do a quick trip up to Whistler. Unlike most people that visit Canada, Steve was able to experience both Winter and Summer in Canada. So since the ski season was well and truly over we decided to check out Whistler had to offer… What do people do there during summer? MOUNTAIN BIKING!… and what do the more extreme people do? DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKING!
 
 
So the day before Steve was about to board a plane to fly back to Perth, we decided to tempt fate and try our skills at downhill mountain biking. All I have to say is that I have a whole new level of respect for that sport! I could never fathom how people could spent $2000 and more on a bicycle… and after 4 hours on that mountain I realised why… I’ve never been so sore and jittery in my whole life!
We were lucky enough to meet up with one of Toan and Steve’s friends that works in Whistler so we got a good deal on the bikes and much needed body armour. Would you believe that our bikes retailed for $2800 in the shops!!! I was amazed at how the mountain side had been transformed from ski slopes into a forest mountain terrain trail bike park. There were heaps of man made jumps, ramps, chicanes and platforms all integrated into the trails that twisted and turned through the forests. Steve was lucky enough to come across a bear cub and I nearly took out an innocent squirrel that decided to play chicken with me while I was hurtling down the trails and bouncing up and down with all the pot holes, rocks and pebbles on the track.
 
It definitely is something you have to experience, but it is indeed not something for the faint hearted (or unco-ordinated)! Even the green runs (which were the simplest) put you into some hairy situations and some of the blue runs (intermediate) definitey involved many leaps of faith. I was so amazed at how the bike was able to cope with all the large rocks pebbles, tree roots, drop offs and jumps. I guess it really is worth the $2000+ that it costs! Steve was definitely the more adventurous one out of us and he has the cuts and skid marks to proove it! No he didn’t crap himself out of fear… in one semi stack that he recovered from after jumping off a table top he managed to grind his butt against the back wheel while in the air. That’s his excuse for the brown skid marks on his pants and he’s sticking it..!
 
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Whistler has never been a destination I’ve wanted to check out during summer time. I’ve always associated it with skiing/snowboarding and winter. There’s definitely plenty of activities you can do while you’re there in Summer like cross country mountain biking, white water rafting, ATV’ing, horse riding and bungee jumping to name a few. The weather was perfect and the view was amazing! We’ll definitely be doing another trip up before the summer ends…
 
Jun
24
Tash is performaing at the Schoolcreative Final Showcase for 2008 and would love for you guys to come down and support her.
LOCATION: Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial Drive.
DATE: 4th & 5th July 2008
TIME: Showcase starts @ 8:00PM, come earlier for drinks and finger foods
Hope you can make it down!
Jun
18
 Today I did a quick photoshoot with Tash’s friends at School Creative. They’ve got their final showcase coming up and needed some group shots for their program so I offered my services. It was a really fun shoot with everyone clowning around… The theme was to “look butt nekked” as suggested by Chasty…so the girls wore boob tubes and the guys donned nothing but a tie (cos you gotta look classy) and I’d say the final product is quite cool and cheeky… check it out!
 
Natashia Chandra               Elise Brais
 
Chasty Ballesteros              Mike Fenner
 
Amy Dion                 Paulo Christiansen
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Download the video as a self contained *.EXE file here.
The whole set is in the Photo Gallery and don’t forget to come and watch their final showcase… details will be posted soon!
Jun
15
 Today we had an impromptu picnic with the Tavakoli Family and Maria’s mom Tess at Cultus Lake. It’s about 1 hour east of Vancouver hidden away in the mountains. This was the first bit of sun we’ve had in a while so it was a welcomed change from all the clouds and rain we’ve been having. It was quite a nice sight. The sun was out and it was quite warm, but in the distance you can see snow capped mountain peaks reflected in the lake.
 
 
Young Ayden had a chance to try out his aqua boat out on the open waters which was fully equipped with a propeller and water jet gun. All in all it was a very relaxing, fun day… We walked along the waterfront admiring all of the houses, kicked the footy around, built dams on the beach while the dogs ran around the place crazy as usual…
 
 
This was also the first time we’ve seen Keana in a few weeks and boy is she cuter than ever! She looks exactly like Ayden when he was a baby…
 
 
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It would be great to have a holiday home here to escape from the city madness… oh well… We can always dream…Â
Jun
06
Today I came across a great tutorial by a graphic designer called Nik Ainley. The tutorial shows you how to make a splash, blending two very different images to create this amazing underwater effect, complete with a dissolving figure of a man. Although the finished image appears hi-tech, it is just a very clever photomontage constructed from just two images, using relatively simple Photoshop techniques – the secret is in knowing which tool to use when, and putting the time into making sure it’s precisely executed. Now I must say that you can spend hours on end fine tuning the final product, but while you work on something like this you have to put your foot down and decide when to stop. In my case, I stopped after I was confident that I had the technique down… 2 hours later!
This is a great technique for pieces where you want the clothes, not the face, to take centre-stage – for example, it makes an eye-catching fashion shoot. Of course, the beauty of photomontage is that anything is possible – it all depends on your found images and how far your imagination will roam.
I give you… Aqua Breaker….
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Jun
01
This morning I received a photo of my little niece from my dad… The photo itself was a bit blurry, but the moment itself is priceless… isn’t she cute!?!?!
Umm… mom and dad… I think it’s time you invest in a baby bath tub… I’m not too sure how much longer she’s going to be able to fit in that sink!