1. http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2012/02/07/chances-are-you-suck/ →

    I wholeheartedly agree with this. From A Photo Editor’s blog on improving as a photographer. 

    “Positive reinforcement is your enemy. Your Facebook friends, your Twitter followers… hate you. Instead of taking ten seconds to say. “This doesn’t work. You need to do better”. They readily push that “like” button, because it’s easy and they hope to get the same from you, but also because they’re cowards.”

    Saying “this is great” doesn’t help one     (myself) improve. But finding someone who is willing to sit down and give you constructive criticism is hard. I was mentored by an extremely talented photographer a few years back but didn’t feel I got the most out of that relationship as all I was told was “those pictures are great” even though I knew on most levels they sucked. Yes for where I was in my ‘career’ they were ok. But hearing that they were good was not going to help me get to the next level. I’ve always wanted to organise a drinks catch up/ constructive criticism club to overcome this very thing. If you are in the Brisbane area hit me up as I might actually organise it soon. Would anyone be keen? 

    3 months ago  /  1 note

  2. Inspiration

    So I have decided to take over my tumblr as I haven’t used it in a while, and start using it as a scrapbook of things that inspire me. Things might start getting a bit spammy. So feel free to unfollow me if this starts to annoy you.

    3 months ago  /  0 notes

  3. It has been a while since I’ve uploaded photos here. What better day to start then uh now. Here is a shot I took at my Halloween Party recently. A Columbian drug lord blowing his stash over the lens. 

    It has been a while since I’ve uploaded photos here. What better day to start then uh now. Here is a shot I took at my Halloween Party recently. A Columbian drug lord blowing his stash over the lens. 

    6 months ago  /  0 notes

  4. It has been a while since I have posted on Tumblr. First the lead up to Christmas got me all busy then I was away at Woodford giving myself a little time off. And then as you all know in the past week Brisbane has been hit by some epic floods which I have been out documenting. This is a shot I took in a night trip in to the city to document the rising flood levels. We shot from 11:30PM until 6:00am (5:00am was the peak height for the floods). This is a shot down at Creek Street in the city. More shots of my documentation of the flood and the clean up can be found on my blog: http://www.ltmusicphotography.com/blog/

    It has been a while since I have posted on Tumblr. First the lead up to Christmas got me all busy then I was away at Woodford giving myself a little time off. And then as you all know in the past week Brisbane has been hit by some epic floods which I have been out documenting. This is a shot I took in a night trip in to the city to document the rising flood levels. We shot from 11:30PM until 6:00am (5:00am was the peak height for the floods).

    This is a shot down at Creek Street in the city.

    More shots of my documentation of the flood and the clean up can be found on my blog:

    http://www.ltmusicphotography.com/blog/

    1 year ago  /  0 notes

  5. On Wednesday I photographed Pendulumn. Suprise suprise we aren’t allowed to post photos online. I wonder if this shot is counted in that contract? I am glad I worked out a few months that live music photography isn’t really my speciality anymore otherwise shit like that would bother me. I hear stories from local photographers who have been shooting live music for 15 years, and read stories in books of when Tony Mott started, and it makes me wish I was born just 10 years earlier and had gotten into live photography around that era, kind of like how some people wish that they had been alive during the 60s and 70s. But, it is definitely true, that being a live music photographer will never be like how it was before the digital SLR boom, before the image of a band became of ultimate concern and images of an artists undies dancing on stage crushed the 3 song rule to a mere 60 seconds.  In the last few months as I started putting more of my effort, time and brain power in to mastering lights and portraits I have found that my enthusiasm for photography has risen and my general happiness levels are higher too. Its a long journey but it is immensley more satisying then shooting, praying and getting lucky with shots amongst the herd.

    On Wednesday I photographed Pendulumn. Suprise suprise we aren’t allowed to post photos online. I wonder if this shot is counted in that contract?

    I am glad I worked out a few months that live music photography isn’t really my speciality anymore otherwise shit like that would bother me. I hear stories from local photographers who have been shooting live music for 15 years, and read stories in books of when Tony Mott started, and it makes me wish I was born just 10 years earlier and had gotten into live photography around that era, kind of like how some people wish that they had been alive during the 60s and 70s. But, it is definitely true, that being a live music photographer will never be like how it was before the digital SLR boom, before the image of a band became of ultimate concern and images of an artists undies dancing on stage crushed the 3 song rule to a mere 60 seconds. 

    In the last few months as I started putting more of my effort, time and brain power in to mastering lights and portraits I have found that my enthusiasm for photography has risen and my general happiness levels are higher too. Its a long journey but it is immensley more satisying then shooting, praying and getting lucky with shots amongst the herd.

    1 year ago  /  0 notes

  6. On Sunday, during the same shoot that I met Puggy (the pug from yesterday’s blog) I took this test shot of my assistant and best friend Michael. Michael is my right hand man on most of my shoots and through many of my devious plots in the photography industry. He is starting to get quite the collection of photos of himself from all the shoots I have been doing lately.

    On Sunday, during the same shoot that I met Puggy (the pug from yesterday’s blog) I took this test shot of my assistant and best friend Michael. Michael is my right hand man on most of my shoots and through many of my devious plots in the photography industry. He is starting to get quite the collection of photos of himself from all the shoots I have been doing lately.

    1 year ago  /  0 notes

  7. My partner (who needs an online nickname…any suggestions) LOVES pugs. Like absolutely, would own a million if she could, and have pug babies if that was possible, LOVESSSSS them. Some Sundays when we first wake up we spend an hour or so watching youtube videos of pugs doing the cutest shit. She squeals. I get all warm and funny in my tummy at how cute she is for loving pugs so much. And quietly I fall in love with the idea of having pugs with her even more. Last Sunday was one of those mornings. Apaprently she had awoken a lot earlier then me that morning and had quietly been watching/ squealing at pug video clips until I awoke. Then for half an hour we watched some together. I have a soft spot for black pugs now. Later that day I was at my location an hour early for a band shoot, and this little pug waddled past with his owner. I asked if I could take a pic for the lady. His name was puggy.

    My partner (who needs an online nickname…any suggestions) LOVES pugs. Like absolutely, would own a million if she could, and have pug babies if that was possible, LOVESSSSS them. Some Sundays when we first wake up we spend an hour or so watching youtube videos of pugs doing the cutest shit. She squeals. I get all warm and funny in my tummy at how cute she is for loving pugs so much. And quietly I fall in love with the idea of having pugs with her even more.

    Last Sunday was one of those mornings. Apaprently she had awoken a lot earlier then me that morning and had quietly been watching/ squealing at pug video clips until I awoke. Then for half an hour we watched some together. I have a soft spot for black pugs now.

    Later that day I was at my location an hour early for a band shoot, and this little pug waddled past with his owner. I asked if I could take a pic for the lady. His name was puggy.

    1 year ago  /  17 notes

  8. Ok for those 5 people that were following me on my other account, I have finally worked out tumblr and decided to start a new account. After starting one a while ago then actually starting a photoblogging blog last week I didn’t realise the mess of having primary and secondary blogs and all that jazz. So I am going to delete that previous blog and start afresh from here. Sorry. So back to the photos. On Friday I was sent to cover the album launch of Kyu for my local street press, Rave magazine. Kyu are a group of two women who I first stumbled across in a packed out Big Sound performance at Rics. As I was there on official duties Icould only cover two songs before having to headout and shoot other bands. But those two songs changed my life and I had been hanging out til they released their album and also until I could see their whole set. Friday night I went along with my saved up pennies and bought their album, and then photographed and watched in awe an AMAZING set. The crowd was sitting down for the set, and at first that annoyed me, but in hindsight I think it was the most perfect way to experience these girls building their amazing sound. They sound kind of like an Australian version of Bjork. Kind of. But so much more amazing live. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/kyusounds

    Ok for those 5 people that were following me on my other account, I have finally worked out tumblr and decided to start a new account. After starting one a while ago then actually starting a photoblogging blog last week I didn’t realise the mess of having primary and secondary blogs and all that jazz. So I am going to delete that previous blog and start afresh from here. Sorry.

    So back to the photos. On Friday I was sent to cover the album launch of Kyu for my local street press, Rave magazine. Kyu are a group of two women who I first stumbled across in a packed out Big Sound performance at Rics. As I was there on official duties Icould only cover two songs before having to headout and shoot other bands. But those two songs changed my life and I had been hanging out til they released their album and also until I could see their whole set.

    Friday night I went along with my saved up pennies and bought their album, and then photographed and watched in awe an AMAZING set. The crowd was sitting down for the set, and at first that annoyed me, but in hindsight I think it was the most perfect way to experience these girls building their amazing sound. They sound kind of like an Australian version of Bjork. Kind of. But so much more amazing live. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/kyusounds

    1 year ago  /  0 notes

  9. Two Sundays ago my partner and I dropped in to the park as guests of one of my favourite local bands. They have just put together their first EP and the picnic was held as a listening party for friends and colleagues. As I was taking photos (as I do) the lady put her finger in shot and then was baffled as to why her finger disappeared in the photo (you can see the brown smear in the middle of the frame, that is her out of focus finger). I love that she likes me explaining to her different aspects of photography, and that she actually listens and tries to retain the useless crap I tell her.

    Two Sundays ago my partner and I dropped in to the park as guests of one of my favourite local bands. They have just put together their first EP and the picnic was held as a listening party for friends and colleagues. As I was taking photos (as I do) the lady put her finger in shot and then was baffled as to why her finger disappeared in the photo (you can see the brown smear in the middle of the frame, that is her out of focus finger). I love that she likes me explaining to her different aspects of photography, and that she actually listens and tries to retain the useless crap I tell her.

    1 year ago  /  0 notes

  10. In the same park as the previous photo, the sight of jacaranda trees colouring against a beautiful sunset sparks everyone’s excitment for the upcoming summer. My girlfriend mentions that when she sees the same sight it usually prompts her to think of doing assignments as this time of the year is when universities are in assignment mode. She is currently defferred from her second degree and looking in to studying a Post Doc next year. She is a secret tertiary-degree fetishist. I used to be like that. Now I just like taking photos.

    In the same park as the previous photo, the sight of jacaranda trees colouring against a beautiful sunset sparks everyone’s excitment for the upcoming summer. My girlfriend mentions that when she sees the same sight it usually prompts her to think of doing assignments as this time of the year is when universities are in assignment mode. She is currently defferred from her second degree and looking in to studying a Post Doc next year. She is a secret tertiary-degree fetishist. I used to be like that. Now I just like taking photos.

    1 year ago  /  0 notes