For all you guys and gals who dont know, this is what you get when dealing with Rod Thomas from FStop bags Australia.
No nonsense, hard hitter, with a sense of style like no other.
“I like to dress down to hide my true personality” Rod Thomas, May 2009.
We all know him as Fstop Rod. The man who sells the best camera bags on the planet and has been known to wear a dress and cowboy hat….at the same time…go figure. Well I had a phone call from Fstop Rod…..lets just call him Frod and he is selling…No…No.. it’s not his shapely body girls, it’s better than that. Frod is selling one of the best bit of kits a videographer could ever want, the ZACUTO Z FINDER. What the fruit is that all you stills guys are saying? Well here is a picture.
The Z Finder gives you the ability to monitor your LCD in full sunshine allowing you the ability to get that critical focus you’ll never be able to get without it. It gives greater control when trying to follow focus and also acts as a stabiliser for hand held shooting with an extra point of contact with the camera.
I have one and couldn’t shoot without it (video that is)….
Rod is selling it as he predominately shoots stills and finds it gets in the way when using the cameras eye viewer. (Whats wrong with Live View I say)
Anyway any of you videographers out there want a brand new Z Finder over $100 cheaper than the US give Rod a call on 0417 677 966.
Price $ 350.00 and that includes a free FStop bag. Ok thats not true but if you ask Rod nicely he may give you a good deal on one of the sweetest camera bags on the market at the same time.
Paul Theseira is organising a non stop bike ride to Broome to bring awareness to the looming Gas Plant at James Price Point. It will be a 24 hour ride that should last for 5.5 days all going good. I have put my hand up to be one of the riders along with Paul. David Bettini is talking about joining us so who else wants to get fit and do your bit for the Kimberley?
See all the details here
We will be leaving on the 21st of August.
Nick Rains and I will be presenting another of our intensive photography workshops in June 2011. This time we will be holding it in the Blue Mountains, about 2 hours drive west of Sydney, on the weekend of June 18 and 19.
The intensive weekend workshops we have been conducting around the country have proved to be very popular and we get a lot of excellent feedback.We have found a fabulous venue right at the edge of the Grosse valley, about 500m from Evens Lookout. It’s an ecolodge called Jemby Rinjah and it’s buried in the forest with lots of beautiful trees filled with birds. When the mists roll in it is quite spectacular. Fortunately it’s also very cosy and has a big log fire in the main room – we are doing the workshop in June so bring your woollies!
Our workshops are classroom based, but we do go out shooting on the Saturday and Sunday mornings. It’s a very short walk to the amazing Evans Lookout, and if we get the misty mornings that the Blue Mountains are known for then we will be in for a treat. Right next to the lookout is the track down into the Grand Canyon and if you spend an extra day in the area this would be a superb walk to do. It’s a tough one, with some serious stairs to ascend at each end, but it’s one of the best walks in the Blue Mountains.
Nick and I will present eight seminars, four per day. We will cover all aspects of our photography and will share with you, in detail, many of the techniques that we use. Nick will cover the essence of landscape photography, colour management, raw shooting, and image sweetening. Christian will demonstrate his Photoshop mastery and the many ways in which he creates his amazing images.
A full itinerary of the two days can be downloaded here.
The cost is $995 and includes morning tea, full cooked lunch and afternoon tea on both days. Sign Up for this Workshop
The venue has offered an accommodation package for three nights (Friday to Sunday nights) for $458.50 including all meals so this is a really good deal. Call Wendy Cowan on 02 47877622 at Jemby Rinjah for bookings.
Terms and Conditions - click here for full details
OTHER WORKSHOPS NICK AND I HAVE COMING UP
October 22-23 2011
December 10-11 2011
January 21-22 2012
My good mate Brent is coming to Perth and will be running his famous off camera flash workshops. How cool, hope I can make it. See his blog post here
http://brentbat.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/off-camera-flash-workshop-for-perth/
What is he doing, where is he, what is that funny looking piece of machinery?
All will be revealed very soon. Including some exclusive pictures from the Fuji X100
Shot this image of the Bell Tower the other week when I was in Perth with the kids. Had a ball walking around the city getting images all over the place. I looked like a tourist but who cares, I got the shot.
Well I guess I am the luckiest guy in the world this week as I head off to the Kimberley on the amazing “True North”. 13 days of luxury and shooting, “going wild in style”. This will be the start of a new top secret project that will be revealed later. Whilst your thinking about how you would like to see me dipped in a bucket of acid, don’t forget about the workshop I will be running on True North in April 2012. We already have half a dozen photogs joining Markie, Tommy P and I for the experience of a lifetime. See my previous post for details.
The blog will be pretty quiet till I get back, leaving this Friday.
This is an image I took for Willie Creek years ago. This beautiful beach is only 20 or 30kms from the proposed gas plant at James Price Point.
Hi all, this would probably be the cheapest you will ever get into some Phase gear with a 1 year warranty. $20,000 under what I paid and it is probably only a year or so old in most cases. Go on you know you wanted to go medium format.
Those of you that have seen prints from these cameras know what it is all about! Nothing else comes close! See the post from Team Digital below
Due to the amazing success of the new Phase One IQ backs. We now have a number of pre-owned Phase One P series back available at some unbelievable prices. These backs come complete with a full 12 month warranty.
P40+ (40 Megapixel Sensor Plus ) $ 16500.00 inc gst
# $ 135.50 per week
P45+ (39 Megapixel ) $ 18150.00 inc gst
# $ 148.85 per week
P65+ (60.5 Megapixel Sensor Plus ) $ 28600.00 inc gst
# $ 227.00 per week
P40+ (40 Megapixel Sensor Plus ) $ 18370.00 inc gst
# $ 156.70 per week
P45+ (39 Megapixel ) $ 19995.00 inc gst
# $163.85 per week
P65+ (60.5 Megapixel Sensor Plus ) $ 29995.00 inc gst
# $ 237.00 per week
# Weekly payment are based on a Commercial HP over 36 months with no residual. Subject to change without notice.
To find out more about these Digital Backs click here to go to Phase One
Contact Trevor for more details on 08 93283377 or fill out the form below for a information pack.
My good friends Tony Hewitt and Denis Glennon are at it again this time back in Rottnest on the 18th and 19th of June 2011. See all the details here
http://denisglennon.com/masterclass-3/
Then Denis will will be running nature and wildlife seminars with Shem Compion one of South Africas leading wildlife photographers on the 13th of August. See all the details here
http://denisglennon.com/wildlife-seminar/
Again you would be crazy to miss out on an opportunity to learn from these guys.
Shot my first commercial job exclusively with the Fuji X100. I did look a bit lame handholding such a small camera but in reality it was more than what i needed for the job. This was for the Bike Shed in Dunsborough. Yes and it is true, I am a MAMIL (middle aged man in lycra) and proud of it!
Pete is having an exhibition of his Antarctica images. I have seen a lot of it and it is stunning. Make sure you get along to this event, his work is amazing in print.
Opening night is on the 19th May 6 -8 pm at the Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD.
Thanks to everyone who took part in our discussion on photography as an art form. What is good what is bad, who is right who is wrong, it boggles the mind. The thing I got that really stuck with me was “be true to yourself” Every time I try to emulate a look of someone else I end up dissatisfied with the result. I am just going to keep challenging myself and hope I get lucky on occasions. In the end as long as I get to do what I love I am a winner. Dark light, gritty smooth, landscape altered landscape, it is all ok and isn’t it great we love different things. This is a great forum and I thank everyone who has contributed to it.
Now this is neither dark or anything new but you know what, it doesn’t really matter because I like it and my happiness is the most important thing, right??? But if Merv gives me a NUP I am going to cry all night.
Shot this from a cool heli trip I did with Dave Bettini and Nigel Gaunt, both good friends and great shooters. What I like is how the car is in the way of the camels and they have had to go around it. It is typical of the Chaos that is Cable Beach at sunset. Ah Broome you have to love it.
Thanks everyone for your comments. The image I posted along with this one is not mine but Bill Hensons. It was an interesting experiment to see what people like and don’t like and how we all have an idea of what a “FINE ART” photograph really is. I’m still not sure myself but in the past year my notion of what I am interested in photographing has changed dramatically. You all know I have these moments of madness when I get on some shopping trolley roll or drool over a pile of steel waste. This is because for me photography is expanding. I am trying to get past the banal image to something that is truly great. Of course to get there you need to experiment a lot. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.
Now my question is to everyone out there, why try to produce something we have seen a hundred or a thousand times before? In the words of the great William Fox our curator on the Pilbara Project “show me something I haven’t seen before” The challenge is to find what that is. In a world where we are bombarded with images on a daily basis that is a huge ask but hell what a cool task, “show me something I haven’t seen before”
I have been studying Bill Hensons work and I think you guys should have a look at it seriously too. It is different. It might not be what we are used to but it isn’t to say it is worse because there are large areas of black. His photos are about moods, about feeling about pushing and pulling the viewer. The image I showed did push and pull you lot. It got a discussion going and if that is what Bill wanted then that means it worked.
Henson is one of Australia’s most highly regarded contemporary artists, having represented the country at the Venice Biennale. He has been the subject of exhibitions at major galleries, including the Art Gallery of NSW.He has a strong reputation among private collectors, among them Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, Elton John and the Smorgon family. His artwork has changed hands for as much as $250,000.
The image I showed was on for $30,000 I believe and I also believe the exhibition it was in sold out. Now don’t quote me on that but I think it is about right. Even so, I would rather a black Henson hanging on my wall than an over the top Lik.
In the end it is art and not everyones cup of tea. It does inspire me and it reinforces our need to go further and push ourselves to produce images that can’t be seen!
I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING NEW, we are a collection of talented photographers all producing the same stuff on a different day. Have a look at Flemmings recent work, he gets it. Photography can be so much more than an image ready made for a jigsaw puzzle.
p.s. my new coaster range is on sale in my galleries, true story, and we are selling sh1t loads. Oh the pain! Someone put me out of my misery! And I’m trying to be a serious artist!!!!!
My good mate Nick Rains is running a video Workshop at the Perth Zoo on the 19th of May. He will be joined by master filmmaker Pieter de Vries. Make sure you get on it. It is a great opportunity to learn the art of filmmaking. Should send my brother along, he needs some help!
Check out Pieters bad boy rig, now thats a camera!
Ok another dark one. What do you think of this? surely it is better than my pine plantation shot. You guys are tough! Thanks for being honest I can take it and would love to hear what you think of this one. I am going through a dark stage again. I already sense a nup from Merv! I will give up if you think I am on the wrong track.
Tell me what you think of this new dark style image. Does it make you wonder what is in the shadows, does it add mystery or emotional content. Or maybe it is just sh1t. All comments will be taken to heart!
Flemming and I spent the day out shooting all sorts of crazy stuff. Was a great day to be outdoors.
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