Editorial
A decline cover
I have been shooting photos for years now and have had work published around the globe but I am still humbled by everything that I have achieved. Many years ago when I picked up a camera and took it to a mountain bike race I had no idea what lay ahead. I didn’t have any goals and I didn’t have any allusions of grander I just wanted to take good photos and try my hardest to emulate all the great photographers I had seen in my life. Today I get on the internet and see that I have a cover photo with decline magazine. I still today have the same response I had way back when I got my first cover – an inner glow of amazement and satisfaction and I sill have to pinch myself and realise that what I love gives me much more back. Thanks Scott @ decline, you made my day.
Snappin’ in Appin
Last week I went on another bike testing adventure with the AMB boys. This time we went to the small town of Appin, NSW and just like the many other small towns I’ve been to with the magazine Appin had all the right ingredients for the prefect mountain bike recipe.
1 x great local pub
1 x killer bakery
many x sweet trials
Click here for a few snaps.
Cory on Giant
It is not new news that Ben Cory is now riding for Giant but this was my first chance to get out and shoot with him since he made the change. We went into the hills way out back behind Canberra and for all the old downhill riders who can remember Blue Range, it is on the way back to being a race track again. Click here for a few shots from the shoot.
Northstar
Just got home after being over in the US and A riding some of the best trails in the world in the Lake Tahoe region of California. I had some epic rides which included snow, bears, and getting scared lost – look out for all the photos and the feature in an upcoming issue of AMB. I also took the opportunity when I was away to snap a few shots at the ProGRT at Northstar. If you don’t read Vital them you can see them here.
Self test
I’m about to head off for a little trip and needed to try some new shooting techniques to iron out any bugs and get some practice in. It’s hit and miss but self riding portraits are hard.
Cara and Garreth
My good friends Cara and Garreth got married at Lake Crackenback this weekend. It was a wonderful day and perfect for taking photos. Even better was how fun the newlyweds and wedding party were to shoot. It makes a huge difference when everyone is having fun. Thanks for letting us shoot your wedding.
Click here to go to a gallery of some wedding shots.
Farewell James
Today is a very, very sad day. I found out that my friend James Williamson passed away suddenly. James was a buddy, a boss, and someone that inspired me. I will miss you mate and thanks for everything you have done for me. I hope you get to ride forever and ever now.
Bike testing
I was out with AMB late last week with some bike testing. It was a good time and I dragged myself out of bed at 6am to get some sunrise shots with the bikes. It was a great time of the morning and even better was that the sunset was pure gold.
It’s easy….
…you just give a friend a camera and he takes the photos for you. This is a great shot that my friend snapped at a recent race. He just asked to borrow the camera for a second and literally one second later this is the shot he got. One of my favorite from the weekend and a shot I have always wanted to get myself. Damn, time to give up my job. Thanks Deano!!
Seems like I have been living in Thredbo
I’ve been back and forth more times that I can count. Lucky I live close.
My first video
Here’s my first ever edited video clip. Not really a video though – it’s a time lapse take on my DSLR. It was damn hard getting exposure right with the clouds and rising sun.
I’m in Radalaide
Yep, I’m here for the Aussie Nationals. Look out for some stuff on Vital from the weekend and of course, AMB and other Aussie mags in the following weeks. Here’s some stuff from the last bike test I did with AMB.
Merry Xmas
Better late than never. Can you spot me in the photo? Here’s a hunt – I’m behind a Nikon 12-24mm f/2.8 lens.
Trusty old P&S
Even though I’ve downed the camera for a little break I still carry the trusty P&S with me all the time.
The sun falls on another long road trip
Weddings aren’t only about the people – sometimes the place is just as beautiful
It’s not plastic but a washed up little stingy thing that hurts if you touch it.
Nature has it down when it comes to colour
Photo guessing competition
The first person who guesses what this is a photo of wins a brand new car from my new client VW.
Just to clarify. I am not/not shooting photos for VW. If you couldn’t guess from my post I was joking. The clues may have been the free beer and mexican food. The same humour that won me the Pulizter prize for satirical commentary in photo caption writing (for my work on VitalMTB) just didn’t seem to work this time.
The day in the life of a photographer
I had a shoot today in Sydney so I decided to take you all along and show you the glamorous life of a photographer. I set an hourly alarm on my phone and no matter what I was doing when the alarm went off I had to take/get a shot showing what I was doing at that exact time. Enjoy………
VW shoot and a point and shoot
I had an Australian exclusive shoot booked in with VW Australia for ages now and it’s Murphy’s law that the day we planned turned the worst weather of the year. Cold, rain and windy as hell. All of this in what’s supposed to be Spring. But with some luck I took the cars up to a favorite location of mine and the bad weather turned out to be a good omen. VW gave me this shoot as they liked my Dylan Cooper cover so much (Dylan’s team was sponsored by VW) they have now picked me as there #1 man to shoot all VW stuff all around he world. The deal also comes with free beer and all the Mexican food I can eat.
Also here’s a collection of snaps that have been sitting on my P&S shoot for months now.
My first XC race
I normally stick to shooting the DH and gravity crew at races but I had my first real opportunity to shoot the XC geeks at the recent World Champs. I went into the event with a negative attitude but in the end I actually really enjoyed the challenge and also enjoyed the action. It was a great way to shoot many different things and explore photo opportunities over a much longer track. It seemed like the locations and ideas I had were almost limitless. I think I will stick with shooting some more XC – even if it is just to practice some skills and try and think outside the box.
I will never forget
It has been an incredible week. World Championships are all about drama and emotion and I cannot believe that I was so lucky to be so close to everything. It’s hard work photographing these events and most times you really don’t feel like you actually get to watch or participate in the events in front of your lens. This week was a little different for one reason. My memories will not be the photos I took but rather being right next to Peaty when he finally won the rainbow stripes and seeing his emotion. I am a huge fan of Peaty and it’s a memory I will never forget.
Calm before the storm
With the World Championships just around the corner I’m preparing for a week of hard work, both physical and mental. I’ve picked up a gig shooting for the organisers and I’ll also be shooting for my usual clients on top of all that so I will be running around like a blue arsed fly all week. Look out for my stuff on VitalMTB as I’ll be joining the usual crowd of Flipper and Sven to bring you images that capture the entire event – not just the racing. It should be fun though and it’s great to have such a big race in Australian and be part of it. I’m lucky.
Here’s some birds from my backyard.
Clict cover?
Here’s a little glimpse of a cover from a long overdue Aussie mountain bike publication – Clict. I can’t show it yet but if I am stoked on this one not for any other reason that who’s on it. I’m one of his fans and he’s such a down to earth rider it’s great to see. On the Clict front, I am in the planning stages to help out with another photo annual. The 2010 one will be a little different from the last one and I’m excited about how it will turn out.
Dirt jumping throw-aways
A month or so ago I was up in Sydney for some dirt jump bike testing. It was hard to pull myself away from jumping and having fun to take the photos. Here are some unused ones.
Finally back in Canberra
It was a great trip and the riding in Colorado to finish off the whole thing was just gold. I will put up a gallery of some stuff as soon as I get all the photos and stuff swapped to the Mac. And yep, that’s me on a bike again.