‘ju:femaiz

Rather than wait until the end of the year I thought I’d undertake Part I of my photography review of 2008 at the close of June wait until the end of the year to publish Part I of my annual photography review.

Closing 2007 out with José González was always going to be difficult to beat, and while the beginning of 2008 has not had quite the same hectic nature to it as 2007 was it has still proven to be fruitful on the photography front. But anyway, read on…

The 2008 Photographic Review.

• 2008: A Photographic Review – Part I
• 2008: A Photographic Review – Part II
• 2008: A Photographic Review – Part III
• 2008: A Photographic Review – Part IV

January

My first gig for 2008, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The Metro Theatre, coincided with my first chance to get the camera out following the short trip to the Booti Booti National Park for New Years (one which I didn’t really enjoy too much and think staying down in Sydney would have been a better option in retrospect, but c’est la vie, we live and we learn).

Following on from this the camera was set aside for half the month as I failed to by given any gigs and had no real social outings for a camera to be present at. James Browning of Niché Productions gave me a buzz to shoot at Becks Bar where he had organised a gig for Sydney Festival with the lads from Kora flying across the Tasman with support from Sydney siders Budspells and California’s Aloe Blacc.

Was a pretty great evening even with the light rain at an outside venue.

For the first time in eight years we broke from tradition and ended up staying in Sydney during Australia Day rather than heading out to a camp spot somewhere for an escape. Bit of a downer but again c’est la vie. The day was hence spent at the beach at Long Reef, wasn’t too bad a way to spend a lazy Australian summer day. Duncan was also there testing out his new purchase – a Canon 17-40mm f/4L.

Also managed to get a pretty nice panoramic out of the day too.

February

February saw one of my biggest goals achieved with my first major music festival. First up, though, was the sideshow with Cypress Hill playing at the Enmore Theatre where I got to meet Sydney photographer Nic Bezzina (whose awesome work graces the walls of The Annandale Hotel). Cypress Hill were crazy to shoot, as most hiphop groups are, as they ran around like ADHD aflicted children on the stage. Was a lot of fun though – and I got my first work published in Newcastle’s Reverb Magazine as a result. An early photography related goal scored (and one to be repeated throughout the year).

The Sydney leg of the Good Vibrations Festival was an absolute blast to shoot – so much fun, but a hectic schedule. Bands on the list to shoot included:

• Kanye West
• Cypress Hill
• The Rapture
• Pharoahe Monch
• Calvin Harris
• Katalyst
• Thievery Corporation
• K-OS
• Muscles
• Damn Arms
• plus the varied and assorted collection of munted punters

Some of the fave shots from the day:

I also picked up a new bag (Crumpler Whiskey & Cox) and fedora for the day.

Phew. With this day out I had two of my photography goals solved this year – a big festival and a photo published.

The annual pilgrimage to Tropfest occurred and a great day was had. The camera wasn’t brandished as much this time mind – just one shot showing how much we enjoyed the day.

Nicholas Broadbent (aka “Nick” or “Wombat”), one of my best mates, flew back to Australia with a lovely girl, Melanie, to introduce to his friends as his fiancée and have a general massive night of celebrations. The next day, in spite of the collective hangover, it was decided that the best thing we could do on such a day would be to head out to Taronga Zoo and Balmoral Beach before hitting the city that night to enjoy the limited time they both had in Australia.

March

In March a new phase of my life was embarked upon. I entered into a five year contract as Technology Analyst with the Intelligent Network section of EnergyAustralia. I moved out (again, something about March and new beginnings I guess) to Surry Hills, moving in with Ben Lange (my former housemate in Newcastle), Rami Banna (University Medalist for Electrical Engineering, Class 2003) and Simon Blythe (another underachieving UNSW Electrical Engineering graduate who is working a number of companies with venture capitalists simultaneously). So there we go – four electrical engineers in one sharehouse, a recipe for disaster really.

The first of the photographic expeditions was to shoot DRAMAC, Macquarie University’s Drama Society’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

March also saw me get out of the (new) house to hit up the Enmore Theatre once more to shoot this time for James Browning of Niche Productions – the act, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. What a powerhouse of the true roots of soul this woman is, a must see this summer as she heads back to the Australian shores.

Image

Stay tuned for Parts II, III and IV of 2008 in Review.