A few months back I got to shoot with PnKi and DaBruin from fuck-knows-what-to-call-it-genre-of-music outfit BFAKE for the Red Bulletin Magazine. The guys are also involved a Cape Flats skateboard movement /brand called 20sk8. I got to hang out with the guys whilst in the process of recording their new album which they’ve just released in Holland. They sent me through the video. Give it a listen.. it’s unlike anything you know and it’s catchy. Some of the tracks I got a sneak peak to were really dope and I look forward to hearing them fully mastered. Anyway’s check them out and watch them live. Just don’t take it seriously, or do, be yourself I guess. I’m lost and rambling again. arrrgh… here are some photos:
This year started out full speed and has had me trying to play catchup since. I’ve been to Mauritius, watched my best friend get married to his soulmate in the garden of their house surrounded by more colour than a Holi Fest and recently I worked on a stills shoot for Staud Studios via Orange Films and had one of the most inspiring work trips of my life. I took along my Nikon F90X (my first camera) and two roles of TMax 400 B&W film and fired off a few snaps along the way. Great thing about having a blog, even though I hardly keep it updated enough, is that I have a place to publish things like this. Makes spending the money of the film that much more worth it. So here’s some analogue glimpses into my past.
The 100th issue of Elle Decoration and the last for editor Laureen Roussow sees two features of mine. The magazine hit shelves while I was in Mauritius and it was awesome to come back to. Laureen has been a treat to work with. She’s not afraid to tell you what you she thinks and it’s straight talkers like her, her know their shit that shape me as a photographer. Thanks Laureen and all the best on your new adventure, whatever it turns out to be.
The features themselves are of the homes of Durban creatives Xavier Clarisse, the man behind the epic “Delicious Monster” lights and legendary creative stalwart Neil Roake.
Now go buy the magazine!
A few weeks back the awesome folks at Sunshine Company (The distributors and rental agents for Hasselblad, ProFoto, Sirui and Black Rapid) offered me the chance to shoot some skateboarding with all of this:
So I gathered up these scoundrels: (FLTR: Justus Kotze, Wong, Ryder Nel, Yann Horowitz and Chris Cab)
And took them to this secret bowl…
Now comes the part where I share the images even though I’m not entirely happy with them. I mean, I really feel we got great shots but I really wanted this shoot to produce some of my finest work. I thought I had the perfect location, the perfect crew and the perfect equipment but it didn’t work out that way. This was my second time shooting with the Hasselblad H4D-50 and first time shooting with the Profoto B1’s. It was also my first time shooting at this location and I totally misjudged the sun’s trajectory so we ended up having the harshest light throwing mottled shadows all over the bowl for most of the afternoon. Essentially, everything was different and difficult and I couldn’t rely on anything I normally would. I didn’t know what power I could push the lights to and still freeze motion. I couldn’t find the angles in the bowl because the sun was limiting us and more than anything shooting with a Hasselblad is nothing like shooting with a DSLR.
When shooting with DSLRs I don’t think we realise how reliant we are on the LCD screens. That little LCD screen on our DSLRs makes our workflow so much quicker than you know and with the Hasselblad that speed comes to an abrupt halt. At 75mb per image the images take what feels like a lifetime to display on the screen. What makes things worse is the resolution on the Hasselblad screen is not ideal. You really want to shoot tethered to a computer using this camera as only then can you really see what’s happening. That or know how to read your histograms accurately. I was just unprepared. I know what this camera is capable of and I plan to get even with it. Right now we sit with a score of Hasselblad 1 – Tyrone nil but there will be a rematch!
The resolution of the Hasselblad is insane. Check the uncropped image of Justus Kotze with an oh so stylish crail slide, followed by a 100% zoom of the image. Impressive, no?
The Profoto B1 lights were really great. I want to do some more tests to see if I can get them to hyper sync with my pocket wizards but their ability to freeze motion with decent power output is awesome and with everything being built into the head itself you don’t have cables. They’re basically speedlights on steroids. So here are the remaining shots from the day. I am already planning my revenge on that Hasselblad. It won’t get the better of me next time!!!
Thanks to all the skateboarders, the secret bowl amigo, Michael North, Willem Foster and Hendre Louw for making this happen.
I’ve just returned from my annual pilgrimage to Hakskeenpan for 2014’s Kalahari Speedweek. Red Bull posted up fifteen of my best shots from my three days up there. You should check them out. Below are some extra’s and a few portraits to add to my previous years collection. Enjoy.
When I was shooting Red Bull X-Fighters there was talk of swell hitting that left in Namibia.. you know the one I’m talking about! The chances of going seemed stacked against us but thankfully Red Bull, being the fine company they are, made magic happen. Two days later, flights were booked, accommodation sorted, a moersa lens rented and passports were packed.
The main focus was to get images of Slade Prestwich. Check out the the interview Red Bull did on his pre and post expectations / experience. If you’ve heard rumours of this wave being heavy… believe it! That spitting chocolate mouth of death will eat you alive however it’ll most likely give you the barrel of your life. Its gamble you just can’t walk away from.
As for Namibia, it’s a bizarre place. Your mind keeps changing its mind on where it thinks you are. One minute you think you’re in South Africa, next transported back to “puzzle box” era Germany / Europe. Puzzle box as in those old 1000 piece German architecture landscape puzzles you used to sit for hours with you mom trying to figure out. Then the dessert and vast amounts of sand settle your mind back into reality.
What a great trip. I live for opportunities like these. Quick shout out to Sunshine Company for hooking me up with the carbon fibre Sirui tripod you see me operating in the last photo.
I have one of the best jobs in the world and believe me I appreciate it. Working with a client like Red Bull I’m constantly put into the most stimulating environments with the most inspiring of people. A double whammy of awesomeness sets the stage on which I work. It’s a team effort when it comes to Red Bull. I can only shoot what is in front of me and for that I give a huge shout out to the team that makes it all happen.
That brings us to Red Bull X-Fighters. The Union Buildings in Pretoria played host to the final round of the 2014 X-Fighters season with a closely contested race for the title between Josh Sheehan of Australia and Levi Sherwood of New Zealand. Due to a hard crash and a seriously tweaked ankle during the qualifiers, Levi Sherwood was unable to compete properly and it was Josh Sheehan who took both the stage and series win.
For the full report check out:
http://www.redbullxfighters.com/en_ZA
http://www.redbull.com/za/en
Here are some of my shots from the event….
Here are a few shots from my Saturday night at the Red Bull stage at this years Oppikoppi. Not as conceptual as the Snapshot Symphony but still managed to have fun testing out my new Nikon 14-24mm lens. Also have a couple of shots of Zebra and Giraffe coming out in the Red Bulletin magazine. Will share those next month. Next up though is the Red Bull X-Fighters in Pretoria this weekend which I am really looking forward to.
The next couple of photos are the left overs. The one’s that never made the cut. The losers. They didn’t qualify for this article:
http://www.redbull.com/za/en/music/stories/1331670668104/a-symphony-in-snapshots
So basically I had a great time walking around shooting crops of scenarios that I felt would represent the Oppikoppi experience. It was hard narrowing it down to the twenty found on the Red Bull site so I thought I’d share some that might feel neglected.