Had I not been charged with capturing the photographs for Coral Expedition’s 2024 promotional collateral, I’m confident it would have been me receiving the accolades from Mr Nakashima (below) for making the best chopsticks Japan had ever seen (of course, those who know how practical I am, may beg to differ)…….
The Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival is over for another four years …. it’ll take me that long to recover and get ready for the next one.
“There will always be that one person in the group who thinks they know more than you do – and they’ll be an absolute pain in the arse.”
Such is the advice I’ve been given as a prepare, for the first time, to lead a couple of photography tours overseas in 2024.
Its been 12 months, to the day, since I put in a bid to win my new home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast……
I meant to post a preview of my three week trip through Micronesia but as soon as I got back I was heading off to Fiji to do a resort shoot.
So, here’s a small selection of some of the images captured from Pohnpei, The Marshall Islands and Kiribati……
Following three back-to-back assignments in Micronesia (phew), I’ve just wrapped-up a seven day shoot of one of Fiji’s finest resort properties – The Intercontinental, Fiji……
“Let’s focus on getting some appealing shots of the property, a few friendly staff pics, and some cultural shots of the Holiday Inn that shows it’s in Vanuatu,” was the brief …..
Phew, a boutique bed and breakfast, two resorts, a photography workshop, and some photos to complete Vanuatu – The Gift, the next book in my souvenir series on countries in the South Pacific.
I’ll be ready for my Christams break by the end of it all.
Here’s a few pics from the shoot for Breakas Resort:
I’ve just finished-up a shoot at Papaya Villa – a remote bed-n-breakast nestled in palm trees on the north-east coast of Efate in Vanuatu.
While its location would have to be its biggest drawcard (you feel like you have the entire coastline to yourself) – its unique selling feature is that it caters to foodies – handsomely….
Occasionally, I step out of my role as a tourism photographer and shoot for regional organisations involved in the South Pacific…….
I offer a “Top-up” package to my resort clients to update and refresh their photo libraries from a previous assignment
Drone technology has opened up a new frontier in arial photography and I’m thinking there’s money to be made in producing large, limited edition, panoramic prints shot from the sky…..
With the South Pacific finally re-opening, its time to revive the production of our souvenir publications. First cab off the rank is a wall calendar of Papua New Guinea, followed by a wall calendar and coffee table book on Vanuatu….
After six months of looking around, I have a new home – a charming, 115 year old Queenslander on the Sunshine Coast.
I’ve just moved into an apartment overlooking the beach at Surfers Paradise and I’m toying with the idea of publishing a souvenir book on the Gold Coast while I’m here……
I’ve just returned from spending Christmas with my family in Canberra, taking a week off at Bondi Beach on the way down to have a play with the camera.
I’ve just upgraded my camera gear in preparation for the “next chapter” I’ve been rabbiting-on about
So, gone is the medium format camera and the range of lenses I previously used with my 35mm Nikon. My priority now is to travel light and limit myself to just one camera and my three most frequently used lenses….
I struggle with Australia’s current Prime Minister, Scott Morrison (I know, I’m a photographer not a commentator but – while I had no option but to sit back and cringe watching America and the world suffer under Trump – I figure I’m entitled to vent about the leadership in my own backyard)….
After more than 20 years of being a professional tourism photographer, it’s only now – largely as a result of the time I’ve served in lockdown – that I’ve discovered there’s so much more I can do to improve my photographs in post-production.
For more than 12 years I’ve enjoyed my “Writer’s Pad” in Brisbane but I miss the beach and it makes sense to sell now (while prices are outrageous😉) and re-settle nearer the surf before borders finally open and I’m able to head overseas again.
I’ve embarked on another coffee-table book – the fourth in my South Pacific gift book series – anticipating travel restrictions caused by this wretched virus will be lifted shortly……(I know, wishful thinking)
A silver lining of this wretched virus is that I’ve had some spare time to dive into my digital archives to strengthen my commercial Photo Library and expand my range of Limited Edition Prints (it’s also given me the chance to practice some of those advanced post-production techniques I’ve been rabbiting on about in the past few posts).
My intention is to leave “big picture tourism photography” over the next five years to concentrate on photo essays like this one I’ve just drawn from my archives on the land diving ritual of Pentecost Island. So much tends to be overlooked rushing around in search of that one big promotional photo. So, I look forward to slowing it all down, spending longer in the countries I visit, and capturing images like these that tell a deeper, richer story.
I’ve just spent a couple of hours photographing the Anzac parade in Brisbane.
Apart from wanting to show my gratitude to those who fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy, I thought it would be a good opportunity to play with my new Nikon f2.8, 200mm zoom lens…..
I had no idea that movies were colour-graded, and that the same applications could be applied to still photography (more evidence I’ve been sitting under a rock for the past 20 years when it comes to advanced post-production techniques)……
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A successful promotional photograph starts with knowing what you want it to say and who you want it to appeal to - before you even bring the camera to your eye.
