Places

Apr

2011

North Curl Curl Pool with Kate McCracken

Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting with the lovely Kate McCracken, a model here in Australia. The goal of the shoot was to make some shots where instead of her being the model being the main focus of the photo she would be an equal part of it along with the landscape. We weren’t sure until the last minute if the shoot would go ahead due to the weather, the heavens were threatening to rain down upon us the whole time. We took the risk and went to one of my favourite beach pool, North Curl Curl rock pool hoping to get at least a glimpse of a colourful sunset.

The weather held off and it didn’t start to rain until we were packing up to leave. The storm clouds provided a fantastical brooding atmosphere to the shots. The weather also brought with it some wind which twice manages to take my flash out. Not that bad except both times the flash ended up in the pool. I am happy to say that both it and my trigger survived though. Kate also ended up in the pool at one stage while trying to cross to the rock in the middle. She took it in good humour and we turned it to our advantage with some shots in the pool as well.

Many thanks go to Kate for her time and good humour, I’m sure not every model would have taken falling in the pool like that so well.

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

: Kate McCracken, North Curl Curl Rock Pool, Sydney, Australia

Feb

2011

Confetti Wars

Over the weekend I had the chance to partake in a confetti war called El Coso Blanco in Salou just to the south of Tarragona in Spain. It is a festival of light, sound and above all else confetti. It takes the form of a street party with a parade of floats and dancers that go around and around the streets in Salou while everyone throws confetti at each other. Those in the parade throw confetti at those in the crowd, those in the crowd throw confetti back at those in the parade and those in the crowd throw it at the others in the crowd. Just in case the crowd didn’t bring there own confetti there are large towers that continuously pump out a steady stream of confetti into the air.

30,000 people join the party, dancing to 175,000 watts of music (not sure how they get this measurement) and throwing the confetti, 2,500 participants in fancy dress join in the parade, 25 floats with such random displays as Spongebob, vampires and bananas and 20 confetti canons pumping out over a staggering 25 tonnes of confetti into the air all go to making it a hugely enjoyable experience. The street ends up with confetti easily above your ankles in depth. Confetti gets everywhere, down the shirt, in your pockets, in the ears and in the mouth. It pays not to gawp too much as it is a sure way to end up with a mouthful. All in all a great laugh but I would certainly not like to be the man who sweeps the street the next morning. The party takes place on the first Saturday in February starting from around 7.00 in the evening. I definitely recommend marking it in your calendar from next year if you are planning to be somewhere in the area.

Feb

2011

Visiting time: Salzburg

I’ve been on the road again over the last few days. I flew from Barcelona up to Austria for a visit with some old friends in and family in St. Anton Am Arlberg. I also paid a quick visit to Salzburg and its surrounds. Last time I visited Salzburg I got rather sick and ended up missing out on much of its charm. This time I managed to get out for a stroll around the old part of town, a beautiful area of town, full of the fabulous baroque architecture that Salzburg is famous for.

Winter time seems like a great time to visit Salzburg. It was under a blanket of snow and there were none of the crowds that the warmer weather in Summer supposedly brings. Just be sure and dress warmly if you choose to visit during the winter months. I also paid a quick visit to a beautiful little town called Fuschl am See. It’s a tiny little place lying at the edge of a lake called the Fuschlsee. Unfortunately during my few hours visiting there was a heavy cloud cover and although this did add to a certain atmosphere the tops of the surrounding hills or mountains (not quite sure what the landscape around was like) were not really visible. I certainly enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of the area, it would be a fantastic place to unwind and relax.

My time in St. Anton was mainly spent catching up with friends that I haven’t seen for the last few years. Its always nice to sit down with old friends and talk like it was just yesterday when you were last chatting.

The trip was finished off by spending a few hours looking around the buildings of Munich’s airport. Lots of modern architecture to see in and around Munich airport. Munich was also under a blanket of snow. I really want to spend some time visiting a big city and going shooting during a snowfall. It changes the whole feel of the city.

: Looking across the river into Salzburg’s old town centre with the castle dominating from above.

: One of the many of the churches in Salzburg.

: Winter snow by the side of the Fuschlsee in the Austrian State of Salzburg

: Winter snow by the side of the Fuschlsee in the Austrian State of Salzburg

: A lonely caravan near the Fuschlsee in the Austrian State of Salzburg.

: Looking over the Fuschlsee to the beautiful village of Fuschl Am See in the Austrian State of Salzburg.

: Looking over the Fuschlsee to the beautiful village of Fuschl Am See in the Austrian State of Salzburg.

Dec

2010

Skateboarding in Tarragona

I got to hang out in Spain and shoot skateboarding in Tarragona, Spain with a few of Tarragona’s local skaters over Summer. We just cruised around the city me conversing in my broken spanish and they in the broken english. It was still a lot of fun and great to see some of the local spots that Tarragona has to offer.

We spent our days exploring around the harbour front and the old city hitting some of their favourite spots and looking for some new ones to add to their list. We went as far out as Salou to an old abandoned mansion that had a pool overlooking the Mediterranean.

My thanks to Valen, Frankie, Ceasar and the others for letting me shoot with them and their patience with my terrible spanish.

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Skating the streets of Tarragona, Spain

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Valen Haralambibis with a nosegrind over steps near Tarragona’s skatepark, Spain

: Street skating in Tarragona

: Valen Haralambibis, Crooked Grind, Tarragona, Spain

: Valen Haralambibis with a nosegrind in Tarragona’s skatepark, Spain

: Valen Haralambibis at the harbour in Tarragona, Spain

May

2010

Rainy days in Austria

What a wet time in Austria, 4 weeks of rain and when it wasn’t raining, snow. I think in total I had 2 days of clear skies. The heavy cloud cover really limited the amount of landscape photography that was possible but I took the opportunity to shoot some black and white, something I usually shy away from. When the clouds lifted slightly they started to tease me with glimpses of the mountain tops. I took a few chances in the breaks between the rain and set off on short walks. More often these walks took me into the forests as these heavy overcast days leave a nicely balanced light throughout without the harsh contrast that dapples the forest on sunny days.

I spent a few days around Brixlegg, a village about 300kms from St. Anton heading towards Vienna. My main reason for this was the excellent skate park called The Cradle. I shall write a post later with more shots and information regarding this.

: Through the Forest

: Storm clouds move through the trees

: Eisenspitze pokes through the clouds

: The clouds part on Weisschrofenspitze

: The forest path

Jan

2010

Blue Mountains

For a change in scenery yesterday we decided to escape Sydney and head up into the Blue Mountains. Though they sit quite close to Sydney and can been seen from many places around the city I rarely seem to visit this beautiful area. This is something that I plan on rectifying over the next few weeks. Continue reading →