got to have a hands on play with the canon c300 new video camera at canon head office the other day , when it first came out it didn’t really set my world on fire and was not something i was not ¬†going to plan to pop it in the budget …….. but now that I have had a play ,connected every thing sound wise .. and ¬†seen the results …I’m a convert .. ¬†

it was truly awesome , and whats better for me is we have a canon xf 300 at the moment and it was just the same ¬†the buttons and the same and the layout is the ¬†same and there nothing really bad to say about that , but the best thing is the picture it turns out is nothing short of stunning stunning . its a bit more of a hybrid ¬†between a digital slr and a video camera i.e. the c300 has a iso switch ¬† it takes all my canon digital slr lens ¬†etc ¬†I can see this being the video camera for me down the track , its not really a run and gun sort of a machine so I don’t think I would get rid of the xf300 ¬† but they would work in together very well .

now of to the bank bank manager / wife to ask if i can get one …………..

it has been the New Zealand elections ¬†a busy old time and now my 6th election I have covered , they are always hard work… always ends ¬†in a mass media scrum with way to many tv camera’s all going for a shot that is pretty crappy .. I has covering for Bloomberg news

a few pics below

The rugby World cup seemed to pass me buy in a flash . Having spent the last 10 years covering  the Allblacks  from the side of the field , this rugby world cup Cup I did not even get to shoot a full game .

I was assigned to cover the events around the rugby world cup for ATEED or (Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development Ltd)

It was a pretty big undertaking ¬†with up to 5 shooters working at one time , covering from ¬†fan zones to agri days , to the Fan trails .really enjoyable ¬†and the funny thing is I didn’t miss running up and down on the side line one bit….. must be getting old …..

and special thanks to a bunch of guys and girls that shoot , edited and produced as well on this project

Micheal Bradley,Lance Wordsworth, Gareth Cooke,Kenny Rodger ,Sally O’Hagan,Blair Monk, Tony Monk, Carl Budden

Click here to view the embedded video.

Went to the Canon 1d x launch the other day , was a great event and a even better camera , it will be the first Camera in the 1 d series I would have brought and actually  tired first !!

looks nice

the art of a group picture

Has been a very very busy couple of months hence the lack of blog posts.

its been a month of group shots , sometimes the word “group shot ” can send fear into a photographer !

this month I have had a years worth in just a month .

I guess the biggest thing with a group shot is planning and after that its more planning and then more planning after that .

here a sample of group shots  first one is of a bunch of Rugby world cup technical advisors was rather a big one but everything was pre-panned and off it went quickly

second one was a shot of a bunch of chefs , I had no idea how many people would be in the shot as it was after breakfast and after a rather a big night the night before as they were all cooking for a charity night  , I tend to find that you need to take control and yell a bit but it works and gets the job done ( a deep voice helps as well)

third is Prime Minister, Presidents and leaders of nations , bit harder this one … cant yell at them!!!! ¬†, Luckily this one comes with a few Government advisors so they are able to help get people sitting in the right place and order , in all ¬†days ¬†to plan and 45 seconds ¬†to shoot

Well we have returned from Fiji from our shoot in one piece … it was my idea to blog while there and through the whole assignment , but with 4.30 am starts and not finishing until well after dark there was not much time to blog

from the assignment we Shot 1.3 tb in three days .

the assignment was to finish off shooting Vertigo,  a very large and beautiful  super yacht Built at Alloy Yachts in Henderson . I have been working on this for almost three years  to create a mini Doco andf a coffee table book .

Vertigo is nothing short of Stunning … and having worked on the making of her from the start ¬†I have become quite attached to the yacht and it was quite magnicent to see it sail in the islands . ( I will have to stop calling her “my Yacht” ¬†as I could not even afford to supply the toilet paper on it !!)

my job was to shoot stills and video from the Helicopter  it was Quite a mission to get camera , operators to the island  to shoot the yacht , while we did not  have as much wind as I would have liked it still made great pics, and video and to working on something that in just three years ago was a bunch of Slaps of Alloy  sitting on a rack  , now comes endless hours of editing and the final book design

here is a link to the making of vertigo a timelapse that went for two and a half years  on a canon 5 d  taking four Frames a day

Click here to view the embedded video.

and a few Chopper Shots from Chris Lewis  who was also there shooting a few Pictures , with me is Lance Wordsworth camera man superstar

(a) the air new zealand check out lady looks at you and say “Your kidding right” when you turn up to check in

(b) the excess baggage bill is more than the airfare

In our case it was all of the above , We ( camera man Lance ) and my self are on the way to fiji for a shoot with 9 case of gear video and stills for a very quick three day shoot of a super yacht , it a project that we have been working on for almost three years and we are in the final part of the project … also its also the most expensive , tomorrow we have a helicopter shoot with a rather expensive cineflex camera from Helitranz hooked to the front , its shaping up to be a big day we have two days to shoot what should take four , weather in fiji ..blue skys and 30 degrees will post more as we go, looking forward to it

Has been a bit busy lately lots on and lots coming up

here is what we have been up to video wise for the last little bit……

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

over the years I have amassed quite a lot of gear , and now that we are into video that has all been x 2 , there have been some things that I  have brought which are great and some that are not ,

So Im going to throw in a few little “reviews” stuff that I like .

Bags , I have heaps , ( but if my wife ever reads this I only have two!!! ) ¬†I had always been looking for the perfect bag that will do everything that I need in one bag ….. but it has taken me a long time to figure out it does not exist !!

so now I change bags depending on what I need for the job

but I did find a company that makes really good stuff Thinktank bags http://www.thinktankphoto.com/  I get all my gear from www.progear.co.nz in Auckland and they stock most  of the there bags ,( if fact I believe I purchased the very first bag that they had in a a demo 6 or 7 years ago!! )

why i like it is they are well thought out for photographers , there are compartments in the right place , theres rain jackets  in there

This bag is a multimedia-wired-up-20 it stays in the back of my car it can take a couple of lens , flash and a body if I need it , is if I need to be mobile and not having to take a lot of gear  its also the carry bag we use for video and sound gear , I tend to use this if Im in a small places like yachts etc but also means I have most things on me and one time

and it also makes me think about what gear that I really need on the Job

my main bag is a think tank  shapeshifter or a Think tank roller more ( on them later )

more “Stuff I Like” coming up !!

Popped into t3 in Mt Eden the other day to by a swim cap for my daughter , was looking around and saw my pictures on the wall with some blue seventy pictures I had shot .

Blue seventy have been a long standing client and one I always enjoy working for .

they know how to use pictures