At 10:38am on the 5th of January 2012, Bodee Devlin entered the world.
While I have a huge amount I want to write, today the pictures do the talking.
Cheers, Matt
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Alternative Portrait, Perth
The idea is simple, take Katy and her horse Missy’s portrait.
I had two ideas one; with old wooden fences and the other on a bush track and Katy had moved close to some bushland so we took that option. Read the rest of this page »
Shooting graffiti artists is a little tricky, I mean it’s not like it’s legal so an air of caution must be used, you need to go all secret squirrel on it. How did I do that? I simply faked the shots and what you are about to read is fictional, I have made the whole thing up.
What, you don’t believe me?… Good luck proving other wise 
Early in the afternoon on a Tuesday I find myself waiting at a foot bridge running over a small creek in the outer suburbs, caught between two busy HWY’s. Not that you would know standing there, things are green, the trees are tall and the vegetation is thick enough to muffle the worst of the road noise, it’s quite a nice place really.
Alternative Family portrait, Perth
I met Kate through an assignment I was shooting for a local newspaper, we got talking and the conversation got to my personal work (most of what you see here on the blog). I thought Kate and her family would be a perfect fit for my style of shooting. After a bit of back and forth we came up with an idea for a shoot with her family by the lake but… the photo has a twist.
Graffiti Portrait, Perth
I had to post this sneak peek from an editorial style shoot I had today with a local graffiti artist. This is my favorite shot from the shoot.
More soon.
Location Scouting, Perth
I have an idea for a shoot that needs a beautiful landscape to make it work and I think I found it this week!
The light needs to be different and the crop is way off but I can see this being a stunning spot, I drove in to speak to the owners today but they were not home, bugger!
I will try again but watch this space people this is going to be a good one
This also might be a good chance to post updates and keep a running tab on the progress, just to give people an insight to how a photo comes together and how long it really takes to make an image.
To bring you up to speed, I had an idea about shooting a woman in a long flowing dress floating in the breeze letting a bird land on her arm (I have not decided if I want doves, hawk or a crow just yet) and I wanted the woman to be quite glamorous looking but the background to be completely different to really add contrast and add “wow” but did not know what background I wanted until now
Ok more as it happens.
What [insert equipment here] should I buy…
I hear this question pretty often, so I thought I would do a quick post to let you in on my point of view on the issue and list a few good resources for budding photographers.
Before we start, I just want to point out two things. Firstly I shoot Canon, so most of the terms and expressions I will use are canon ones, not because they are any better it is just what I know. I’m not really up with all the models and numbers of the cameras from all the manufacturers, shit, I don’t even know all of canons! So you are going to have to do your own research into the specific models. Secondly, like all things, the better the equipment you buy the more narrow focused it becomes, you need to compromise a little no matter what you have.
Really short story… Buy a 550D with the twin lens kit.
Not quite as Short story.
The good news is, the choice you make with a modern DSLR, makes very little difference.
All the major manufactures such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus are all so bloody good that most people will never, (NEVER!) use one to its potential, unless you are going to get very specialised, then you might want to read below.
Oh, and a huge tip. If you are only just starting out do NOT buy Photoshop (or any editing software) just shoot and learn how to do that well first, trust me on this one.
Longer story inside…
Read the rest of this page »
Environmental Portrait Photograpghy, Perth.
I don’t have a lot to say about my shoot with Keith, I don’t think I need to say much about it.
It was fantastic to meet him by chance, at a shoot I was doing for the newspaper at a Men’s Shed. I got talking to him and knew I wanted to get some more photographs and to get to know him a bit better. I was blown away by just how smart and hands on he was, everything from building his own short wave radio, to wood work and lets not forget his love of bikes. Anyway I really do thing the photographs speak for themselves and give you a real sense of who he is, so with out further ado, I would like you to meet Keith.
More inside Environmental Portrait, Perth
I am so excited to show you guys the photos from my shoot with Maacel and his pigeons. He has such a passion for breeding and racing them that it was hard not to be swept up in it all. By the end of the shoot I wanted a pet pigeon but I resisted, just.
The idea was to shoot it like an editorial assignment about Maacel and use the birds and coops as props to support the images and give him some depth, a window in to his life. Subjects like this really are the best for making environmental portraits and we all know how much I love shooting them
Taking the shots in the pigeon coop was a bit tricky. They are small (for two grown men and the photography gear) and the birds did not know what the hell was going on. I keep thinking, shit I hope I don’t let any out… but as Maacel said “it’s ok they will come back!”. One advantage of having homing pigeons I guess.
After we finished in the coop, without being shat-on I might add (I was told AFTER, that I was lucky…thanks!), I wanted to get a shot of a bird being released and I’m glad we got this one, it’s one of my favourites from the shoot.
The chicks in Maacel’s hands in the photo above – one was one day old and the other was about still in part of it’s egg, best guess, a few hours… pretty aren’t they!
We also got a nice backdrop to shoot the birds in flight too, along with the last image of the night of the white birds coming back to land. These birds belong to his wife and she hires them for weddings, funerals and corporate functions but that’s a story for another time. I have a beautiful and dramatic image planned using them, so keep an eye on this space over the coming weeks.
Cheers, Matt
Ladybug
I came out to my car today to find a Ladybug looking to hitch a ride, it was just a nice photo so I thought I would share.
