THE WEEKEND

Over here in Auckland, New Zealand shooting a commercial but had a much needed day off yesterday which also coincided with my birthday. Choice az bro! Spent the day walking around browsing in book shops, sifting through and listening to records and taking photos of things I saw along the way...

On vinyl I discovered the joyous and somewhat indefinable Wild Bill Rickets. Kinda dub, kinda jazz, kinda musical in a way I haven't heard before. Bought two albums. Kinda obsessed with him now. Loo Loo (below) was the gateway track, groovy, haunting and strange!

Also I had been wanting to see Beasts Of The Southern Wild for ever and I had missed it when it was on at our local cinema. I didn't want to see it on a plane, train or download so I was excited to see it was screening in downtown Auckland. It's a beautiful film and I can see why for such a small, strange and extremely art house film it has managed to cut through.

A good day.

FLAMING YOUTH

Here it is, Flaming Youth, a book of my photographs from Puberty Blues.

Available in two flavours.

1. Hardcover, 100 pages (AUD$75.00+p) HERE

2. eBook, 100 pages  (AUD$4.99) HERE

I started documenting the making of the show from the start. Like visual notes the photographs became part of the process of discovery of how the series would look and feel. From casting and location scouting to scene ideas, documenting a colour or how the light looked at a certain time of day. What worked, what didn’t. Portraits of actors I admire deeply. The people, places and things that make up the texture and tone of Puberty Blues.

Most of the time the photos were taken in the moments just before ‘Action!’ was called. Or in-between 'takes' to maintain focus and momentum throughout the stop / start rhythm of shooting. Brenna Harding (Sue) called it ‘the gap’. That small amount of precious time just before the cameras roll. I would sometimes take a quick shot just as that moment of transformation would take place, from 'actor' to 'character'.

Sometimes the photo would become the key on how to shoot a scene. A way of trying to find the essence, or a reduction to a single image. An attempt to find stillness in and amongst the chaos of a film shoot.

From the foreword, written by Alice Bell... This book is not a behind the scenes look at Puberty Blues (2012). It’s much quieter than that. It’s as if we’ve been invited to visit a world within the world of Puberty Blues. A place where these characters live and breathe. In Glendyn’s gentle and collaborative way he has captured moments that otherwise might have slipped away, a fleeting glimpse of untamed innocence found somewhere between the sunlight and the shadows. 

BLUES

The book is almost ready... meanwhile, here are some shots that are NOT in it.

SOON

A book of my photographs taken while making Puberty Blues. The first image below is of Ashleigh Cummings, who plays Debbie. I took the photo when I first met her at Mullinars Casting for her initial screen-test November, 2011. Second image, Sue (Brenna Harding) and Debbie going nowhere fast in the front seat of a panel van.

More details soon...

SLOW WEEK...

...on Hoaxville. Manic everywhere else.

YESTERDAY

Spent the weekend in Gosford visiting my Dad who is very ill and in hospital.

9!

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Puberty Pre 4 (at the drive-in)

You can't do Puberty Blues without a trip to the 'Drive-In'. We needed to find a fully operational drive-in and luckily for us the one in Blacktown (below) is not only one of the original but also one of the last remaining drive-ins in Australia. It's still pretty much untouched looking and feeling much like it always has. From our recce the other night it appears to be a popular option for 'first dates' and 'double features'. Tuesday nights, 2 films for 10 bucks! Bargain!

I couldn't help but think of the transformative power of that giant outdoor screen. I wonder how many people may have been moved or who's lives have been changed while gazing through their windscreens up towards the flickering image.

Have any of you got a great drive in memory?

PUBERTY PRE 3

Location hunting in Kurnell (the birthplace of 'modern' Australia).

NZ#3

NZ#2 LAST NIGHT

Went and saw Vince (who is assisting me on this commercial I'm doing) play drums in his band Sherpa.

MONSTER PHOTOS

The Monster Children photo issue came our last year, so I'm a bit behind with putting this up. The book is a wonderfully curated selection of images by photographers from all around the world and I was excited they included two of my photos. One is the Thugs Against Drugs car from LA I put up here a while back and the other is of a strange and beautiful diving platform I saw while in Vladivostok, Russia.

You can buy a copy here.

Last night, last week, last month, last year

DADS HOUSE

While driving back down south towards Melbourne, we passed near Gosford, so I thought I'd best drop in and have a cup of tea with my Dad. I lived in this house for a couple of years when I was 11 and I've only visited a couple of times since. There are a lot of memories here, both good and bad. It was good to see my Dad though.

MUMS HOUSE

Tamworth, New South Wales. Early evening after hot summers day.