Gallivant Jeans Goes Live!

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to shoot the campaign shots for new jeans label Gallivant. I don't get to shoot menswear nearly as often as I would like, which is a shame as it's always a complete blast. We had Mark W from Viviens and he was absolutely fantastic to work with and has an amazing attitude toward his work. Thanks Mark, you rock! And thanks to Gallivant too; was quite a wonderful shoot, thanks guys, you rock too. Grooming by the lovely Lisa Sciberras.  Shot in and around The Photo Studio, Glebe.















Gallivant Jeans

Viviens Models

White Lights And Dark Knights, Le Magazine Editorial

White Lights And Dark Knights, one of the three editorials I shot for issue 3 of Le Magazine / Le Black Book. Rhiannon and I worked quite intensively on all the shoots, concepts, planning, how what where when. This one was initially conceived as a shoot that would use patterns either projected or dropped in using Photoshop. Unfortunately that concept went out the window & I started thinking about the Russian Constructivists and their use of geometric shapes and primary colours as a possible alternative to the type of pattern idea we had started with.

However, while doing my research on the constructivists I started falling in love with the portraits I was seeing of them , shots of the pavilions they built for exhibitions and the posters they produced for their shows. By this time we had already shot the images with model Sammy Raine against a basic white background and, thinking 'Constructivistly' I had dug out some night shots of the super structure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that I had shot with my trusty (now dead, I dropped it) Canon Pro1 back in 2006!

The beams and girders of the bridge seemed to form a perfect constructivist vision of the future and I have always loved the Art Deco nature of the bridges concrete approaches.

The vintage inspired garments from Mrs Press combined with the slightly crazy Vivien Westwood shoes, stole from Coco Collectables.. Well lets just say, Rhiannon, the stylist knows her stuff. It all works perfectly against Sydney’s largest Art Deco structure the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

After pulling our model Sammy off the white background and dropping her over the night scenes of the bridge, post was mostly about blending B&W layers to deliver our Constructivist; now a little bit Film Noir feeling final images. 

Model, Sammy Raine
Styling, Rhiannon Bulley
Hair & Make Up, Lisa Sciberras
Photography Assistant, Harry Perlich
Shot at, The Photo Studio Sydney
and on the Harbour Bridge

Thanks to Kath & Rhiannon at Le Black Book/Le Magazine and all the crew.

Le Black Book, Le Magazine Issue 3 AW10

Le Magazine Issue 3 AW10
L'hiver Mode, Title Page.

I have about 20 pages across three editorials, Art Collaboration and two portrait shoots, you can see it all here, Le Magazine, AW10 Fashion Editorial





Thanks to Kath, & Rhiannon at Le Black Book/Le Magazine for their fantastic efforts in delivering such a great issue, and everyone who helped in the production of the shots.

Alice's Dreamtime; Winter Fashion Editorial

Alice's Dreamtime;

My first full editorial shoot with stylist and fashion editor Rhiannon Bulley. We shot this in December 2009 as an editorial submission that very very nearly ran.  We drew our inspiration from Peter Weir's classic Australian, period mystery drama film 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'; and extended our visual vocabulary by looking at the works of Julia Margaret Cameron and he of 'Alice' fame, the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson AKA Lewis Carol.  Both Dodgson & Cameron photographed Alice Liddell so this provided us with even more  visual pointers for our story.


View Large
Hannah Macleod Fields of Love dress worn over stylists own dress, 
Stylists own hat Luker Limited Crystal cameo neckpiece with ribbon,
Luker Limited Black and silver cameo neckpiece. 


Strummer Jaipur Dress
Mrs. Press Vintage Bib worn on top
Stylists own shoes in hair.




Stretsis Forget Me Not Dress and Stylists own bib worn on top
Dollhouse furniture from Just white part of set.
Shoes Strummer Old Timer Platform BLACK AND GREY worn throughout.



An Ode to No One top worn underneath Strummer Painter Blouse
 and Vintage top from the Darnell Collection, Bloomers from the Darnell Collection
Furniture from Just White part of set.
Rock and Royalty necklace.




Vintage underwear from the Darnell Collection worn underneath
Konstantina Mittas Playsuit, Hat stylists own.
Luker Limited Black cameo neckpiece with grosgrain ribbon ruff. 



The Stolen Girlfriend Club Maria Lace Dress, Stylists own Bonnet worn as necklace.
Rock and Royalty Charelston Necklace Black worn on top
Stylists own hat, Stylists own vintage parasol.



Vintage top from the Darnell Collection worn under
Hannah Macleod World Peace dress and Rachael Cassar top.




View Large
Konstantina Mittas French Cotton Lace top and Organza Tutu,Mrs. Press Vintage lace top worn as jacket, Rock and Royalty shine necklace. 

Stylist, Rhiannon Bulley
H&MU, Kaori
Model, Melise @ Platform Sydney
Photography, Kent Johnson
Assistants, Harry Perlich, Guy Woolrych

Production Notes
After a couple of meetings and emails back and forth Rhiannon & I settled on the idea of simply trying to shoot the essence of what we thought 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' was about.  A dreamy school girl mystery where nothing seems real (a bit like Alice in Wonderland really)! My job then was to find a suitable location that would lend itself to an ethereal pictorial plot. Fortunately I hit pay dirt at my second location which has been a Sydney favorite of mine for many years. As this shoot was a complete return to my old 80s style of shooting, using full manual focus; (not so easy in the digital age) I did a complete shoot of the location working as I intended shooting on the day. These shots (quite lovely and dreamy landscapes in their own right) became our location book for, and the guide to our story about Alice.

On the day of the shoot Kaori did the hair & make up for the first shot at The Photo Studio in Glebe then we all headed out to the Eastern Suburbs for our shoot. With our location book in hand we smoothly and efficiently worked our way through the shots. Melise who was just back from shooting in New Zealand was having a great time, loving Rhiannon's styling and Kaori's fabulous hair-dos. Harry and later Guy providing me with much appreciated support with the trusty reflector and card changes. Thanks everyone for a great day.

As a result of the slightly off-beat in-camera shooting process most of this shoot is quite literally 'developed' in photoshop. I then applied a watercolour wash also in photoshop to finalise the antique feel of the shots in our edit. As part of the process of pitching the shoot we made a very beautiful set of A4 Giclée prints on mat watercolour paper further enhancing the vintage feel of the shoot. If the idea of an archival  Giclée folio of this shoot appeals to you or; if you would like to publish these images, please feel free to drop me a line.

Finally, two of the shots of Alice Liddell the helped shape our shoot. I hope you enjoy it as much we do.

Alice Liddell photographed by the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

Alice Liddell photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron.

Lulu in Chains AW10, Photographers Edit

My own take on the Lulu in Chains AW10 shoot that we shot in the Rocks, Sydney a couple of weeks ago. I am continuing to develop my B&W in-camera & post production techniques.















We had a great time on this shoot and it was the first time I have shot at this very popular location in the rocks.

Model, Victoria from Chadwicks
Assistant, Harry Perlich
Lulu in Chains AW10 campaign shots. Photographers edit.

Fashion Catalogue on Location, Annandale Sydney.

Whenever I do a shoot I like to make my own selection of shots and 'do my own' post processing on the shots. Yes its time consuming but it is rewarding as its nice to see the story as you feel it looks at its best (for the photographer). I have gone just a little crazy here by nudging the RGB layers of the pictures giving a slight 3D appearance to the shots, those strange coloured lines along the edges! The client went with a more straight forward version of the shoot.

Here's my take on our day of shooting in a Grand Annandale homes grounds.













Model, Natalie
H&MU by Kaori
Shot on Location, Annandale Sydney

Model Test, Anna Z @ Scene in Sydney

A very simple studio & location model test. Anna did her own hair & make-up. The gown is by Anna's friend Anna Shin.











I am quite keen on doing these simple tests as time allows in 2010. Its great to just try out ideas, poses and techniques without needing to put together a big team. And the shots still look great! Shot at and around The Photo Studio Sydney.

Carl Kapp AW10 at Stills Gallery

One of the great things about being a photographer invited to view a fashion launch is that you actually get to see the clothes! Now that might sound like a strange thing to say but often photographers are there with a job to do and that job is quite often photographing the clothes as they come down the runway. Nothing wrong with that! But if you are interested in fashion, shooting runway keeps you way to busy making pictures to allow you to concentrate on whats happening with the clothes themselves. Thats one of the reasons I don't shoot runway. I much prefer to be sitting on the side making notes about what I love about a new range.


The show was at Stills Gallery in Paddington which still has the Trent Parke show up which I had seen at Trent's opening a couple of weeks prior. The work made a great backdrop for the parade and was getting a lot of admiration from the fashion set while waiting for the show to begin.


I have been planning a night shoot (with very little light) and wondering where I might find outfits with the sort of great structure that could stand out in tricky lighting conditions and still make a statement. Carl's show provided me with plenty of inspiration.


So in line with my contradictory nature (about photographing at shows) I pulled out my little G10 point-and-shoot and did a little 'shooting from the hip' to make some visual notes on Carl's designs.


Rolled collar on orange coat, wide black belt and 'strong' pockets. Pierre Winter necklace.


Short(ish) red coat with layered pocket detail, wide lapels and two tone belt worn with tailored jeans.


Slinky black evening dress with leather trim.


Grey (fine herringbone weave?) tailored skirt and jacket with white blouse and narrow black tie loosely worn. Very Helmut Newton!

Unfortunatly I didn't get shots of everything I liked. I missed getting a shot of the 'Biker Girl' inspired outfit; leather blouson jacket with tailored jeans, (but with more layers than the jeans worn with the red jacket above). The detail of the pockets was inspired across the range.


Thanks to Carl, Weihan, and everyone for putting on a great launch.

Carl Kapp

Stills Gallery

The full show at Tito Media

Imelda Matt + Jean Brown + Moi, Display Collabo

Its nice to see blogging, portraiture & retail all getting on so well together. In this case I was able to collaborate with Imelda shoe blogger Imelda Matt once again on a portrait project; this time for a window display in Brisbane's luxury emporium Jean Brown. The shot was done in one fairly quick afternoon session at The Photo Studio in Sydney.


More shots and background on the Imeldific! launch at Imelda.com.au



Matt and the Tan sisters from a previous 'shoe & portrait' project.



A big thanks to Matt and everyone at Jean Brown who worked so hard to make this wonderful project possible.

Jean Brown

More Portraits of Matt at Kent Johnson Photography.

Jean Brown display shot courtesy of imelda.com.au