I can hear you all wondering what the Open award is, well the Open category is for images that may not fit in any other area, they may be something innovative or just simply something that doesn’t have it’s own category, like nature photography for instance.  So whilst the title open may not sound particularly creative, this is precicely where the creative images fit & I’m very happy to have won the award.

My awards for the past 3 years….as someone suggested, great doorstops…;)

I suggested to the team that we take a chance & produce a Black & White calendar as something a little different this time. Happily the board also liked the idea & allowed us to run with it & the results couldn’t be better.

My cohorts on the project Holly, Karen & Sharon did a fantastic job of coordinating the kids & parents for 2 days of shooting down at Sorrento Quay & in bringing the concept together. I’d like to thank them, they were a great team to work with.

I’d also like to thank Colliers, the Sorrento Quay managers for their permission & allowing us to shoot at such a great facility.

The kids were kids & didn’t always quite cooperate, but they had a lot of fun, as did I in trying to capture the special moments. They also deserve some recognition for their particpation & patience.

From the feedback I’ve had so far the parents are over the moon & I’m already looking forward to working on the project again for 2013.

It’s great to be able to donate my time & experience towards raising not only awareness of Down Syndrome, but also some much needed funds for such a great cause.

If you would like to purchase a calendar, or maybe a few to give as Xmas gifts, I’m sure the folks at DSWA would be only too happy to hear from you. It’s only $15, which really is great value.

So why not contact them via the web site, http://www.dsawa.asn.au ,  just follow the link & find the shopping page, or give them a call. Phone: (08) 9368 4002

After an initial meeting, they arranged for some local families to participate in a shoot of kids having swimming lessons and made sure the staff were primed for a day of shooting

I spend a few hours running around the pool trying to keep the water out of my gear & my lenses from fogging in the warm moist atmosphere of an indoor heated pool. Every situation has its challenges but with my philosopy of “no problem is insurmountable”, we got some great images of not only the kids, but also of the staff who were a great team of people to work with.

The shots are already in use on the State Swim web site http://www.stateswim.com.au/ & new brochures are in the process of being designed & printed.

Always great to see a happy client using my images.

Well the posty arrived a few minutes ago with 2 copies of the book for my portfolio. Congratulations should go to the Author & production team for a job well done, it looks great, my images of the kids came up well & I’m sure the information is going to help a lot of people.

For anyone reading this post who may need this information, or have family or friends who do. The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has posted the publication as a PDF on their site, so just follow the link :

http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/research/highlights/disability

Real Estate Portraits (REP’s)

I’ve been doing the rep’s shots for a local real estate agency now for a couple of years. They are mainly used on business cards & signage. I get to meet some nice people, make new business contacts & it’s always a bit of fun.

Last week I got to shoot a husband & wife team, Andrew & Kathryn Fender, who as a team wanted something a little different to the run of the mill head shots. Kathryn commented that Andrew was always on the phone, so I had them ham it up for the camera. The secret to a good portrait session I find is getting your subjects to relax, allowing them to play a little isn’t the easiest thing when you have only just met, but once they get into the swing, it certainly makes for some great results.

I’ve been working on a re-signing project with my good friend & graphic designer Kristy from Ladybird design print & media (www.ladybirddesign.com.au). Our client is Sushi Blue, an Asian eatery in the Kingsway Shopping centre in Perth’s Northern Suburbs.

I have always enjoyed working with food, for me it’s all about the colour, shape, texture & form, trying to capture the essence of the dish in an image. The range of dishes produced for the shoot was amazing, owner Bruce & his staff created some beautiful food, Sushi, Sushimi, Teppanyaki, Teriyaki, Tempura, the food just kept on coming. Seafood, chicken, pork, fish & beef, with some lovely sauces & a scattering of sesame seeds, it sure had my mouth watering all afternoon. The highlight for me  though was overhearing Bruce comment whilst he was watching me work; “he makes my food come to life”, feedback from a client doesn’t get much better than that.

Imaging my surprise when my friend & business colleague Kirk O’Connor from Online Assist 4U, who produced this site for me and who I’d recommended to Lynn; advised me that Lynn’s site was now up & running.

I love the site, it’s very crisp, clean & sophisticated, it shows Lynn’s wonderful work beautifully and is also a great portfolio of my work, since all of the images on Lynn’s site are mine.

If you are a potential client looking to see what I can do in a display home situation, interiors for magazines or similar, please do go & have a look at Lynn’s site, or if perhaps you are considering restyling your home, or even just a room or two, please give Lynn a call, you won’t be disappointed & she will save you money.

http://coloursolutionsbylynn.com.au/  

The calendar is now available for purchase !!

I was approached a few months ago by a representative of Down Syndrome WA to see if I’d be interested in participating in the production of their 2011 Calendar.  Of course I said “Yes”, what a great opportunity to give something back to the community.

Shooting for the project commenced in mid April, and coordinator Beth Stein & I worked for 6 days with a wonderful group of 16 children & their Mum’s. The theme for the project was True Colours which I interpreted as bringing out  the child’s personality & not having them fit into a preconceived scenes or locations, using a stark white background so as not to distract; we allowed the children to be themselves & I just captured the moment.

Without exception the children were wonderful, enthusiastic to work with & I came away from the experience greatly enriched. To watch a small boy’s face come to life when offered a book, and another walk into the room & command attention just by his presence, this child was a star in every sense of the word.

I would personally like to thank the children & their parents for trusting me, I hope that you like the results. I’d also of course like to thank Down Syndrome WA for allowing me the project.

My good friend Kristy from Ladybird Design www.ladybirddesign.com.au took on the calendar design project and has done a spectacular job, it’s wonderful to see the finished project on sale & raising some much needed funds for Down Syndrome WA.

Please look out for it & buy lots of copies, it’s going to make a great gift & the dollars are going to a very worthwhile cause. If you can’t find stocks please let me know & I’ll forward your enquiry….

Cheers,                                                                                                                                                                Bob

I was recently asked by Ron Jenkins, Director of JAM Designs to do a series of shoots for his client Carpets ONLINE. The shoots were of a new carpet product, Powerbond, which had been laid in several of WA’s top schools.

My first thought was “how do I make Carpet look exciting, or even interesting”, I needn’t have worried. I was accompanied on all of the shoots by Carpets ONLINE Company Business Development Manager, Lynn Marley who was a great help throughout. Our first Challenge was John xxiii rd where the product had been laid in several classrooms, and it looked great, very hard wearing & easy to clean.  Lynn stepped in as a model & quickly took up the post of teacher, adding human interest to the background of the shots.

Our second shoot was at Newman College, where the product had been laid in the high traffic student locker area. The Carpet layers had done a brilliant job in using a complex pattern of swirls,  joining several colors of the product together. I was inspired to use a slow exposure & so with the help of a couple of children & teachers walking through some of the shots; created a blur of movement to illustrate the “high traffic” concept. With the bright blue lockers, the swirl pattern & wonderful texture of the product we managed to create some very interesting shots.

St Benedict’s in Applecross was our next port of call, where the School’s library had recently been renovated and again the carpet layers had done a fantastically innovative job; inserting numbered & lettered carpet squares randomly throughout the room, making it a fun place for the children to study.

Bannister Creek Primary was our final challenge. Here the product had been used in an open air assembly/undercover area, where on our arrival a group of children were playing Volleyball on a court laid out into the design of the carpet. Mindful of the laws of photographing children we were given permission to shoot the action and I was careful to time the shots so that few of the participants could be identified & during post production  skillfully edited out any faces. Again we got some great action shots, punctuated by movement & illustrating the product’s versatility & durability.