What a difference a day makes. It's a sky blue sky! Aksaray, Turkey January 29, 2012.
January 30, 2012
January 29, 2012
January 27, 2012
January 24, 2012
Istanbul - random frames
Spent a few days in Istanbul on our way to Kayseri. Here are a couple of images from evening strolls around town.
January 18, 2012
Turkey Bound
Off to Turkey January 19-February 13. Editors can contact me at +6012 206 2779 or via the website.
Looks like it will be cold with a chance of snow in Istanbul. First stop is a cup of tea here while I get my bearings.
(above: Turkish fishermen share a meal in the galley of their ship. Sinop port on the Black Sea coast October, 2011).
January 07, 2012
Foraging
The brief went something like this : 'stay at a luxury resort in northern Thailand, forage for wild herbs, fruits and vegetables, pick organic vegetables from the properties' garden, watch prep and cooking, shoot portraits of chef, eat said food, ride elephants (OK - I added that part), bring back pretty pictures.'
I heart my job!
Here are the outtakes. Look for the final results in this month's Travel + Leisure SEA.
December 17, 2011
My Date with The Bachelorette
One thing about freelancing is that you never quite know what's going to happen next. One minute you might be sitting there thinking it's finally time to start that archiving project that you've been putting off for umpteen years and the next you may get an email asking if you're free to shoot stills for a reality TV show. That's basically what happened when I received an email from a prodution person at Disney / ABC Television asking if I would be free to shoot an episode of a reality show they would be taping in Chiang Mai.
The brief was pretty simple - candid portraits and action shots of cast and crew. Clean back plates of all sets. Turn in unedited, untouched jpeg images within 24hours of the shoot. The day will begin at approximately 8:30am and end at approximately 5:30pm. Transport to and from location(s) will be provided. ( and PS - clean your lenses).
As I wrote here I had no idea what the show was until I was able to ask some of the other crew. Not, as it turned out it would really matter, since I have been outside of US pop culture for some time. So much like a 'blind date' I figured I would work through the day and either have fun or get punched in the face.
A long day but it really was fun. There were no 'sets' or a formal script. I found out that there would be two locations in the course of the day but everything else, for my part anyway, was kept open. It was basically 'run and gun' all day. The challenge for me was to stay out of the way of 4 to 6 camera people and an equal number of sound people. I was jumping in and jumping out of 'scenes' all day. Not ideal, but that's how it works. The cast and crew were total professionals and if you see the show the 'bachelors' took an absolute beating throughout the day. How they managed to stay upright to the end I'll never know (it was about all I could to to get in the tuk-tuk at the end of the day).
Two days after this assignment I was shooting this story which for me is probably more familiar turf. But it never hurts to stretch out and try something different. All in all a good experience. The client was happy and I learned a few things in the process - like drink plenty of water and never miss a chance to use the bathroom because you never know what might happen next.
December 09, 2011
Going green in Kao Hsiung
If you've heard / read much about Taiwan's industrial development you would probably not think that green and Kao Hsiung would be used in the same sentence. Back in the day I knew people that would go there on business. It was the kind of place you got in to and got out of as quick as possible and, if you were lucky, managed not to breathe. So shooting a feature story for Travel + Leisure SEA on Kao Hsiung's efforts to 'go green' might seem like a nearly impossible challenge.
But infact my sceptisim proved to be misplaced. Kao Hsiung really does have some cool stuff which will make it (IMHO) one of the most liveable cities in Asia.
Tons of bike trails (courtesy of a huge 'rails to trails' program), bike rentals plus wetland areas and parks (yes, in an Asian city).
The great thing is that all this is just the beginning - there's more to come. Check it out.
November 29, 2011
November 13, 2011
On the Move
Off to Thailand for assignments in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Returning to Penang November 27.
