Shootfest 001: Divulging My Thoughts

At present, I am sure, in fact, I KNOW there are a whole BUNCH of blog posts out there about Shootfest at the moment which is great, because I also know there were alot of people who wanted to come, but couldn't make either due to scheduling or work commitments. I know those people especially appreciate all of you who have been taking the photos, blogging about it, filming, and giving live twitter feeds of the talks :)

Anyhow, my post today about the event, is more of a collection of my thoughts and feelings about the entire thing so those who are looking for a debrief of who spoke on what, and the contents of each session, I'm really sorry to disappoint you right here! But I promise to provide some links later in this entry for your reading pleasure :)

Now, as an advocator and supporter of knowledge sharing in our industry, it has meant that since I've started working in this business, I have always encouraged photographers to be open about how they shoot, how they work, and how they basically get the things they get done for their business. Why? Because in doing so, not only do the recipients of their knowledge gain, but they themselves gain as well. No one photographer knows everything, and if we all pooled in together what we knew, the industry and our personal growth as a photographer would be so much richer as a result. From the very beginning, I have always believed this.

So needless to say, when I met people like Grace and Alex from Integricity (who, by the way, are some of the nicest people you will ever meet in this industry!!), I was beyond thrilled! And since those early meetings at Delicious and Pizza Uno, its been so encouraging to see other photographers I knew advocating something that the majority of the industry was so against. I love how the new and modern age of this industry is moving away from the old school of thought :)

So when Shootfest was announced by Grace and Alex, I was SO excited! And why not?!? A 2 day event where a whole congregation of photographers and videographers alike would be pooling together talks that shared their experiences and knowledge? That's PLENTY to be excited by. The sessions covered anything and everything from digital workflow, to contracts, to photography equipment, to post processing, to wedding videography, online presence, and so on. The list was huge! It really was a knowledge fest for everyone who participated including myself. And at the end of it all? After reading all the blogs, facebook comments/reviews, and twitter feeds - EVERY SINGLE PERSON said it was a BLAST, and completely rewarding in so many ways. The bonus being, we all met old friends and made new ones :) Don't believe me about all the feedback? Read just SOME of them here at the official shootfest site.

I've always believed that knowledge and goodness shared, is knowledge and goodness gained. So to those out there who are shouting at me at their computers right now - you are crazy and a complete idiot for telling people what you know! Your business will suffer as a result of it! I say - its completely the opposite. People tend to and WILL want to help and pay attention to others who pay attention to them. Food for thought! :)

Thank you again to Grace and Alex who headed this initiative. You have set a fine example that the rest of the industry should follow, and I hope that the next one will be even bigger and better. Inspiring others to follow suit with your passion and generosity :) If our industry was made up of only people like you, and those that attended, our industry would be soaring. I look forward to that day :)

Here are some photos of the event! :) I decided to leave my camera at home this time around, as I really wanted to soak it in and enjoy the event, and really meet people (I tend to get into work mode when I have my face behind the camera :P), Plus I was only there for the 2nd day, so I have the pleasure of being able to use photos by some of the other awesome photographers who were there! :)

Thanks to Mark Leo, for these awesome group photos, and the few following after that! He has probably the most comprehensive report (and in chronological order too!) on all the talks so check out his shootfest blog posts here (day 1) and here (day 2).

Day 1's group!


Day 2's group!


Here is Alex (one of the organizers) giving his talk :)


And his lovely wife, Grace (another organizer!) giving another talk :)


Thanks to Jon Low for snapping this one. I was super duper nervous before my presentation. Really, i was like a nervous wreck - so scared that I would bore the living daylights out of people! haha :P And in case any of you are wondering, I was talking about branding. How to market yourself as a photographer (in particular, as a wedding photographer).


And thanks to Andy Chin (the TALLEST photographer I have ever met in my life! You give basketball players a run for their money!) for snapping me doing my last round of prep :)


Shootfest also ran an insanely crazy photobooth on the day. This is an example of the utter insanity that came from it! hahahaha!! Jon and Fiona, you guys crack me up!! hahaha. To check out the entire set, go to the official shootfest site here. You will want to see them :)


Adios for now! :)

Shootfest 2009 Write up ...COMING!

That's right people! The write up is coming tomorrow sometime, with tonnes of photos and the like :) The event was a HUGE HUGE success :)

Stay tuned! In the meantime, for those that came, please feel free to leave your feedback HERE, as the organizers Grace and Alex of Integricity would REALLY love to hear from you!! :)

Gotta run now, as I play catch up :)

SHOOTFEST 2009!!

If you know me, and have been following my blog well, you will know that I am a huge advocate for sharing knowledge, experience, and the like. I've been very very blessed with meeting similar minded people who were extremely giving in their know-how early on in my career, which has helped me in leaps and bounds in the past couple of years :)

So when I was asked if I would like to participate and give a talk in an upcoming event called SHOOTFEST, an 'unconference' for photographers and videographers, I was stoked!

What is this shootfest you are asking? Well, I couldn't explain it better than the orgazanizers of the event themselves. This is an extract from their site:

An unconference is an informal gathering of likeminded people with a common interest. It’s a participant-driven conference, meaning everyone must participate in some way or another. We encourage everyone to present a topic or engage in a discussion during the 2-day sessions.

Each ShootFest is a media unconference primarily for photographers and videographers. This first one that is organised is themed The Wedding and is meant for professionals, freelancers and anyone interested in wedding photography and videography.

The benefits of ShootFests are knowledge-sharing, networking and raising the bar for the industry. If you feel you don’t want to share any of your kung-fu, then the unconference is probably not for you. We want to breed improvement for everyone, and need you to share your thoughts too.

If you want more details, please visit their site! And register NOW, because the event has a limited number of spaces, and you don't want to miss out on the talks by other speakers! The topics covered will be awesome!

I hope to see you all there! :)

Hens photos!

Wow, these are finally up!

There really is no story needed as...well...the pictures speak for themselves :)

Happy Monday people! :)

I have a lot of friends who love photography as much as I do, so needless to say there were alot of cameras that day! :) Plus, lots of LCD staring too!

Playing silly with balloons!

I have no idea what I was laughing about!

Carol posing for us :)

This was just HALF the girls there that day :)

A future bride! Char is getting married in October of which I will actually be a guest! woot! :)

Me, with my future sister in law. She's marrying my brother, and yes! I am ACTUALLY going to be the photographer on the day :)

This shot is SO hilarious!! I love it :)

More LCD loving :)

Prelude to the wedding

I'm talking about my Hens people!! Considering I'm planning to blog about my wedding (and the aftermath I call honeymoon, moving, and setting up a new office and home) in due time, I though I'd start with the first lot of 'celebrations'.

Nah, I'm boring, I didn't do anything wild or crazy or absurdly stupid at my hens :)

Sorry peeps, but I'm a homely kinda girl. So sitting around, eating heaps and laughing my head off are some of my fave activities. What did I tell you - BORING, but hey, I had fun so thats what matters right (haha, don't worry, I'm not normally this selfishly self-absorbed :p)? So go figure what I ended up getting to at my hens ;)

I'll post the fuller set of images tomorrow, but for now, here are a few that were taken by one of my wonderful assistants, Vincy. Edited/Processed by myself. Geez! It feels almost idolatrous to put pictures of myself up on my own site - WEIRD I tell you!! Anyway, here's my face planted on this corner of the web for now!

PS: I'm travelling this week, so please hang tight there if I don't reply your email as fast as I normally do. Back in the office on monday :)

BBQ!

Light was slowly dipping below the horizon, and as far as my eyes could spread their view across, the entire world before me almost seemed completely saturated in a lustrous caramel-honeyed bath. The red that had risen so quickly during the day, finally peaked and deliberated at 38 degrees celcius, proving that the heat which married itself to the surface of our skins was not a figment of our imagination...the swelter was intense, real, and ablaze. Completely different from what had visited us daily the past few weeks where the heavens opened up and cried upon the land each evening...

However, I was not complaining :) It was perfect for the independence day celebrations that were lined up - and what was install? Food!! And plenty of it!! A BBQ to be more exact... I come from Australia, where BBQs are a great way to gather friends especially in summer when the weather is just blistering hot. I don't know why we aussies love it, but there is just something about the intertwining of heat, sun, lots of meat, salad, fire, charcoal-tinged food, and cold cold drinks in the outdoors that makes for an excellent social :)

I know merdeka day (this is equivalent to Australia Day for all you aussies out there!) was more than a week ago so this post is totally overdue (!), but they say that its better late than never right? ;) Here's what filled the air that evening - bear in mind that these are personal-life photos! Not official shoot photos! :) And just in case any of you ask - there was no flash used in any of the following shots :D

This is what the sunlight looked like just before the sunset, and before the BBQ started. I tried some backlighting thanks to some WONDERFUL inspiration from the USA :) Sometimes breaking the rules makes for some fun captures!! Click on it to see a larger version.

No BBQ feels right without iced-chilled drinks :) And thus here begins the socialising over the food :D A very cute little necklace that caught my eye that evening :) Even Padme got to join in on the fun!

Sorry, this shot is square because I chose to cut my head out of it. I do prefer to remain behind the camera :) Just a shot to let you see how much she has grown, though she is still small!

The night ended with a really fun round of taboo!! My favourite 'board game'. We learned how to play with just 4 people that night!! haha....

The boys didnt REALLY win. It was an old score card from a previous game.... ;)