The double edged sword of memory

Here's to memories, both good and bad.

To remembering family members who served. 

Who saw combat, and those who didn't.

To those who just did their job and were recognised for it.

Those that just did their job, and came home scarred - emotionally, physically, mentally.  

To those that found their god, and those that lost their religion.

Here's to those with photos of family, and the photos that have been passed down through the generations.  The photos of the great father, and the great-grandfather.

Thank you to the subjects, whose relatives left to fight the enemy, and thank you to the ex-servicemen who returned, bringing their own battle with them.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we shall remember them.

Lest we forget.

                                                                                                                                                  


In explanation - I was given the assignment of capturing 'tribute' images for the range of Sydney community papers for each of their ANZAC week editions. They were all shot on location, so while the background and environment changed, I had to maintain a reasonably consistent lighting style for the artists to work with.  They included family members, veterans from decades ago and more recently

I'll drop a lighting diagram up in the next few days.

Photos copyright; News Limited

And then...

There were more. And more.

The copyright for all of these images is retained by Cumberland Courier Newspapers - and I'm aware that I should start presenting some of my own work, as opposed to work generated assignments. It's that little guilty voice in the back of my head haranguing me about my own personal project - stuff I care about or have created - as opposed to work created by an editor. Or journo. Or both.

Well, I know I should have my own work going on... But in reality, having a job as a photojournalist is a luxury. New assignments everyday, the requirement to be able to think on my feet, come up with a lighting styles to fit the brief - what's not to like?

I've had a few comments from acquaintances, asking how I lit (well, illuminated sounds a bit grandiose) a job - so I'll cover that in another entry.

In the meantime, feel free to check out some of my recent assignments...

Fishnets and feistiness.

I like to head to jobs with a bit of foresight and planning if possible. It makes it easier to hit the ground running if you have an idea about composition, possible lighting set-up - heck, having an idea about the final outcome helps.
But sometimes, when I head to a job - it's all about flexibility. Thinking on your feet. Adapting to the situation to achieve the final objective. Or, as another PJ I used to work with used to admit, it's about keeping a deadpan expression in front of the subject while buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger ricochets around the inside of your head.
Recently I was tasked to photograph a number of roller derby, um, gladiators? Warriors? Contestants? And it was like taking the pieces of a jigsaw out of the box, throwing up into the air, and having the finished solution land on the table in front of you. Framed.
So - below are some of the photos...

Members of the South West Sydney Rockets

'Dolly Death'

'Lady Gag-Her'

'Madam Dirty-Boots'

'Lethal Ling'

'De-Nominator'

'Ann O'War'



'Natomic Bomb'

'Dita Von Bruiser'

All images copyright of and courtesy of Cumberland Courier Newspapers.

Updating time...

So - since it's been a while I thought I'd contribute a little something to the ever growing morass that we know as the interweb...
A week or two ago I was asked to photograph actor Peter Phillips-Vass. For those of you keeping up with my photographic exploits, you'll remember that we did a location shoot a few months (ok, possibly longer...) ago. He was in the process of auditioning for Underbelly 3, and we went for a bit of a themed look to the shoot - a cross between a Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels hardman, and 'local businessman/entrepreneur'.
This time, however, following the success of his role as Benny Puta in the east Sydney crime docu-drama, he was looking for a more approachable look, so we headed into the studio for some headshots to supply to his agent. And here are a few of the results... Simple shots - a large soft box (for the lighting geeks - er, enthusiasts) just above the camera, about a stop and a half over exposed, and two skim lights with spill kill/bowls at about 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock from the subject - and both skims were also over exposed by about 2-3 stops. We fudged around with the distance of the subject from the backdrop until he was happy with an appropriate tone, and started shooting! And because the images have to represent an accurate likeness for possible acting roles, there has been very little post-production work done on them - rather like working in a newspaper again...

And speaking of updates... I'm currently revamping the website - so if you visit www.chrismckeen.com.au unfortunately you'll be landing on my 'Under Construction' holding page. Hopefully I'll have something up and viewable in the next day or three...

And...

There were another few photos that I wanted to include, but upload limitations prevented me on the previous entry, hence this addition...
In case anyone was wondering, I shot most of the night on 800 ISO, f2.8-f11 (sometimes) with a Canon 580EX flash; off-camera cord and Stofen diffusion cap. Cheers Dean!

Freestylers, Kid Kenobi, MC Shureshock AND THE REST!

Saturday 9 June 2007 saw about 800 eager punters descend on the Civic in Christchurch for a multi-zone night of breaks, drum'n'bass, hip-hop, house, electronica - and the list went on!
Organised by Rustic Entertainment (www.rustic.co.nz), the headline acts were The Freestylers (UK) but the highlight of my night was definitely Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock. Thumping breaks, tightly meshed together and fronted by the born performer MC Shureshock came close to wearing the crowd out even before the UK Freestylers duo took to the stage.
Because it was a night of high energy. Not the unst-unst-unst 'NRG' of hard house flavour, but the fizzing anticipatory energy for these highly professional acts. Warmed up by DJs General Lee and then Robbie Glass, the slowly building crowd took off from 150-ish to peak volume 750-800 when FunknSloCuts (of Minuit fame) and his intrepid sidekick the Kurnel MC took to the stage. Cold Christchurch night outside, scorching with on-stage talent inside. With seamless ease, Kid Kenobi transitioned the control of the decks from FunknSloCuts and the night exploded. High points were Shureshock's covers of 'Bring the Noise' (an old Public Enemy & Anthrax collaboration) and a rolling cover of 'Future Love'.

Sticky Fingaz (BOH!) returned from Wellington to host a 10-minute tribute/intro to the Freestylers and then Aston and Matt provided two individual sets of international standard. Personally, I kinda thought that they drove the speakers a bit hard, with a bit of clipping coming through on a number of tracks. Still, they entertained, and they entertained well.
Urban Notion were tasked with mopping up the pieces for those that could handle the long haul, and in the deep dark depths of the morning they threw down the goods. MC GT, Switch, Gamble and Rufio are all quality performers and rewarded those with longevity and staying power with another typically classy set.

Earlier on in the night I managed to escape the mayhem of the Main Zone and sneak into the MixTape Sessions room next door where I caught Dr Hitchcock of RDU (www.rdu.org.nz) fame spinning tunes to those not too interested in the chaos of the big room. Nice to see there are quite a few people keen on catching a bit of alternative electronica on a Saturday night... The Doctor is off to Melbourne soon, and Christchurch is going to be a slightly poorer place as a result...