My Favourite make up artist

Silvana Mitkovski asked me to do her a favour and help out with a hair and make up competition she's entering. So being obliging chaps we said OK. These are straight out of the camera, which goes to show what a great make up artist can do. Natural light.

cameras in Fed Square

cameras in Fed Square
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Everybody thinks they're a photographer. Truth is, it isn't that hard to get a good shot these days, with some of the amazing cameras that have been coming out over the last few years. Many professional photographers are worried that their days are numbered. And they have every reason to be worried. Uncle Bob with his brand new Canikon can sometimes get a totally pro brilliant shot. Sometimes. I see it as incentive to raise the bar a couple of notches. Get the shots that Uncle Bob can't. And get them every time without fail, when it really matters. Uncle Bob will get lucky every now and then. Good on you Uncle Bob!
I've got quite a few lucky shots. The more I practice and refine my craft, the luckier I get.

Car

car
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Wide brown land, with a 45mm Tilt Shift through Rom's windscreen.
On the way back to the reception after the beach.

Rocks

rocks
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

One of about 30 shots that really worked for this wedding. Rom and I used to dread beach weddings, but after dozens of tests and lighting experiments, now we pretty much specialise in them!

Petronas Towers

petronas towers
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Another iPhone photo. This is the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur just after sunset. An amazing building.

sunset Samporna

sunset semporna
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Sunset in Samporna shot with my iPhone.
We went diving in Sipadan the next day.
I can't explain how amazing that was. If I had a waterproof housing for my iPhone I would have gone nuts with shots.
Thanks to Scuba Junkies in Samporna!

just one thanks

just_one_thanks
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

I'm pretty sure they were serious about this offer.
Shop in Sandakan.

gift shop at Sandakan Airport in Borneo.

gift shop at the airport
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Can't really think of a more inappropriate item to sell at an airport gift shop.

I think he's done a pretty good job with the eyes!

portrait
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

I shot this on my iPhone during my last night in Kuala Lumpur. Nobody else seemed to see the irony of the situation.

Petra

Petra
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

By some miracle it stopped pouring with rain every time we stopped the limo to take a shot. And as soon as we got back in the car it started raining again. The clouds were so awesome that day.

Outside Flinders Street

outside Flinders Street
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Rom and I always wanted to do a shot with the Fliders Street clocks in the background, and we finally got the chance. Thanks Jennifer, you guys were so great!

patrick

patrick
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Me and Patrick from Stillmotion down at Fed Square after the Melbourne Stillmotion Experience. We did pretty good with the challenges, with our team getting first place in both of them.

Lynchian Bride

Lynchian Bride
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Me and Rom picked the worst day to do an outdoor shoot. We had to keep the gals inside cars until the last minute because the 50 kmh winds made their hair and makeup look like they'd just woke up after a drunken night on the town.We had to change the concept a little since there was no way we'd get a glamour shot, so we went for a kind of David Lynch/Steven Klein thing. We used 4 bare 580EXII's since there was no way to put a brolly up. Even then I had 2 flashes hit the concrete from the stands being blown over.
We tried in vain to fire a flash through a scrim but it was like a kite, and nearly dragged the wardrobe girl across town. Next time we'll check the weather report.

ringflash sisters

ringflash sisters
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Orbis Ringflash and an Ezybox camera right. I cranked the Ringflash up a half stop and that's all it took to get a completely different look. Hard to get any consistency with this combination, but it can look really good when you get it right.

ringflash solo

ringflash solo
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Trying to get a good balance between an Orbis Ringflash and an Ezybox camera right. As little as half a stop changes the look entirely.

Evolution of a shot

Here's a sequence of every image from a shoot Rom and I did recently. It shows the progress of setting up the light, the set and the composition.It also reveals how much time and effort we put into getting the expression juuust right!
Big thanks to On One software and their new iPod Touch remote trigger for the 5DII. Works first time every time!

Video Shoot

Well I finally got around to shooting a video clip with the 5DII. Marc Collis is about to release an album and the first track is a song called 'I Miss Everything'. We shot it at Montsalvat in Melbourne, and Miranda was trying out the latest steps for us in the background. I used Apple Color for the grading, but I went a little overboard. I'll try to be more subtle next time! Molly Meldrum gave the video a spin on channel Seven's Sunrise the other morning.
I've got a couple more videos coming up in the diary. I'll be using a Steadicam for those. Not quite the same as sticking the camera on a tripod.

Jump

Jump
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

In between takes on a video shoot at Montsalvat in Melbourne. Ezybox and a 580EXII.

wrestler

wrestler
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Me and my buddy Rom went backstage at the local wrestling and did a series of shots in exchange for the use of their venue for a shoot earlier in the day. We used Roms newly acquired ringflash and a 580EX II to light the curtain at the back.

lindsay with videolight

lindsay with videolight
Originally uploaded by brendan.oshea

Lindsay at the GPO, but this time with a video light highlighting her face.