Category : Magazine photography Toggle

Miss Saigon comes to the Gold Coast!

 

Kim & Chris - the lead characters in 'Miss Saigon' - The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre production

Last week I was asked to photograph the hero shot and program imagery for the new theatre production at The Arts Centre Gold Coast.

‘Miss Saigon’ is set during the fall of Vietnam at the end of their civil war, and addresses some of the many issues that arose from the USA’s illegal interventional policies, both at the time of the conflict and during the decades since.

The Arts Centre have created a beautiful range of stage sets which were great to get a chance to see and incorporate into the shots. Their talented cast were great to shoot and the crew very helpful in assisting with the theatre lighting to complement my studio lights. My kind of shoot!

‘Miss Saigon’ opened this week and tickets to this great show can be purchased here.   🙂

 

Cast member of 'Miss Saigon' - The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre production Cast members from 'Miss Saigon' - The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre production Some of the lead cast of 'Miss Saigon' - The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre production Pimp character from 'Miss Saigon' - The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre productionThe cast of 'Miss Saigon' on the 'Dreamland' stage set at The Arts Centre Gold Coast's new musical theatre production

 

Photo shoot for Gold Coast muso, Alby Carter

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Gold Coast musician, Alby Carter, recently contacted me to shoot a fresh suite of publicity photos. I’d met Alby before when I shot him during his studio session at Bignote Productions on the Gold Coast.

We decided that casual urban locations would be ideal for Alby’s highly relatable music, so headed to Burleigh Heads for an hour of  shooting in various venues until asked to leave – proper old school production that took me back to my old days of shooting on film and dodging security guards! Heh….

After a nice old time strolling and chatting with one very nice dude, we came away with some great shots that work together really nicely around strong black & white compositions and a theme of reflections. I’d chosen this approach for two reasons; the first being the nature of Alby’s pensive song lyrics and his serious return to music after a hiatus. The second reason being the lack of architectural charm on the Gold Coast meant that a more creative approach was going to be needed for this kind of urban environment.

You can find out more about Alby’s music and gigs here. I recommend listening to his sample track titled ‘Maze‘. Pretty damn sweet…

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Album cover photography for the Gold Coast’s ‘Green Room Project’

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Recently I was asked to photograph the album cover for The Green Room Project – the Gold Coast’s live monthly cabaret talk show.

The brief for the photography was to allow the personality of each group member to be shown, so a wider shot with a range of interesting poses allowed this, while also allowing the models to interact with each other. The striped marquee on the shoot location leant a theatrical feel to the photos, with some great wardrobe and props completing the styling!

Host, Matt Ward created The Green Room project as a novel way of showcasing emerging and undiscovered music talent, combined with mentoring by industry professionals. Recorded at Bignote Productions, six of Queensland’s most talented musical theatre and cabaret performers who have been featured on the show came together for the compilation album and were accompanied by musical director, Brad Rush, on a baby grand piano.

If you’re in the Gold Coast / Brisbane region, you can check out more details of this great concept here, as either an audience member or musician!

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Brisbane barbershop lifestyle photography by Paul Williams

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The photography side of the business for me was amazingly busy for the last quarter of 2014 – and this blog very much fell by the wayside!
One of the best projects that I worked on over the manic year-end was the brand identity that I designed for a hip new barber shop south of Brisbane, named ‘The Harbour Barber‘.

I designed the logo and full identity for the client, from brand strategy through to all of their print collateral and web design. A subsequent photo shoot followed (naturally!), the results of which are featured here and have featured in 4 or 5 national magazines and newspaper supplements since.

I intended this shoot to be art directed in such a way that was a nod to the nostalgic brand essence that I’d created. Hence, the semi-sepia colour treatment gives a real sense of the old school customer service, while respecting that this is a contemporary business. I also love the confident ‘tude of the models which finds balance in the right amount of approachability. If you’re near the Cleveland area of South Brisbane, why not check out The Harbour Barber? It’s an excellent barbershop, very funky interior decoration and they’ll serve you a free beer with your haircut! Get in!  🙂

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Music photography by Paul Williams photography, Gold Coast – Brisbane, Australia

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Last week I photographed singer/songwriter, Mitch King, in a recording studio session at Bignote Productions. He was tracking a new song for his upcoming album.

This photo was taken through a porthole window to the recording studio. I like the rim-light in this shot and the blurred window frame that frames the shot itself – it reminds me of old Super-8 or medium format film.

After the session, Mitch asked me to shoot his album cover next week here on the Gold Coast, which I’m very much looking forward to. The songs that he’s recorded for the album so far are awesome, so it’s a really nice project to be involved with.
This was my 2nd shoot for Bignote Productions who, to my surprise, asked me to be their in-house photographer from now on! It’s such a talented team at Bignote and being able to provide photography for the musicians producing music at the best recording studio on the Gold Coast feels like an ongoing collaboration that will be a perfect fit. So if you’re looking to produce music and you’re in the Gold Coast / Brisbane region, drop by the studios here to say hello. You just might end up in front of my lens as my next blog entry!

You can check out Mitch’s tunes here:  http://mitchkingmusic.com.au/

Photo shoot for Scoot Airlines

On assignment in China.

A while back I was flown to Beijing to shoot for Scoot Airlines.
I was to cover the city of Tianjin, an hour or so on the bullet train from Beijing.
This is my ideal gig – wandering a foreign land with a very open brief and a camera in hand. This very thing is what took my photography from ‘hobby’ to ‘obsession’ so many years ago and these kind of shoots for me, ironically, feel like coming home.

I had an amazing time shooting the city – sitting regularly as inspiration took hold, to write the feature article passages that would accompany my photography.
The piece was well-received in the in-flight magazine and once again, I counted myself very lucky as having had another international shoot of this kind.

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Old local practising Chinese character calligraphy with water on the dusty morning pavement.

Old local practising Chinese character calligraphy with water on the dusty morning pavement.

 

A friendly social dance group in a Tianjin City park.

A friendly social dance group in a Tianjin City park.

 

The serene Tianjin River by night.

The serene Tianjin River by night.

 

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During my stay, I was put-up at the stunning St Regis Hotel, which was a most welcome sanctuary after some very long days wandering the many landmarks and quaint hutongs. Upgrading me to one of their finest suites after some friendly chat, I felt it only right to return the favour by snapping a few interiors of the hotel for their marketing. Appreciating such beautiful interior design is again, one of my favorite aspects of what I do.

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Before I left for Tianjin, a client at Fitch Design in Singapore heard that I was headed to Beijing briefly, so booked me to shoot for Dell computers while I was in town. Our team was wined and dined after each day at some of the cities best restaurants and I tacked a couple of days onto the end of the trip to visit the Great Wall and of course the Forbidden City. The trip was over all too quickly, though a taster of China in this way was, as a Photographer, as good as it gets!