Monday, December 08, 2008

movie still 5

two shots from the opening of the film 'sunset boulevard' (1950). the second one of the man floating in the pool provided a technical challenge for the camera crew without the use of underwater cameras. instead, they placed a mirror on the bottom of the pool, heated the water to a level that didn't effect the clarity of the reflection and then shot downwards from a platform, recording the image reflected in the mirror. all technical aspects aside, the shot is stunning and helped to make the film a classic...

Sunday, December 07, 2008

camera fun

a couple of weeks ago i fulfilled a long ambition and purchased a new canon g10 camera. i've had my eye on the g series for ages, and to be honest this is the first really nice camera i've owned. the g10 follows in the great tradition of range-finder cameras, yeilding beautiful photos from a convenient and easy to use package. enough of the review!

it was my little baby when i got it but anna has become besotted with it. she wandered off into the garden a few evenings ago at dusk and when i went out to see what she was doing i found her over the fence in the neighbour's back yard.

our neighbour recently passed away, and he'd built his house and lived there for about 50 years or so. it's a nz classic - weather board painted a vibrant sky blue. i've always loved the look of it. our little house and his were the original inspiration for my safe little world concept. in fact a picture that i took of his house (which i then drew on) was the first place i used the term 'safe little world'.

anyway, in his back yard he has a little shed - a kind of haven with a comfortable chair, work bench and tools in it. i'd wanted to photograph it for a long time. the place is currently vacant and anna had gone over there and wandered into the shed.

i went over too, and what resulted were some very nice pictures that we took. the golden light of dusk was falling perfectly through the shed door and we were armed with my g10. here is some of what we got... (anna took the first two and i took the second two)

[on the headphones: 'vaka (live in vienna 2002)' by sigur ros. download it free here.]