Well the first half of this year has been flat out and every time I get set to write about it, something more pressing happens so the time has ticked away for nearly 12 months before I have been able to write another post.  A few highlights this year have been shooting again for RMIT's Founder's Day magazine, an annual publication that gets distributed through the Australian Financial Review Newspaper.  Such a pleasure to work on, and meeting a very diverse range of academics and trying to capture their research in a photograph.  I also had the opportunity to fly up to the Gold Coast for Bloomberg to shoot gold (yes you read correctly), flying in over Broadbeach at 7am with the beautiful surf and sun just hitting the beach.  I was going to a gold shop just a street away from the beach and I thought (a little too optimistically) that I would get time to nip over and put my toes in the water after the shoot finished.  Did this happen??? No.  I was given a very small meeting room to set up and shoot in and the owners gave me stacks and stacks of gold bullion and silver to photograph.  I must have been shooting for 3 hours before I realised that my flight was leaving in half an hour to come back to Melbourne, so no toe dabbling in warm waters for me.  The shoot was great and rather humbling when you are sitting in a room with more gold than your house is worth, or probably your street is worth...

Apologies to those who may have tried to view the site or email me over the past 2 days, both my website and email disappeared off the face of the earth.......... Last week ended in a trip to Corowa just north of the Victorian state border.  My mission was to photograph the pork processing unit of Rivalea which included the abbattoir, boning and packaging areas.  The slaughterhouse was an assault to all senses, although not as much blood as I thought there would be.  I will get around to putting some of the images up, it was very theatrical in nature, and I was able to cope by just switching off. 

The wall in my office is covered with pictures of people's hands, the Glenroy extravaganza is nearly ready.  Unfortunately the launch date has been changed from August 21st until a later date yet TBC due to the election.

Freezing cold, such a stark difference to the Pilbara last week.  This week is turning out to be a busy one before we head up to Sydney for a few days over the weekend and next week.  Housing feature, Orica chlorine plant, a Bendigo piggery followed by an underwater shoot for the Melbourne City bath's 150th Birthday celebration due to happen tomorrow night but with Melbourne as cold as it is I am not sure I am looking forward to it as much as I thought I would.  Might need to get out the wetsuit.  This will be a good chance to put the Pentax underwater camera to use after my first one died while shooting under water at Ant Atoll in the middle of the Pacific.  Yep had to name drop that one!!!

The Moreland project is nearly ready to go to print, but the logistics of finding a printer, installer and anti graffiti company are driving me quietly insane.  Having said that, after this is complete I will have some great contacts to use again for future projects that require similar outcomes.  Having to deal with sales people that really don't have a clue is something I should be use to but it still dumbfounds me!

End of the week and in need of the weekend.  Returned from Perth yesterday morning at 6am, I fully appreciate why that midnight flight from Perth to the East Coast is called the red-eye.  Had three days travelling through the Pilbara visiting Gindalbie Metals and Atlas Iron mines.  So much red dirt EVERYWHERE, lots of travelling on little buses and little airplanes, but the view from the planes were just beautiful and my first time in the Pilbara, I can appreciate why people rave about it, such a magnificent looking country.  The contrast between the pale moss green of the spinifex and the red iron ore rock makes any photo worth taking.

This week is leading up to a busy period.  The Glenroy documentary is well and truly underway with the last families being interviewed and photographed this weekend.  If you haven't heard about the public art project for Glenroy (Moreland Council), watch this space or better still watch the streets of Glenroy during August.  The project is a documentary involving households of Glenroy. Each household member chooses an object that is precious to them and in their own words describes what it is and why they have chosen it.  Only their hands are photographed holding the object.  The photographs and stories will be printed on metal panels and installed on the pedestrian barriers that line the streets of Glenroy.

Next week I am off to Western Australia on a mining trip for Bloomberg. Very exciting as I have never been to the Pilbara before, will make sure I post some favourite shots when I get back.