| Superman Returns |
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 Fortress of Solitude
(Jul 2005) In mid 2005 I was commissioned by Warner Brothers to photograph a few of the "Superman Returns" movie-sets [1], at … (more)
... Fox Studios Australia in Sydney [2]. This is the FoS [3] set on sound-stage #1, “… where the Man of Steel conducts incredible experiments, keeps strange trophies, and pursues astounding hobbies!” This was the second time I was asked to photograph this particular set, as the designers kept changing their minds over how it should look. The original scheme had the spikes looking like yellow-brown quartz crystals. A week later it was changed to look like pure ice. (I notice in the movie [4] it was changed yet again, this time to look more transparent and a little less pure! [7]) I'm still amazed by the production design wizardry [5] by Guy Hendrix Dyas [6]. Standing on the set, 5m above ground-level, you could clearly see it was bogus and slapped together using wood, wires, fiberglass and white paint. But add a few puffs from a smoke machine and run it through a lens and… completely believable smoking crystals of ice! N.B. portions of the set masked in green were due to be replaced by CG artwork. Unfortunately we ran into time and budget constraints, so it had to be dropped. Also, as per client's instructions there is no audio for this scene. |
 Daily Planet Plaza
(May 2005) A night-time view of the Daily Planet entrance, built onto the side of sound-stage #2. Doing the plaza shoot was … (more)
... pretty harrowing. One of the Assistant Directors ("A-D's") stood right beside me, watching my every move and issuing a stream of instructions into a walkie-talkie, telling the grips and gaffers [1] to turn this light on, that light off, to get out of the way, increase the steam etc. During re-loads some of the crew noticed I was still using 35mm film. As the entire production was famously digital [2], I had to endure endless ribbing about this: “Jeeezus, film! Where'd we dig this fossil up from?! Hey — Filmboy — back to the Twentieth Century for you!” Just to aggravate them, I mentioned I was also timing the night exposures with a mechanical stopwatch. More head shaking and smiles over that one :?) As before, overhead portions of the panorama (shown in green) were supposed to be replaced with a computer-rendered building and sky. For general remarks about filming, lighting and set design, see the interview with Director Bryan Singer and DP Newton Thomas Sigel in Amercian Cinematographer July 2006 [3]. |
 Daily Planet Lobby
(May 2005) An interior view of the lobby on the other side of the Daily Planet Plaza [1] revolving doors. I wasn't … (more)
... scheduled to photograph this scene, but while waiting for the crew to dress the Plaza set, I suggested to my Warner's contact that a shot of the lobby interior might also be interesting. He agreed, so I ran around with a broom to clean up the floor and popped off a quick sequence. As before, portions of the set masked in green were supposed to be replaced by CG artwork. For general remarks about filming, lighting and set design, see the interview with Director Bryan Singer and DP Newton Thomas Sigel in Amercian Cinematographer July 2006 [2]. |
 Janitor Closet
(May 2005) As a nostalgic nod to earlier Superman films [1], this is the utility-closet where Clark Kent used to change into … (more)
... his Superman outfit, inside the Daily Planet office on sound-stage #2. The entire set (partially visible through the open door) was lit by twenty-eight 20KW Fresnels, fourteen of which were two metres above my head on the other side of the closet's ceiling. As these incandescent-bulbs had been going full-blast for over an hour before doing the shot, it was "Death By Radiant Flux" [2] inside that tiny room! N.B. again no audio was recorded to accompany this image. For general remarks about filming, lighting and set design, see the interview with Director Bryan Singer and DP Newton Thomas Sigel in Amercian Cinematographer July 2006 [3]. |
 Lex Luthor's Yacht
(Jul 2005) The main cabin interior of Luthor's yacht ("The Gertrude") on sound-stage #29. As before, portions of the set masked in … (more)
... green were supposed to be replaced by CG artwork, this time showing fish and the ocean etc. During the shoot we tried having a few grips [1] rock trays of water beneath the glass floor to give a flickering "light reflected off water" effect. We dropped the idea though because it didn't work, mainly due to smearing by the long exposures required (eight seconds per shot). Again no audio was recorded, as per client's instructions. For other VRs, drawings + detailed audio commentary about the Yacht design and construction, see the IGN interview [2] with Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas [3]. Another interview about the set can also be read half-way down the Moviehole website [4]. |
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| Photojournalism |
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 Anzac Day March
(Apr 2004) At the head of one of the Anzac Day marching battalions, at the corner of King and Elizabeth Streets at … (more)
... St James in Sydney. To my knowledge this is the first and only full-sphere VR of a marching procession anywhere in the world. As you can imagine this was not easy to do. Multi-shot cameras can't synchronise the many overlapping images required. OTOH "one-shot" rigs can't deliver fully spherical results, being mostly limited to ± 30° cylindrical images. This scene was featured on the international <panoramas.dk> site in June 2004, as Panorama of the Week #25 [1]. BTW few people are aware the word "ANZAC" has been protected by legislation since 1920 to prevent its unauthorised use in trade or entertainment [2]. |
 Australia Square
(Jul 2002) During the 1960s the Australia Square Tower was the tallest office building in Sydney [1]. It has since been dwarfed … (more)
... by more recent structures, but despite this, it remains an impressive architectural landmark in the heart of Sydney's financial district. This image showcases the flare-resistant qualities of my 16mm fisheye lens, along with the exposure lattitude of my C41 film. It's also the first scene I did with my compact VR rig — notice how the lunchtime crowd (some of whom were barely 2m away) didn't even notice I was there. The scene was featured on the international <panoramas.dk> site in Oct 2003, as Panorama of the Week #40 [2]. |
 Wollongong Uni - olympic pool
(Oct 2002) The shallow end of the University of Wollongong olympic swimming pool. This particular scene is a little unusual in that … (more)
... it's the only pool-VR in the world where the shot was actually done in the pool, a few inches above the water. In late 2002 I was commissioned to shoot a 28-scene VR "photo essay" for use in the UOW's 2003 online marketing campaign [1]. Part of the brief was to include plenty of shots of students and academics doing everyday things, with the more people I could cram into each scene, the happier they would be. The client emphatically did not want a typical deserted-campus tour, with empty fields, lecture halls or dormitories, but rather scenes of a living, working, research and educational facility! So I obliged. I spent five days on location and shot (and recorded sound for) something like 60 cubic VR scenes, with more than 80% of them taken with my monopod "candid" VR rig. |
 Wollongong Uni - UniBar live band
(Oct 2002) On stage during a band performance at the UOW Uni-Bar. A shot during "band night" was always on the cards, … (more)
... but no-one expected me to jump on stage and shoot among the musicians. The lead-singer got a shock when he turned around in mid-song and saw me shooting from only 1.5m away :?) What made the shoot unusual was the low light (1/15th at ƒ4 + 800 ISO) and wobbly floorboards. Because of this, I had to carefully time my shots to the few moments when the musicians weren't jumping around. |
 Wollongong Uni - Nursing class
(Oct 2002) A UOW Nursing Class "catheterization prac". Here the trick was to hang around long enough (45 minutes) for the students … (more)
... to lose their self-consciousness and forget I was even there. Unfortunately a few days later one of them had second thoughts and raised objections to being in the photo. Rather than reshoot, I erased the person during post production. I wonder if you can find where they once were?… |
 Bundeena "boys" Ferry
(Feb 2004) The bow of the "Curranulla" ferry as heads down Gunnamatta Bay towards Bundeena, a small township on Sydney's southeastern edge. … (more)
... The 15:30pm service is shown here. Locals know it as the "schoolies ferry", since it's always packed with students on their way home from school. Actually there are two ferries: a girls service which leaves a few minutes earlier, and this one, the boys boat. Presumably the sexes are segregated to keep the ruckus down. Another difficult scene. The small ferry (not much bigger than a school bus) rocked and pitched something fierce during the shoot. The boys didn't sit very still either, with one pesky brat even sticking his face into the lens. (A flat panorama version of scene was included in the 2004 Family of Man 2 selection [1].) |
 Sydney To Hobart spectators
(Dec 2004) Sydney to Hobart yacht race spectators at Gap Park, Watson's Bay — fifteen minutes after the race start. Most of … (more)
... the year this area is pretty deserted. Everything changes on Boxing Day (December 26th), when lawns and cliff-tops fill with broadcast media and spectators, all there to follow the early stages of the Sydney-to-Hobart ocean yacht race. I had arrive early and wait 1½ hours (under a ferocious Sydney sun) prior to taking the shot. A lot of that time was spent fending off late arrivals who kept trying to push in front. Yeah right, you wish! |
 Penrith Stadium NRL semi-final
(Sep 2003) Spectators in the eastern stand during the Panthers vs. Broncos, 2003 NRL 4th Qualifying Final. This scene really tested my … (more)
... patience. I had to wait over twenty minutes for the local team to score a try and the crowd jump to its feet, and then I had less than a minute to shoot the entire VR sequence. Prior to that, everyone just sat there with bored/ glum expressions. Capturing the sound also proved tricky, as the oval was swept by howling 90 km/hr westerlies that day. |
| Travel + Landscape |
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 Sydney Opera House - sunset
(Aug 2005) Sunset at the Sydney Opera House, between the Concert Hall and Benelong Restaurant. At this time of day, a part … (more)
... of the (public) deck is roped off to prevent The Great Unwashed from rubbing shoulders with Class Enemies (ie. restaurant patrons). They dropped their drinks and bolted inside though when they saw my camera — must have been the sarcastic grin as I set up…The scene was featured on the international <panoramas.dk> site in October 2005, as Panorama of the Week #41 [1]. |
 Sydney Opera House - night
(Aug 2005) Taken an hour after the SOH sunset shot. The hall and restaurant interiors were lit so prettily because there was … (more)
... a performance later that (Saturday) night. Otherwise, on non-concert evenings only a few emergency-lights are used — making the place look rather grim. |
 Bradley's Head
(Apr 2001) Sunset on the Angophora Walk at Bradley's Head, to the east of Athol Bay and Sydney's Taronga Zoo. The scene … (more)
... depicts what Sydney harbour would have looked like prior to convict settlement in the 18th century, with sandstone boulders and tangled "Angophora Costatas" everywhere right down to the waters edge. The low-frequency rumbling you hear towards the end of the soundtrack is the Manly ferry passing by. |
 Manly ferry + Sydney Opera House
(Oct 1998) At the bow of a Manly ferry as it turns to enter Sydney Cove, with the Harbour bridge on one … (more)
... side and the Sydney Opera House on the other. Another early shot (1998) and difficult to author as the ferry was moving forwards, up and down and rocking from side to side. Doing the sound recording was also a bit of a trial, owing to wildly unpredictable 40-knot winds. The scene was featured on the international <panoramas.dk> site in April 2003, as Panorama of the Week #16 [1]. |
 South Pylon Lookout
(Sep 2004) A view from the northeastern side of the South Pylon Lookout on the Sydney Harbour Bridge [1], the tallest public … (more)
... lookout in Sydney for thirty years (1932-62). The scene was my contribution to the World Wide Panorama — September Equinox 2004 project [2]. I wanted to do something a little unusual, so I dangled the camera over the railing, 60m above bridge deck. Lotsa anxiety shooting the thing, even more retouching the panorama to remove myself and align the nadir… The bridge was built from Dec 1926 to Sep 1931, and opened on March 19th 1932. It is 1149m long and carries approximately 160 000 cars a day; the steel arch is 134m tall and spans 503m. It was designed by Dr John Job Crew Bradfield (1867-1943), and the design was specifically chosen because it looked "strong and dramatic". The design was also inspired by the NYC Hell Gate Bridge. |
 Sydney skyline
(Apr 1998) A view above Sydney at sunset, taken from the observation deck of the Centrepoint tower. Despite being an old shot … (more)
... (1998!), it remains one of only a few high-resolution panoramas taken of Sydney from such high vantage point. In 2004 the scene was re-authored in high-resolution format for the NRW Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft Architecture museum in Duesseldorf, Germany [1]. Click here [2] for a cool photo of the periscopes they used to display it! Tech note: At the time I was still using rectilinear lenses, so this is a limited FOVy cylindrical panorama. Also, the NRW periscope photo is provided courtesy of Joop Greypink [3]. |
 Scenic Railway Katoomba
(Feb 2003) Echo point in Katoomba, located 100 kms west of Sydney. A popular tourist attraction, most come to see the "Three … (more)
... Sisters" rock formation (visible on the southeast horizon). Others come to ride down the vertiginous Scenic Railway, the terminus of which is shown here. The rail itself is cut through cliffs at a 52° gradient, which partially explains the hooping and hollering of passengers as they arrive. The scene was photographed a few minutes before a violent afternoon storm. If you look up to the northwest, you can see its leading edge just starting to block out the sun. |
 Dover Wharf - Tasmania
(Mar 2000) Dover wharf at sunset, alongside to a couple of crayfish trawlers. Dover is a small township on the Huon Highway, … (more)
... 80km south of Hobart. It used to be a timber-town, but in the late 1980s the focus shifted to salmon farming and (hopefully) tourism. The Saturday afternoon I was there, there was vast "regeneration burn-off" in the hills to the west of the town. This was done by our "friends" at Forestry Tasmania [1], and helps explain the orange-magenta daylight and brown-grey sky. |
 South Cape Bay cliffs - Tasmania
(Mar 2000) A view from the cliff-tops above South Cape Bay, looking southeast at the three hillocks of South East Cape, Australia's … (more)
... southern-most point [1] (see also Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse for the most southern inhabited island [2]). SE Cape is a remote area at the sparsely populated tip of Tasmania, 2½ hours walk from Cockle Creek, which itself is three hours drive from Hobart. The first recorded European to go past was Abel Tasman in 1642. It took another 150 years for the next explorer, d'Entrecasteaux, to do a sail-by in 1792. Even today it's still way off the beaten track, visited by only a handful of people every year. I had to battle incredible winds while taking this shot — not surprising really, considering I was right in the middle of the "Roaring 40s". The image also demonstrates the importance of having a light-weight, compact, easily portable VR rig. A lot of VR shooters carry around trunk-loads of equipment and assistants — all I had was a small mechanical SLR and monopod :?) |
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| Museums + Galleries |
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 AWM - Anzac Hall
(Jun 2001) The newly opened Anzac Gallery, photographed for the Australian War Memorial online tour [1]. On display are a Huey helicopter, … (more)
... Centurion tank and ME-163 "komet" rocket powered fighter. N.B. this particular exhibit has since been replaced by the "G-For-George" bomber display (see below). Tech note: back in 2001 it would have been impossible to capture such a dark scene with any (reasonably priced) DSLR. It was so dark it required two minute exposures for each shot (14 minutes total). Camera chips at the time couldn't cope with this sort of thing, delivering results so awash in black-frame noise and blown highlights that they would have been useless. |
 AWM - G-for-George
(Feb 2004) Thirty months after Anzac Gallery shoot (see above), I was invited back to photograph the new Striking by night exhibit, … (more)
... featuring the famous "G-for-George" WW2 Lancaster bomber. It took volunteers and museum staff over four years to restore the plane to its WW2 condition. Because it was too large to fit through the doors in one piece, it had to be disassembled and then painstakingly rebuilt when inside the gallery. Tech Note: It was amazingly dark when I first photographed this part of the museum in July 2001 [1]. Thankfully the museum increased its lighting to more reasonable levels (exposures were ten seconds vs. 180 seconds in '01!). |
 Batavia sailing ship
(Dec 1999) In December 1999 I was commissioned by the Bataviawerf Museum at Lelystad Netherlands [1], to shoot a few VRs of … (more)
... the Batavia replica sailing ship, then visiting Sydney. The vessel was moored at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour [2], alongside the 1950s era destroyer "HMAS Vampire", and remained for a year as part of Phillips participation in the Sydney 2000 Olympic games. Audio commentary was provided by one of the Museum guides — we had to struggle a fair bit to get a clean sound over the gusting wind and endless jack-hammering in the Sydney CBD. |
 Maritime Mus. Interior
(May 2002) The northern end of the main exhibition hall in the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour, Sydney [1]. Although … (more)
... a straightforward "empty room" shot, what made authoring a difficult was the extreme variation in scene brightness (eight stops) and colour temperatures — with the hall lit in different places by direct sunlight, tungsten, quartz-halogen and even fluorescent light. This meant most of the orange/ green/ magenta colour-casts had to be hand-corrected during post-production, as did regions of massive over or under exposure (usually by scanning multiple times and then layering the results via Photoshop layer-masks). |
 HMAS Onslow submarine
(May 2002) The control room of one of the prize exhibits of the Australian National Maritime Museum [1]: "HMAS Onslow", a 1960s … (more)
... era Oberon Class diesel submarine. Due to miscommunication and strict union rules about exhibit closing times, I had only 18 minutes to enter the sub; drag my equipment through half its length; set-up; record the sound; take the shots; pack-up; drag my equipment back through the remaining half and leave. One of the museum guides was actually switching off lights as I took each shot! BTW it may be of interest to compare my version of the Control Room with a that taken by a competitor, for the Australian Navy's "Virtual Fleet" project [2]. |
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An interior cubic VR plus a unique exterior fly-around of
the Holden Captiva 4WD/AWD, photographed in Melbourne in May 2006.