Leaving on a jetplane

I'm catching a plane to Thailand this afternoon. I've got a few nights in Bangkok, a few nights in Ko Tao with a wedding in between.

See you on the other side.

Sorry speech

Thousands of Sydneysiders braved the rain this morning to witness a live broadcast from Canberra of Prime Minister Rudd apologising to the Stolen Generations.

Martin Place was filled with people from all walks of life, toting their umbrellas and filled with emotion. The end of the speech was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

It was a rather special moment on what feels like a historic day.

See more photos from the occasion in a slideshow at Time Out Sydney.

Sydney "Sin City"

It was good fun taking the pictures for the Time Out "Sin City" issue this week.

First up was notorious former Detective-Sergeant Roger Rogerson.

He was famously portrayed by Richard Roxburgh in the mini-series Blue Murder. One of the most memorable scenes is of him shooting dead Warren Lanfranchi, played by Alex Dimitriades, in a back lane of Chippendale.

That shooting was incidentally next door to where i used to live. Blue Murder also gave name to Cybele's Blue Murder Studios - it's original home was in a warehouse frequented by the nefarious personalities of the Sydney criminal world.

As part of the same feature as Roger Rogerson i also photographed convicted bank robber Bernie Matthews.

In order to lighten the mood somewhat i bought some water pistols and asked them to pose with them. They took it in good humour and hammed it up while soaking me in the line of fire in a back lane in Chinatown.

Then we all went for Yum Cha.

The "Colourful Sydney Identity" for this issue was 'Sir' Wayne Martin. He used to run the Pink Pussycat in Kings Cross and was in the thick of Kings Cross culture in its heyday in the 60's and 70's. He sure had some stories to tell.

The other person i photographed in the "crime" theme was Ian David, the screenwriter behind Blue Murder. Another man with plenty of stories to tell, i photographed him on the roof of his Glebe apartment.

The Police in Sydney

Here's some photos i took of The Police out at the Olympic Stadium the other week. Sting was in fine voice and the band had a lot of energy for old fellas.

Oddly they were supported by Fergie.

Arcade Fire (finally) in Sydney

It's been a while since i've had a serious case of nerves before shooting a gig, but they kicked in before shooting Arcade Fire at the Enmore Theatre the other week.

It wasn't that i was anxious about the photos, it was the culmination of years of anticipation for finally seeing the band play live.

I discovered the band when i downloaded the song "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" from one of those New York music blogs. I knew they had something special going on and i fell in love with their Funeral album which made my list of fave things in 2004.

Hanging about in the photo pit before the band came on, i couldn't help but take a peek at the set list. I saw it was to start with "Wake Up" leading into "Keep The Car Running", two of my faves. I was giddy like a schoolgirl.

The first three songs passed in a blur and all of a sudden us photographers were being escorted out of the venue. Thankfully we were allowed back in once we coat checked our cameras and Will and I came back in to enjoy the rest of the show.

Despite a bit of a lull in the middle of the set while they played some of their lesser known songs, they finished triumphant with a run of anthems leaving everyone beaming their way into the night.

On another note, it was a bit of a blogger clusterfuck with Sean, Amanda, Wayne, a polaroid, Paul, Angus and no doubt others in attendance.

See more photos of Arcade Fire at the Enmore Theatre or the Big Day Out.

Big Day Out 2008

And here's the rest of my Big Day Out photos.

Above is Lords of Lightning who performed with some spectacular man made lightning before Rage Against The Machine.

The guitarist from Anti-Flag gets amongst the crowd.

Régine from Arcade Fire.

Pnau get some wild strawberries dancing.

Kate Nash lets out a wail

Enter Shikari throw their hands in the air like they just don't care.

Light shines out of a Battles fro.

Enter Shikari capture the snappers attention. Except of course Matt and Josh who are busy chimping.

The crowd gets on stage to party with Bluejuice at the Lilyworld stage.

Silverchair play it straight.

Dan Stricker flails about for the Midnight Juggernauts.

The Arcade Fire belt out a big chorus.

Anti-Flag get jumpy.

Faker team bonding.

See loads more in the Big Day Out Sydney 2008 photo gallery.