Boudist » sydney

Sydney Writer’s Festival photos

Daniel Boud — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:52:06 +0000

I’m more known for photographing festivals of the musical variety so it was somewhat of a change of pace shooting Sydney Writer’s Festival the other week.

It was a very civilised affair, meandering between the wharves at Walsh Bay, enjoying superb Sydney sunshine and listening to snippets of writer’s discuss their work.

Kerry O'Brien and Bob Carr

Instead of the usual festival punters i’m used to it was largely frequented by women who resemble my mother. Greying baby boomers, ABC 702 listeners, Herald readers and left leaners with an affection for Kerry O’Brien.

But there was something for everyone, the food lovers had AA Gill and Anthony Bourdain, the FBi listeners had a live taping of All The Best, there was The Chaser, John Howard, David Hicks, economists, screenwriters, photographers, designers, musicians, journalists, comedians, scientists, etc…

I really only managed to skim the surface.

An astonished Mike Carlton

Laneway Festival 2011

Daniel Boud — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:38:09 +0000

A wheelchair proves no impediment to crowd surfing at Melbourne Laneway Festival

Last weekend I wrapped up one of the best photo assignments i’ve ever had as official photographer for the Laneway Festival.

I’ve shot Laneway every year in Sydney since its first time there in 2006 and i think it’s the best festival in Australia, and I don’t just say that because they have the good sense to employ me.

I’ve been the official photographer for events like this before but going on the road with a show like this is something way more special. There’s a camaraderie that only comes from those shared late nights and early flights and the familiarity bred from seeing the same crew at every show. The bands, the crew, the punters – everyone was in fine spirits. It really was a privilege to be a part of.

I photographed the shows in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth and in each city i recruited a second local photographer to shoot with me too. They were Elleni Toumpas, Leah Robertson, Nikki To, Rodney Magazinovic and Anthony Tran and they all did splendid work.

Screenshot of the Laneway Festival Photos website

One of the things i’m most proud of as a result of the tour is the building of a special website to share all the photos i and the other photographers took. The Laneway Festival Photo site presents all the photos in a large 960 pixel wide format and you can browse by various categories.

The single column wide photo format was first popularised by sites like The Big Picture which showcases exceptional photojournalism. Then last year i noticed British photographer Andrew Kendall began to publish photo mini-sites with a similar format for UK festivals like Secret Garden Party and Offset.

Those sites were built using a platform Andrew developed called Digital Photo Gallery and i could tell it was a nifty system for presenting photos online and managing them behind the scenes. It was designed and built by a photographer who understands how we work and how our work is best displayed.

It’s still invite only until Andrew polishes things up for a bigger user base but i’m hooked already and it’s something i’ll be using for more sites in the future. Maybe even my first ever portfolio site.

But anyway – on with the Laneway photos. Here’s some of my highlights, you can see way more on the Laneway Festival Photo site.

Violent Soho in Brisbane

Brisbane boys Violent Soho were the heaviest band on the bill and made for some great photos as they thrashed around and whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

A Violent Soho fan

Violent Soho in Perth

Another loud and heavy band on the bill who made for fun photo times were Les Savy Fav.

Tim from Les Savy Fav makes out with a girl in the crowd while Lindsay McDougall looks on with approval

Les Savy Fav

!!! in Brisbane

Another act with a great live show was !!! with frontman Nic Offer spending much of his time off the stage dancing with the crowd.

!!!

!!! frontman Nic Offer supported by the Sydney crowd

Two Door Cinema Club

The band who probably drew the biggest and most fanatical following of the tour was Two Door Cinema Club.

Two Door Cinema Club play in Sydney

Two Door Cinema Club in Perth

In Perth the Francis St stage was overlooked by a backpacker hostel filled with backpackers getting a great free view out their window. I thought it could make a good vantage point for a photo so i left the festival grounds and went exploring in the hostel, knocking on random doors. The first room i was welcomed by a friendly group of Irish lads, but their window looked into a tree. I tried their neighbours and was greeted by some English backpackers who had a great view over the stage.

A guest at Perth's Old Swan Backpackers Hostel gets a free view of the stage

Warpaint

Warpaint's Aussie drummer Stella Mozgawa

Warpaint

The Antlers play on Melbourne's River Stage

Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox

Yeasayer

Cut Copy

Cut Copy's Dan and Tim get cosy on the stage floor

Cloud Control on Perth's Museum Stage

Jenny and Johnny

Beach House

Foals

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis plays in the crowd

The Sydney crowd watching Foals

I can often get bored of shooting the bands and so turn my attention to photographing the rapturous fans enjoying the show.

Brisbane crowd

Adelaide crowd watching Yeasayer

Brisbane crowd watching Warpaint

Brisbane crowd watching Two Door Cinema Club

The Adelaide crowd dances to Cut Copy

As well as the crowd shots i also got some one on one portraits with punters. Laneway draws some interesting looking characters so it was opportune to get their picture.

Many more photos to see on the Laneway Festival photo site.

Big Day Out Sydney 2011

Daniel Boud — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:22:08 +0000

Here’s some of my snaps of the Sydney Big Day Out last Thursday.

I spent the bulk of my time backstage shooting portraits for FasterLouder but ducked out a few times to catch some performances for Time Out.

Like five years ago when Iggy Pop’s performance blew my mind at the 2006 Big Day Out, he did it again this year.

From the very moment he pounced onto the stage he was mesmerising. Shirtless and with more boundless energy than frontmen a third of his age, Iggy and the Stooges stole the show without needing the theatrics of acts like Rammstein.

Kim from Matt and Kim surfs the Lilyworld crowd

Die Antwoord

The act that most fascinated me on the Big Day Out bill was Die Antwoord. I tried my darnedest to get them into my studio, asking every publicist and record label rep who’d listen, but to no avail. So i wasn’t going to miss their live show.

Andrew WK

I did get to shoot Andrew WK in my studio set-up, and he was so awesome there that i just had to see his performance too. I missed his mainstage act, but he did a little solo set at the Lilyworld stage, just him and a keyboard, playing cover songs, telling stories and chatting with the audience.

Nick Cave with Grinderman at the Enmore Theatre

Like Iggy Pop, Nick Cave provided a lesson to every other younger act on the Big Day Out tour on what it is to be a frontman of a rock’n'roll band.

I shot Grinderman at their Big Day Out sideshow, and only got permission to shoot one song, but it was all you needed. Nick Cave performs like a man possessed.

Small Sydney Bars for Tiger Tales

Daniel Boud — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:53:40 +0000

It was more photographing of those small Sydney bars a few weeks ago shooting this story for Tiger Airways inflight magazine. It was my first job for them, so i was happy to get the cover and a seven page feature.

I spent a Saturday evening jumping between Sticky Bar, Pocket, The Falconer and Name This Bar. First photographing a portrait of the owners in the empty bar, then returning later in the night to capture the bar in full swing.

Photographing Food and Drink

Daniel Boud — Thu, 13 May 2010 03:50:03 +0000

Blue Eye Cod Fish Fingers with Pea Mash, Chips and House Ketchup from Bistrode

It’s been a while between food photo updates, so here’s a bit of a backlog of photos i’ve shot for Time Out Sydney recently.

This stuff makes up a large part of what i shoot for Time Out. I’d never photographed food or interiors before i started at the magazine, but it’s been almost three years now, so i’ve become more accustomed to it.

Baroque Bistro in The Rocks

Chinatown Night Market

Tokonoma - a cocktail topped with fairy floss

Tokonoma cut their own ice

Tokonoma, a bar in Surry Hills, has a nifty gimmick when it comes to the ice in some of their drinks. They keep a large block of ice behind the bar, and if you order one of their specialty shochu drinks, they’ll hack off a ball of ice to chill the drink.

Tokonomo - Shochu on ice

Eau de Vie - with a cocktail poured from a lady's leg shaker

Otto - Ravioli of finely sliced pickled beetroot with goat's curd, pistachio and horseradish

Chairman Mao

It’s not all fine diners that i photograph. There’s the odd casual suburban gem – like Chairman Mao in Kensington. It specialises in Hunanese cuisine with the dining room decked out in kitsch Mao paraphernalia.

Sashimi from Iiza in Newtown

Bloodwood

Bloodwood seems to have taken Newtown by storm. Ever since they opened the doors there’s been loads of buzz about the place.

Bloodwood

Cafe Four Ate Five

I appreciate when places have cute little details, like a stepasaurus at Four Ate Five, or dumpling directions at Miss Chu.

Miss Chu

Miss Chu - always popular for lunch

Shady Pines Saloon

Shady Pines Saloon in Surry Hills has proven so popular that on the several occasions i’ve tried to go back since i photographed it, i’ve been met with an enormous queue of people waiting to get in.

Shady Pines Saloon

Speakeasy in Bondi

Speakeasy

Sydney seems to be enjoying a bar renaissance of late. There’s intimate, character filled new bars popping up all the time. It’s a welcome revolt from the scourge of large generic sports/suit bars that characterised Sydney’s drinking scene.

Corner House

Photographing the Premier

Daniel Boud — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:09:46 +0000

The layout of the Kristina Keneally profile in Time Out Sydney

Time Out Sydney interviewed New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally in the most recent issue, which is accompanied by a photo i did with her.

It was a bit chaotic coming together. Prior to the shoot i was told we’d have to do the photo in her office. Pretty boring, but at least i could bring in a backdrop, studio lights, etc… Then a couple of days before the shoot they asked if we could move it to Sydney Opera House. Even better i thought so I started planning for that. Then the morning of the shoot about an hour before it was due to start i got a call saying the shoot had to move to the Botanic Gardens. Not as impressive a backdrop, but should still work nicely.

Because everything was changing so quickly, and i knew i’d have very little set-up time, i dumped the idea of studio lights and backdrops, and just went with my Canon Speedlites and Pocketwizards. Also along for the ride was Roxy, Time Out’s designer, who held the speedlite in a softbox.

So we arrive at the Botanic Gardens before the Premier, i suss out some good backdrops, do some tests, meet the Premier’s minder and everything seems to be going to plan. The Premier is running late though.

Her minder then gets a call and tells me the shoot has to move to her office.

I mildly grumble but just get the response, “Welcome to my life”.

So we walk several blocks up to the Premier’s nondescript office. It’s very bland. I’m told it’s because politicians get raked over the coals if they appear to waste public money on expensive office fit outs.

So we just go for a couple of simple set-ups in front of some artwork around the office. Lit by my Speedlite, held by Roxy into a softbox. All done in about 10 minutes.

Kristina Keneally in front of an artwork in her office corridor

Big Day Out 2010

Daniel Boud — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:16:08 +0000

Muse fans

Here’s some of my happy snaps from Sydney’s Big Day Out on Saturday.

Peaches with Shunda K from Yo Majesty

Muse

The Mars Volta

Lily Allen

The crowd during Dizzee Rascal's set

The Horrors

Kasabian

bluejuice

Mastadon

Vittorio Bianchi at Piccolo Bar

Daniel Boud — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:33:00 +0000

Vittorio Bianchi and the Piccolo Bar are what you’d call “Kings Cross institutions”.

In the folklore of Kings Cross, Vittorio is as much of an icon as the Coke sign, the fountain, Porky’s or the Bourbon and Beefsteak.

In an area that has changed so much, Vittorio and the cafe he runs have remained constant for about 50 years.

I shot these quick snaps on an impromptu visit a few months ago.

He’s quite a character, feigning shyness one moment, being a prima donna the next. Obsessed with celebrities and his own notoriety. Wickedly funny and full of beans.

One of Sydney’s great characters.

Breakfast on the Bridge

Daniel Boud — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:58:44 +0000

6000 Sydneysiders walked onto a grass covered Sydney Harbour Bridge yesterday morning for the first ever Breakfast on the Bridge.

Real grass turf was rolled out from pylon to pylon to cover the length of the bridge and provide a soft spot to picnic.

The grass, the people, the cows and lack of cars made for a surreal sight.

Sydney’s Apocalyptic Red Dawn

Daniel Boud — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:36:17 +0000

Like all Sydneysiders i awoke this morning to the most intense red glow beaming into my bedroom window.

A quick look out the window then a look online confirmed that a dust storm of epic proportions had enveloped Sydney.

While the comfort of bed tempted me, the photographer in me decided to head out the door and take some pictures.

Starting on Parramatta Rd, i took a cab down to Circular Quay to shoot some pictures of Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House shrouded in red dust.

There’s been no Photoshop editing of the colour of these shots, it really was that bizarre changing hue.

As you’d expect, twitter went nuts with tweets about the red morning.

Here’s some faves from my contacts:

@AndyCatch: Today’s weather: Cloudy, slight chance of the Apocalypse Now.
@inertiamusic: Props to the dude riding through the dust on his skateboard, while sparking up a durry. Lungs are for sissies.
@SimonThomsen: If anyone sees Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck & Fred Astaire wandering around Sydney today, take the hint…
@spodemonic: National Asthmatic day off work day #reddawn #bobhawke
@libby_lancaster: whoa sydney — easy on the fake tan!

Boudist » sydney

Sydney Writer’s Festival photos

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