Wikipedia: “Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. She is also known as the earth/time mother.  In Inca mythology, Mama Pacha or Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting…She is also an ever present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on this earth.” I was thrilled to be invited to take part in Pachamama Photography Exhibition in Sydney. Opening this Thursday (26 June), the exhibition will run across the weekend in StirrUp Gallery, Marrickville.  This group exhibition will feature the work of 5 photographers, including me: images which explore the relationship between indigenous peoples in Latin America and Pachamama. I’d love to see you there.  You can find the event details RIGHT HERE. Read More
I love working with sustainable brands, creating beautiful images to help promote inspired and cutting edge products.  It’s important to me to see these positive grass-roots businesses prosper.  I recently had the pleasure of photographing for Cocoze Shoes, a fantastic new Canadian company making eco shoes from coconut fiber and natural rubber: an alternative to the highly disposable synthetic thong that we Australian’s love to wear.   Below  is a quick Q&A with Wayne Seto, Managing Partner at Cocoze Shoes.   What are the best 3 things about Cocoze Shoes? There are so many good things about Cocoze Shoes that choosing only 3 things was difficult.  So I consulted the founder of Cocoze, Pierre Thomson, for his input.  In the end we both agreed upon the following, if it had to be only 3: 1) Our shoes at Cocoze naturally and gently exfoliate the soles of your feet, making your feet soft, healthy and beautiful. 2) Coconut fiber (coir) used to make our shoes is 100% natural, sustainable and biodegradable.  Thus good for people and good for the planet. 3) Cocoze Shoes are all hand made in Thailand in a small eco-friendly factory.  No chemicals, dyes or toxins are used […] Read More
Costa Rica Wedding Photographer I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding photos for the lovely Anne and Eugene from New York. The celebrations took place at at Verdenergia, a beautiful eco retreat in Costa Rica which holds special memories for the couple. When the sunny morning turned to a rainy afternoon just before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, Anne and Eugene kept their cool and after chatting to their Sharman, Raven, decided to reschedule the ceremony to the next morning (however, this didn’t stop the reception party from continuing on time, as scheduled). Here are some shots of Anne and Eugene getting ready for the first time. Eugene and Anne enjoying the party Walking to the ceremony site the next morning Read More
Pic: Donavon Frankenreiter I had a brilliant weekend at the Greenroom Festival in Yokohama. It’s a music festival, based around surf culture. There was a whole lot of amazing artwork including live mural paintings from the Gravity Free crew. These guys are prolific, and James and I will be hooking up with them again to help get their artwork out to the world. The music was a lot of fun, and the floorboards on the huge wooden theatre were literally bouncing with thousands of dancers. Highlights for me were Dachambo, Natty, Rickie-G, Matt Grundy and Donavon Frankenreiter. I got to meet up with Matt and Donavon after 5 years, when I last saw them on their Australian Tour in 2004. It was a reminder that this is a crazy, small world – and I love it. Pic: Me sporting a new headpiece from Tokyo Designers Chaco, with some of my new friends, backstage at the Greenroom Read More
Yesterday I had an amazing day in Tokyo, meeting a whole lot of interesting young people. They have a lot to say to the world, and they choose to do say it through the way they dress. Many of the teenagers here spend six days a week at school, after school club sports and study classes. Sunday is their only day off and they choose to express their individuality through extreme dress. A lot of the costumes are based on anime characters. Animation is unbelievably popular in Japan, amongst children, teenagers and adults. Kids in Harajuku, Tokyo ‘become’ their characters once a week, and hang around other people doing the same – From cute dolls with pink hair, to gothic-like characters covered in piercings. Anything goes! -Alicia Read More
Here are some photos of around where I live, in Ichinomya in Chiba, Japan… I got up at 4:30am to get some sunrise shots on the beach. It was Sunday, and even at sunrise the beach is crowded with surfers – many from Tokyo on their weekend break – quite possibly their one day off each week. Technical: I exposed for the background of this image to silhouette the figures against the back light. By setting the white balance to flash, I enhanced the colour temperature to an even warmer tone than the true early morning light. Black, volcanic sand with tetrapods protecting the land from typhoon swells and tsunamis. People leave their surfboards, bikes and shoes lying around, because nobody steals things in Japan. I love the morning sunlight on this boat. Technical: The hazy atmosphere diffused the sun to soften the warm early-morning sunlight. I shot at a fairly wide-angle to distort the shape of the boat and enhance the surreal feeling of the image. A few of our neighbours, with rice paddies in the foreground. Japanese people tend to have different taste in housing colours, to what I’m used to back in Australia. Pink is a bit […] Read More