Posts Tagged ‘sydney’
Photoshoot with Irina Sotnikova
I recently had the pleasure of working with the very beautiful and friendly Irina Sotnikova. A former Russian model who recently rediscovered modeling in Sydney. Now a competition winning plus size model here in Australia, it’s plain to see she’s the perfect muse for any portrait photographer.
Ready for my closeup – Matt Preston
Curves and Waves – Matt Preston
High Key Beauty – Matt Preston
Natural Beauty – Matt Preston
Utilizing some of the nearby “natural beauty” locations. The bright (and hot!) sunshine causes all sorts of shadow defeating challenges but don’t let that put you off grabbing your camera and shooting at mid-day. It’s a challenge you can overcome and even use to your advantage.
Hot Rocks – Matt Preston
Me And My Jacket – Matt Preston
Sandy Sensation – Matt Preston
Pick Your Direction – Matt Preston
At Street Level – Matt Preston
It was a great day and I’m very pleased with the results. Irina is a natural who knows how to not only work the camera but work with the photographer. It makes direction so much easier when your model instantly grasps what you want to achieve and even adds her own creative ideas.
A big thank you to Irina Sotnikova and also to my wife for assisting!
Check out the rest of the photoshoot on flickr
As always your comments, critiques and feedback are very welcome.
Cleo and Kristy photoshoot
I had the pleasure of working with two very flexible models recently who had a very refreshing and clear idea of some of the shots they wanted to try. It’s always great to work with people with vision and makes for an interesting shoot.
Blown Away – Matt Preston
Far Flung – Matt Preston
It was great to finally do a real Aussie beach photoshoot too! The weather was, as you can see, pretty damn sunny! The occasional cloud would have been nice as there’s a fair few strong shadows but picking the right angles, fill in flash and occasionally using the shadows to add depth and texture means there’s never a bad time to do an on location photoshoot.
Lean – Matt Preston
On the Beach – Matt Preston
Eye On You – Matt Preston
Eyes – Matt Preston
Crawling – Matt Preston
It was also interesting doing part of the photoshoot in a cemetary. While i’ve taken photos in such a location before I’ve never worked with models there and I’ve certainly never attempted the kind of shots we did. I’m really pleased with them and as ever it was new and challenging locations. I really enjoy on-location model shoots. They’re a great experience, a great challenge and produce some compelling results.
A huge thank you to Cleo and Kristy for their hard work!
Check out the rest below and be sure to leave a comment or two on my Flickr Photostream.
As ever your blog comments and tweets are most welcome.
Photo walk in Sydney
Within 2 days of being in Australia I got stuck right in and got out on the streets with some local photographers. It was a great opportunity to meet local people and feel much more a part of Sydney life than living in a hostel can offer you!
The photowalk took place in Newtown and the theme was portraits. Using each other as models i’m pretty pleased with there results.
Just around the corner – Matt Preston
This is one of my favorite shots. I’m a sucker for asymmetric lines and strong textures.
Time Out – Matt Preston
Life Through His Lens – Matt Preston
Grin – Matt Preston
Drained – Matt Preston
It was a fun shoot that produced some interesting results. It also gave me a chance to compare notes on travel, find out more about the city of Sydney and it’s suburbs and also have a pint or two with some great people.
The big adventure countdown
Our big traveling adventure is just 1 month away! We’re starting to bite our nails a little bit now and frantically getting everything prepared. There’s an amazing amount to sort out when you own a house you want to rent and a cat that needs a new home!
Juggling finances plays a big part along with also increasing my skill and experience working in all manner of photographic situations. I’ve been lucky enough to shoot a few weddings as well as meeting up with some great models for portrait shoots and fashion shots. I’m very pleased with my work so far and hopefully will get to fit some more shoots in before we go.
Our plans haven’t changed much. Our hostel in Sydney is booked as is our flight to Vietnam. My new Macbook Pro has arrived and i’m busy setting that up with everything I’ll need for the journey and beyond.
I’ve also updated my “creative website”. Take a look at www.mattprestoncreative.com which covers all manner of creative outlets.
I’ll be updating this site in the coming weeks as well so keep an eye out for new features and blogs.
It’s really picking up pace now!
If you live in or have been to any of the following places do leave a comment with any advice or recommendations!
Singapore
- Singapore
Vietnam
- Hannoi
- Sapa
- Halong Bay
- Hue
- Nha Trang
- Mekong Delta
- Saigon
Cambodia
- Phnom Penh
- Kampot
- Bokor Mountain National Park
- Battambang
- Siem Reap
Thailand
- Chiangmai
- Bangkok
- Chiang Rai
- Ayuthaya
- Kanchanaburi
- Ko Tao
- Phuket
- Phi Phi
- Ko Lantra
- Krabi
Malaysia
- Penang
- Butterworth
- Cameron Highlands
- Kuala Lumpur
Australia
- Sydney
- Melbourne
Progress report on travel plans
September 20th 2009. The day that everything changes. Ok that’s slightly over dramatic but never-the-less accurate. Our plans for the “Big Adventure” are coming together and picking up pace.
For those of you that don’t know, my wife and I are planning to travel extensively through South-East Asia for around 3 months before moving to Sydney, Australia for a while. This is part of my drive to become a full time professional photographer and gives me a goal or deadline to work towards, you’d be surprised how motivational that is!
So here’s a rough itinerary, I’ll spare you the impressively in-depth version my wife has created. In 3 months travelling there’s hardly a day when we’re not booked to do something or travel somewhere!
September
20th – Fly from Heathrow, England to Changi, Singapore
27th – Watch the Singapore F1 Grand Prix with friends
October
Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam and spend a few days there as well as 3 days in Sa pa, treking & home stay and 3 days at Halong Bay.
Vist Hue City, Da nang and market town of Hoi An. Also the costal town of Nha Trang where there’s amazing beaches and sea corals.
On to Ho Chi Ming City, visit the famous Tay Ninh and Cu Chi tunnels. Cai Be on the Mekong Delta for a home stay.
Cambodia
21st – Boat and bus to Phnom Penh for a few days
Visit Kampot and Bokor Mountain National Park. Then to Battambang for a 
village home stay.
A boat to Siem Reap for Angkor Wat. Hopefully be there for sunset one day and revisit for sunrise the next day.
November
1st – Bus and train to Bangkok, Thailand
A few days in Bangkok before we go to Ayutthaya and then on to Chiang Mai visiting the sticky rice factory and do a bicycle tour.
On to Chiang Rai and possible home stay b
efore a hill-tribe trek.
An overnight train back to Bangkok before heading on to Kanchanaburi. Visit the Bridge over the River Kwai.
December
On to Ko Tao for a few days before hoping over to the islands of Phuket and Phi Phi for a week or two.
On to Krabi and Hat Yai before crossing the border into Malaysia
Visit Penang and Butterworth then train to Kuala Lumpur.
Train back to Singapore then fly on to Sydney, Australia around the 19th. Spend a couple of weeks enjoying Christmas while looking for a more permanent accommodation.
Flexible plans
Obviously these plans might change. That’s the wonderful thing about backpacking and traveling for extended periods of time. You can be flexible with your plans and get a chance to go off the beaten path. I’m really looking forward to the home stays and visiting a few sites and towns you wouldn’t normally go to. The flights are booked as are the Grand Prix tickets so it’ll be a fantastic start to the journey!
I will as ever be blogging throughout our travels and beyond. I’ll also be meeting up with locals from each country, doing photo shoots with local models and also meeting local photographers. Some of which I shall interview for blogs. The main point of our travels is to build up an extensive portfolio and hopefully do some networking with local photographic agencies and publications.
More progress reports on our plans as they are confirmed. If you have been to any of these countries please do leave a comment. I’d love to hear any recommendations on places to go, hidden gems, etc.