John McRae Photography & Studio

This week saw us down in Rushcutters Bay for a jewellery shoot with Circa AD Jewellery.  It was a beautiful summer morning and we were shooting in a fab apartment over looking the water and boats.  What more could you want.  The shoot went well and we got the shot.

 

However, the fantastic stylist on the day, Mr Jonathan Turner, couldn’t help get into a few of the frames as he meticulously rearranged the set, ready for the shot.  Of course, I didn’t hesitate to keep pushing that shutter button as you can see in the shots below.  We worked with Cheryl Stevns who was our consummate model, together with Claudia Yamyang, the delightful and brilliant make-up artist.

 

There’s Jonathan……..

 

There’s Jonathan again….what’s he reading?

 

There’s Jonathan…….again!

 

and there’s Jonathan again………..

 

 

I often shoot for Slide, a cabaret performance space that does amazing food, in the throbbing heart of Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.  They create amazing performances under the direction of the talented musician and artistic director, Jeremy Brennan.

 

This recent shoot in my studio in Rozelle was, however, rudely interrupted by a four legged intruder.  The seasoned talent took this intrusion totally in their stride without missing a beat.  I’ve included some shots as proof, below.

 

Check out one of the nights at Slide (41 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, ph 02 8915 1899)

 

The intruder in question with a “Fat Man”

 

The “Fat Man” being re-positioned and tidied by the trusty stylist, Jonathan Turner.

Last week I shot for the magazine, Mindfood.  This was my second shoot with these guys.  I enjoyed the day totally.  It was a great team with hair by Dan McLennan, make-up by Andrea Black, and the fashion editor was Emma Wood.

 

We shot in the studio of Neil Frazer (just referred to as Frazer).  He’s a talented NZ born, Australian artist who shows with Martin Browne Fine Art, one of Australia’s leading contemporary commercial galleries.  It was so cool to be surrounded by all his art work and just to be in that kind of creative space.

 

I shot Frazer in his studio and I also shot a colleague, Viola Raikhel-Bolot.  Viola, although not an artist, is a top level art advisor.  We had a lot of fun and worked hard for most of the day on creating some interesting and engaging images for the magazine.

 

I’m looking forward to the winter edition when it comes out on the shelves.  Buy a copy!

 

Here’s me in the middle of shooting Viola for one of the shots……..

 

Fabulous creative space, as you can see.  The man looking very heroic is Darren Lee, Mindfood Artistic Director.

 

The very beautiful Viola in make-up with Andrea Black

 

Frazer and I having a laugh in between takes………….

I photograph regularly for a very dynamic cosmetic company called “Benefit”.  Some of you may know them.  They are unique among the big brand cosmetic companies in that they do no standard advertising (ie print, billboards, television etc).  All their marketing is social media based and they happen to be one of the leading brands in Myers.  I find this very interesting.  Their reach is directly to the general public via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc, and to the major bloggers.

 

It kind of reminds me that I should perhaps be paying more attention to the importance of social media, by blogging and posting stuff more diligently than I do.  But you know how it is…..all that takes time and when you’re busy shooting and preparing images, the last thing your thinking about is how you must post an up-date on the web.  LOL

 

Here’s some photos of a couple of examples of the initiatives they come up with in order to get the word out.  I was asked to photograph 2 unusual Yoga events.  One took place at the level of the look-out at Centre Point Tower and the other took place in front of the huge fish tank, sharks swimming by, at the Aquarium.  Who would of thought….yoga with the sharks….although they do yoga at Bondi Beach and that’s pretty close to a few sharks.

 

 

And now for the Aquarium…………

 

 

Follow them on Instagram if you think you’d like to participate in Benefits next round of “wild” things to do!

 

 

This week at “John McRae Photography” will see the continuation of filming of “Dr Martin”, directed by Wahn Sulli.

The studio space will be converted into the home and studio of one of the characters in the film, a young photographer…apparently.

In preparation of the set we see Dot, a trusty artist who has a studio space in another part of the building, working on painting the walls.  (pictured below

 

The colours are quite a dramatic change from the stark white we are all used to.   I used the opportunity to snap a few images of a group of my friends on the weekend.  We had gathered in the studio to play a round of cards.  Knowing that this colour scheme will be quite temporary I wanted to document the experience and asked them to pose.  Here is Lachlan, Jonathan, Matt and Rob.

 

Tuesday evening in Rozelle…..

Getting the lights set for the next photo shoot in the studio.

This time it’s 3 of the boys that form part of the regular entertainment at ARQ.   Little X and Ivy League are among them.

 

I always enjoy these crazy shoots.  When they walk in, I’m never sure what they will end up looking like…what costume they devised this time round….will they need the wind machine again (some of them love using that bloody wind machine).

But we always come up with something good and I always have fun shooting for the latest poster and waiting to see what the talented Richard Hughes comes up with for the final poster.

Lucky Daly Cherry-Evans, the young Sea Eagles football star, received a brand new BMW-X5 as part of a new partnership between “Royale Limousines” and the “Sea Eagles”.

I was asked to capture the moment for Royale Limousines.

I asked myself….“why don’t I get given a new car by someone?”  I was very pleased for the young footballer, who by all accounts, deserved such a reward for his on field prowess.  Daly was accompanied by his partner and 5 week old new addition to the family.

From Shanghai I found myself 4 days in Sydney….before I flew off to NYC

So the last 5 weeks I have been working and enjoying the Big Apple with a quick trip to London in between.

Here are some shots of this wonderful city……..

Well…..It’s been a while since my last post.  However, I am writing from Shanghai!

What a blast this place is, just what the doctor ordered for a change of scenery and what a change of scenery.

I am here on an art residency program sponsored by ACAF (The Australia China Art Foundation), based in Melbourne and Shanghai and run by a wonderfully inspired Chinese lady called Yashian Shauble.  I am over here in Shanghai for one month and I am teaching photography to disadvantaged kids and 3 different schools.

 

So for I am loving it!  The children, as you can well imagine, are amazing.  Even though it is, at times, exhausting working with young kids, they take so much……but they also give back so much more.  This exchange is beautiful and you never really mind.  Although, I don’t think I have the stamina to have chosen teaching as a profession.  I have a lot more respect for those worthy professionals now!!

 

Below are some shots of various classes.  I’ll keep posting as I go along.  This will be the first post of many….or so I intend!  LOL

Trust Matt to find an unconventional, more “creative” way of displaying his medal tally at the recent Commonwealth Games.

Matt Mitcham dropped in to my studio the other night…..in hand was his latest stash of medals.  The best one was the gold, of course and Matt was deservedly happy and proud of his achievements.  I decided to snap a few shots……..

Looking good!  Congratulations Matt!