joe_takes_photographs

Sovereignty was never ceded: the 40th anniversary of the Aborigional Tent Embassy

2012-02-14T08:03:00.001-08:00

I hope these images speak for what a truly joyous celebration of indigenous culture that was the 40th anniversary of the tent embassy here in Canberra. I don't really want to go into depth about the gross misrepresentation of the truth portrayed by mainstream media of the events that transpired later that day. If you are interested, you can read an excellent independent analysis of the events that transpired here and here. Suffice to say I hope you are a free enough thinker to realise that they were, in all likelihood, a deliberate ploy instigated by an insidious politician to eclipse the strength and pride shown by the indigenous people of this continent on the day. To detract from the fact that there is currently a death in custody rate of indigenous Australians that exceeds even that within South Africa under the apartheid regime, and that to this day, the policies of successive Australian governments continue to resemble those of an occupying colonial ruler.

Long live the indegenous homelands, and long live the indigenous activists who will not keep fighting until their sovereignty is finally recognised, and there human rights of self determination are restored.

"Close the Gap is a bunch of crap! That is why we take it back!"

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.

2012-01-24T00:32:00.000-08:00

Who knew that losing you would hurt this much. We lived in different cities and I never got to know you that well. Somehow your friendship transcended that though. The time was brief, but I hope I will always remember what you taught me, you won't have to remind me when we see each other again. I wish more than anything you were still here. I wish that I hadn't been so consumed in the pettiness of my own life of late, and dropped you a line before it was too late.

I believed in my heart that Anaplastic Oligoastrocytoma was no match for your heart. I believed that no amount of cellular proliferation could outrun you. I believed that some day soon, we would be riding BMX bikes together in the Brisbane sunshine, and this time was not this fleetingly fragile thief, that we had an endless supply of endless summers, wherein we met, and the catch ups would wait until then.

How could I have been so naive? Last I heard you were doing so well, and now your gone, and the world has lost such a light. Ah, that's why it hurts. It is not that you didn't live life while shredding it to pieces, not that you didn't fight a fight against that tumour as hard as anyone could have, it is that nobody else will ever get the privilege that was everyone's who knew you, to share time with someone wise beyond their years, someone who loved and laughed without inhibitions, and taught them to do the same.

Ride on Dave. Hope there is loads of perfectly transitioned empty pools where you are.

-your amigo Joe.

A new year, a year too late

2012-01-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Some photos from New Years day, 2011. I honestly can't believe it has been a year since we were in the sunshine at this swimming hole. The time in between was apparently eclipsed by long nights in front of a computer , erratic sleeping patterns and a drinking habit. Here I sit infront of the first year in my known memory that I haven't been a student of one form or another. No tests to study for, no papers to review, no data to process, no chapters to finish writing. I wish this new found freedom was every bit as joyful and exhilarating as I had always imagined it would be. I wish I could forget all my failings and step into this new year unencumbered. Instead, I console myself with the knowledge I did my best, and the promise to stop living for other peoples expectations, and to finally demand my own.

Hope you like the photos.

The road to Araluen

2011-12-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

Went on a great little weekender with my housemates a while back. hopin there is gonna be lots more of these times this summer!

Red Hill window

2011-12-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a pretty amazing bicycle adventure through the snowy mountains to Victoria. Gonna start working on those photos, but in the mean time, I thought I'd share with you the view from the kitchen of my new home.

Summer's here, and it feels like its about time for warm drunken nights, going on trips/riding bikes with friends and getting tattooed. Will be sure to keep you visually updated on how it all turns out. Go have fun!

This country doesn't belong to us, we belong to this country.

2011-11-23T03:26:00.000-08:00

I'm so honoured that the guys from Hoodlum Shouts wanted to use some of my photos for their new 7" Guns Germs Steel, launching this Friday at the Pot Belly ahead of their debut album early next year. The images are from an old post concerning my old man. While it's not obviously apparent, I think the tone and backdrop of that essay correspond to the subject matter of the songs really well. These guys are without a doubt, one of the most promising, musically intrepid groups to come out this town in a long while, and are hands down becoming one of my favourite bands in general. It doesn't hurt that they are also some of the most lovely, genuine dudes your ever likely to meet. As is often the case for groups of this caliber, the true intensity and energy of their music is best appreciated live, so I can only stress that you should get your ass out to Belconnen or one of their other shows in the coming days and rock the fuck out! Here is an old clip filmed by my good friend Jhat to get you psyched. See you there!

Sophie & Oskar

2011-11-12T18:52:00.001-08:00

A few photos I took for my good friend Sophie earlier in the year when she was very pregnant.

I happy to say that her and Toby are now the proud parents of one of the cutest babies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Little Oskar Allen is growing so fast its almost unbelievable, all the while chewing on empty beer cans and anything else he can his hands on, and puking into my hair whenever he gets the chance ;).

Congratulations on an awesome little human guys!

Xx

Hand.built.death.traps

2011-10-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

A few photos of my good friend Benny Chop from over a year ago now. At this stage, his hand built death traps consisted of just a few second hand frame builds he was doing for friends. We were both living together in a ratty house in Downer, with a half assembled hot rod in the garage, a few random car wrecks in our front yard, and a recycling bin that was full of coopers bottles by the end of every week. It was a good life, and I miss living with this guy. These days, Benny has just returned from a wild stateside adventure with fellow Cobra Flash, from which I thought neither would return home from alive, and I am happy to say his business is going stronger than ever. He has recently launched an online store for merch, and I believe he is taking pre-orders for fixed gear builds. Come along to the Halloween alley-cat race he is putting on this weekend for some wild costumes and a whole lot of fun, and if you like what you see, get yourself a custom, fast as shit bicycle before his shit blows up for real.
Here's to many more wild rides and nights ahead Mr Chop!

So long, lonesome...

2011-10-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

Hey! For anyone who still checks this thing, sorry its been such a long hiatus between posts. I had this PhD thesis to finish and stuff took way longer than I thought it would. This is a photo of some Jerusalem artichoke flowers I picked for a girl I loved, before I started sleeping in one hour shifts at a time and my sanity and life I once had started crumbling around me. To be honest, it still feels like I'm sort of recovering. The stress and pressure of putting so much of your life into one document and submitting it for criticism really took its toll on me and sadly, some people I loved dearly. I was still shooting intermittently though the whole fucked up, sleep deprived process, so there is a huge backlog of photos to put up here, but please bear with me if it takes a while for me to do so. Some images were taken so long ago that I have lost track of the emotions I connected to them when they were created and as such, are hard to frame in a creative context I would feel happy presenting, while some remind of such emotions so vividly, I think it may be simply too painful for me to work on them for a long while.

On next week!!!

Between my new haven of addiction, Lonsdale st Roasters, the Red Herring cafe and this-possibly the most awesome thing to happen to Canberra since Weston skate park was built- it seems there are allot of exciting developments going down recently in my city.

The above is the result of much hard work and determination of one Yolande Norris, David Finnigan and many others. Click on over here or pick up a copy of this weeks BMA mag to get a full run down on the cavalcade of artistic radical that will become Canberra in the coming 10 days, not least of which is my lovely lady George creating an evolving stop motion animation on each an every god dang one of them.

I just hope I can get enough of this thesis done between then and now to get out and enjoy/document as much of the ensuing wildness as I can, and hell, maybe even throw some of the gajillion photos currently burning a hole in my hard drive up here to make room for the new ones...

So if you live in my city, catch up on sleep, cancel other plans and get ready to immerse yourself in the ensuing onslaught of culture that is gonna be washing over your front steps. For a change, you don't even have to drive to Sydney or Melbourne to experience it, you're already fucking here!

Peace,

-bikerjoe

Tassie bt tready

2011-01-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

Riding round Tasmania on touring bicycles. Its amazing. Curretnly squating an abandoned house next to cradle mountain. This is such a beautiful part of the world. Dial up sucks. Photos soon!

Xx

-bikerjoe

Two birthdays and a storm

2011-01-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

A few photos from the tail end of 2010. Stay tuned for some from the beginning of 2011.

A man with no country (is empty inside)

2010-11-26T05:21:00.000-08:00

Was procrastinating on my favourite photography site when I found this amazing set of documentaries. Go and treat yourself to this series of superbly produced short films about sustainable, alternative living, or at least the some of the music created by the people who are their subject. Got me so excited to try and start up the same sort of thing here (minus the road kill eating perhaps). I just moved house, and not physically being in the same place as some of your best friends can really show you how easily they can slip away. I don't want to fade into the mortgage enforced confinement and mediocrity that haunts the rest of society. The sense of community I have with my friends right now is honestly the best thing I have ever had in my life or can imagine having again. Don't see why we can't keep doing this till we get old ;)

Eliya makes amazing pictures

My feet are so haggard........

Remembering the SIEV X

2010-10-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

The SIEV X sank on the 19th of October, 2001. 'SIEV', stands for 'Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel', 'X' designates it was never assigned a number. This particular SIEV was loaded with about 400 people when it developed engine problems en route to Christmas island. It was two full days until they were rescued, by which time most of the women and children had drowned. I was invited by my friend Bede to take photos of a vigil on the 9th anniversary of this tragedy last week, organised by Amnesty International. It was an experience I will not soon forget.

The vigil was held at the national memorial on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. It consists of a series of white polls, one for each of the 353 people who died, each uniquely hand painted by schools, churches and community groups around the country.

This memorial is such a hauntingly beautiful spectacle, I was amazed I had never experienced it before. I was even more amazed that 9 years later, we are still observing the same politics of fear that to this day, has prevented an official inquiry into the many unanswered questions surrounding this incident. The same politics of fear, that two weeks prior to the sinking of SIEV X, allowed the Howard government to deliberately decieve the Australian people that asylum seekers had thrown their children overboard, in an effort to demonise some of the worlds most desperate people, to appear to be taking a 'strong' stance on this issue and placate to the racist sentiments of their voting base.

As i wandered through the white poles, I wondered if Australians remembered these people when they voted for Tony Abbot and his promise to 'stop the boats' last election. I wondered if they thought the fabric of our society would be torn so completely asunder by allowing these doctors, engineers and linguists to enter our society, that is was worth their lives being lost into the depths of the Indian Ocean. I wondered if they weighed the benefits of keeping this nation state we invaded 'racially pure', against those 146 children, 142 women and 65 men. If they knew of the anguish of the husbands and fathers who had already arrived, risking everything to prepare a home for them, only to be enmeshed in the crippling limbo of temporary protection visas. If the words under all those pages of black ink would change their mind, or if they would simply black out the truth themselves.

I hope that by this time next year, on the 10th anniversary of this tragedy, we will have progressed away from viewing the desperate, persecuted people of other cultures as 'queue jumpers' and towards viewing them as human beings. There will be a much bigger vigil at the same location then, I really hope to see you there.

SIEVX.COM

Even Columbus looks better on the back seat of a bike and all my fears get washed away in a stream of blinking lights

2010-10-19T03:07:00.000-07:00

My good pal Dossi was kind enough to send me this photo I took on his 35mm.

It's of my buddy Mal shredding the gnar on his 20" bicycle, down in ol' weston creek.

I have never really felt comfortable taking action shots of this pastime I have invested so much of my life in, the images on my LCD screen never seemed to approach the sort of accurate representation of life that I look for in photographs. Riding BMX is such an indescribable, fluid experience for me. I can't really imagine my life without it. Every time I have tried to capture it with my camera in the past, I realised I was incapable of doing so.

I really liked this photo however, shooting on film seems to have given me an abstracted perspective, as if my knowledge of it's slow chemical development made me consider much more carefully my vantage point. It's the first time I feel I have come close to capturing that ephemeral feeling that makes me love these little bikes so fucking much. Its a good feeling, and I hope to experience it again soon.

That being said, the summer is comming, and I'm gonna hand this fucking thesis in and do my best to get on the other side of that lens as much as humanely possible.

Peace, and live for fun!

The Bohemian Masquerade Ball

2010-09-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

The Bohemian Masquerade Ball went down a few weeks ago at Albert hall. It was the funnest night I have had in a long while.

It started with drinking straight whiskey from an empty beer bottle, and you know the night is gonna be good when it starts like that.

Towards the end of the night, i decided to pull out my camera to try out my speedlight I never use. I think the images accurately convey how intoxicatingly intoxicated everyone was. Its amazing what a flimsy mask and a bit of Johnnie Walker can do to those pesky things we call inhibitions.

Enjoy, and if you missed out, make sure I see your ass there next year!

Tassie by treadly

2010-09-08T21:07:00.001-07:00

Me and a couple of friends are hitting the road at the end of the year to see Van Diemen's land by bike. Uni is so unbelievably hectic right that the anticipation of just how fucking awesome this trip is gonna be is the one thing that is really keeping me going.

If anyone is keen for an adventure-let us know!

http://www.tassiebytreadly.blogspot.com/

Eat to beat the devil!

2010-09-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

So my partner George found this while looking up old posters at work.

Way too funny not to put up here.

His hand is legit the same size as his head!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

¡NO PASARAN!

2010-08-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of attending two rallies in the city last Saturday.

On the eve of an election in which Australia faces the very real possibility of an ultra conservative government being elected, it was heartening to see so many people on the streets to show their resentment to the despicable, racist and homophobic agenda of disinformation which both major parties have engaged in over the previous weeks.

The first was organised by the ACT Refugee Action Committee and the second by Equal Love Canberra.

I cannot express the despair I feel when I see a political party, openly proclaiming to 'stop the boats' as one of their major election promises. Usually, the racism that is so deeply rooted in our society has at least some pretense of concealment.

I could write at length about the absurdity of such a claim, how out of the 170 000 migrant visa granted in 2008-09, only 1.5% were for onshore asylum applicants, of whom a third were 'irregular maritime arrivals', how the mechanisms of disinformation and ubiquity of corporate owned media has led to our society being controlled in a way to which it is completely oblivious, but really, John Pilger says it much better in his 2009 Sydney Peace Prize acceptance speech.

If you have time to do anything before making up your mind who to vote for on Saturday, I plead that you make time to watch this. For an Australian who is an internationally renowned author and documentary maker, and someone who has been named International Reporter of the Year, and won the United Nations Association Peace Prize and Gold Medal, I had never heard of him until a few short months ago. Funny, isn't it?

On July the 19th, 1936, Dolores Ibárruri implored her country to fight against the military might of a fascist bourgeoisie, who resented a progressive democratic movement of people that sought to remove their privilege and distribute their wealth more equitably.

While we don't face the horror of war in the coming days, I feel we do face the real prospect of reversing years of progress that has been willed by the hard work, sacrifice and determination of courageous, progressive Australians. We face an enemy that is much more subtle and subversive.
The only way societies progress year by year, decade by decade is, because people will them to. Hemingway and Orwell understood this when they risked their lives in a civil war that was not their own, they understood that the borders of our nation states should not be the borders of our conscience. I hope you do as well when you go to the polling booth tomorrow. Maybe i'll even see you there if you vote at Turner school, ill be the guy in orange, handing out these.

At the start of the Equal love rally, my DSLR gave up the ghost, so i shot the rest on my film SLR. Thank the lord for good ol' 35mm. Enjoy!

Here's Looking At You Kid

2010-08-15T18:57:00.001-07:00

These are some 35mm prints from a point-n-shoot HANIMEX 35D that my girl George got me right after we started seeing each other, about 2 years now I guess.

I have been slowing using up the one roll of film that was in there when she gave it to me the whole time.

It was pretty overwhelming to see images that I didn't even remember taking, and have the associated memories flood back into my mind all at once. It also had a way of condensing the slow meanderings of the last two years of my life into one envelope of prints, simultaneously crystallizing within my mind the changes in myself, or lack thereof, just as rapidly. I would recommend a similar exercise to any one who feels in need of a little self reflection.

Please enjoy the images below, and while your at it, click on over to this amazing Zine created by the girl who is their principle subject. Then grab one before they are all gone!

Xx

*George photo.

We'll dance like nobodys watchin with one fist in the air

2010-07-13T02:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes me and my friends bring the party with drag and vegan cupcakes.

...What...

P.S. Against Me!, I wish you could have just quit while you were ahead.

Focus a moment, nod in approval. Bury your heads in the bar codes of these neo-colonials.

2010-07-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

Friday before last was one of the most full on days of activism I have had in a long while. It started with getting up at dawn and going to the airport to welcome politicians to our fine capital, then dashed to work to cobble together the letter below, printed out a whole bunch for people to sign, and headed to the legislative assembly for the protest actions shown below.

The first was to do with the same issue as above, ie, the killing of around 2000 kangaroos because they were 'overpopulated' (reads: in the way of development applications). As I type this this killing has concluded. The slow and painful death by myopathy of around double that number of at foot Joey's however, is sure to linger on for the next 3 months or so. If you have some spare time to search for these vulnerable babies lucky enough not to have their skulls crushed or decapitated (as is standard Australian code of practice), please contact Animal Liberation manager Bernie : 0427 777 044 or by email veganavenger@yahoo.com.au

Please feel free to copy the letter below or to write your own and email it to our first female Prime Minister. This unnecessary killing of our wildlife will continue, year after year, unless we demand a better alternative (of which there are several-albeit slightly more expensive).

The second protest action, organised by Workers Solidarity Canberra, aimed to support and spread awareness about the bus driver strike action on the same day, as part of a wider industrial campaign for a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement that doesn't reduce hard-won pay and conditions. The detrimental changes to drivers working condition include compulsory weekend shifts without penalty rates.

To me, the right to withhold your labour is fundamental to living in a free society, and more importantly, is the most effective means to bring about positive social change with non-violence. If you've never heard the phrase 'labour is entitled to all it creates', type it into google and see what you find. This protest to me represented the tip of the huge ugly iceberg that is our society, and how it functions on a fundamental level to create classes of elites and the exploited.

If you'd like to know more about Workers Solidarity Canberra, email them at : wsncampaigns@gmail.com

While your at it, feel free to email ACTION management and let them know you support their workers, not their profit margins:
action@act.gov.au

Thanks to everyone who came to both protests, especially to Jo and Ben for doing such a great job of organisation. Big thanks also to the Phoenix bar, for the complementary 'bartenders breakfast', it was delicious. It was great change to be marching and yelling about something non-animal related for a change, especially in such good company.

Peace, love and solidarity.

-bikerjoe.

Dear Julia,

I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations in succeeding Kevin Rudd to become the first female Prime Minister of Australia. What a historic day for women and what an historic day for this country. I’m thrilled by my anticipation of the positive change you will affect in the governance of this nation in the coming weeks and months ahead.

As part of your arduous journey to be the first female leader of this country, I know that you have experienced your fair share of discrimination and marginalisation. It is for this reason that I write to you in the hopes that you may be able to intervene in a terrible act of discrimination and violence that is happening right now, mere minutes away from capital hill. I refer to the cull of 2000 kangaroos being performed by the ACT government at the moment, which will unequivocally cause and the slow and painful death of an equivalent number of at foot Joeys. Still dependant on their mothers for survival, it is inevitable that these vulnerable animals will flee in terror when they are shot, to die either by starvation, dehydration or predation.

Julia, like racism, sexism, heterosexism, albeism and other forms of discrimination, speciesism is a form of violence. We would never allow such an intolerably cruel death to be delivered to other human beings or even to other species of non-human animals that we feel more empathy for, such as cats and dogs. Problems of overpopulation are a direct result of the city of Canberra’s rapid expansion over the previous years, restricting nature corridors and artificially captivating these animals, which have lived in harmony with the Australian landscape for thousands of years. It is our fault that their populations have reached unsustainable levels, and we owe them a better solution than culling them and leaving their babies to starve.

I have not cared to address the ACT Chief Minister with these concerns, as John Stanhope has made his position clear in previous years. Culling is the most convenient and cheapest policy available, and he is determined to continue following it. Julia, a large group of compassionate citizens within Canberra are being ignored and marginalised just as surely as its wildlife is. Please speak out against this injustice as one of your first actions as the new Prime Minister, and congratulations once again.

Yours sincerely,

YOUR NAME

YOUR ADDRESS.

Little Noah

2010-06-18T02:10:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Chris & Karen.

Clovelly2010xPentaxK1000

2010-06-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

These are some images from the first roll of film I have ever developed. They're from a trip I took to Sydney at the start of the year to visit my family. We had some time to kill while we were waiting for my sister, so my folks took to me to Clovelly to see their old flat, the church where they got married and this crazy huge cemetery nearby.

The film gave all the colours a really 'washed out' look which is awesome. It's incredibly fun taking photos and not being able to see the image straight away, so expect to see allot more stuff captured on 35mm, I have about 5 rolls sitting on the shelf, but as its B&W, i really want to develop it myself. More fun that way. Can't wait to see all the things I have forgotten about stored away in those little canisters!

-J

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*Mumsy photo.

We're all in this thing together

2010-06-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Things have been kind of busy on the home front; my girlfriend just moved in with me and concurrently quadrupled the number of pets at my house. My housemate also just had a beautiful baby boy which I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time a little while ago.On top of this, my university is going to stop paying me to attend in 2 and a bit months, so things are kinda stressful at the moment.

These photos reminded me that everyone has their own shit to deal with, and that the best way to get through difficult times is to share them with loved ones and allow them to help you through it.

Hope you like em'

AmigosOfDave

2010-05-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Amigos of Dave Jam went down last weekend which was an absolute blast! With 4 months to go on this PhD thing, I don't have allot of spare time up my sleeve at the moment, but I am so glad I went. It was an awesome couple of days and almost 15G was raised for my buddy Dave who is undergoing cancer treatment at the moment. I'm not sure I have witnessed many things as inspiring as this many people taking such positive, collective action for their friend. It was so fucking awesome.

There aren't many photos of the actual day due to me being pretty flat out helping to run the food & drinks tent/painting donation buckets etc, but I manged to get a few more the next day when we had a big get together to celebrate and enjoy the latest renovation of Harry's backyard =).

Fellow hessians Russel and Tyson also got behind my lens for allot of that day, so go head on over to the Backbone site for some more of the shredding the gnar that went down which should be up very shortly!

Big thanks go out to all the Amigos: Naomi, Rick, Harry, LC , MC and the rest of the Bris crew for all the hard work over the last 3 months that made this weekend the success and kick ass time it was!

Peace and much love.

I'll see all you wonderful people again at the end of the year.

-J

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*Last three photos of yours truly by Mr Rick Hayward.

My fathers house, shines hard and bright. It stands like a beacon, calling me in the night.

2010-04-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

I guess I owe allot of things to my dad. Not least of which is a healthy appreciation of Bruce Springsteen =)

These photos are from a walk we talk together when I was visiting my parents near their home in Bundaberg. I'm not sure whether it was the light that was falling as the sun went down, the storm brewing overhead, the kind only found that close to the capricorn, or a combination of both, but I instinctively reached for my camera as i was heading out the door.

I felt sort of bad for possibly ruining this time we had together by shoving my lens in his face, but photography for me is a way of remembering and cherishing such times in my life, the times that may never come again even though you don't realise it at the time, and I hope he understood that.

Anyways, I'm so glad i did.

The sky and electricity in the air was pretty amazing. It was the best backdrop I could of hoped for to take photos of the person who has had such a big role in making me into the person I am. The person who I realise now, worked long hours at two jobs allot of my childhood, just so our family could have everything it needed.

I think these photos will mean allot to me for the rest of my life. I hope you like them.

The world shines as i cross the macon county line

2010-04-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

Just booked my tickets to go up to a BMX jam organised to raise money for the cancer fund of my buddy Dave, who i did a post about a while back. The excitement of heading up north again made me realise that I still had some photos kicking around from the last time I was up there before Christmas.

Going through these only added to the excitement I feel about seeing all these wonderful people again. It is sure to be a great day for a great cause, with old friends and ones I haven't met yet all showing their solidarity for a friend in need. If anyone is down for an adventure, let me know!

people.as.places

2010-04-08T23:34:00.000-07:00

Some of my favourite portraits that I have taken.

A few of them have been up here before, but I wanted to throw them all in the same place.

Have a bloody great weekend!

-J

Because I believe that one can only relate to another living creature by completely destroying it.

2010-03-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Some photos from the opening season of the 2010 duck hunting season in Victoria.

Their are many reasons why so many people felt the need to protest the continuation of this barbaric ritual, not least of which being the massive reduction in native water bird populations following the 2009 bushfires. It was heart breaking to see so few birds in the sky. The fact that the Victorian government felt it acceptable to sanction the killing of these species when their gene pools are at such critically low levels, is utterly reprehensible from any perspective.

The principle reason that compelled me to spend an 18 hour round trip in a van punctuated by severe sleep deprivation however, is the simple and firm belief that it is morally wrong to kill in order to fulfill a human need so trivial as 'recreation'. I wholeheartedly believe that every world problem of suffering, repression, fear and injustice, is at its source, a problem of violence and that its celebration has no place in our society. I believe just as strongly, that the most effective method of countering such problems is peaceful protest and non-violent civil disobedience. It was an amazing to experience how effective this could be first hand. Despite the the tens of thousands of dollars it cost the Victorian government to provide police 'protection', it was immediately apparent that our physical presence was saving lives. As soon as we came onto a wetland populated by hunters, the killing stopped. By breaking an unjust and immoral law (being in the wetlands before 10am without the 'intention to kill'), we were instantly saving the lives of ducks, and putting massive economic pressure on the state to change its laws.

Feel free to contact Victorian Premier John Brumby here and let him know you think should stop listening to the violent minority known as the Shooters Party (who give their election preferences to Labor) and start listening to more than 80% of Victorians, who want to see this practice banned.

*Raezor photo.

Keeps Me Searching....

2010-03-13T17:34:00.000-08:00

The 'biker' in the URL above there comes from my life long obsession with riding BMX bikes. Almost as synonymous with this lifestyle as cut up shins, ripped jeans and grease stains, is the constant search for and building of what we BMX kids know as 'trails'.
Trails are basically what most people would term 'dirt jumps' with some important distinctions. Namely, that they are almost always shrouded in an air of secrecy, and a sort of reverence that surpasses almost all other aspects of our lives. They are hand built with more blood, sweat and tears than I suspect, most have even approached in their lifetimes, and once constructed, are maintained and manicured with more diligence than our own bedrooms. They are more than just a place to ride your bike, they are your own creation, and an oasis from the daily shit storm of life. Unlike skateparks, often filled with annoying kids on those fucking razor scooter things persistently asking if you can do a backflip, trails are always serenely deserted, apart from you and a small group of your close friends. Custom built, exactly how you want them, one giant piece of flowing sculpture art that is a conduit for a level of enjoyment and DIY fun unparalleled in my experience.
(No) thanks to ACT Parks and Municipal services, are old slice of paradise was flattened by a bulldozer to ensure that the government could not be sued by some kid breaking his neck on them and to generally just suppress any form of youthful, creative expression in this city. Since then, almost two years ago now, there has been a long search for a suitable replacement. These are some of the things I've seen on the way.

Sculptures by the sea.

2010-03-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

Went to check the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition in Bondi at the end of last year.
English tourists don't have much path etiquette.
True story.

The Car is on fire (and there is no driver at the wheel).

2010-03-03T00:28:00.000-08:00

Some photos from the 'walk against warming' protest on capital hill last year.

Gonna go get tattooed. FTW.

my♥4Uis98%pure

2010-02-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

I guess my girlfriend got sick of me wailing when I would sing and play guitar, so she got me some singing lessons as a birthday present almost over a year ago now. Anyways, at the end of last year, my singing teacher organised a concert for all of her students to perform in. It was pretty awesome. People from all ages and experience overcoming their inhibitions to sing infront of everybody else. I even manged to not fuck up the Mountain Goats song I played and sang on guitar too bad =). If i ever find the inspiration to write some songs, I might make this sort of thing a more regular occurrence for me. It was so fun.

Everbody will be treated all the same.

2010-02-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

Had the pleasure of hanging out with my twin cousins from Portland when they were visiting Sydney at the end of last year.

Going through these photos was bittersweet for me, as I now know they were confronted with tragedy almost immediately when they got home. I feel so lucky to have been able to spend this time with them before their world got turned upside down. I hope these images remind me to live life to its fullest everyday, to enjoy every drop of happiness while it is there, and above all else, to remember the loved one we have lost.

Laggin'

2010-01-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of updates of late. Finishing this PhD thing has really been kicking my ass of late.

I have been taking a shit load of photos this summer, but some of them are sort of continuing projects that I don't want to put up here until I feel that they are finished. I have slowly been going through the back log on my hard drive and deciding what I want to put up now and what to save for later.

I have also been trying my hand at shooting film lately which has been awesome, but naturally has allot slower turn around from camera to blog.
Anyways, here a few random photos that I liked but didn't really belong to anything in particular.

Hope u like em'!

Also! Be sure to get along to my friend Stella-Rae's Zine launch and get your hands on this quality publication! Some band shots of mine from a while back will be gracing its pages along side a bunch of amazing work from other Canberra creative types (actually i haven't seen any of their stuff, but if Stella rates it, its sure to be fucking awesome! So fucking come party!=)).

http://heaintgotnofriends.tumblr.com

eight years old and running with, a dime in my hand, to the bus stop to pick up a paper, for my old man.

2009-12-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

Up in QL with my family for the holidays and was really excited when my mum pulled out an envelope of old photos my Aunte had sent my dad after my grandmother died. I never got to meet my grandfather, and because my grandmother lived in the states, I never really got to know her that well before she passed away. It was fascinating to look through all these old photos while my dad told me the stories behind them.

Hope you enjoy going through them as much as i did and that ya'all have a bloody great Christmas. Peace and love.

May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

2009-12-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

A good friend, a truly inspirational photographer, and one of the wisest individuals I know left on an extremely important journey today.

In early 2008, David Montoya was diagnosed with brain cancer and immediately underwent surgery to remove the associated tumour. Since this time, and throughout a second surgery in the past few months, the strength and resilience of Dave's spirit has truly astonished me. To say his dedication to beating this typically incurable disease is awe inspiring, would be an understatement.

After researching his condition to the very edge of its scientific understanding, Dave has left for the United States of America in search of treatments that are unavailable, or just plain illegal in this country. Having an insiders view on the field of medical research, I have to say i completely respect and support his decision. One of the downsides of relying on pharmaceutical companies for cures to diseases is simply, that they are companies. Above all else, they have a responsibility to their share holders to make profit. This often results in extremely effective and safe treatments being withheld from the wider community, purely for the reason they are difficult to patent and market profitably.

Please read more about his situation and assist him with the financial difficulties of this trip in any way you are able. Then go and treat your eyes to the incredible pieces of art produced by his camera lens.

AmigosofDave

OneSelfCreate

Peace and much love Dave.

May this road bring you the horizon which you seek.

-bikerjoe

Don't let them tell you who you cannot love

2009-12-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

If you know me well, and are reading this, you might know I identify as a Catholic, so forgive me if this posts seems a little hypocritical. I have always believed in the existence of a God, and I most probably always will. Even before any external organization could have had influence, I innately understood that there was a common creator of everything and that it loved it all so much, it was something beyond my comprehension. It is one of the earliest and most consistent memories of my childhood.

That being said, I don't believe that members of any organization in a free society must follow blindly the wider views held by that organization as a whole, nor should they. It is a behavioral trait that seems to me all too common within most large hierarchical and authoritarian systems in society, and this one that I happen to belong to in particular.

If you know this fact about me, you would almost certainly also know that I'm currently finishing a PhD in Chemistry. After seven years, inspiration is in short supply and thus, I am presently reading the biography of the late Linus Pauling in the hope of receiving some. The only sole recipient of two separate Nobel Prizes, one for chemistry (1954) and one for peace (1962), he was a brilliant scientist and a dedicated political activist. A firm advocate of a mandatory scientific education from the earliest levels, he believed this would not only benefit the scientific community, but the world community as a whole. If people were taught to approach problems scientifically he reasoned, with a methodical thought process free of preconceptions and prejudices, they would come to the best possible resolutions to the problems they faced. Weighing all possible outcomes and facts equally, they would be much less likely to partake in the irrational and destructive behaviour that is so becoming of our nature, say for example, resulting to violence in order to resolve even the most minor differences and disagreements. On the occasion of receiving his first Nobel Prize, his memorable acceptance speech included the words:

“When an old and distinguished person speaks to you, listen to him carefully and with respect---but do not believe him. Never put your trust in anything but your own intellect. Your elder, no matter whether he has gray hair or has lost his hair, no matter whether he is a Nobel Laureate, may be wrong. The world progresses, year by year, century by century, as the members of the younger generation find out what was wrong among the things that their elders said. So you must always be skeptical—always think for yourself.”

I would have to say that this trait is one of the most unexpected and rewarding things to have come from my own education in science yet. When you look at the current legislation in Australia preventing gay and lesbian couples from being legally married objectively, if you strip away all the right-wing bullshit, opinions and hand waving, all you are left with are the same conservative prejudices. The same fear of things you don't understand. The same distrust of anything different to yourself. They are the same things that lurk in the heart of every racist, sexist and bigot. They are things which I am ashamed to say, have dwelt in my own heart more often than I care to remember.

When I went out and took to the streets with these people to take the images you see below, it confirmed beyond any doubt what I have felt in my heart for so long. That they are not very different from myself at all. That if this god I believe in created them, why would it bother doing so in a way that was inherently displeasing to itself? That myself and a society cannot possibly hope to follow the commandment "Love one another as I have loved you", if we don't grant each other the same personal freedoms. That the day my church stops pursuing the legislation of its ridged and antiquated morality, it might start to again introduce people to the unconditional love of god, instead of driving them away.

Lets grab life by the throat, and then live it to pieces.

2009-11-19T02:13:00.000-08:00

These were my entry for this years National Youth Self Portrait Prize. I took them last summer with my girl and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had. Breaking into a pool in the middle of Melbourne, sneaking under the surveillance cameras and proceeding to loose each other in the murky blackness intermittently shattered by the blinding flashes. Sometimes the best thing about photography is the crazy situations it gets you into and the people you share them with.

The creeping feeling of excitement that I can't seem to suppress about just how awesome this summer is gonna be made me remember I had never gotten around to putting them up here. Really hope you like em. Get ready to tell work to get fucked, plan a trip and loose the failings and regrets of this year on the road.

Blatant shots of my balls below.

Sorry bout that.

Fixed

2009-11-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Had just realised that me eating pancakes for breakfast/just generally being half arsed had caused me to totally miss the gay and lesbian rights rally I had planned to shoot, when I ran into some friends on their way to a fixed gear race.

After almost killing myself trying to keep up with them on my BMX on the way to the event, what I found was not so much a "race", as a good excuse to drink beer in the sun and have some fun riding bikes with friends while hopefully meeting some new ones.

Big thanks to the organisers of this event. I definitely had a good time, and judging by the globally exploding popularity of this form of bicycle riding, I can only hope to see about 10 times more dudes there next time with kombies and eskies full of beer looking for a good time. Hell, maybe we can even field a couple of polo teams?

...like screaming at a wall....

2009-11-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

 

So what did you get up to on "Family and Community" public holiday? Me and some friends stood in the baking sun and got abused by drunken bogans in VB dresses. It was AWESOME.
Hope you like the new layout. Bigger photos are better.
Peace

HORSE RACING KILLS

If we unite, we can take them (oh baby! wouldn't that be nice?)

2009-10-15T00:09:00.001-07:00

I guess you would call Floriade a "spring" festival. Its one of my favourite things about this city. Basically a massive display of flower beds for the public's enjoyment, free of charge, for a whole month. Once upon a time, I believe the public were even free to collect a quantity of bulbs for their own gardens upon its conclusion.

As seems to be the case with every communal event that is unprotected however, the past couple of years have borne witness to the slow, but inevitable slide into commercialisation. The flower beds have steadily receeded in size and number, the billboards have gotten bigger, the opening hours shorter. You almost instinctively reach for your wallet now when filling through the turnstiles. As is usually the case, the beneficiaries of such changes are highly concentrated and powerful, whilst the benefactors in the community are dilute and disorganised. The shift from what they once felt a part of, to something to which they are merely spectators is so slow, it is almost imperceptible.

I guess that's why I got so excited when I heard about a pillow fight that had been organized in the context of a "flash mob", to be held on its grounds on the closing day. Although the term was unfamiliar, I was soon educated with a quick tour of YouTube. People, mostly complete strangers, secretly organise some form of mass action; freezing motion, spontaneously breaking into song, starting a mass ninja fight-whatever. Then they disperse, just as suddenly as they began, like nothing happened. Although I'm sure the attraction to this activity differs from person to person, I realised that mine was actually the attraction itself. People were willing to organise for a common purpose, and I wanted to be a part of it. I mean, everyone knows pillow fights are pretty much the awesomest fun ever, but the fact that it was at an event I could feel sliding into a black hole of this city's conservative apathy was even better.

I hear and see allot of people bailing on this place because it is so "boring", because there is so much more "to do" in other cities. I have realised that most of the time what they mean is, there are distractions in other cities that they don't have to put any effort into creating, that they can walk away from whenever something better catches their eye, that are with people whom are intentionally disconnected from any sense of unification. That a place in itself cannot be boring, but is made that way by the people that inhabit it.

While it may have been the lingering influence of the previous nights booze, this afternoon felt like one of the most magical I have had in a long time.

Hope you like the images.

.peace.love.solidarity.

canberraflashmob

If I fall back down, you're gonna help me back up again If I fall back down, you're gonna be my friend

2009-09-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

A few photos of my housemate Benny in our backyard.
A few years back during my undergraduate, I was so pissed off about the lack of rental accommodation in this city that I was keen to just live in my car for a few months.
As soon as this guy heard, he called me and forced me to accept a room at his folks house, rent free, until I could find a place. I was still pretty new to this town at the time, and it was easily one of the nicest things a friend had ever done for me.
Fast forward to the present, Benny is still one of the most genuine guys I know, and still gets up to the craziest, drunken shit imaginable before going to work the next day on two hours sleep like its nothing.

I wouldn't want to be living with anyone else.

Talkin S**t About a Pretty Sunset

2009-09-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

Tear us up and stuff us down the drain.

2009-09-06T00:21:00.000-07:00

YokoOhNo

Collapse

Bit light on the Collapse photos due to me getting my recently broken foot stomped on halfway through the first song. I was kind of expecting it, but the ensuing agony sort of made it hard to concentrate after that. Sorries.

Still holdin on, to all those dreams, we didn't know were done.

2009-08-31T00:48:00.000-07:00

Its weird how when you don't visit a place for a while, its is pretty shocking that things aren't exactly how you left them. Distance has a way of accentuating the effects of time, and traveling has a way of making you realise just how much its passing has changed yourself.

One more more trip up north to the land of XXXX and cane fields.

Hope you like em.

Additional photography by george

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way

2009-08-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

thecove

2009-08-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

If you see a film this month, please make it this one. Easily the best produced, most powerful documentary I have ever seen. Incredibly moving and packed full of edge-of-your-seat suspense.

Opens at Dendy Cinemas Canberra 20th of August. Screenings at other locations can be found here.

takepart.com/thecove

salt&mowhawks

2009-08-03T01:12:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine gets a badass haircut.

Sampling the Future

2009-07-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

My lovely girl George has entered in the AGDA annual poster competition.
So if you are RADICAL and like her design then go vote for it!
Photography by yours truly.

Her and some friends are also gonna be puttin on a super swanky art show at The Front this week so do come hang out and be arty.

Oh.......and I just broke my ankle so im not sure how much photography is gonna get done in the next few weeks.
Little bikes+no brakes=fun+danger

when you sleep you can't feel the hunger

2009-07-12T03:51:00.001-07:00

Its not often I shoot photos of dudes with 6 inch abdomen wounds and dudes dressed as superheroes within meters of each other.

Sydney is fucking gnarly.

FOOD NOT BOMBS

fog

2009-07-09T01:50:00.001-07:00

...every fond memory of childhood that i know....

2009-06-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

I always find it weird that when I am taking photos, I hardly ever realise my motivations for doing so at the time. Yet, when I see the images weeks or even months later, my reasons for documenting that particular scene and moment in time are suddenly clear. I guess it's one of my favourite things about photography.

I stumbled across these images after an unknown period of them collecting dust in my hard drive and immediately remembered where I was when I took them, what I was feeling that night, and for the first time understood why I felt like getting my camera out that night.

Next to the skate park where I hang most days, there is basketball ring and a small slab of concrete on which to which to play. I realise now that I was interested to see a group of dudes my age that shared something in common and was bringing them together. We were both drawn to the same place by a love of completely different activities, yet that had most probably been a constant in all of our lives since we were kids.

Riding my BMX bike has kept me going through the isolation of being a teenager, eventually led me to this city and to a group of some of some of the best friends I have ever had. I guess I just wanted to capture a group of guys who had gotten to the same place, but had follwed a different path.

....likefoxes

2009-06-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

From their show at The Front a couple of weeks back.
Although these photos make them look pretty metal, I assure you their music is filled with some of the most delectable and technical guitar work I've heard in a long while, effortlessly complemented by soothing vocals and intricate drums.

Click the click. Your ears will thank you.

http://www.myspace.com/wearelikefoxes

the rockets red glare in a most disgusting triumph

2009-06-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I really understand the pleasure of seeing stuff explode, I do. In the place were I grew up, this and taking far too easily obtained drugs, were two of the main pastimes available to ratty kids like me.

I think there is a difference however, between the occasional kid letting off a soda globe in the bush, and having an institutionalised weekend in which anyone over the age of 18 can legally obtain fireworks over the counter and let them off wherever the hell they feel like. Such is the case in the city where I live. Canberra is the only city in Australia where fireworks can be obtained without a permit or purpose, and every June long weekend, the suburbs are interspersed with the sounds of explosions every night.

The reason this concerns me, is that adorable guy you see above there. The problem is, he doesn't know the explosions shattering the silence that weekend are not the product of bored kids and drunk 20 somethings with nothing more creative to occupy their time. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I would think we were getting bombed, I would probably feel the same as him, which incase you couldn't tell, is scared fucking shitless.

Every year, hundreds of family dogs and cats in Canberra, run away from their homes in an attempt to get away from the loud, disorientating noise. There have been several past instances in which dogs have literally hung themselves trying to get away from the terrifying noise. Many others are hit by cars. The rest generally end up at animal shelters like the RSPCA. Those who aren't lucky enough to have an owner who gives two shits about them, are put on death row within a few weeks.

It makes me pretty sad to realise this information is common knowledge, yet this practice continues like clockwork every year. For all our talk of being an advanced compassionate society, this seems to me like just another example of peoples inability to think of the needs of others, both human and non-human, before thinking of their own. If we can't sacrifice a cultural practice that when it comes down to it, has its root in a celebration of imperialism and warfare, for the sake of companion animals we interact with and care for every day, how can we make sacrifices for equally intelligent animals, with the same capacity for friendship, that end up on most peoples plates at dinner time, but with whom we implicitly and intentionally have nothing to do with?