Scheimpflug

I was invited last week to Launceston to do a presentation for Architecture Week 2008.  What a wonderful experience this was.  I must congratulate Alysia Bennett (President SONA) for her amazing job in putting together a fabulous program and Helen Norrie (Lecturer Architecture UTAS) for her endless energy, passion and contribution to architectural learning.  If you’d like to see more exciting initiatives by architectural students check out www.sona.com.au, the Student Organised Network for Architecture.

This was my first time at the Architecture School in Launceston and it was delightful to experience such a vibrant and creative space in action.  Surely the students in Melbourne and Sydney must be envious of this wonderful institution!  There is an enormous feeling of transparency and openness to the space that enables one to observe the activity as they move throughout the building.  It is populated with models and works in progress strung up and scattered throughout the spaces.

I chose to do a quick shoot for my presentation that represented my immediate reaction to the textural and graphic qualities that architects ‘Six Degrees’ designed to link the various spaces of this large old engineering shed.  This was not a considered shoot driven by an architectural brief, but rather a quick reactionary shoot focused around details that appealed to me.

Who is Markus Weber?

Markus is my long suffering assistant who has endured and survived years of assisting me in producing all of your work.

This is Markus

• Markus is the guy who cleans all the dirty windows … actually he cleans everything
• Markus is the guy that carries all the heavy equipment everywhere … including up and down the stairs every day to all the jobs.  If you’ve ever visited our studio you’ll really appreciate what this means.  ”Stairway to heaven” doesn’t begin to describe the ascent.
• Markus is the guy that moves all the construction bits from all the buildings that are never finished when we have to shoot them.
• Markus is the guy that runs around the green buildings at dusk to keep all the lights on
• Markus is the guy that stays up until midnight to do a pick up shot because I can’t stay awake.. 
• Markus is the guy that loans me his socks on interstate trips when I have forgotten mine (yes I know this is above and beyond the call of duty..)
• Markus is the guy that has to ask the inappropriate looking people to move out of the shots
• Markus is the guy that has to ask the appropriate looking people to move into the shots
• Markus is the guy that researches all the new bits and bobs in his own time and keeps us up to speed with what is going on in the world
• Markus is the guy that pays all the bills and keeps the office in check
• Markus is the guy that makes us lunch
• Markus is the guy that books us into flashy accommodation that promotes it services with “Spend a night not a fortune”… yes it’s glamorous!
• Markus is just wonderful, he is without a doubt the wind beneath my wings and very much an important contribution to making all of your projects end up looking as fabulous as they do.
• Markus’s biggest achievement is putting up with me!

After 8 years, I finally got around to entering some work into a photographic competition.  I am told I must do this to be regarded as accomplished and credible. Can you believe this? Isn’t it amazing that in a creative field the work cannot just speak for itself but we must be revered by discretionary panels and awarded accolades to be validated. 

The beauty of these competitions is the opportunity to see the range of talent and beautiful work from around the globe.  If you’d like to see a fabulous, diverse range of work check out the website and the winners -International Photography Awards - www.photoawards.com

I received an honorable mention for the following entries:

Bridges - Bolte Bridge Melbourne 
skylines - Melbourne Skyline
Buildings - Axa Melbourne 

It’s a shame how little spare time we are left with to enjoy the pure pleasure of the art of photography once engaging on a commercial level. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and am thankful that I get to earn a living from it, but I miss the quietness and discovery of simply taking photos for the pure joy of it. No brief, no one to please… just to enjoy.