Good Grapes Festival
The Beat Down Crew Pres
Plump DJ’s & Dillinja @ Altar Hobart
From the stunning wilderness of the Walls of Jerusalem National Park to the sweaty walls of Altar nightclub, this was a big day on the tools.
The 3 days prior to this gig I had been in the Tasmanian wilderness with my son Albie and fellow photographer, Ryan Slater Photography . It was a great trip and time for me to bond with the young bloke. On the final day we were up at 5a for sunrise, packed our gear up and completed the 3 hr trek back to the carpark. From there it was a 4 hr drive home, a couple of hrs scrubbing myself clean and drying our camping gear. Next I ate, hugged my children, said thanks to my Mum who was looking after the kids (thanks Mum, love you) and then my wife and I headed into Altar nightclub to capture Plump DJ’s & Dillinja @ Altar Nighclub for the Beat Down Crew.
My brain was like, wtf!! One minute I’m walking through the absolute silence of a very old pencil pine forests and the next I’m pumping my fist in the air to some seriously good, and loud, breaks haha.. Man I love where the camera takes me.
Plump DJ’s are old skool, I’ve been listening to them for 20 odd years so the opportunity to meet and capture them up close and personal was a real treat. Lee Rous was a legend, really personable and easy to talk with. He worked the crowd and played a sweet set, nice work brother, nice work. The crowd were up for Dillinja’s driving DnB as well so kudos goes out to Boss Man Barry aka ‘DJ Pressed’ for his efforts and putting on another successful gig for the Tassie Crowds.
This gig was damn hard to capture because of how dark it was. I don’t like popping flash at people all night because it distracts from the event, I like to be as discreet as possible but the lights at this event were turned right down, so it was either pitch black dark or brightest of brights in the stage lights. My ISO was up as far as I was comfortable with and I really had to wait for good lighting conditions to capture the shots. Sounds easy enough but if you’ve watched the lights in a nightclub you’ll notice they change very quickly, so it’s a case of lining things up and then doing your best to capture it.
Again, I shot on the Nikon Z7ii & my 14-24mm 2.8. This time I had a 16mm fisheye and I also shot a few things with the SB-700 flash,
Thats Plump DJ’s, Stanton Warriors & Freestylers I’ve been able to capture now. 3 massive UK Breaks legends and acts that I’m stoked to have been able to look at through my lens! Thanks all for their support, I cant wait to see whats next… Yieeew.
Synergy Festival 2023
Synergy is a small-scale, bespoke, family-friendly camping music festival featuring a unique and diverse selection of artists, creators and performers nestled in a forested lakeside haven in central Lutruwita/Tasmania.
Running over 4 days I camped for 2 nights so I could capture Friday night through to Sunday morning. The sound, lighting and visuals were fantastic! As a photographer it gave me heaps to play with. A big shout out goes to the organisers, performers, DJ’s and stage crew, their skills and creativity made this a fantastic event. Then there was the crowd, such a diverse and eclectic mix of people. One thing I really noticed was how relaxed and friendly the vibe was. Every time I took someone’s picture I asked permission, normally at an event I get about a 70-80% ‘yes’ rate. Synergy came in at 100%! No one said no or was rude when I asked them for a photograph, so huge thanks to all I captured.
I had a play with a fisheye lens this time and was pleased with the results. I did revert back to the trusty 14-24mm because it suits my style, I like to get up close and person as you may have noticed. Being in such dark conditions with massive dynamic range caused by the bright lights and black of night always poses a challenge but also creates for amazing colours. I tried the flash a few times but it really makes things look terrible. Without the new ‘Denoise’ feature in Adobe LR there is no way these would look the same.
This is a collection of my favs, there was 300+ pics so I cant put them all up. If you want to see more, checkout Synergy & Wilkography FB pages.
If you want hi-res of any pics, send me a message as they are free as long as you tag my page/website in return. However, some people like to support my work and I really appreciate that as there is a lot of work involved, if this is you $25 each is the going rate.
If you have a gig/event coming up and want it covered, hit me up.
DJ Craze @Altar - Hobart
This was another sweet gig by the Beat Down Crew! Getting to meet & shoot 3 x World DMC Champions doesn’t happen every day…well, hardly ever but on this night it did. DJ Craze with support from local legends, DJ Thensum, DJ Spinfx & MC Wasp, DJ Mad & recently crowned Australian DJM Champion Max Best, there was some serious vocal and turntable skill delivered all night long.
DJ Craze’s bio - From Jamaica to Australia, Japan to Nicaragua, Craze has toured the world over, stunning audiences and DJs alike with his top-notch showmanship and masterfully genre-bending sets. By the age of 20, Craze had won his first DMC World Championship. Two more consecutive wins later, he was (and remains to this day) the only three-time winner of the world's most respected international DJ competition, the DMC World Championship - earning the attention of Time Magazine who proclaimed him "America's Best DJ."
He's toured the globe as Kanye West's stage DJ for his 2008 Glow In The Dark Tour, and founded Slow Roast Records with Kill The Noise in 2010, an imprint of the infamous Fool's Gold Records (A-Trak, Kid Cudi, Danny Brown).
2018 brought the release of his EP 'K.O.S. Knowledge of Self' on Slow Roast Records, and his Master Class routine video for Serato, 'I Got The Juice'. With remixes such as Tchami’s 'Proud' and 'Yangmei' on Vision Recordings, Craze has set his sights on furthering his work in production and putting out music under Slow Roast. Always humble and putting the performance above all else, Craze has earned his place as an international ambassador of the art of real DJing.
I’ve always loved electronic music and used to Dj when I was in my early 20’s. It was a memorable era of my youth and photography took over the creative void left when I stopped playing.
Lately I’ve had the chance to capture a few gigs and found the combo of my passion for both means I get to have a wicked night out. Not only do I get to see Dj’s and acts that I like but I can capture them doing their thing and working a crowd while I cut a few shapes on the dfloor. I’m getting older but the passion and energy is still there.
It’s bloody hard shooting in low light clubs with a heaving dance floor but I know when the drops are coming and understand what the Dj is doing. Hands up thumbs down, I get on the dance floor and get into the tunes, having a boogie with the crowd, camera in hand capturing the magic as it happens, so much fun!
The shots are fairly dark because I try not to use flash where possible, it’s a distraction to the Dj and crowd so I try to be discreet and not ruin anyones vibe.
Shooting in a pitch black environment with backlighting creates massive dynamic range and it’s super hard to capture but if you get it right the pic's have a certain style that represents the night and doesn’t show up any of them dirty corners or weird faces people pull when they are frothing to the beat on the dfloor.
Here’s a few pics from ‘The Freestylers’ & ‘Stanton Warriors’ gigs put on by ‘The Beat Down’ crew in Hobart. If you get a chance to go to any of their gigs, make sure to get a ticket because they put on a rockin party.
kunanyi Mountain Run
Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest
In the depth of winter, uncommon people gather from far and close to celebrate the dormant apple tree being awakened and look forward to the light of harvest. From alla cross Australia people head to the Huon Valley to celebrate the Wassail ritual, the burning of effigy Big Willie, music, dancing and feasting around the fire and celebrating the darkness, to mark the start of a new era and what lies ahead....
People put a lot of efffort into their costumes at this event, it makes for great photography.
Australian Wooden Boat Festival
Long Lasting Memories
Family portraits are a lot of fun because you know that you’re capturing cherished memories that will be looked upon in many years to come. I have 2 kids of my own and know how to communicate with little people, it’s all about having fun and helping people relax.
COST:
For $250 you get a 2hr session and a collection of high-quality edited pictures to keep forever. If you’re interested send me an email at ben@wilkography.com