A very moderate workload.

After a extremely hectic period in the local film industry things quieted down somewhat, but when director Matt Saville brought his feature film A Month of Sundays to Adelaide I was invited to shoot stills for a couple of weeks. The dark comedy entered the world of real-estate agents, with Anthony Lapaglia and John Clarke doing a fine job in the lead roles. It was a fun project to be involved with, working again with close friends on the crew, and John Clarke and I had an instant connection over our fellow passion for bird photography.

Matt Saville, Anthony LaPaglia and John Clarke on the set of A Month of Sundys.

Matt Saville, Anthony LaPaglia and John Clarke on the set of A Month of Sundys.

I have been plugging away at my bird photography since moving to Kangaroo Island and could not have found myself living in a better place for such a pursuit. Baudin Beach is owned by the birds and I am slowly getting together some interesting images focusing on the way the diverse species interact with each other,

Oystercatchers, Terns and the endangered Hooded Plover hanging out together on Baudin Beach, Kangaroo Island

Oystercatchers, Terns and the endangered Hooded Plover hanging out together on Baudin Beach, Kangaroo Island

A very moderate work load suited me fine allowing me to get stuck into my personal projects and studies. In my mid 40’s yoga has become a huge part of my life, but with no suitable classes or teachers on the island, I am required to develop my practice with reading and  classes on DVD’s. My busking show is also getting a re-working over this period. The circus show, with juggling, uni-cycling and free standing ladder tricks was already challenging and scary enough, so I am not sure why I decided to try and do it all on a table! My band, with girlfriend Ky, is now called Kinyeri,  from the Ramindjeri word for the iconic Yacca plants that grow all over the island. We have been performing regularly and have just released our first recordings on BANDCAMP. Also challenging me and giving me a lot of fun, I bought a little Laser sailing boat. Having grown up on yachts, getting my skills back up whizzing around my bay, occasionally joined by a pod of dolphins, and regularly getting chucked in the ocean, is huge fun and makes me, and the occasional brave guest, feel completely alive.

Fire Tree performing at Penneshaw community market, Kangaroo Island

Kinyeri performing at Penneshaw community market, Kangaroo Island.

My basket weaving alter ego Basketboy had his big day in the sun over the Easter period. The annual Easter Art Competition in Penneshaw is a big deal on the island, with large cash prizes and most of the islands significant arts community getting involved. It was a huge surprise when I won my category with a selection of small baskets that represented the various places that I had lived on the island. I sold the work, had my photo in the local paper and got lots of respect and praise from my community. The win seemed to coincide with all of my baskets and rattles being sold in the islands major gallery KI Fine Arts. The gallery is now very keen for me to keep them stocked up with my weaving’s and I have even been invited to give a weaving demonstration at the upcoming Parndana Show. I hope they can handle the excitement.

Island Weavings. A series of baskets using the variety of natural materials that I have been working with on the island.

Island Weavings. A series of baskets using the variety of natural materials that I have been working with on the island.

It has been a couple of years since I was up in remote indigenous community Ramingining, in Australia’s Northern Territory, working on the film Charlies Country. The film was released over a year ago and was very well received, including getting a best actor award for David Gulpilil at Cannes. It was another remarkable achievement, working under extremely challenging circumstances, by my friend an long time collaborator Rolf de Heer. Whilst working on the film I divided my time shooting a documentary with Rolf’s partner Molly Reynolds. The results of this were 2 feature length documentaries and a stunning web site, Still Our Country. Whilst the more experimental documentary, also called Still Our Country, was selected to screen at last years Melbourne International Film Festival, the second project, Another Country has now been include in this year’s official program, and I have been invited to attend and take part in the Q&A. I am just so proud of this documentary, my first credit as a cinematographer, and it will be interesting to see what new challenges arise from its release.

Still Our Country website.

Still Our Country website.