Justin Oh Wedding Photography

Last night, a whole bunch of us Sydney photographers got to meet with the legendary Chase Jarvis for a social meet at the Blue Hotel in Woolloomooloo. A few guys actually flew in from Queensland and Canberra to meet him! Australia being in a continent of our own, we hardly get any famous or world renowned photographers stopping by to give a talk, workshop, or in Chase’s case – an informal social meet. With just under 48 hours notice on Facebook and Twitter, he pulled a massive crowd of fans. When I saw his post, I thought this may be too good to be true until I reread it several times haha!

It was both truly inspiring and an eye opener to hear the man talk, his experiences on the creative and production side of things, his recent Sandisk campaign in Queenstown, the brutal reality of photography when it comes to clients and using passion for photography as our driving force.

Halfway through the meet we got kicked out of the bar as they were closing. I thought the meet was gonna end but then Chase said, “Let’s crash the lobby!”

We continued on and that’s when the conversation got down and dirty with the true reality of earning a living out of photography, the perceived value of one’s work from one person to another, the subjectiveness of ‘art’, and taking on jobs not because of the money but for our passion for photography . Hearing Chase, Scott and Chris share their experiences put a lot of things into perspective for me.

On becoming a successful photographer, Chase’s answer was STAMINA – to keep on shooting, continuously developing your style and perfecting your art which differentiates yourself from the rest.

Speaking of stamina, this guy is a marathon runner. Extremely sleep deprived working on the campaign, riding in a helicopter for more shots just several hours before, then flying into Sydney later – we still got to hang with him for 5 hours until 2am! I don’t know how he does it but I was getting tired just standing!

This goes out to Chase and his crew, thanks so much guys for taking the time to connect with us, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experiences and for a really great time last night! I’m sure all of us would love to have you back again so give us a yell next time you’re down under!

If you like what I posted here, I highly suggest you visit his website at http://www.chasejarvis.com and his blog to checkout the recent behind the scenes video from his latest ad campaign – super interesting stuff! Go look him on Facebook and Twitter too!

If you’re not convinced, checkout this video of Chase and the crew working behind the scenes. Awesome stuff!

Also, I almost forgot to mention this – Chase said to me that he liked my barcode t-shirt! Not once but twice too! Good times!

Shooting a wedding on film has been an idea I’ve always wanted to try for some time now. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do so at a recent wedding with a friend and fellow photographer, Gemma Clarke. She asked me if I wanted to second shoot with her on a 12 hour wedding and of course I jumped at the opportunity! Here’s a huge thanks to you Gemma!

Very briefly, the camera used was a Hasselblad XPan II, panoramic and standard 35mm film camera loaded with Kodak E100VS slide film. What’s so special about this camera is that it takes a shot which is almost twice the length of a standard camera. I was initially writing a post to show the pictures here but then soon after I realized I had gone totally off topic. I started writing more about why I still shoot in film and why I love it so much.  I have separated that post to another one so I’ll post that soon after I put this one up so stay tuned!

Let’s get on with the pictures first shall we? CLICK for larger photos!

I absolutely love the warm tones here!

I’ve always been a fan of panoramics and here are some examples why!

Erm, what wide angle lens?

This will be my all time favourite panoramic portrait shot on film. Notice how panoramic, portrait and film don’t usually go together at all!

My 2nd favourite..

and 3rd favourite

Hope you guys enjoyed this! Somehow I’m feeling extra sentimental just looking at these photos and reminiscing Vanessa and Marcus’ wedding day. Thanks guys for having me there, and also Gemma for asking me to come along and shoot with her

Damn, I really love my job!

Hey guys! Been awhile since I last posted so here’s one for you guys from a wedding last Sunday I was the second shooter at this wedding which meant I could do anything I want so I brought my Hasselblad Xpan film camera along! I only shot 1 1/2 rolls of film so I will have to finish up the second one before I send them off to the labs.

The day started out in the morning at Vanessa’s parents beautiful home followed by the ceremony at the Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church. Built between 1886 and 1889, this church was the tallest in NSW for over 100 years until the twin spires of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney were completed in 2000. Bridal party photos was next so we headed out to The Rocks and then Observatory Hill where we had the most amazing light and a beautiful couple to work with

Later that evening we took a stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens to the Botanic Gardens Restaurant where the reception was held. It was a great end to a wonderful and well planned wedding. I have to thank Vanessa and Marcus for having me there alongside Gemma Clarke to photograph their union. We had such great weather with sunny blue skies and slightly cool weather which is great for us photographers to work with

Here are some of my favourites and highlights of the day! Don’t forget to CLICK the photos to view a larger version!

Hair and make-up artists working their magic

Bec (Vanessa’s sister) helping Mum out with a necklace

Mum and Bec video conferencing while getting ready!

I love the following 2 shots and couldn’t decide which I like better

Applying final touches

The end result – Perfection

The majestic Hunter Baillie Memorial Church

Equally majestic organ at the rear of the church

Dad and Daughter

A moment of prayer

Mr and Mrs Pereira

A sneaky moment together?

Thanks guys! It was super fun hanging out with you all!

This is the amazing light I was talking about earlier!

Here too!

Natural flare here! No Photoshop gimmicks, I only had to desaturate it slightly and this is the result!

Congratulations guys! I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon abroad

A couple of weeks back I was covering an event for a few hours in the city. I planned to take a cab back after it was over so I thought I’d just walk a little and hail a cab in the direction I was heading. As I was walking past St Mary’s Cathedral, I looked up and it was a beautiful day in Sydney – blue skies with some clouds, nice cool weather and not too cold. It reminded me of the previous weddings I covered where we spent quite a bit of time outside getting some photos for the newlyweds. I thought to myself, those were fun times

As I was reminiscing, this crazy idea popped into my head – why not walk back home via the Harbour Bridge?? I’ve always wanted to do it and I had all of my equipment with me including my Xpan anyway!! So, right in front of the majestic St Mary’s Cathedral, I loaded a new roll of B&W film into my Xpan and replaced the memory card in my DSLR. Before I knew it, I was making my way down Macquarie St towards the Opera House. From there, the journey began

This was the first photo along the way, off the Eastern Distributor. At this point, I felt maybe I made a mistake deciding to walk home across the Harbour Bridge. I had 4 lenses, my 5D Mark II with the battery grip on, 2 flashes, my Xpan film camera and spare batteries – a total of about 10Kg’s on my back. 10Kg’s doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, it gets heavier and heavier every step. Then again, at this point there was no turning back

I pushed on and when I got to the south pylon, I was getting excited again as I’ve always wanted to get up there for some photos. The build up of lactic acid in my calves and thighs slowly dissipated. As I went in, I was greeted by another flight of steps but I thought nevermind, almost there! When I got to the ticket counter, I had to catch my breath and my legs were slightly jelly-ish at this point. I greeted the guy at the counter, “Whoa, that was quite a climb!”, only to have him reply ” Oh mate, you’re only a quarter way up to the top!”

Anyway, I got to the top eventually – sweating in my suit, I almost couldn’t feel my legs anymore, gasping to refill my lungs with much needed oxygen! Then I saw the view… Wow, this is so worth it

This is a 4 image, vertical stitch done in Photoshop CS4. The total pixels in this: 9363X3457. This really has to be seen large to fully appreciate the amount of detail in it

I generally process my landscapes or in this case, cityscapes to best depict the actual scene/color of my subjects. The Harbour Bridge and Opera House have been photographed billions of times before so I wanted to try something different with it. I decreased the dynamic range of the shots above so the highlights were blown and shadows were black – an attempt to emulate the limited exposure range of film.

The pictures below however are the true colors of Australia’s skies and too beautiful to manipulate otherwise. When I think about it, I only started photography when I moved to Australia – perhaps the blue skies and awesome sunrise/sunsets have something to do with it

I continued my walk across the bridge and as the sun was setting, this was the view through the rails. I shot this handheld at 1/13 sec, f/16, ISO1600.

On the other side, this was the view where the sun was setting.

This shot below is the same stitch from above. I only edited it differently for a natural look.

For those interested to get up the pylon, there is a $9.50 fee and it closes at 5pm. Now that it’s still winter, you might get lucky and have some beautiful golden light while you’re up there. Otherwise, you’d have to wait till next winter. Also, don’t forget to travel light and bring some water along with you. I did neither so please don’t repeat my mistakes

I have photographed the Harbour Bridge and Opera House countless times now since I started photography several years ago. In fact one of my first few large prints were of these 2 Sydney landmarks. As more and more of my friends got into photography, we were shooting the same landmarks over and over again. It doesn’t help that I live 5 mins away from the view at Milson’s Point so whenever I wanted to test any new equipment I’d head there. It was almost like being in a photography rut as I was not shooting anything else for quite some time.

Although, during my walk back I had plenty of time to think about a lot of things. My family, my friends, living in Sydney, my business progression. I thought about how lucky I am to have all these people around me, a great life here and simply, just doing what I love doing most. This reminded me again of something we all forget from time to time – to enjoy even the simplest things in life and to never take things for granted.

The walk from St Mary’s to my place took about 3 1/2 hours, approx 9Km’s of hills to climb and descend along the way. When I finally got home it was cold and dark. I was exhausted, my shoulder and knees hurt but then, it was so worth it and I’m glad I finally did it

On 30th July 2009 I was again, fortunate enough to have the opportunity to photograph a dinner event with Sir Owen Woodhouse. Having met Sir Owen the day before, it was just wonderful to be able to meet him again and his daughter, Margaret. This time, Sir Owen’s son, Tim Woodhouse was there to join us too.

The dinner event, hosted by John Walsh, a partner in the Health Actuarial and Advisory Practice of PriceWaterhouseCoopers had one goal – to bring together likeminded individuals across different fields and also, to welcome Sir Owen on his visit to Australia.

On to the pictures, the beautiful dining setup that evening

Complete with Sir Owen Woodhouse Dinner Menu

Simple yet elegant with a gorgeous view of Tumbalong Park!

Sir Owen and John Walsh

Cheers to a good cause!

Dinner is served!

Sir Owen having a good time

Sir Owen’s son, Tim Woodhouse, a lawyer and partner with Baker and McKenzie

Margaret, Sir Owen’s daughter looking out for him in case he makes an inappropriate joke

On the left, Bill Shorten, Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services and Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction. Next to him is Dr Bronwyn Morkham, National Director of the Young People in Nursing Homes Alliance

John Walsh was recently appointed Chair of the Independent Review Panel, Caring Together

A handshake between Bill Shorten and Sir Owen

A hopeful Sir Owen of the times to come

Final speech before the night ended

Sir Owen was quite the superstar, signing autographs for a number of the attendees

Lastly, in the picture above, Sir Owen before the dinner event started. We only chatted very briefly before the night ended but that was good enough for me – I was somewhat lost for words anyway haha! That said though, I was truly honoured to be able to meet Sir Owen. Also if I may add a quote I read somewhere and very vaguely put it together, “A true measure of a man is not how he treats those at his level or above him, but how he treats those below or can do nothing for him”.

I believe Sir Owen is one man who exceeds all measures and as such, it was truly an honour and a privilege to meet him.