My favourite twelve of 2013…
02/12: February

In February, I met a lot of great and beautiful people, and it was difficult to pick only one image. I selected this image as a representation of a great production, rather than as the single best image (I've posted other images from the same shoot before, so I post this "new" one instead).

Actress Katherine Vega, Bogotá Colombia

My favourite twelve of 2013…
01/12: January

Always in December, I review my year's body of work, and select my personal favourite photograph for each month.

Over the next 12 days, I will post my selects, starting today with my favourite image produced in January 2013...
What a few weeks we've had, in preparation to my wife's dance academy's annual concert. From initial stage design, photography, music editing and mastering, program and poster artwork design, to onstage lighting design and programming. I don't think I've ever been more tired before, yet I'm still smiling. It's the good kind of tired, when you know you achieved something extraordinary.

As always, I tried to push myself, and to not just design a scene to be well lit, but to create emotional moments on stage. And since I'm not a set designer but only a photographer, I do so entirely with light.

You should sell them…

"I love these Venice images, you should sell them…"

Well, I'm glad some people think so! And with Christmas coming up, I might actually have just the right little present for someone who dreams of traveling... the 2014 Venice calendar...
I don't trust you (yet) but I'm listening...
There's no better state than happiness.

When Colby’s in Town

This afternoon I'll be catching up with my buddy +Colby Brown, and for those few who don't know him yet, watch this interview I've done with him a while back.

The Cover Girl…

Some have asked about the girl with the amazing legs on the front page of my new website.
Here's she is, the gorgeous Sydney (AU) model Jessica.

It’s this time of the year (again)…

For the last seven years, I spent a good part of my November on helping my lovely wife and her Dance Academy in preparation of her school's end-of-year concert. This year is no exception. So far we photographed over 120 students individually and in groups, for the concert program and photo book, featuring over 200 elaborately hand made costumes. We are now in the last moments of finishing the concert program, a large 20 page booklet, which will go to print next week. Next on the list are the lighting plans, the final mix of all the performance playbacks, and the creation of 1.5 hours of video projections, which will be used during the stage performance.

If you don't hear much from me over the next couple of weeks, there is a high chance that I might be hiding in row 24 in the theatre, catching up on some sleep, in the recording studio finalising the mastering, or at the printer, making sure the booklets turn out just the way we created them...
I photographed this gorgeous bride (and her jewellery worth just shy of 500k) in Singapore.

Google+ new cover size…

Some have asked for the new G+ cover dimensions. G+ automatically scales the cover depending on the size of the browser window, up to a max of 3 columns of content and a total width of 1600 px...

I need to learn how to bend time…

On Monday, I prepared for a new workshop on "Portrait and Beauty Photography", and I thought I'm traveling quite well. Now it's Friday and I wonder "where has the week gone?". I only meant to spend a few hours here and there, but man, time can fly when you have fun. As part of it, I killed 2 full days creating examples of bad and unflattering lighting, and my poor model had to play along, knowing that the end result will be terrible.

Oh well, all fun & games, and my class is slowly taking shape.

Nikon vintage looks are back…

As a follow up from my previous post, I thought I'd share this image. The new Nikon DF creates quite a stir with it's retro-look, and as I wrote in my previous post, I love the feel of the old cameras. Of course there are many things that are sexier than an old camera body, but when I met a gorgeous girl with a real Nikon FM tattoo, I simply had to create a photograph showing both her tattoo and my trusty old FM. That combination I would call sexy!

What’s your favourite picture?

Someone asked me this simple, yet not quite so simple question today: "So, what's your favourite picture?".

Technically, artistically, personally, commercially, emotionally?

Well, it's hard, I have many favourites, but at the end, I will always pick this image. It's not perfectly exposed or composed, it's not the sharpest or most thought-out shot I've ever produced, as a matter of fact it was a split-second "oh, that's nice - snap" photograph. Should I have framed it a bit to the left? Sure. Am I a bit too close and would a little headroom improve the shot? Sure. Technically. But it doesn't matter...

The sprinter…

Now that the calendar I produced for the Soccer Association is released and out for sale, I can finally share a few of the images. Here's the image for March. The image in the calendar is square and a fair bit closer, but this is the uncropped shot.

This is a charity project , creating awareness and raising funds for the Cancer Council Queensland.

Pic of the day… “Monday Morning”

Monday Morning...

Ballet Weekend…

It's always a great pleasure to spend time in a ballet studio, and to create images with young and upcoming ballerinas.

I'll be producing a wide range of images today, from cute 4 years olds who just want to jump around, up to the promising stars of tomorrow, who do things that would break my back, while making it look ridiculously easy and graceful ...

Soccer Calendar for Charity… COVER REVEALED

Former Socceroo’s captain Craig Moore is featured on the cover of the Soccer Calendar 2014!

Craig Moore is one of Australia’s best-known international footballers, with over 50 appearances for his country and playing in two World Cups. As part of his stellar career, he played for Glasgow Rangers (Scottish Premier League) and Newcastle United (English Premier League).

In 2008 Craig was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. Seeking medical advice immediately was the key to his successful recovery.

Pic of the day… “Bodyscape”

Pic of the day... "Bodyscape"

SMUGMUGIFIED…

For those who asked for individual prints of my Venice calendar images: They have been +SmugMug'ified and can now be found here: http://swissphoto.smugmug.com/Europe

Red → Simplicity with punch…

Fashion portrait with Brazilian beauty Celene.

What happens when you sleep…

It's 9 am here in Australia, and I just opened up my mail, to be greeted with over 300 emails about my post on 500px. Obviously my image must have hit a nerve, the comments are very nice and the image has sneaked up to page 2 of "Popular".

Now why is this significant?

The mesmerising beauty of Celene…

Uploading images to social media is great, however I often feel as if "something is lost". It's the small details that I miss, the sharpness, all those little elements that a print shows and the down sized images miss.

That's why I sometimes post a closer crop of an image, to show you what I see when I get close to a large print. Today's post is exactly that, a closer look at the image I posted yesterday: Take 2 on the Brazilian Princess…

Beauty remains timeless…

A follow up image to yesterday's post...