I just got back from the Melbourne Shootfest and phew! I'm exhausted but so so happy.
I just had the most INCREDIBLE weekend surrounded by naked ladies. SG makes my life amazing! I barely had time to sleep or eat or check up on the internet or anything, it was just go go go all weekend long! I barely even had time to lament the fact that I wasn't at Comic Con in San Diego (I've never been to America before, but it's my life goal to one day go to Comic Con and ugh, so sad I missed it again). But on the plus side of everything, it was only my second time EVER in Melbourne. Exciting! I spent the whole time we were travelling around being scared by the insane traffic and annoyed at the bloody weather. That said, the naked lady thing more than made up for it. Haha. Also the incredible Greek food. I wish we had more of that here.
Before I get into it all, go check out Secret Garden which came out in Member Review, oh- *checks watch* thirty seconds ago? Yeah, you haven't seen it yet. Go look and leave some love. I'll wait...
Good set, huh? I really love it, it's my favourite SG set so far! Thanks for that ;)
Anyway, as I was saying, the house we got for the shootfest was amazing. I suppose I can post pictures and stuff of it now because we've vacated. It was a little cottage in St Kilda, very private so we could do shoots on the veranda and in the garden. It had a spiral staircase and it was painted white inside and out which is awesome to shoot against. I won't shoot in a cream coloured house, looks awful.
Here's the living room. Like I said, anywhere you pointed the camera, it was beautiful which was exactly what we wanted!
@exkyu and @lizziesky were our resident photographers and between them, they shot 16 sets! Let's see if my brain can remember everyone. Here goes. In order of shoots, @bettierose666 @aubreyx @peggysue @twitchling @vorpal @tails_ electrajean @christina ryley @soho @katerowegc @maddame phew! I didn't end up shooting because it got too dark the first day (halfway through shooting the set!) and I really needed sleep on the third day so I couldn't shoot in the morning. I'm sick now so I'm glad I didn't push it even further because I would have been DAMN sick if I had've. I'm set for photosets at the moment, anyway. Another time. This shootfest was more about getting through a whole bunch of Melbourne girls and I had to be on hand to assist with lighting/reflector holding from 8am-4pm every day.
I've been busy doing the prepping for the sets @exkyu shot, here are some previews!
Still working on a whole bunch but I should have them all done pretty soon. So far it's just @vorpal's set that's been submitted to the site, I've got Electra's and PeggySue's uploading right now and Aubrey's is almost done. I've been weirdly productive, smashing through them which is good. I'm sick so I can't really go anywhere. Just sort of sneeze (elegantly) and keep clicking away at the mouse.
Aubrey was one of the first ones to get her set shot. I was a little worried about this one being too dark but thanks to the wonders of shooting in RAW it's turned out fine. Aubrey looked amazing. Her sleeve is all finished and she's got some amazing hair and eyebrow game going on and it was just wonderful to watch her model. I'm convinced this is the set that's going to send her pink. She has worked so hard for it and I'm just so proud of her.
Here's all of us being lazy. I'm eating a bag of spinach. I love spinach. The woolworths didn't have five inches of chicken like we wanted so I had to make do. Vorpal looks so cute. She's looking at photos from her shoot, I think?
We found a ladder in the garden shed. I was so stoaked. Here's lizzy shooting Kate. We need to have a ladder at every photoshoot from now on. There is no substitute for a whole bunch of amazing high-angle shots. Especially when you're shooting on a spiral staircase! Lizzy also ended up sitting out on the roof and shooting in the upper floor window (you can see it top right in the image) to get some angles. Girl is amazing. I am so bummed we didn't get to shoot together.
Aubrey and I went around to MadDame's studio and shot her in the break room. @MadDame is an oldschool Aussie Sg and hasn't submitted a set in TEN YEARS. That's about to change, my friends. She was amazing and I'm so excited about it. This is the two of us going through the photographs afterwards. I also picked up a copy of Damed Magazine which is her 'avant garde artistic journey full of glitter, sexy human beings and art'. Issue 3 is coming out soon, if you want to help MadDame out with the costs of putting together the publication, she's on Pozible too!
Here are the three of us out to lunch I think? I don't look too bad seeing as I'd had like 6hrs sleep each of the two nights before and I'm wearing no makeup. I think the elation at just being with creative people making amazing art was just keeping me above board. I love you girls, I do I do.
Shooting Soho in the loft. She reckons she's going to come visit me in Canberra! Very exciting. This shoot went really well considering that (again) Melbourne's weather was being a bastard and the light wasn't exactly perfect. She's a great model, I barely had to direct despite the fact that she reckoned she wasn't great at modelling. Hah.
Me and Christina. And hOlY FrIck her set is amazing. I am so so excited about showing you guys. It's next on my list, I don't even care. It's amazing. Like proper amazing. I'll blog about it when I have a decent preview available because it needs it's own blog it's that good ok? We had a great time together this trip, I feel like Christina and I just click. Even if she likes to laugh at me muttering and giggling to myself in my bedroom while I'm getting changed.
Here's Christina and inked mag photographer Ashley perving in on Electra's shoot. Electra doesn't have an account on here yet but you guys are going to love her. She did an awesome job shooting and I can't wait to show her the photographs once they've finished uploading *shakes fist at box.com* I can't wait. Seriously. These outdoor shoots all turned out SO good. You're all in for a treat from team Australia.
Here are some more happy snappies. Everyone got on very well. Oh no! I just realised I didn't get any kissy photos with any of the girls. Ok, next time. There will be a whole album of them.
SO yes! That was the Melbourne Shootfest! I'm really happy with the photos we created and hopefully SG likes them too. Sometimes I feel a bit like we're forgotten... we're so far away! This shootfest will definitely put us back on the map. There are so many beautiful tattooed ladies here, we're really lucky. But next time we shoot in Melbourne, it's got to be in summer. Those gloomy clouds did my head in. Seriously. Here's a pic of @peggysue and @twitchling and @vorpal relaxing between shoots. As you do.
What an amazing weekend, I feel so blessed. I'm going to get back to prepping sets now. I'll post a few more previews and maybe some behind the scenes pics over the next day or two, don't forget Secret Garden and my sister @mouse's set White Lights in the meantime! I feel so lucky and happy right now. I love you Suicidegirls. Always have.
