The Batblog by Photobat

Melbourne Wrap Up

Well, the big final presentation went off without a hitch. A small crowd gathered to fil the 600 seat venue (well 40 of the seats anyway). There were a lot of people talking afterwards and the laptop was propped up on three different bars that night to show people who missed out on the big one. I think I will have to do it again next year. Will be bigger and better.

And now I’m in the wake of Melbourne, A lot of things to finish up. I really didn’t look at many of the photos I took in Melbourne. Just one or two which I worked and showed people. I took over 2000 shots and now have to sift through them all and get them delivered.

I’m now off for 6 days with Shiro Tanaka, a Japanese photographer who I’m showing about Tasmania. Pity he chose the week it got really cold to visit.

A bit of a clipping from Melbourne

Justin Hamilton Interview in 2004 Comedy Festival Guide in Melbouren street press Inpress.

Cameron Burke Q. – It’s a great photo you’re using as your program image

Justin Hamilton A. – “How amazing are Wombat’s photos? I mean, he used to be the guy where you’d be talking away and would suddenly be blinded by a flash at the Hi Fi and then you would see Wombat scurrying off. Last year, he does all these photos and they are amazing.

It’s all got big.

I’ve been flat out talking photos, even sold a few.

First major stuff up yesterday, my batteries in the hard drive went flat and didn’t download a shoot with Danny Bhoy.

Also got to get moving on the Big Revolving Faces Live audio visual spectacular. I managed to get the 600 seat Capitol Theater for a little bit of time so I can project everything up onto a big screen. This is going to be huge. And I’ve still got shoots to do.

Aghhh

Day 13

Sunday was initially spent sleeping, then I got up and went west to meet Vaya and Jo, my next comedians. We ended up in a large grass, kinda scrubby area behind some houses in the western suburbs. It was a challenge as there was little shade and lots of sun. There were a couple of different variations that I’m happy with, and they are too.

I went into the city after that, I had planned on seeing Janer’s show, but was late. I ended up seeing Maria Bamford, who was a lot better than I expected, I don’t know why I didn’t have high expectations, but she was great, I’m looking forward to taking her photo as I can now see there is a lot to work with. I went home after that, still feeling the effects of the night before. I went to bed… couldn’t sleep. So I went back into the city, initially to Duckboard House where it was going off again, lots of people, lots of drinking. I picked up Mick and went down to the ABC studios, where I spent the next 5 hours hanging about as Justin Hamilton and Courtney Hocking did a mid-dawn shift. There were lots of people about and I’m glad that Mick got a bit of an interview, I’m not too sure that 3am is a good time for an interview but it’s still something I managed to get onto the mike at 5am, which is a good time as I think people would start to be waking up then. I then went and slept.

The Tasmanian awards were also judged today, I think I managed to get 7 silvers, which is good. I have to now decide what to enter into the APPA’s in a few weeks time. I think I will be entering one of the Matt King images, I think they could be my Anthony Morgan of 2004…but not quite as good…. Well.. nearly… I prefer it over the award winning one of Morgan.

I have also lost count of coffees.

Melbourne Day 11

Hmm… Friday.

I thought I’d better go off and do catching up today, I had a shoot with Matt King in the afternoon and a whole morning to fill in. I ended up heading down to Phoenix Studio in South Yarra to investigate prices for studio hire, as usual I spent a lot of time talking to Rob Anderson who I think runs the studio. I also bumped into Kim Tonelli, a muscisian photographer who I met briefly 3 years ago and then again last year. I have been trying to get together with her and talk shop for a while and didn’t get much of an opotunity to do it today either.

I then headed into the Jam Factory, via Bridie Orielys, searching for rhe ever illusive wireless internet signal. The guys ar Bridies recommended to check the connections before I ordered, he was right, there wasn’t all that much to connect to. That is when I went to the Jam Factory, I did manage to find a good signal and spent 2 hours doing some work, spending less that 3 minutes online for email sending and receiving. I then had to run off and find a location for Matt King.

After a bit of a walk I found a good location, I was mainly looking at the walls around it and it wasn’t until I took Matt there a few minutres later I saw that there was a bath tub looking very lonely on the ground. The shoot went well, Matt even got in the bath, I thought that was very brave. I went for a bit of a walk around St Kilda after that and then to Janets where I caught up with Mick, did some work on the Matts photos and then took Mick into the city.

Today I also picked up the information panel for my exhibition, so finally people can have a look at it and know what it’s all about.

I have also just discovered that the lab doesn’t print over the weekend, and they will also be closed for 4 days over Easter. This means I have to get 7 portraits shot and printed in 3 days. I wonder if I can do it. I reckon I can,

Late Friday night I was trying to get home, but sot stuck talking to some comedians in Duckboard House. I learnt from Sarah Kendell how much exposure the photo I took last year had received. I think I have picked up that in Edinburough, to get a good promotional story, or a photo included with your review, your image needs to stand out, Her image does stand out, you don’t notice how much until you see a wall full of posters and are just dramn to her image. Actually, if you look over my shoulder now you can see the poster I’m talking about on the wall over there..

I stumbled upon a copy of the Comedy Festival edition of Inpress, a popular street press about Melbourne. In it there was a 5 question interview with Justin Hamilton where one of the questions was “how good’s your photo?” and Justin replied about how good my photos were for a few sentences. That was great and also goes to show how supportive he is. There has been a lot of support this year; I have to get really organized now so that I can get all the photos required for this project without causing me too much stress

Day 12

Saturday was a really good day, I spent most of it on a little drive in the country with Tori, a friend from Uni who is about to go overseas for an extended period of time. I thought that she needed to get out of the city for a little bit so we headed to the Yarra Valley, first to a dairy, then to a national park where we sa and played chess on my new cool board. Then off to another small town where we had some lunch and then back into the city. I like Melbourne and it’s inner suburbs, I like the areras just out of the city but I can’t stand the 1 – 2 hour drive through urban sprawl to get from one to the other. Tori noticed that in Bundoora, au outer suburb, they are cramming large amounts of town houses together with little space for yards or real living room, and across there is a large area of nothing, just eempty space. You would think that being in the outer areas you coulsd afford to have some space and not be so cramped.

We went and had some dinner in the city and a beer, then went and saw Justin Hamilton’s show “Purple Cows”, I actually told him after the show how muchn I enjoyed it, one of my favorites for the festival. I really enjoy his delivery and structure, I remrember last year seeing his flat, which was plastered with large pieces of paper which was essentially the show and it’s layout for him to study constantly. Justin deserves big crowds and I hope they find him soon.

I was planning on seeing another show after Justin, but thought that it would ruin te memory of his show, so ididn’t. I did end up at the Festival Club and saw a great set from Adam Hills MC’s witrh some great performances. After that the Superband came on. The Superband was formed by the Scardies and is a full on band and even has a brass sectioin. It gives other comedians the chance to get up and pretend to be Rock start for the night, hignlights included seeing Rob Rouse and Howard Read singing living on a prayer and Dave Gorman doing his regular stagedive… but unlike previous years, the crowd parted faster then the red sea and he did a bit of a face plant.. BUT KEPT SINGGING, which has increased my opinion of him even more..

I ended up drinking a bit too much and found my way home via a cab full of other Tasmanians. Janita, Josh and Justin to be precise, they had been waiting for a taxi for a while and I managed to arrive in heaps of time to join them.

I’m going to Healsville Sanctuary on Thursday with a few comedians from the UK and US. Should be a good day, I just have to be back in time to pick up my prints. I also have a potential wedding meeting that night.

Melbourne Day 11

OK, in the last couple of days I’ve shot The Bedroom Philosopher, a good shoot which included his tie collection. I also saw Justin Kennedy (great show, well crafted), Lee Mack (classic UK stand up, very good and a great intro video), Rob Rouse (yet another UK comedian who made me laugh on many occasions), I think there may have been something else in there but it’s all a little blurry.

Today I again got up early. Went into the city and caught up with a friend from Tasmania. Brad had just moved to Melbourne at the start of the year and has just gained employment as a teacher. We spent the day hanging about… well, I dragged him to one of the lab’s I use, to a couple of photography galleries and then to my graphic designers. That took us up till about 3.30pm. Brad had to go and I had to go meet up with Howard Reed a UK comedian who is doing a show called The Big Howard, Little Howard Show. Little Howard is a fully interactive 6 year old boy who lives on a computer, the show is really great.

We did a very simple photo, using one of my favorite locations, A Melbourne laneway. I think the exhibitions next year could be called, Comedians in the Lane, as it is turning into my regular backdrop. I like the photo of Howard, very simple and get the idea across.

I also caught up with Frog, who is about to head to the US to stage manages a show for Chunky Move Dance Company. Then Saw Vaya and Jo Know What You Did Last Summer, a very cool horror choose your own adventure show, the concept for the show is great and I think I might go see it again and see an alternative ending.

I also had a great idea for a photo with the Scardies and Lano and Woodley, 3 out of 4 of them have heard the idea and like it. It will be great if I can pull it off, but I think it will not be able to be completed this trip. It might mean a special trip over to shoot it.

I am writing this in a Cafe type food court in the Jam fdactory, using the power of Wireless Internet. It’s been a strugle to actulally find a good place to so this where the internet is strong enough. I found an good area and of have gradually attracted large amounts of crying babies, gangs of screeming school kids and other general distraction type things. If only i could find good reception ina real cafe, but they seem to only have it outside the cafe’s and it’s very bright outside and i can’t see my screen.

Melbourne Day 9

Today started with the shooting of Richard McKenzie, after a few locations that suited the hair I settled upon the first image I took that day. It was in his bathroom silhouetted against his shower curtain which had some shells that matched his hair.

From there I went off and … well to be honest, I can’t remember. I’ve realized I’m having very long days. I am leaving Adrian and Benne’s before 10am and not getting back there till after midnight, and sometimes that starched out to 3 – 4 am. So I’m just tired, long days that are blurring into one without the aide of any form of alcohol.

I think I saw the bedroom philosopher that night, Agh. I need to write all things down properly.

Melbourne Day 8.



I don’t really like springy couches, and so I didn’t have a great nights sleep. I still got up early and saw that it had rained during the night, proving that I did get some sleep as didn’t hear a thing. I gave my recently relocated friend Matt Boden a call, He wasn’t living too far away so I went around to his new place. It’s the only old looking place in the street, making it an endangered species for the whole area. It is in a kind of hip suburb of Prahan and is very well located for everything, including café’s, clubs, book shops, music shops… actually let’s just say it’s well located for culture. We went and got coffee, CD’s, more coffee and then got rained on. It was now lunchtime and time to go eat with an old uni friend Annthea, whom works in Richmond. I’ve spent very little time in Richmond. I did go shopping there once while I lived in Melborune but not really since.

All of this time was also spent wondering where I was going to sleep. I did think to bring a tent with me from Tasmania but I don’t really want to use it. I also can not think of any inner city campsites that have fresh running water. I guess I could just erect the tent in a city park, spray the tent with glitter and call it a art, but I think that would only work for a couple of days.

I then went of to visit Adrian, an old comedian friend who has been very helpful in the past in both material ways and also motivational ways. Adrian tends to stay up late and sleep in late. He didn’t answer the door at 3pm when we had arranged my visit. He still didn’t answer at 4pm, so I left a card and ran away to a cool little café nearby where I had just pulled up when Adrian called to say he was awake now and pleaded with me to come back. So I did. We chatted, drank coffee, and exchanged much exaggerated stories. Benne, Adrian’s lovely wife of a few months eventually came home and also solved one my accommodation dilemma, well, for a few days anyway. So it came to pass that I now have a roof, bed and a slightly angry cat called Felinni to enjoy for a few days.

I ended up back at the Comedy Festival that night (big surprise there). I had to find someone to shoot the next day, and I did. Richard McKenzie, a really nice guy but tends to freak out people. I just don’t think people understand that someone with a bright red Mohawk can be a nice and friendly guy.