Australia
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United States
In 2003 I experienced a life changing event when I travelled to Tanna in Vanuatu in the Melanesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean with two friends. Tanna is populated by about 10,000 Ni Vans who mostly live in subsistence farming communities. Tourism infrastructure and foreign investment have been limited to less than 50% which has largely preserved their way of life from too much foreign influence. The last time foreigners descended on mass was in WWII when the American soldiers practically took over a few of the islands. This overwhelming influx of the modern world on a traditional culture permanently altered it when a number of cargo cults started up fashioning themselves on American military camps. Many Ni-Vans so overcome with the amazing technology and physical power of these soldiers decided being American must be pretty good so henceforth considered themselves adopted Americans. To show how American they were they rebuilt their villages in the style of the military camps, saluted the stars and strips and even made planes and jeeps out of bamboo. Mixed into this infatuation was aspects of ‘Kustom’ (native) religion and Christianity into a cult called the John Frum cult (short for ‘John from America’). Ever since WWII the John Frum followers have been waiting for the second coming of John Frum with his ship full of cargo for the faithful. Just before my trip the cult had become so troublsome that the army had been called in to disperse them. They did this by simply burning the village down so people would be forced to go home to their native villages (the village happened to be constructed on the side of an active volcano as well which didn’t impress the authorities much either). On their previous trip my two companions were invited to go and speak in the John Frum Village and meet their leader the prophet Fred a rare privilege for an outsider. I spent two weeks in Tanna climbed an active volcano and spent time getting to know the locals who kindly put us up in their village while we ministered to the local church. Two of the people I got to know the best were Jeremy a boy who took me under his wing and Willie an inspirationally spiritual man who was a church leader down there. I took this shot of my friends on the second last day I was there in the local river just below the village of Lonimilo. Having never been out of a western culture before experiencing village life, food, water (yuck), music (with no radio or TV the sound of acoustic guitars and singing were almost constantly in the background, yum) and living with such beautiful family oriented people profoundly effected my whole way of seeing the world. Jeremy and Willie’s smiles kind of sum the whole thing up. P.S. I don’t really see myself as a portrait/ people photographer but the bubble is such a great place to try out new things I thought I’d post it and see what people think. The shot was taken with my first ever SLR camera that I bought duty free on this trip. To get this shot I got into the river with Jeremy and Willie paranoid I would slip on the sloping bottom with my new baby, fortunately I kept my feet and got the shot, a precious memory. I’ve also been really inspired by Melinda Kerrs work too. To my great surprise this shot won the ‘B&W – Character – People Shots’ groups Indigenous People Competition in August 2008. It was also a finalist in the Black and White groups Emotion competition back in May 2008.
Oh dear….usually when I finish an image I know just what to call it. This one didn’t give me a clue….so here it is with no name! But then Whirligig made her comments, and now it has a name. / Thanks a heap Whirligig :-)
Updated on 28/9/08: just made the design smaller an higher on the tee Enjoy :P
THE SUBJECT: / A misty, moody Australian bush scene was photographed along an old logging track seems slightly primordial. THE LOCATION: / In the wilds of the Willi Willi National Park , up in the mountains far west of Kempsey, NSW, Australia on a very wet and chilly winter day. / This view in the opposite direction to Into the Mist #1 . THE MAKING of ‘Into the Mist #1’: / I had not realised the difficulty in photographing misty scenes such as this but I soon discovered that even though the light was very low there was still a big problem with the dynamic range. Aperture Priority did not work for me here so I opted for Shutter Priority, 1/60sec being the slowest speed recommended for a hand held shot. With the mist being so close, the resulting f/3.7 kept the background nice and soft. / Even though few photographs were made throughout the day due to the weather and time of year, six of us in two 4WDs had a great day out in the bush communing with nature. / One bloke, who has travelled 250,000Km in such road conditions in his 4WD had never had a mishap until the last two times we were out in the wilds. Last time it was a fuel line fracture and a flat tyre. This time it was another fuel line fracture! / Fuji S9600: RAW, 1/60sec @ f/3.7, Manual focus, ISO80, Hand held. / Lightroom 1.1 & Photoshop CS3. Visit the Play Misty for Me, Landscape and B&W and Monochrome collections in my BubbleSite Gallery for more foggy photographs and scenic vistas and paroramas. UPDATE: 13-08-08 / This misty beauty has been accepted and published on the onexposure.net site. After many rejections of other works having finally been accepted this is a real milestone. UPDATE: 22-08-08 / This misty scene was featured in the That One Great Shot Group. UPDATE: 10-11-08 / This misty mountain track was awarded a Merit Certificate in the Port Macquarie Panthers Camera Club October Open Competition in the Large Monochrome Print section. UPDATE: 20-11-12 / My misty rainforest photograph has been made POTD on the Shutterbugs.biz site. UPDATE: 05-01-09 / I have had this printed on glossy paper by photoenlargements.com.au and the result is perfect! UPDATE: 27-01-09 / The Port Macquarie Panthers Camera Club held its 2008 Print of the Year Competition presentation tonight. / This misty monochrome was awarded a Credit Certificate in the Open Large Monochrome Print section. UPDATE: March 2009 / This misty mountain landscape was awarded 1st Place at the 2009 Castle Hill & Hills District Agricultural Show in the Black and White Landscape section. UPDATE: 05-04-09 / This award winning photograph has now won the Australian Bush and Rainforest Photography Group’s ‘The Bush in Black and White’ Challenge. Enjoy! PLAY MISTY for ME and LANDSCAPES PLAY MISTY for ME / (Click the links!) Into the Mist #2 / Into the Mist #1 / Misty Mountain #2 / Misty Mountain #1 / Misty Glacier / Against the Morning Mist #2 / Mist on the Mountain / Doraville Dawn / LANDSCAPES / (Click the links!) The Old Homestead #2 / Fenceline Through Green Pasture / A Man on the Land / Tucows / Bare Bones / White in Green / Bare Tree Farm #1 / Bago Bluff and the Old Tin Shed! Bago Bluff and the Hay Shed / Threefold / Gateway to Spring / Out for a Walk / Lazy S /
Apophysis fractal with PSPX graphics added
Willy Wagtail chasing an insect / shot info ! / Nikon D700 / Lens Nikon 300mm f4 @ f5.6 / ISO 3200 / Exposure time 1/2500sec. / spot metering /
Redheaded musicians throughout history…. here is a closer look at some of the work…. More zomboy shirts here: /
This image is representative of the joy I feel when I look at the wonder of God’s creation. As I sit and observe, just stay still and listen. I feel Him close :-)
I’m actually at a loss for a title…too late at night…should have been asleep an hour ago :-) Maybe tomorrow ???? Well, tomorrow is here and I’ve had three title suggestions…2 of which are going into my little black book for further image tiles….Justlinda…suggested ‘Blue Bird’ and Carolyn Staut suggested Fidelity’. Thank you, ladies :-) In my sleepy state, I did wonder about leaving the title as I had put it…but then this morning, when Nodakami suggested simply adding a question mark….bells rang…so that is exactly what I’ve done. Thank you Nod.
Look up and see what your missing.
This fractal amazed me as it took on the shape of a sword…I added another fractal to create the golden haze around it and couldn’t help but connect it to the scripture below :-) ‘Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. / And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God’ / Ephesians 5:16,17
A combination of 3 fractals made with Apophysis.
Click here for print.
Come with me and you’ll be / In a world of pure imagination / Take a look and you’ll see / Into your imagination We’ll begin with a spin / Trav’ling in the world of my creation / What we’ll see will defy / Explanation If you want to view paradise / Simply look around and view it / Anything you want to, do it / Want to change the world, there’s nothing to it There is no life I know / To compare with pure imagination / Living there, you’ll be free / If you truly wish to be If you want to view paradise / Simply look around and view it / Anything you want to, do it / Want to change the world, there’s nothing to it There is no life I know / To compare with pure imagination / Living there, you’ll be free / If you truly wish to be Lyrics from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. / Well, this one you can’t eat. Sorry.
A fractal using Apophysis. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. / Now the earth was formless and empty, / darkness was over the the surface of the deep, / and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:1,2
As I was working on this piece the words from the song ‘Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof came to mind. A bitter sweet melody that is one of my favourites…of course these are only some of the words, but they seem to fit. I hope you like it. Sunrise, sunset / Sunrise, sunset / Swiftly fly the years / One season following another / Laden with happiness and tears
Wild Willys Gasser
A combination of Tiera-Zon and Apophysis…a Paint Shop Pro tube added in the flame too.
From the old, old computer game I used to play on the C64. Play it online here! Here’s a great article on the mystery surrounding the creator of Manic Miner, Matthew Smith.
It takes different strokes to move the world. / / / / tshirts.stuartstolz.com Shirts can be custom designed to your specifications by contacting me on design@stuartstolz.com
A blending of Willy and the garden / This is the last photo I took of Willy. / It was intended to be a candid but at the last minute he saw me and smiled.
A design using Apophysis and Paint Shop Pro X.
This began as an ink wash…then I added graphics. A very nice way to spend some time on a hot afternoon….too hot to go outside :-)
Apophysis fractal image with some Paint Shop Pro manipulation. Female intuition is an amazing thing…rarely lets me down :) We can pick up on all kinds of things…good and bad. I’ve had my share of both. This reminded me of the complexity of the human mind…particularly feminine :)
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