Miss & Mr Alternative bills itself as ‘Australia’s Most Exciting Alternative Model Competition’ and this is certainly a title it clearly lives up to.

I was honoured to be asked to be one of the official photographers for the event so I was keenly anticipating the night for a few weeks even if I have had an incredibly busy past few days shooting a slab of gigs. Still, when an opportunity presents itself, one should jump at the chance without a moment’s hesitation!

The Victorian Heat was held at Melbourne’s DV8 venue and attracted a variety of people from every alternative subculture. Which is kinda what makes these events so much fun as more often than not, the people in the crowd are just as entertaining as the ones on stage!

I arrived at the venue a little before 9.30pm as was instructed. It’s nice getting into a venue early as it gives you a chance to acclimatize and get all you need nice and ready. I enjoy doing catwalk photography as I have shot previous alternative events such as Circa Nocturna and Worn Wild on numerous occasions. They’re always a fun night.

The night was divided into two halves. First up, the Mr Alternative portion of the event kicked things off. For the Melbourne heat, there were four entrants all diverse and alternative and uniquely different to each other.

Entertaining the crowd at the half-way point was Michael Yule. I thought Michael was a wonderful singer with a superb voice and some great tunes. I’d definitely like to hear more of his stuff in the future.

After Michael’s set, it was time for the Miss Alternative contestants to strut their stuff. Just like their male counterparts, the girls were all unique and represented a diverse range of the alternative culture. All the girls were wonderful and worthy winners in their own right.

A great night for all!

Visit the Miss Alternative website for more info and whilst you are there, please vote for my cat Luci in the pet category!

I’m gonna be brutally honest here, when it comes to event photography… I suck! I suck a lot! Chuck me in the most violent of mosh-pits and I can handle that with ease. Getting to ask someone if I can take their pic? Fergetaboutit! I really don’t like doing this sort of photography because I am not good at it and I am as uncomfortable as one could possibly get when shooting in such a scenario.

Which is a crying shame because if I told you of some of the photographic opportunities I have forfeited due to this phobia, you’d be astounded.

Having said that, I have shot many events for Outré Gallery over the years. Heaps! I consider Outré’s Gemma and Martin two of the nicest, coolest and totally kick ass peeps I have ever had the pleasure to meet. So when they put out a request to have an event photographed – I’m there. Nervousness aside. I am there.

Tonight’s event was for the launch of the gorgeous Tattoo Parlour book. In attendance was the amazing Angelique Houtkamp who I have had the pleasure to photograph at prior Outré events and a veritable sea of punters who had RSVPd to attend tonight’s event. Seriously the gallery gets so packed you literally do not have space to move, let alone breathe but as always, it turns out to be an incredibly fun night!

The book ‘Tattoo Parlour’ is a showcase of artworks made by artisans who also make tattoos. The book comes in two forms – a softcover and a beautifully crafted hardback published by Outré Gallery Press.

There is also an exhibition currently running at the gallery until November 30.

More info is available here.

Special thanks to Sam Difference for her wonderful assistance in tonight’s shoot.

“City authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from the graves and attacking the living…”

I’ve lost count, but I think this was the fourth Melbourne Zombie Shuffle I have photographed and easily – it was the biggest.

The event had been planned for months and for some reason or another, I was getting a slew of media enquiries about the event from various outlets. Perchance they had seen my coverage of the event from prior years and assumed I was somewhat involved with the organisation of it all.

Regardless, these things are always a ton of fun and I had pencilled in today’s date weeks and weeks ago!

There is nothing better than being there to photograph the mayhem and craziness that inevitable unfolds and today, the City of Melbourne was completely and utterly overtaken by the walking dead.

“In the end of everything the dead will rise and sing! Fight ‘em ’til you can’t fight no more. The world is only blood – rage becomes your love. Fight ‘em ’til you can’t fight no more!”

Considering the weather took a turn for the worst, that still did not stop at least 2,000 undead leaving the sidewalks of this fair city drenched in blood, sweat and shrieking cries of zombified pain. It was relentless. A constant stream of zombified, costumed lunatics stumbling and bleeding all over piss-stenched streets of this fair city!

It was an incredible motley crew of every shape and size. Twisted and contorted faces. Blood curdling screams and an undying lust for brains, gore, mayhem and mirth pierced the Melbourne air.

The city had only recently been taken over by occupiers and professional protestors and the like, but today, it was all in the name of fun and levity. And fun was had by all… but do spare a thought for all the street cleaners who’ll be working bright and early tomorrow for the streets of this fair city have been splattered by blood akin to a slaughterhouse!

“‘Cause there’s no humanity when the dead come back to feed…”

(lyrics by Anthrax – Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t)

Circa Nocturna is always an exciting time of the year. It brands itself as Melbourne’s Premier Alternative Fashion Parade and it lives up to this image of itself time and time again.

Each and every year, Circa Nocturna allows some of the country’s sub-culture designers shine and sparkle on the catwalk of the pristine and beautiful Fitzroy Town Hall.

I have been fortunate enough to attend the last four events and I was saddened to learn that tonight’s gala was to be the final event in this format.

With that in mind, I wanted to be a part of it again and I was granted a photo-pass to shoot tonight’s show.

As last year’s event sold out in the blink of an eye, this year’s event featured two performances with a matinee show scheduled at 4pm and the usual evening performance at 8.

It is always a sight to see the dark minions of Melbourne descend upon the urban niceties of such an inner city suburb. The look on the local’s faces – who in Fitzroy, have surely seen it all – is as amusing as it is priceless!

Featuring designs from Beserk (my personal favourite), Clockwork Butterfly, Elysium Couture, Emile Gray, Harpi, John & Betty and Vicious Klothing to name but a few – Circa Nocturna celebrates and glorifies those who dare to live their lives on the alternative edge.

Once again, without fail, it proved to be a magical night of fashion, music and inspirational design. Meticulously organised and atmospherically so much fun.

Thank you to all the Circa Nocturna crew and to the enchanting Rachael Blakemore for her kindness and hospitality.

The Victorian Roller Derby League (VRDL) held its 2010 Grand Final this weekend. Proof positive that the sport is growing in leaps and bounds was evident over the weekend as the bout had been moved from the humble Puckhandlers Stadium, to the vast Melbourne Showgrounds.

The event was long sold-out, as has been the norm for the majority of the season, but it was great seeing it staged at such a venue and getting to feel the electricity and all-round good vibe from the 3-4,000 strong crowd.

Meticulously organised, I met my contact who provided me with my media-pass and instructions on the who, what, where and why of shooting the event.

There was a fun atmosphere from the get-go as there were various market stall holders selling their wares and various Roller Derby merchandise in a designated area of the arena.

I have attended 3-4 bouts throughout the course of 2010 and even in this short time-frame I have witnessed the sport grow and grow.

Opening proceedings for the night were VRDL team the Dead Ringer Rosies against Geelong’s Bloody Marys.

The bumps and grinds were plentiful even from the get-go and I noticed a scribe next to me in the allocated media section frantically Tweeting about the proceedings before her. Obviously this was her first bout and she was loving every minute of it if her eager Twitter fingers were any indication.

The Grand Final was played between the green-emblazoned Toxic Avengers and the black and gold wearing Dolls Au Go-Go.

The Toxics have been an exciting team to watch all year with thanks to the incredible jammer Kittie Von Krusher who is ably assisted by her cohorts such as Mandytory Punishment and the bombtastic Punami Tsunami.

The undefeated Dolls-Au-Go-Go have been the form side all year and even though they were heavily trailing the Avengers for most of the night, they staged an amazing comeback and if there was more time, might have well just pinched this ultra-exciting bout! The last couple of minutes were about as intense as I have ever seen.

The Dolls were on a comeback tear, the crowd’s enthusiasm had reached fever pitch and the pace on the arena floor was something to behold!

It was a sensational bout no doubt, and featured quite a few hits and spills. Sherribomb from the Toxic Avengers took a nasty bump and fall that resulted in what looked like concussion. She took no further part in the bout.

These gals mean business and it is a credit to their athleticism, stamina and outright ferocity on display for the fans to see.

Wow! What an amazingly fun year it has been watching and photographing it all from the sidelines.

Thank you to all the girls and Candy Rocks for all.

Results:
Opening Bout
Dead Ringer Rosies (91) def Bloody Marys (68)

Grand Final
Toxic Avengers (111) def Dolls Au-Go-Go (94)

Wow! What an amazing turnout for this year’s annual Melbourne Zombie Shuffle! It was huge – with a veritable feast of zombies terrorizing the streets of Melbourne with blood, gore and an insatiable lust for braaaaains!

Whilst it is a ton of fun seeing so many people dressed as the living dead, I think the real buzz is seeing the reactions of everyday people witness the mayhem before them! You can literally see the shock and amazement written on the faces of innocent bystanders who for the most part, are completely oblivious to the who, what, where and why.

For the uninitiated, a Zombie Shuffle or a Zombie Walk is an ‘organized’ public gathering of people donning zombie-garb. A set route is planned and pre-defined via an online medium – in this instance a Facebook group.

A couple of years ago, I donned the old warpaint myself and shuffled through the streets as a zombified Heath Ledger Joker zombie, but today, I decided to stay civil and attempt to document it all with my trusty camera.

I didn’t have too much time to shoot the event today (the weekly visit to the Queen Victoria Market was also on the agenda) so my plan of attack was to wait on the corner of Swanston & LaTrobe Streets and wait for the blood-spattered ghouls to arrive. I made it just in time as the first of the undead stumbled through just as I was getting my camera ready.

Before I could even change lenses, I had been enveloped by a horde of the undead. Relentless horror and zombified persons paraded in my general direction… it was utter mayhem of the absolute funnest kind! I had an absolute blast and if any of the thousands of smiling faces around me were any indication – so did the city of zombified Melbourne!

For quite a while now, I have wanted to attend a Roller Derby bout. For whatever reason, the planets have never quite aligned so I have always missed out when the Victorian Roller Derby League held it’s matches… or bouts as they are called.

Not this time. I bought a couple of tickets for my gal and me a week in advance as I was determined I was not going to miss the opening of the 2010 season. Lucky for me I did get the tickets early, because within days the event had well and truly sold out.

Held at Puckhandler’s Stadium in Reservoir, this South of the Yarra boy had to acquaint himself with the iPhone GPS to get to the venue. Sure enough, the place was packed and a lengthy motley crew of a queue had stretched around the venue as the fans were being led into the arena.

Wow! This is more popular than I thought.

With trusty camera in tow, I found a suitable spot and waited for the fun and mayhem to begin!

Initially, I didn’t know what the hell was going on but once I got into the rhythm and could understand the concept, it all made perfect sense and was freaking magnificent to watch!

Tonight’s opening game featured the Toxic Avengers Vs the Dolls Au-Go-Go. A prettier bunch of gals you are not likely to see but don’t let the Suicide Girls look fool you, they could bump and smash you from here to eternity before you even know what hit you.

The bumps and bruises are plentiful but it also takes an incredible amount of finesse and skill to be able to speed around the arena whilst avoiding contact and your bum hitting the floor hard. And man oh man did they come crashing down at various times during the night. One only had to listen to the sighs and groans from the gathered throng to know when a skater had hit the floor hard!

Roller Derby was hugely popular in the United States in the 50’s and 60’s and it reached WWF-like popularity in the ’80’s where the entire thing evolved into a caricature of itself. You know, flying chairs, fake blood, wrestling-like story-lines et al.

With movies like 2009’s ‘Whip It‘ directed and starring Drew Barrymore, one can be excused into thinking the Victorian league is all flash-in-the-pan. Not so. The league has been in existence for several years and if last Saturday night is any indication, these gals could chop it up with the best of them!

Founded in 2007 the VRDL is a Melbourne based, not for profit, women’s Flat Track Roller Derby League.

Seriously, this was the most fun I have had at a sporting event since following my beloved Magpies each week. Sure the AFL boys bump and smash each other like there is no tomorrow, but I bet they couldn’t even contemplate doing that with skates on their feet!

The next bout is on April 17 featuring the Dead Ringer Rosies Vs the Toxic Avengers. Tickets go on sale April 1.

See you there!

Having attended the past two Circa Nocturna events in 2009 and 2008, I was eagerly awaiting for this year’s gala to arrive and this time, shooting on an official capacity. The past couple of years I have only been in the audience with my camera and have had restricted view etc. It was hard to get a decent shot.

This year, I was granted an official pass and boy, was it a ton of fun shooting at this amazing event.

Held annually at the gorgeous Fitzroy Town Hall, resplendent in all its gothic charm and glory it proved to be very difficult to get additional tickets to the event as it had sold out. I was so bummed out about this as I couldn’t get a ticket for my girlfriend and I felt guilty as hell going to the event, and having to leave her home. It wasn’t the same without her but alas, the show must go on.

Having survived the tremendous storms that hit Melbourne this afternoon – an ominous, sinister mood had enveloped this city and kinda an appropriate setting for tonight’s event where all the creatures of the night come out to play.

All romantic gothic notions aside, it was going to be quite a trek to get to the other side of town in one piece.

A sea of black leather, spandex, latex, rubber was ascending up the stairs of the Fitzroy Town Hall and I found my photopass awaiting me as I arrived.

I positioned myself amongst my fellow photogs and used the time before the show to get acclimatised with the venue and the somewhat, sombre, dim lighting.

I think I was the only shooter there who shot without a flash (can’t stand using flash at the best of times) – but I set my camera up to use as much of the light available as I could. I prefer the rich, warm tones and color of non-flash shooting and I was pretty pleased with tonight’s results.

All in all, a magnificent night and one that seems to be growing with every passing year.