Written by JRPosted in Events,Fashion,PhotographyTags: 2012, Alt, Alternative, Attitude Events, Australia, Black Ivy, Contest, Deviate, DV8, Goth, Lolita, Melbourne, Miss And Mr Alternative, Nightclub, Pageant, Photos By John Raptis, Punk, Victoria, Victorian HeatFebruary 5, 2012
Where The Serpents Ever Dwell
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!
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Written by JRPosted in Gigs,PhotographyTags: 2012, Alternative, Australia, Concert, Faris Badwan, Flinders Street, Gig, Joe Spurgeon, Joshua Hayward, Melbourne, Primary Colours, Punk, Rhys Webb, Skying, Strange House, The Forum, The Horrors, Tom Cowan, VictoriaFebruary 4, 2012
Little Victories
I fell in love with the Horrors when they released their brilliant debut ‘Strange Houses’ album in 2007. I must’ve played that sucker to the point of totally and utterly destroying every digital fibre on that disc. Just an amazing album that still gets regular spins today.
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Written by JRPosted in Gigs,PhotographyTags: 2012, Australia, Billboard, Billboard The Venue, Blunt Force Trauma, Brazil, Cavalera Conspiracy, Concert, Gig, Heavy, Heavy Metal, Igor Cavalera, Inflikted, John Raptis, Johny Chow, Marc Rizzo, Max Cavalera, Melbourne, Metal, Performance, Photos By John Raptis, Rock, Sepultura, VictoriaFebruary 2, 2012
Blunt Force Trauma
I sat in the photo-pit about 20 minutes before Cavalera Conspiracy were due to hit the stage. I always find this to be a calm time before hell is unleashed. It gives me a chance to get a feel for things, check out the lights and prematurely plan my camera settings. Of course, those plans get thrown out of the window pretty damn quickly but you do need to keep your wits about you because your three song limit comes and goes in the blink of an eye.
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Written by JRPosted in Gigs,PhotographyTags: 2012, Australia, Billboard, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, Melbourne, Monty Oxy Moron, Pinch, Punk, Punk Rock, Stu West, The Damned, VictoriaJanuary 21, 2012
Phantasmagoria
I have fond memories of the Damned’s heyday back in the day. They were clearly my sister’s fave band at the time and I distinctly remember her room plastered full of posters and pinups of Dave Vanian and crew. I also remember driving her to (the now long gone) Venue in St.Kilda to see the Damned on their first Australian tour many, many years ago. A veritable plethora of nostalgia when it comes to the Damned so that made for high anticipation before tonight’s shoot on the band’s return trip to Australia.
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Written by JRPosted in Gigs,PhotographyTags: Australia, Heavy Metal, Joel Grind, Melbourne, Metal, Nick Bellmore, Phil Zeller, The Hifi Bar, Thrash, Thrash Metal, Toxic Holocaust, VictoriaJanuary 16, 2012
Conjure And Command
You know, you lose track of the amount of gigs one has photographed over the past few years. You lose track real fast. One gig bleeds into the next and for the most part, you can get a little complacent and find yourself in photographic auto-pilot. But… every so often, a classic falls your way and you’re left on such a high and infected with a restless, sleep interrupting buzz – well into the cool, dark confines of the AM digits on your clock!
Toxic Holocaust fucking blew me away tonight. I’m talking smithereens here! Kaboom!
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