Changes afoot

In the unlikely event there's any Simon Bills Blog tragics out there you may have noticed it's been a little while since my last post. My first instinct is to explain that this is due to my impending move into my new house keeping me busy, which is true to an extent, but that I remember that I've managed to squeeze several hours of Australian Open tennis into most days this fortnight and my moral high ground looks decidedly shaky.

So, tomorrow is moving day, perhaps the most exciting day of 2010 thus far (and there's already been quite a few exciting days so this is saying something). I've been busy over the last month acquiring all sorts of essential home-wares in the post Christmas sales (my parents' lounge room pretty much looks like a Harvey Norman warehouse) and tomorrow it all goes into my new pad. I've also inherited a bunch of second hand furniture from my parents and my brother (actually, some of it is 3rd hand having started with the folks before moving onto my brother and now to me - just like a school uniform) which will give me the skeleton ingredients of a house.

After years of living in flats in London and Edinburgh I'm super excited to not be sharing a wall with any neighbors and having my own little backyard. Midnight Rock Band sessions can now be enjoyed without the nagging feeling that I'm keeping the whole building awake. Another thing I'm pumped about is the spare bedroom I'll set up as my office, having a vacant room is a luxury that just doesn't exist in central London so the plan is to get a massive monitor set up in there and run the Macbook Pro as a dual screen. This will also be better for my back than hours of slouching on the couch editing photos (or writing blogs...)!

Oh, here's some news that's even more exciting than my new house, the couple I did the maternity shoot for a few weeks back are now proud parents to a bouncing baby boy!! Congrats Miranda and Dan, can't wait to meet him!

And because every blog entry deserves a photo here's one I took when the Tour Down Under went through Stirling last week.



The next entry will be sent from MY NEW HOUSE!!!!!

Lance and the Tour Down Under

Those of you in Adelaide will be well aware of what's happening at the moment, and let's face it, you've probably had just about enough Lance-mania for the decade, but those overseas might be impressed to learn that Adelaide is currently hosting the Tour Down Under which features none other than global sporting icon Lance Armstrong.

Yesterday saw the lead up event to the tour proper, a 50km street race around the CBD of Adelaide, not dissimilar to the track the Formula 1 cars took 25 years ago (wow, was 1985 really that long ago??). This street race didn't count for the actual tour, I understand there was some cash up for grabs so the cyclists were slugging it out for that as well as to have a final warm up. I didn't expect Lance to really try too hard in this event, I mean, the guy turned up in his private jet last week so he's not exactly desperate for the cash, so I was thrilled to see he was part of a break away pack of 4 of 5 riders when I arrived which made taking his photo a whole lot easier (I was running a little late after some cricket in the nets ran a little over time - I love this country!).

Without further ado I present Lance and the Tour Down Under.















For the photographers out there I changed the focus setting to AI Servo to accommodate rapid fire shots which remain in focus (I have it set to 1 shot for pretty much everything else I shoot besides sports). I also set my camera to high speed burst mode (6 frames per second on the 40D, 3.9 on the 5D2 I think) and basically fired off a lot of shots when the guys rode past. In fast moving sports like cycling, actually, in pretty much any sport, it's very much a game of hit and miss, you need to do everything right in terms of framing and focusing and exposure, but beyond that it's largely a game of luck, the more you shoot the more chance you have of getting a killer shot. I was at the cycling for about 40 minutes yesterday, I took 360 photos, 90 of which I've kept. OF those 90 there are around 25 which I'd consider decent shots, the best of which you've just seen. It took me 60-90 minutes to go through all the photos, delete the shots I don't want and edit the photos I plan to keep.

Miranda and Dan: Maternity Shoot

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a heavily pregnant Miranda and her husband Dan for a maternity shoot around Adelaide. Now, I've seen pregnant girls in my time, but I've never seen one who looks like Miranda before, everything about her looked identical to when I last saw her 12 months ago, only she had a basketball stuffed under top. It was almost comical.

We headed to a couple of places I plan on becoming very familiar with as I shoot more weddings and portraits round Adelaide, the botanic gardens and the beach. As expected both places were a treasure trove of photographic ideas and I'm super happy with how the shots have turned out.

For the photographers out there, I've learnt in recent weeks just how different the light is in Australia compared to the UK, it's so harsh and there's just so much of it. In the UK most of the time it's cloudy and you don't really need to consider where the sun is in the sky, over here it's a whole new world which I'm loving wrapping my head around. Harsh bright sun can be tricky but you can also get some interesting effects, I used my reflector yesterday for the first time in 12 months and it was gold.





















Don't forget, if you're after a wedding or portrait photographer or know someone who is then get in touch.

Oh, in other exciting news my new website is all but complete, I will be launching it at midday tomorrow (Friday) so make sure you check in!!

That was sooo last decade

Yesterday I was issued a challenge from my friend Steve at a BBQ.

"I bet you can't use the phrase 'that was sooo last decade' 10 times today"

The gauntlet had been laid down, and after some clarification on a few things it was game on. The rules were pretty loose and lazy, but the vibe of them was that you had to sneak it in such that any newcomer to the conversation wouldn't think what you were saying was weird, ie it had to make sense and be applicable to the conversation.

I got the ball rolling straight away and by the time I went to my cousin's 21st later that day I was already up to four. With a totally fresh group of people to work with I was in full flight, my sister in law arrived with a new hair colour, a reddish tint rather than her usual blonde.

"Why the change of colour Amanda?"
"I just wanted something a bit different"
"Good call, blonde hair was sooo last decade anyway"

I was chatting with some cousins about my secret mission when one of them asked me what I'd do if hadn't reached the full 10 by the time I went home. I replied that I might have to finish it off online, maybe hit a few chat rooms, only problem being that chat rooms are sooo last decade and it's all about Twitter these days.

Later that night I was at another birthday party discussing favourite words with a journalist, I asked what her favourite word was knowing full that no matter what came out of her mouth my reply was going to be "that word is sooo last decade". Thinking back I probably came across as a bit of a jerk, I needlessly insulted another friend's Champion t-shirt labelling it as last decade's stock.

Unfortunately when it was all said and done I fell two short of my targeted 10. I was obviously disappointed but able to console myself with the knowledge that accepting stupid challenges is sooo last decade.

Speaking of things last decade, or more specifically, last year, I have compiled my favourite shots of 2009. I've excluded shots taken at weddings, this is all personal stuff with a handful of couple shots of friends thrown in for good measure.

Click here for the slideshow, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Hot weddings

I've recently had the pleasure of attending 2 weddings (on consecutive Wednesday's no less) as a guest rather than photographer. I like it. Sue and Luke were married on a 41 degree day down by the beach on December 23, I left my big camera at home and only took a handful of shots on my indestructible Olympus point and shoot - indestructible it may be, but capable of taking good photos in anything other than perfect lighting it is not! As a result I don't have anything to share from this wedding, luckily I've got something else to show you.

On Wedneday just been I had the honour of being a driver for the wedding of Rachel and Robin on a 39 degree day, this meant I got to hang out with Robin and the groomsmen all day, and as a result I managed to get a few nice photos. I wasn't the photographer in any official capacity, but I was tasked with taking a few shots of the groomsmen's "secret event" on the morning of the wedding. Shrouded in mystery we drove as a convoy of 2 cars at 9 am, cars filled with a groom, 6 groomsmen, and a handsome devil of a driver / photographer. Before I reveal the secret event I feel a little background is in order. Robin spent 4 years playing basketball at college in America 10 years ago, since that time he's led 2 lives with 2 sets of friends, separated by the Pacific Ocean and an 18 hour time zone difference, this wedding represented the coming together of 2 worlds. One common link between these worlds was basketball, 3 of his groomsmen were college team mates, 2 were Australians who love the game and the other a Swedish brother in law who perhaps didn't have quite the same experience but was up for anything.

The groomsmen were led to a basketball court and presented with special team Groomsmen singlets before indulging in an hour or so of hoops. It was perfect. The pressure and stress of getting everything perfect for the day instantly melted away and everyone was 21 years old again without a care in the world.











With 6 groomsmen plus a groom making 7 it was clear another player was required for some 4 on 4. The time had come to put down the camera and unleash the fury of a man 10 years past him prime who was never that good to start with.

WIth "official" duties over I could relax. I had my camera handy so took a few shots through the day, but as a disclaimer I didn't have my photographer's hat on so I just shot from where I happened to be positioned as opposed to roaming freely (but discretetly) to get better angles.

(this first shot was of the groomsman Matt, he was under strict instructions from his wife not to smile too hard as it's such a lot of teeth for the viewer to deal with- I think you've got a beautiful smile Matt!!)





















Probably the best speeches I've heard at a wedding, tender, funny, real, loving - hardly a dry eye in the house.

Just a quick one for the photographers out there, the light for the speeches was minimal and the last 3 shots were taken at ISO6400, f/2.8, 1/60th with no tripod or flash, absolutely amazing what the 5DmkII can produce, it blows my mind!!

I'm now back in Adelaide indefinitely and taking bookings for weddings and portraits, if you're interested or know someone who is please get in touch on the email address at the top of the page and I can give you a few more details.