Woodford 2007-2008
You are here: Home > Photography > Woodford 2007-2008Another year, another Woodford.
Only this year's was a bit different. For starters, I managed to secure myself a freelance media pass, which basically let me snipe the performers from some extra sweet vantage points (like backstage). And then, there was the rain...
The festival typically offers a lovely spread of sub-tropical QLD summer weather, ranging from stinking hot and dusty to wet and muddy. Mostly, the elements conspire to offer a variety of conditions (last year's weather was perfect), but this year we copped the wet end of the spectrum. The organisers have done a huge amount of work over the years improving the drainage of the site, but there's only so much water that can be coped with, and Mudford it was.
It did dry up for a couple of days, which was nice, but unfortunately on the night of the 30th the rain came down again, and gave everything a good soaking (including our campsite) just in time for New Year's Eve. This meant that some of the nicer events for new year's eve would be either cancelled or very damp, and so Jana and I bailed for the first time ever, and came back to Brissie to spend NYE with Nathan and Alison.
I did return to shoot the fire event though, not only with my camera, but also with a fisheye-equipped 5D. The plan was hatched by a fellow called John Reed, who contacted me a few weeks before the festival to see if I would be interested in helping him with the project. He also planned to shoot in 3D with two video cameras, but the weather put a stop to that.
Anyway the idea is to project the fisheye shots onto a dome (for an immersive 3D effect) in a time-lapse sequence, with video overlaid.
John, it turns out, is a wearer of many hats. Besides being an associate lecturer at Notre Dame University in WA, he is also a former member of the Sensitive New Age Cowpersons, and has played with Kavisha Mazzella on occasion. He's also a really nice guy. :)
The weirdest thing is that John and I had already met once, at the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater. He was there briefly, shooting in 3D, on the same single day as me back in 2005. Spooky!
So despite the damp, the fire event went ahead. It was significantly less baffling than last years', although the lighthouse didn't want to burn at the end - it took quite a while to go up, but it did eventually, to the cheers of the crowd.
Thanks again to all the artists, organisers and volunteers for making it happen. Woodford is huge - huger than the average punter appreciates - and getting it together each year is a fantastic achievement.
I could go on about some of my favourite artists, but this year, I'll be lazy and just let the pictures do the talking...
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