Matthew Richards Photography

I took a vacation...

2010-08-24T22:03:00.008+09:30

to Deception Bay...

I hadn't shot Black Market before, but the venue was actually pretty good for band shots.

I had seen DB before and enjoyed their brand of metal. A very tight set on Saturday guys!

We'll be seeing some promo shots soon for these guys also.

Matt

The Oscillators

2010-08-16T20:54:00.002+09:30

studio improvisation (aka. bedroom) ... turned out being quite a lot of fun.

definitely come to like this strobist style of photography.

thanks guys for an awesome shoot. i enjoyed it thoroughly... despite the cold

Matt

Mara Jade

2010-08-02T13:54:00.005+09:30

Well they used to be Slow Motion Jones... but they changed their name..

Finally got a chance to take some shots, was an enjoyable show.

some promo shots will be next.

Matt

Sequence..

2010-05-04T16:50:00.003+09:30

Steve killing the square hollow rail at the Grove park..

Click to enlarge.

Skate

2010-04-27T21:03:00.003+09:30

Some old photos; enjoying the hugh jair.

All shot at the Golden Grove Skate park.

Matt

A quest...

2010-04-16T19:53:00.007+09:30

Into the woods and beyond.... rightio.

So its been a couple of weeks since the last post, surely i should have updated this earlier and i cant really think of a reason... oh thats right ive been doing some garden upgrades, but some people would see it as a complete overhaul.. haha! I'll be posting some photos of that soon enough also..

Anyways back to the point.. Quest. the band. see below.

Bit of a Door theme..

Hope you enjoyed your viewing.

Matt

AP6..

2010-03-24T10:09:00.005+10:30

valiant

–adjective

1. boldly courageous; brave; stout-hearted: a valiant soldier.

2. marked by or showing bravery or valor; heroic: to make a valiant effort.

3. worthy; excellent.

There was nothing on this car that i could fault in the slightest, an amazingly prepared and well thought out car of a show car standard.

We ended up having some fun at the end of the day.

Matt

V to the X.. midweek fun.

2009-09-30T20:36:00.001+09:30

Hey guys,

Still filtering through the trips photos, little daunted by the fact i have 800 to chose from! far out...! In the meantime however, i am finding time to do photos of cars midweek, hahah..

Daniel's VX was a bit of a pearler and came up a treat in the photos, thanks for giving me a good basis to start with there Daniel.

We started off with some pretty average lighting, but i was lucky enough to also have Melissa on hand for the assistant "lighting" duties.

Enjoy!

VE GTS seats are comfy. haha.

Matt

Embured farewell

2009-09-08T23:02:00.001+09:30

Went to a farewell show for Embured with a few of the local favourites, Marla Singer, The Vampirates and Abandon All Hope.

Marla Singer

Vampirates

Abandon all hope

Bailey for a second time around

2009-09-08T22:22:00.001+09:30

Hahah, she is possibly the most amazing dog going around. This is a portrait I took a while ago and never blogged, don’t really know why.

I was pretty stoked she stood still for so long, what a champ!!!

Matt

Road trip, ohhh yea…

2009-08-31T16:27:00.001+09:30

So there we are, 6 in the morning throwing our essentials in the car. A cold August morning with the sun merely peaking through the clouds. There's a glimmer of hope that it wont rain, but we both knew it would never be that simple.

Our first stop was Kingston SE for the family favourite, The Big Lobster. Unfortunately, the information centre was closed, so we made do with our short stop and continued down the rain soaked highway to Robe.
It was a surprise to us once we drove through Robe that we would find some pretty huge cliffs and a raging ocean. Realising that we overlooking some pretty good photo opportunities near the entrance to the carpark, we decided to walk back a little way along the cliff line. Despite several signs expressing the dangers of the surrounding terrain, we both fell over invisible super mud. After scraping our shoes of brown mess, we continued. But in a turn of weather so fast, we were totally washed away (excuse the pun) by some pretty crazy rain and we were forced to embark further on our journey.

Next stop was Mt. Gambier, the biggest town in South Australia. Which would be our resting place for the evening. With sink holes and blue lakes looming, we were both anxious to check out the sights. We made our way up to the blue lake, only to realise it isn't so blue in winter. Damn! That was a depressing moment.

On we went, to our next stop which was more like a marathon climb up a huge mountain just to see a tower they named Centenary tower. From the top we had full panorama views of the landscape surrounding the lakes. Overall it was a pretty rewarding climb, but as normal people forget. Getting back down the hill is actually just as painful.

So after our calf workout, we progressed on to the discovery centre and a couple of the sink holes in the heart of the town. Overall the first day was a bit of fun and certainly set the scene for the rest of our trip. Tune in soon for an update on Day Two...

Road Trip...

2009-08-12T15:17:00.004+09:30

To give you a little background,

Jessie and I set off on August the 1st, for a Great Ocean Road / Victoria road trip, to get away from our boring working lives. For at least a week.

Along the way we encountered various storms, some pretty darn heavy rain, a couple of fallen trees, branches that damaged my front bumper, kangaroos which almost met my front grille, some treacherous pot holes, discovered a little thing called severe aqua planing, cattle grids, windy roads beyond belief, shitty drivers, light houses, sheer cliffs and you get the point the list goes on.

As far as the good things go, we pretty much documented every bit of the trip with the trusty help of a Canon 5d Mark II and a 40d.

To the people waiting on some of these photos, here is a teaser...

There will be plenty more up soon.

Matt

Leigh's Calais

2009-06-22T23:40:00.003+09:30

Managed to get out with my good mate Leigh on Sunday and take some shots of his car.

So, i tried a little bit of this and a little bit of that and came out with what i would like to describe as.... a couple of photos of a car. hahah

Thanks Leigh for letting me boss you round a little bit! hahah

The secret

2009-05-04T19:42:00.001+09:30

Went and saw Enolas Secret at the unibar a couple of fridays ago.

They rocked out good and proper. Tight show boys.

View Full Album

Can’t wait for the EP launch.

See yas there.

Enolas Secret

2009-04-20T18:50:00.002+09:30

Hello there again peoples,

Went out to Enolas Secret band practice last night for a quick photo shoot.

I pretty much had to wing it once i had got there.. But i think we worked with what we had and got some reasonable results.

Was good to meet the guys and I think some live shots might just have to be on the cards.

Thanks

Love Matt.

Shoot the band... BOSS!

2009-04-14T19:55:00.008+09:30

Hey guys,

did some work for the Vampirates yesterday, I was the victim of an abduction. Boots of cars aren't the place you wanna spend your quality time in. especially with only one shoe on and wearing a crappy old blanket and the heat of the Aussie sun bearing down on you.

Enjoyed working with ya guys. We got a few photos with the essence. Thats the reality of it.

How Easy? ;)

Matt

Happy Birthday blog.

2009-04-07T14:12:00.002+09:30

It's been one year since this blog started..

Happy birthday, mate. lol.

Daytime + Doddy = Photos

2009-04-07T13:47:00.004+09:30

So, on Saturday, Adam and I went for a photo expedition to the city.

Learned once again, a lot (more) about photography!

Need to get out more often and do this.

Lets kick it in to high gear! Watch this space!

There's a little tab indicated 'Comments' below, feel free to drop a line.

Bailey

2009-02-24T15:37:00.004+10:30

Meet Bailey.

A German shepherd x Kelpie.

I thought i would do something a little different, Bailey seemed like the perfect subject for a Caricature style photo, aka big head small body. :D

(thanks to Stephen and Jules for letting me blind their dog)

Matt

Burning rubber

2009-02-24T15:28:00.001+10:30

Hey guys,

Nick invited me out on another automotive shoot on Sunday and although I'm not a huge Ford fan, nor an XD fan.

This car still impressed me in the mechanics and tyre spinning department.

Lets just say, burnouts are fun.

Matt

Adam D

2009-02-19T18:46:00.002+10:30

Hey guys,

long time no post. I shall be updating my blog in the coming days with some new and old photos.

my first post was a good opportunity to play with natural light on my new 50mm f1.4 lens.

I happened to be helping Adam (the photogenic subject of the photo above) learn the more detailed side of a digital SLR and in turn got a chance to muck around myself.

Comment if you like.

Matt

What a beach.. to skim

2009-01-10T12:44:00.004+10:30

Hey guys,

Another photo post. this time from a skim session a little while back with Damo and Steve from my work. Just took a couple of photos.

We got our skim on and left. Was a pretty decent night to skim.

Matt

Vampirates Take 2

2009-01-05T18:38:00.005+10:30

So yea i promised the boys from the Vampirates i would take some more photos of them in action...

They played a fuckin rad show... as usual.

I suggest you see them live..

It's fun.

Matt

Update

2009-01-03T19:00:00.008+10:30

Took some more random shots AGES ago, but since i havent had access to the internet due to telstra being annoying i havent had the chance to load some piccies up...

I have this problem of not having concepts that are able to be fulfilled at 100% on my own.. so i end up being the subject and botching it up.. lol

well maybe not that bad. :D

tell me what you think in my comments.

cheers,

Matt.

Belmont..

2008-09-02T23:17:00.003+09:30

its a Holden HG Belmont Ute.. and its mine!

Its a pretty cool car. since i bought it a week ago today, i have (including some big help from Jessie's dad Larry) lowered it, painted the rear suspension and fuel tank in chassis black, painted the wheels black and put the Premier hubcaps and whitewalls on.. so all in all.. a fair bit of work for only a weeks ownership...

still plenty of plans so watch this space..

Matt

A photoshoot with my own car..

2008-07-30T18:00:00.002+09:30

Hahah, finally got the beast some wheels.

Pretty happy with 'em.

Renstar

GTR XU-1

2008-07-29T19:04:00.004+09:30

So there is a pretty sad story behind this car.

It was originally Colin Bond's winning XU1 race car. Then after many years, Daryl Caine set his eyes on the giant killer. He decided it was to be turned into a complete and utter restore, every square inch of the car to be brought back to race trim. And he did a bloody good job may i add.

Last month, he decided that the earth no longer needed him. It was a massive shock to the people closest to him. This car is his prize possession and wherever it may end up in the years to come. Will be a reminder of him and how much love and dedication pays off.

I had the opportunity to be taken for a drive in the car and take some photos, about a week ago. What a bloody grunty ole' thing.

Matt.

Again, my girl...

2008-07-29T00:07:00.003+09:30

This is Jessie as you know..

I took this random, but cool photo in my room... there was no light in the room, i was just using my flash, off the ceiling... WOO!

Then of course i got my edit on. but its come up looking fairly old school. Shes rad.

Matt.

Canon Training

2008-07-29T00:03:00.002+09:30

Tonight i had a bit of Training with Canon, the brand in which i prefer for my camera gear.

Got to try out the 450D. Is quite a cool camera!

Jessie took this photo of me sitting on a bench by the Torrens. I like it!

Thanks to Steve from Canon for the use of some good gear.

Bump and Grind... i know.. lame

2008-07-28T23:15:00.004+09:30

Hey guys,

Had a bit of a skate the other night with Jason from work and a couple of his mates (Josh and Keiron). Was a bit of fun, havent got on the board for a while but i can still roll! :D

Fun was had by all!

See...

Thats and Keiron crankin a tweaked 5-0 on the curb!

Josh killing the rail with a 5-0 on the right.

Shank you.

Rocky Road... anyone?

2008-07-24T17:25:00.003+09:30

No, i did not make a chocolate sweet... no marshmallow and chocolate here.. just one road and a rock in water... suffering from erosion and water pools of love (i guess its not suffering from water pools of love tho).

I drove around the Adelaide hills to find some nice photo opportunities the other day. It turned out to be shocking light conditions due to heavy cloud cover all day, but i persevered. No real rewards besides my sunset shots. Of the hundreds of photos i took, these two were the only ones i thought were worthy! :D hahah..

Thank you very much for your lovely contribution of viewing these photos. It is much appreciated in the eyes of Lord Fortescue and all of his men. Your on going support to the cause is an ongoing triumph of human spirit.

love love love..

Sun is fun

2008-07-23T00:25:00.005+09:30

Hello all,

Lame blog title as usual...

As you can see, I took some photos today of an awesome sunset over Golden Grove. The rumors are true, it is pretty freaking Gold.. pun intended.

Haven't really had a chance to do the whole sunset thing and i found a rad spot so yea, away i shot.

Matt

Widely recognised...

2008-06-06T18:52:00.003+09:30

More photoshoot blog love, of course assisting Nick Wild Adventures.

Tuesday, a widebody S15 was shot.. these were my most usable shots from 4 hours of staring at a car..terrible.. yep, thats me.. lol..

And of course a picture of the owner... Bruce Lau.. a little creativity.. maybe?

Thanks for reading my writing.. however boring it may be..

Love you..

Matt

Sunday Drive

2008-06-01T19:28:00.003+09:30

Hey guys,

Todays post is one of the better shots i've taken. in my opinion that is!

I went along to a photo shoot of a HB Torana, with nick the machine of course.

As the end of the day drew closer, Adam the owner decided it was final burnout time. Haha! Yes, he did several. I have a video (of one of them anyway). So, i finally got my hands dirty and lay down on the bitumen. Im glad i did. This is what i saw through the viewfinder.

Although that was my favourite shot, i took a couple of other accent shots that were a bit of fun too. Don't suppose you've noticed i like de-saturating and tinting my images :D

Thanks to nicks wide angle for these shots... i reckon i was about 100mm from car in both of these shots... haha! nice 383 there adam! :D

Matt.

Jessie...

2008-05-31T22:37:00.005+09:30

So, as the story goes. Boy meets girl, they fall in love. Then they ride off into the sunset, only we're driving..

This is my rad girlfriend Jessie. You've seen her car, a V8 Statesman. That means she is tougher than you.

I couldn't be happier. Ever. Period.

And heres why..

Hungry Jacks.. or atleast the abbreviation..

2008-05-29T11:50:00.002+09:30

Got takeoff? this HJ Monaro did.. doing 80kmh, plants his foot ... good bye!

Went with Nick to a shoot last weekend and took some snaps. These were a few of my arty, creative ones! :D

Gino and Johnny

2008-04-29T23:43:00.003+09:30

A Photo of Gino (left) filled with sorrow, haha... and Johnny, showing a relaxed happy attitude...

I just snapped away while at the Auto-pro car park with general chit chat going on around our cars. Nothing amazing, but i guess its fun to capture a random scene..

O'how i wish i had better lighting that day.. little more skill would go a long way too hah!

Mattress

Jessie's beast

2008-04-21T17:42:00.005+09:30

A while back Jessie and i headed out for a photoshoot of her new car.

Was a bit of fun and after a bit of an edit and touch up, we came back with a couple of decent photos!

This was the photo that ended up being my fav!

Well, equal with the shots with my car aswell anyway!

Tell me what you think! Gotta love Sepia style tone.

P.S. Jessie is way, way better than all 5 billion other people on the planet.

Nick-terview...

2008-04-21T16:35:00.008+09:30

University, is an exciting proposition for people with knowledge, unlike myself. Using 7 thousand dollar Sony HDV Camcorders is just one of the fun items Cat, Damo and Michelle (whom i have documented in their natural habitat) get to borrow and use at the Magill campus. Apparently, this is the past time that gets put second to the hoards of drinking that goes on in uni of course.. including lecture drunken-ness.. but hey, people gotta live life to the full.. haha

The day was dedicated to interviewing Nick Bracken in regards to his business of photography. We all had a ball i think and a laugh was had by all. I was just there to document some of the events and as moral support i guess...

Nick, is funny on and off camera. He has trouble making faces that recognize human structure when i take photos. He blames me for not capturing moments, but you know what.. i need a good basis to start from. He does not provide me with one. haha.. thanks buddy.

Mattress

Oh.. Dam it!

2008-04-21T00:08:00.008+09:30

On a local South Aussie bush expedition, our team of six encountered the Little Para Reservoir. My rugged and tired group of explorers, experienced some serious terrain today.

Today was one of those learning days...

- One, Mel was learning how to use her camera to its full potential..

- Two, i was learning that my new lens, the 24-70mm Sigma EX lens is very versatile..

- Three, Jumping fences and climbing down steep drops on a bush expedition with thongs, among the snakes and other creatures that may harm, is fun...

Private property generally means no unauthorized entry. Well, they hardly made it difficult for a curious group to navigate their way down a steep drop and into the damn reservoir! Excuse the pun.

Nature is great. You should check it out one day.

Such a small world..

2008-04-20T18:38:00.003+09:30

Well, Today Gino decided he would eat Hungry Jacks and then spill it over the car park..

This is just an example of nature and how half a bite less for a human, can bring a scourge of ant's to a food source.

More than likely a happy ant feast tonight.

This one is for you... Queen ant. Your employees working... for you.

Motorshow

2008-04-03T23:32:00.007+10:30

Last night, i attended the Adelaide Motorshow for the first time in probably the last 2 or 3 years. I was amazed to see from the moment of entry, the quality of Australian cars has been seriously upgraded. There were 5 major stand out cars for me in the show, 4 of which were Australian and 1 European. Starting at the Holden Stand. The first car that caught my eye was the (W for Wonderful) HSV W427, to which 97 of 100 have already been sold in 1 week. After seeing this car in the newest addition of wheels magazine, i was intrigued to see it in the flesh and it in fact looks even better up close. Can't wait to own one.
The second car to catch my eye was probably the second most amazing concept car to come out of Australia behind a car to which i will show next. The Holden Coupe 60, was quite simply awe-inspiring and displayed a level of quality often seen from European titans. I can only relate this car to a large Aston Martin, only more Aussie. Big LS9 supercharged V8 up front, fat rubber down the back, exhaust coming out in front of the wheels, vented guards and a diffuser rear bar. I cant think of 5 more important things a car should have.

As you can see, Efigy. The epitome of Hot rods around the world. There is not an angle, a piece of metal, merely a speck i do not like about this car. No questions, No disputes, Efigy is the best car Holden has ever made. Let alone one of the best examples of how cars should be made. Period.

We moved on to the second hall and i was confronted by the menacing little Birkin Series 3 (Lotus 7 style) clubman car. There is nothing cooler than a lightweight open wheel race style car with a load of power and all the technology we find in our every day cars. A full wishbone front end and independent rear. Serious handling capabilities from such a techy little suspension set up. Especially in a car that would probably weigh less than 700 kilos fully kitted. Amazing car. would be worth buying and building entirely yourself.

The last car that was worth speaking this highly about, is the Audi R8. I had seen a few driving around on Adelaide roads and it is by far the toughest looking European car on the market today. When considering the 300kW V8 behind the seats, All Wheel Drive grip, DSG sequential gearbox and Super car super styling, this car has everything you would want from a super car. It looks fast and i bet it is. I would love to have this in my garage.

Out of the 5 cars i was most impressed with i would not be able to choose one as a fav. if it was a perfect world i would just have them all. The motorshow is on all this week until Sunday the 6th, so get out there and check out the seriously cool cars on offer from Australia and around the world.

Matt.

Good afternoon

2008-04-01T19:01:00.000+10:30

Just thought i would drop a line and tell you what this is all about..

It has been sometime since i delved into writing mode like i am today. in fact, it was well before my Perth expedition, but of course, with a little motivation i have rolled right back into it. a well needed jump start from a good mate i think (thanks nick ya pansy).

Yes, there have been a few things i have forgotten and yes, i was never that great in the first place. but as i type on my almost useless keyboard (sticky unresponsive keys included), i think of what i really did leave behind with my trip to the other side of the world. i had much dedication for writing, even if it was for a short period of time. i guess that time ultimately determines the amount of things we all can do in a day, but you have to start somewhere. and what better time than now to get back into it. My goal at some stage is to become a writer for a motoring magazine, I'll get there one day.

My general interest is within cars, motor sport and music. Where my goal stems from is obvious. Growing up, i was a keen enthusiast to pretty much anything related to cars. I am also very much into photography and I have a Canon 400D Digital SLR which is the weapon of choice. I have found endless use from this camera and certainly still enjoying experimenting with it.

However, on a different scale of things I have recently had access to a Panasonic SD9 Hi-Def Camcorder on a Street Commodores shoot with Nick Bracken, whom i will mention is a pro photographer and one of my best mates. I found video to be similar to photography, with a lot of influence from the angles. But, using the element of motion is quite difficult to initially wrap your head around. I think it would be quite an interesting profession. It diversifies that static element of photography however I do believe they are still non-comparable. I think I'll eventually enjoy doing both.

So i shall bid farewell and invite you to comment.

Thanks,

Matt.

Please feel free to check out Nick's work at Nickbracken.com.au