Tag: newcastle

Private Shoot: PHT45S VF SS

Walkinshaw-Improved VF SS

I haven’t historically done a lot of private shoots over the last 13 years. Almost all the work I have done has been for magazine clients. It’s always a subtle change of pace and some very nice machines roll past my lens as a result – like this VF SS Commodore from the Hunter Valley.

If you’d like a photo shoot on your own pride and joy, drop me a line today! I’m offering private shoots in the greater Newcastle/Hunter Valley areas only.

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Band Promo Shoots from Just $440!

Professional Band Promo Shoots from just $440 ing gst! 

I don’t just photograph cars. While it’s my main bread and butter, I love the challenge of helping bands and artists create their image (including my own band Where the Devil). Let me help your band put its best foot forward with a set of fresh, slick-looking promo photos. I’m comfortable using flash or natural light, experimental trick photography and Photoshop. let me bring your concept to reality or we can work on something together.

I service the greater Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Sydney areas (with a little notice) and prices start at just $440 inc gst. I can also capture the soaring highs of your live performances to show fans and potential new fans just how good you look when you’re rocking out. Check out the gallery below for some examples of my work.

CONTACT ME today to book your next photo shoot!

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Feature Car: Sammy's 1956 Volkswagen Single-Cab Kombi

Believe it or not, this way-cool rusted and bent ’56 Volkswagen Single-Cab Kombi belongs to an 11-year-old boy! Sam and his dad pulled the raw carcass of this machine from a field out in the country and proceeded to bring it back to life, including a lot of rust repairs, a fresh 1641cc engine and that unique interior made up of patina’d signage.
My shoot was featured in issue 67 of VW Magazine Australia.

BUY A SHIRT, PRINT AND MORE!

As always, we’ve got a series of FREE desktop wallpaper images for you to enjoy. Simply CLICK HERE or on the thumbnails below to visit our Flickr page where all the goodies lay in wait for your visit.

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Learn How to Automotive Light Paint!

Learn how to automotive light paint with one of Australia’s top exponents of the style. Ben Hosking is now offering one-on-one and small-group classes in the greater Newcastle and Sydney regions.

Learn all the necessary tips and techniques you need for creating professional-level automotive light painting images. From the equipment you need to the techniques to creating beautifully-lit scenes and the secrets that make a memorable image.

Each hands-on session will be tailored to where you and I think you need the most help. Or it can be an encompassing course that starts right at the beginning – or anywhere in between. All that will be worked out prior to the lessons, which will be a minimum of two hours, at a time and a location within your general area (where possible). I’ll also try and set the lesson after one of my proper magazine shoots. So you can come along and watch that process as part of the coaching.

I’m also offering more general educational sessions in automotive photography techniques like strobist and even basic camera skills should you feel you need it.

Contact me today HERE if you’re interested in learning how to automotive light paint and we can discuss your specific needs, questions and desired outcomes.

Gary Taylor's 1965 Ford XP Falcon
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Private Photo Shoots!

Did you know that Hosking Industries also offers world-class automotive photo shoots for private clients?

Hosking Industries main-man Ben Hosking has been photographing cars for magazines in Australia and around the world for a decade now and is considered one of the country’s top photographers in the field. Your pride and joy deserves this level of experience and artistry.

Private automotive photo shoots start at just $330 (inc. GST)*. And Ben covers a wide area, including the Newcastle and Hunter Valley, greater Sydney and the mid-north coast of NSW. More regional areas are available on occasion as Ben travels further afield on assignment (keep your eyes peeled on the Facebook page for updates!)

For more information, CLICK HERE.

Ben Hosking photographing Mat Wooten's white GT-T Skyline
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Feature Car: Gary Taylor's 1965 Ford XP Falcon

This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of photographing this silver XP Ford Falcon. I previously shot the car for Street Fords magazine when old owner Andrew owned the car. Today, the car is owned by Gary Taylor and he’s spent plenty of time tidying it up and putting his own stamp on it. This photo shoot featured in the September issue of Street Machine.

BUY A SHIRT, PRINT AND MORE!

As always, we’ve got a series of FREE desktop wallpaper images for you to enjoy. Simply CLICK HERE or on the thumbnails below to visit our Flickr page where all the goodies lay in wait for your visit.

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The Tea Party @ NEX, Newcastle - June 26, 2019

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I’m ashamed to admit it, but this was actually the first time I’d seen The Tea Party live. I’d been into their music since the 1990s and had seen one of Jeff Martin’s incredible solo shows way back in 2010 at Sydney’s The Basement. But I’d never been able to see The Tea Party.

Tonight, I was in for a real treat.

The night was opened by local Newcastle ‘Alternative Punk’ four-piece Linear. What lucky little sods they were. While the crowd was still pretty thin for their performance, opening for such an established and respected international group is no small honour.

Linear’s songs were pretty solid and the musicianship was strong, too. However, the vocals let the band down and I’m sure that more than a few punters were left wondering why another of the countless hyper-talented local outfits weren’t chosen in their place.

By the time The Tea Party took to the stage a little after 9pm, the NEX Theatre (still quite large despite the flanks being curtained off) had finally filled substantially. Opening with ‘The River’ from Splendor Solis, the band worked its way through a career-defining set that included tracks like ‘The Bazaar’, ‘Psychopomp’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Temptation’ and ‘Sister Awake’. They even managed to squeeze a faithful cover of U2’s ‘With or Without You’ right in the middle of ‘Heaven’s Coming Down’.

Despite the years, and Martin’s prodigious and prolific career, his rich baritone roar has lost
none of its impact and intensity. He stalks the stage with the swagger of someone who’s been doing it all his life, part Jim Morrison, even larger part Jimmy Page. Yet (and despite the violin bow and double-neck Gibson SG usage) it never feels like pastiche. Martin has made it all part of his DNA and his performance is certainly a large part of the success of tonight’s show (and we’d bet, any Tea Party show).

Bassist Stuart Chatwood is pretty restrained on stage. At times switching between bass
and a few keyboards and pedals. Drummer Jeff Burrows, complete with Mod hairdo and endlessly chewing gum, is a dynamo on the kit and propels the Tea Party juggernaut ever onward.

Together, they make a hell of a racket for a three piece and tonight’s performance does
nothing but cement their place in rock history and Australia’s heart. The Canadian band has always done well over here and if the new tracks they played tonight are anything to go by, they will continue to do so for some time to come.

Be sure to keep an eye out for tour dates in 2020 when the band tours on the back of its
30th anniversary.

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Born of Osiris + Chelsea Grin @ Newcastle Hotel - June 23, 2019
It might have been a chilly, wet Sunday night outside, but within the cosy confines of the recently-rebranded Newcastle Hotel, piping hot modern metal was cooking up a storm. While we missed local opening act The Wandering, Taree progressive metal four-piece Diamond Construct continued their evolution from awkward teens to stage-pounding purveyors of dissonant chords and brutal breakdowns. Their latest release is garnering them some deserved attention and tonight’s almost-cruelly short 25-minute support slot shows they can impress even on a tight timeline.

Salt Lake City’s Chelsea Grin has darkened our shores a number of times in the past, but rarely with the same line up. The crushing deathcore four-piece has had 14 members within its ranks over the last 12 years and this tour saw new singer Tom Barber screaming his lungs dry in Australia for the first time.

While Tom is about the only member to make decent use of the small corner stage, they’re tight as hell, with drummer Pedro Viveros’ guttural vocals the perfect foil to Barber’s more razor-like fry screams. About the only downside of the performance is from a select handful of crowd members who wrongly presumed the rest of us wanted to watch them throw their limbs around the middle of the dance floor like epileptics with brain injuries. Sadly, this ridiculous, anti-social nonsense meant a large gulf was left between the front of the stage and the back where most were unwilling to risk a wayward fist or boot.

Illinois natives Born of Osiris have only managed to host nine different guys in the group over the past 16 years, and its core members have all been in it for the long haul for over 10 years. That cohesion clearly shows on stage tonight. It’s a polished display of progressive metal that boasts techy, classical flourishes over the top of bruising, tight riffage and twin vocalists Ronnie Canizaro and Joe Buras bring a real sense of urgency to the performance.

By the time the headliners took to the stage, there were no signs of the flailing-limb idiots and the dance floor was full of enthusiastic punters wanting to see the eclectic metal band perform a comprehensive set list of tracks from across its back catalogue. Guitarist lee McKinney’s axe didn’t quite cut through the mix as well as perhaps it should have, given his technical expertise, but overall the mix was thick and full and the audience lapped up every minute.

Definitely the best way to enjoy Sunday night in Newcastle this week!

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Karnivool @ The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle - May 30, 2019
This reviewer hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing the mighty Karnivool live since 2012 and 2013 on the Asymmetry tour. Both of those gigs were held at Sydney’s Metro and the Big Top respectively – much larger venues than Newcastle’s Cambridge Hotel.

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What I would witness tonight would only reinforce would only reinforce an already firmly held belief that the best shows take place in intimate venues. Although, thanks to the Cambridge posting incorrect set times online once again, I’m sure there would have been a few nonplussed punters who either missed opening act Southeast Desert Metal altogether or only caught the last few minutes of their tight, albeit reserved performance (posted start time was 9pm, but the band started at around 8.30 and was finished at 9.15pm). While the band were pretty static on stage, their driving, propulsive mix of hard rock and classic metal sees the half-full room enthusiastic and supportive.

After about 40mins of set up time, Western Australia’s Karnivool took to the stage in what was to be a more pared back production – more visceral perhaps – than what I’d previously seen the band offer. Most importantly however, is the fact that the band was no less powerful for it. In fact, being up so close, with only the Cambo’s small security pit between Ian Kenny’s Zen-like stage moves and the sweaty sold-out Newcastle crowd, you could argue that the limited lighting and production only added to the intensity.

Tonight’s set list covers the spectrum of the band’s output thus far, including what I think were a few new or unreleased tracks like ‘Animation’, ‘Reanimation’ and ‘All It Takes’. Crowd response to them is good, but it’s obviously the known and loved tracks from the band’s three albums that get the most response.

Karnivool are a national treasure. They’re often cited as influences and hit ‘fave band’ lists from notable musos around the world and for good reason: their recorded output is impossible to fault and their live performance – as witnessed here tonight at the Cambridge – is just as strong. With a solid, clear mix, all the guys’ parts are perfectly audible, which is a feat unto itself with the beautiful subtlety that flows beneath all of Karnivool’s music. Add to that the strong, engaging stage presence and you’ve got the ingredients for a perfect night of intense, involving and damned catchy modern progressive metal.

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