I somehow managed to get conned into spending $285 to go and camp at Southbound Music Festival in Busselton with a group of mates between January 8th and 11th 2010.
I liberated myself from the easily dissolved digital frames and just brought along my Nikkormat with a 50-f2 + 28 - 80/f3.5 and a combination of rolls:
Kodak Royal Supra 800 exp x2
Kodak Gold 200 x 1
Agfa Vista 400 x 1
Agfa Vista 200 x 2
Kodak Porta 160NC x 1
Polaroid HD x 1
I shot 251 frames over the three and a half days, and edited 173, of which you will see in my biggest blog yet!
First and foremost was a test shot of Sam "Win" Maher as we were leaving Lloyd's house for the major congregation at Ash's to make sure the film was winding.
A couple of houses down from Lloyd's. I didn't really think much before I pressed the shutter, I just saw the creepy murderer looking guy, pointed it out the window as we were driving, and then the magic happened unexpectedly.
Went to the deli and got a drink while we were waiting for some others. Just your average Joe Golfer.
We stopped for a little pissbreak/smokebreak/discussotherstopsbreak.
It was a Friday, and some people had to work. SUCKER!
It was time for lunch in Bunbury, and time for a portrait of Davo.
Checked out the Salvos op-shop while we were there too. Nothing but your typical antiquity and junk.
Rob, Damien, Brendan and Lloyd eating "dem foods".
The special Lloyd. uhdahhhhh.
It was early afternoon on the first day of camping and these guys were tired already. I was too, but I wasn't sleeping!
Conversation through the drinking pit fence while The Boxer Rebellion were playing. They were one of the first bands to play(Just for the campers).
Tem was paying attention.
So were all these people.
This guy was drunk already. He stopped me while I was walking and slurred "T...TAAAKKEEE A PICTURRREEE OF MY FAAAACE."
As I said, it was Friday and some people were working. SUCCCKER!
The people with media passes filmed this guy doing hand-stand-flips. He did two and that was it.
Perfectly lit for my pervert shot (Enlarge to see why).
Siahne had a broken shoe that she stopped and fiddled with every 4.5 seconds.
This guy was doing push-ups for a crowd of guys at one of the gates. I guess hanging out with "The Fellas" for prolonged amounts of time pumps you with testosterone. Or maybe he was just impressing all the eligible ladiiiies.
I had to get another Mohawk shot for the archives.
It was time to hit-up the Silent Disco and get down with boogie...it's a pretty funny thing to do, because if you feel awkward dancing in front of people when you're all listening to the same music without headphones, you should try it when you're listening to different music WITH headphones!
Tracy being a loner.
Tem channel surfing.
The Disco even had two Dj's!
Non existent carpet angels.
The disco never stopped.
Props to this guy for fucking up any chances of this being a candid shot. I never noticed him, so good on him, I would've done the same.
I left the Disco because I saw two guys with massive stick-on moustaches on the bumper cars next to it.
Then they finished up and I kept rollin'.
Light play at the bar. I waited for the cashiers shadow to appear (You can see her arms giving change).
I don't know whether that's a Mullet or a Rat's Tail, but I do know that Metallica weren't playing.
I have a feeling that the topless guy was either a Brit or an Irish, he just had that look to him.
People kept asking me to take their photo, without realising I was shooting film - sometimes I explained why not, and sometimes I said yes.
HIPPIES! Not the try-hard hippies either, that girl had hairy arm pits! Not as many as I saw at 2009 East Coast Bluesfest though. Just incase I wasn't sure what country I was in.
Just incase I wasn't sure what country I was in.
Hoola Hoops and stolen signs.
I waited for someones silhouette to hit the sign.
Fixing up the bandage on his leg.
And then....
Man lovin'!
Shooting into the sun with the Nikkormat 50/2 + film combination is so pleasing, as I couldn't get those lens flares any other way.
A shakespearean, cowgirl and a bucking bull.
And the shadow of another cowgirl.
There was a girl on the phone on the other side of the fence.
And a person at a stall.
It's me, Gumby!
You're not a real Chef until you wear the correct attire. This guy passed the test. But my overexposures didn't.
Having a $4.50 Coke in the last rays of light inside the tent.
This guy asked for a shot, so I positioned him in the spot of light and took this. It's a damn shame I over exposed this one too(I was scared of the Kodak Royal Supra 800 grain) because the light of the whole scene was awesome. I should probably put a battery in the camera for the light meter at some stage.
About 30 seconds later this guy stopped and wouldn't stop staring at me until I took an out of focus photo of him. He had crazy eyes.
Security, doing what security do best....nothing!
...for the most part anyway.
The pretty little doll-like Ms.Ashlee Higgins!
The infamous KaKty!
Or Kirsten, as she is formally known.
Davo in his tent at f2 1/30th with the Kodak 800.
I knew this shot was going to be bollocks, but I didn't expect the light leak.
The last shot before I refuged to my tent for the night...and the Disco still goes on.
The next day we payed two dollars each way to get a couple of kilometres into town and to go to the beach...even though we'd all just spent nearly $300 on a ticket, they still charged you $4 for a return fare...arseholes.
Walking from the beach to the shops I saw a Dog party(Dog obedience classes) going on in the park that I knew I had to attend. So I bailed on the crew and made an appearance, patted a few Dogs, used the last shot on the roll on the Doggy having a shit, put in my new roll and left.
This Dog didn't even need to go to the Dog party and he was already obedient, following his Dad around the longboard.
He must've forgot his tent, or felt like an upgrade - as that's a pretty big tent bag he's hauling.
No-one told me that the babes in Busselton ride three wheeled bikes!
Correction *rode* three wheeled bikes. Granny must've been tired.
You'd almost expect Fred Flintstone to be driving that car.
...I don't know. Maybe a subconscious reminder to wear a hat...or sunscreen for that matter. Yet, I didn't do either the whole time.
And no-one told me the pimps in Busselton roll a set of wheels like that!
I bet the lady riding the three wheeled bike has been passenger seat in that beast before.
The back of Stephs head and the forest greens of my tent.
Alcohol + Sun + Music + Walking = tired.
Vindictive Vic shows Funky a bit of his own medicine. ;)
I wonder if that guy knew he was sitting on the flipside of a piss-troff urinal. Then again, when you're drunk at a music festival wearing a Hawaiin shirt and Sombrero you've got the best of all worlds so nothing matters.
Very muscly girls.
Damien wasn't talking for once!
...Brendan, on the other hand...was baked like Shapes...as usual.
Bird watching.
These guys were called Inspector Cluzo, and they played an awesome live set - got heaps of people up on stage and then trashed it!
Kyna Ho was watching Andrew Bird while I was sitting down. She didn't know I was there, and I was tired and I couldn't be bothered getting up to interact.
Lloyd...doing something.
Brian doing something, most probably his hand.
Waiting for Grizzly Bear to come on, there was light and smoke making it's way through the tent.
Meanwhile, everyone was resting up.
Then Tracy took my camera to get a picture of me, and got this perfectly focused picture of Lara's legs! Thanks Trace!
Lara was indeed, glowing.
Festival shenanigans.
A weird position, I must add.
A typical expression from the Roger's bloodline.
Enlarge this one to see what I mean by another typical expression by one of the Roger's family.
That was the Hot Dogs and Hamburgers there. Everything else was about double that.
X marks the spot. That guy wasn't slow in acting to spank the said spot.
Steph's friend Kat. She posed for the photo and didn't even realise it was me 'til after.
Last rays of light in the tents once again.
Temily-Jaye and his blue eyes - if you couldn't already see that!
"Fuck off you Hippie cunt!"
They were probably some of the few older blokes there.
The guy leaning on the rail was so absolutely shit-faced I felt sorry for him, and then laughed!
I knew there was no chance I could even expose for the highlights on the above shot at 1/8 without getting crazy shadow grain. But I tried anyway.
Moby was playing, but I left after two songs as it didn't really interest me. He's more a composer than a live musician, but the sound was big and great.
It's a shame the light leak covers up her costume as it was pretty cool. She had an artist badge but I'm not sure who she was.
Ben Smith ft. Chicken Treat.
It was so hot during the middle of the day, the breeze amongst the trees was a blessing, and then as the light died away it got quite cold.
From a distance I saw two people looking at this little Bunny that was in the grass near the less-inhabited tiolets.
As I got closer I realised he was blind with an eye infection, Myxamatosis, and even though they're pests in Australia you couldn't help but feel sympathy for this little guy.
Had a brief portrait session with Davo before heading back to the stage area.
It's definitely safe for the security guard cowering on the other side of the fence, sitting on a trolley.
"Hey Steph!"
Gotcha!
Brendan was writhing in ecstasy as we watched Sarah Blasko. She was awesome, and very very pretty.
I like this one of Chanelle.
Cheer up young lass!
It looks like she's spewing...but she was actually just on the phone.
Originally it was just the paracitic-Giraffe-head guy, until his mates joined the party. The guy on the right showed me a tattoo of a Canon AE-1 on his left arm and then started drunkenly rambling about it.
Sequence.
"Siahne, as-fucking-if you did that painting on the wall of your dads place, it's too good."
- " errrrrrwhateveryesIsodiditlikelastweekLOL."
None of that conversation actually took place, it was just a dig at Siahne for a drawing she did in Primary school on the wall of Dads house!
Chanelle also had a habit of playing with her shoes, much like her twin sister Siahne.
I'm a crack addict!
Jamie-Lee bearing her lovely smile.
And Jess too.
Murray thinks that you can make any sentence sound sexy and enticing just by doing that move with your glasses.
I set my camera so Jess could borrow it and take a photo. She's got a fine vision, and she's a damn natural!
Washing his hands.
Ben Smith ft. Tim and Jean!!!!!
I took two shots throughout the entire set, and this one couldn't have given me any more ammo to tease ridicule Ben with, as he was playing with Electro Artists Tim and Jean.
I finished the last shot of the last night on a red Mohawk before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came on.
Later on that night in the camping grounds there was a massive crowd of hundreds of campers all singing and making a racket while a couple of different guys used one of the cane poles in which lights were being held up on, to pole volt into the crowd. It was all fun and games until the Security guards came to actually do their jobs. T,hen the police came too and the gathering was split up and we all went back to our tents.
Steph and I woke up at 7 to pack our gear up, because I had to work the same day. So I loaded up my camera with the Polaroid HD film that only had 12 exposures on it and took a few frames of the aftermath. I thought of how many people couldn't wipe their arses because of the beautiful drapery across the trees.
And that concluded the Southbound Music Festival for 2010!
