Benz World Blog » Colour

Buddy Guy

Jason Benz — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 13:59:21 +0000

There are blues men and there is Blues Royalty. This is, without question, one of the last original Kings of the Chicago Blues. Bluesfest 2017 was honoured to have Buddy Guy playing on the Crossroads stage tonight. It was hard to believe he is 80 years old as he strolled around like someone half his age. Guy has been called the bridge between Blues and Rock and Roll as he links electric blues pioneers such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf with popular musicians like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, who copied Buddy’s tricks of playing the guitar over his head and with his teeth.

UPDATE: If you would like to see the hands which shaped the history of music. Buddy Guy will return to tour Australia in 2023. 10th April in Melbourne, 12th April Sydney. Tickets from Bluesfest Touring

UPDATE: Buddy Guy will return to the festival in 2023, Tickets from the Bluesfest website.

UPDATE: Buddy Guy will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Byron Bay Bluesfest 2026
1st artist reveal

This image is available for download here.

Flaming Torch

Jason Benz — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 15:01:04 +0000

This flower is from an epiphytic bromeliad. We have a small colony of them growing on the Frangipani trees in our garden in Queensland, Australia.

This image is for Molly Path who is fond of my floral photography.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Magic Bus

Jason Benz — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 06:30:57 +0000

This is the Magic Bus. I have seen it a few times but this is the first time I photographed it. Karen was driving my van at the time and I shot it through the windscreen with the camera shutter set to 1/1000sec. I used Photoshop to remove some reflections. This 72 seat double decker is a bus for hire, servicing Byron Bay, Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Nalle Colt

Jason Benz — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 09:10:03 +0000

This is Swedish guitarist Nalle Colt playing with Vintage Trouble on the Crossroads stage on the final day of Bluesfest 2016. This was one of the most memorable performances of the festival.

Benz World Blog will be posting daily images from Bluesfest 2017 from mid-April. Does anyone have any requests from the lineup?

UPDATE: Vintage Trouble and Benz World Blog will be back at the festival in 2023. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Nalle Colt image is available for download here.

Rasta House

Jason Benz — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:40:45 +0000

This building near Port Antonio in Jamaica is painted with the pan-African colours Red, Gold and Green which are based on the Ethiopian flag. It has been a stock photo at Shutterstock for 10 years and still gets downloaded every week. It was shot on an early digital compact camera EX-Z3 less powerful than the average mobile phone camera theses days.

The Bamboos

Jason Benz — Mon, 30 May 2016 14:29:07 +0000

This is Kylie Auldist singing with Melbourne based Soul Funk band The Bamboos at the 2016 Blues on Broadbeach music festival. If you want to get your groove on, I highly recommend you check them out.

Stage lights often produce challenges for cameras. To process this image a little split toning was added in Camera RAW to recover the skin tone. A mask was then created in Photoshop to put some red back into the dress.

UPDATE: The Bamboos will perform at Bluesfest in April 2022. Get your tickets from the Bluesfest website.

Purple Rain

Jason Benz — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 01:13:25 +0000

RIP Prince, Thank you for the music.

Cat Empire

Jason Benz — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 10:38:54 +0000

This is The Cat Empire electrifying the audience on the Mojo stage at Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia. They are a Melbourne based band whose music is a fusion of Raggae, Jazz, Dance and Ska with a distinctly Cuban feel. The performance was energetic and the infectious rhythms soon had the crowd dancing wildly as far as the eye could see. (image download here)

The Cat Empire will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: In 2026 Bluesfest will be the last in a line of major festivals closed from increasing headwinds. This began before covid, with the previous state government’s legislative “war on festivals“. The new government risks letting this trend continue through inaction. However, you can change this. If 20,000 signatures are received, the NSW Parliament must debate Bluesfest’s future. #savebluesfest if you live in the state Sign up here. For everyone else, there is an international petition on change.org Sign up here.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. Discounted early bird tickets for the 2026 festival are available here.

Peace Bell

Jason Benz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 12:30:21 +0000

This is the World Peace Bell in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia. The Bell is made from coins provided by 103 countries and is a replica of the one that stands in the forecourt of the United Nations Headquarters. Events in France remind us of the need for greater understanding between people of the world. It is sad that someone could believe terror attacks on France would be a solution for anything.

To process this image Red and Blue layers were used in Photoshop to add colour. A lightened Black and White layer was used in the centre to finish the flag.

Mothers Day

Jason Benz — Sat, 09 May 2015 23:07:25 +0000

This yellow sun flower was photographed at the Bundaberg Botanic Garden in Queensland.

Today is Mothers Day in Australia. It originates from the american holiday pioneered by Anna Jarvis in 1908. Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday in 1914. By the 1920′s it had become so commercialized that Anna tried to rescind it. She organized boycotts, threatened lawsuits and was finally arrested for disturbing the peace during a protest.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.