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Jason Bournee

Jason Benz — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 08:31:49 +0000

On Thursday I picked up my first Australian Passport. I did not have to give up my UK passport so now I can pretend to be Jason Bourne with his choice of passports. To make this image I started by finding a reference image from the movie. I was going to take a new photo to match the pose then I saw it was the Hollywood standard “look up with menace” which I did in 2010 for the Avatar post. I dug out the old RAW file and Re-processed it in Camera RAW as a Black&White with extra shading. Finally, some texture from the reference image was added in Photoshop. All together the process was quicker than taking a new photo.

Vintage Trouble

Jason Benz — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 13:19:30 +0000

This is Vintage Trouble playing the Crossroads stage on the final day of Bluesfest 2016. They were definitely a highlight of the festival. It is impossible to overstate the amount of energy lead singer Ty Taylor puts into every performance. One review said “imagine James Brown singing lead for Led Zeppelin” I can’t think of a better description of this supercharged tight four piece band.

UPDATE: Vintage Trouble are confirmed to play the 30th Byron Bay Bluesfest in 2019.

UPDATE: Vintage Trouble will be back at the festival in 2023, Tickets from the Bluesfest Website.

This image is available for download here.

Bengal Tiger

Jason Benz — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 02:39:09 +0000

This is an eight year old Bengal Tiger called Mika. She was born at Mogo Zoo in New South Wales and was the runt of the litter. She now lives with her brother and sister at Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Although keeping large carnivores in captivity is a little controversial, these animals look healthy and the handlers appear to put a lot of effort into keeping them physically and mentally stimulated. Such is their dedication that three handlers have been hospitalized in less than a year after curious tigers attempted human tasting.

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

Chevrolet Engine

Jason Benz — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:09:44 +0000

I discovered this Chevrolet Engine on display in a random car park in New South Wales. On a drive from Sydney to Southport in 2014, at some point while stopping for food, I stumbled upon the Summerland Sports and Classic Car Club.

To process this image I created a two-tone effect in the paintwork by pushing the blues towards the purples and the aquas towards the greens. This was done using Camera RAW which is the import engine for Photoshop.

Sprint Boat

Jason Benz — Sat, 23 May 2015 11:17:51 +0000

This is what happens when you strap a V8 to a dinghy. Today was round 2 & 3 of the Australian Superboat Champsionships. I was there with some friends from work (Panedia) because one of them had persuaded our boss to let him stick a bunch of cameras to a boat with a suction cup. The rig on the front is for 360 video and the one on top is for 3D video. Fortunately the yellow and black boat avoided any unscheduled aerobatics. The green and blue boat was not so lucky

Ska Orchestra

Jason Benz — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 03:10:29 +0000

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra put on an awesome performance on the Crossroads stage last night at the 2015 Byron Bay Bluesfest. We never miss a chance to see them. Their energy is infectious, not only will they get your toes tapping you will find yourself dancing like a lunatic and having a thoroughly good time before you can say Madness. (image download here)

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra 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.

Keppel Islands

Jason Benz — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 09:07:26 +0000

This is Great Keppel Island off the coast of Queensland in Australia. It is one of the Southern Reef islands which provide access to the Great Barrier Reef. If you have never visited Australia you would be forgiven for thinking the famous reef was within swimming distance of the mainland. In truth you always need a boat ride. However, once on the islands the coral is within a stones throw of the shore. We took a 30min ferry trip which parked on the island by driving on to the beach. We then walked 45min to this remote place called Monkey Beach.

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

Dodge Bluesmobile

Jason Benz — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 23:12:05 +0000

This car was backstage at the Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Festival. It belonged to a colourful character we later met called Greg the Wookie. He is a singer in a Blues Brother cover band “The Soul Men” You have to admire the dedication of a cover band who invest in authentic wheels.

To process this image a Black & White layer was added in Photoshop. The Blue and Cyan grey tones were darkened and the Yellow and Green grey tones were lightened.

25th Bluesfest

Jason Benz — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 13:59:01 +0000

This is Grace Potter on the Mojo stage, who along with her band The Nocturnals, put on an awesome performance tonight at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in New South Wales, Australia. The festival is small enough that we managed to get to the front row for Grace Potter, Eric Bibb and Seth Lakeman today. We hope we are lucky enough to do the same for the headline act, Dave Matthews Band tomorrow.

Treasury Casino

Jason Benz — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 01:27:19 +0000

This is the Treasury Casino in Brisbane. It is one of four casinos in the state. Queensland already has twice as many casinos as any other part of Australia and they have plans for three more.

This shot was taken with a fisheye lens I borrowed from work (Panedia). Google has put some of our underwater panoramas on one page as they have begun adding them to Google Maps Street View.