First Pentax K-r Red Test Shots
Hi all,
As some of you may already know, I ordered a new camera last week, and this morning it arrived.
After very thorough research, I decided on a Pentax K-r Red, with an 18 – 55 mm lens, as it represented the best value for money, and it’s stylish as hell – like me! ;)
I could have gone with the ubiquitous Canon’s and Nikon’s, that every other photographer around town seems to be lugging. However, those cameras just don’t excite me at all, and for the price range I was looking at, don’t offer the quality and value of the Pentax.
Above are a couple test shots I just fired off. They’re nothing special, just my usual post-processing tricks, and are from an untuned, as of yet, camera.
Give me a moment or two to wrap my head around the new camera, and I can promise you some of my wildest photography ever!
Kind regards
Bill Gray - 1 Snap Music! Founder Bio
Bill Gray (l) and Derrick “Mayday” May (r) at Be Club, Auckland, New Zealand, April 2010.
1 Snap Music! was founded in early 2010 by Bill Gray in order to present in a wilder, rawer, more visceral and artistic style of underground club photography generally not seen elsewhere.
The whole idea behind 1 Snap Music! is to present photographs that are truer to the vibe of a night at an underground club. Bill has found this vibe is often chaotic, powerfully sensual and gut wrenchingly direct. And, since no other photographer in the area was presenting the scene in it’s purest, artistic expressive form, Bill took it upon himself to do just that.
Bill Gray is a premier fine art underground club scene photographer currently living in Auckland, New Zealand whose work is constantly praised by those in the community.
Bill has photographed such notables as Carl Cox, Sharam, Ilse Violin, Shannon Ryan and Dan Aux, DJ Cash Money, DJ Norman Jay, Danielle Moore, Lord Bishop, Mystro, HavocNdeeD, Jillionaire, Hollie Smith, DJ Kentaro, DJ Pinch, Derrick May, MTron Bomb, Kevin Mark Trail, Riva Starr, DJ Zinc, Colin Mathura-Jeffree, Dam Funk, Mampi Swift & MC IC3, Yolanda Be Cool, Steve Aoki, Bag Raiders, Laidback Luke and many, many more.
Bill was born in the United States and is of Western African, Native American and Western European descent.
Bill’s interests include photography, art, music, fashion, technology, science, meditation, clubbing and, of course, fun, outgoing people.
From a very young age Bill displayed a high aptitude for science and art, and he won his first art competition at the age of five. Throughout his education Bill was always at the top of his class in art and science.
At the age of twenty-three Bill relocated to Los Angeles and served as a consultant to Warner Brothers Records for several years, as well as numerous other high profile companies in the Southern California area.
Bill served as a consultant to numerous government agencies and high profile companies in the Washington, D.C. area prior to relocating to Los Angeles.
Known for his no nonsense, yet relaxed and outgoing manner, Bill easily makes friends wherever he goes. He’s frequently seen around the various Auckland nightspots where he’s been known to rock the party until the break of dawn.
To contact Bill Gray, please call +64-(0)21-293-4353 or check out 1 Snap Music! on Facebook.
A Shift In Focus – Resetting The Website
Hi all,
I’ve decided it’s time to reset the this blog/website and weed a lot of material that is no longer my focus.
As you can see, over the past several months I’ve become more interested in photographing the wonderful entertainment, nightlight and underground club scene that Auckland has to offer. And, since I have such a love for doing this, I think that it’s time that the website reflect this purely.
I’m working on some new magazine affiliations that will hopefully allow me access to even higher profile events than the ones I attend now.
I’ve, also, got my eye on some new photography gear that will enable me to present even higher quality photos to you.
The gear I have in mind will fit within my low tech approach of ‘one camera, one lens, one flash’. I’m not really interested in the technicalities of photography and I couldn’t care less about what other photographers are doing nor how expensive or how flash their gear is. Just give me a good simple camera with a high quality sensor, a good sharp lens and a powerful flash, and I’ve got all I need to take a great photo - everything else is superfluous.
I don’t need diffusers or ring flashes that can and do cost hundreds. Give me a white plastic bag, tape, rubber bands and some tubing, and I can make my own in a few minutes. And, the results will be the same as someone who spent thousands on their setup. ;)
Kind regards
DJ Kentaro (Japan) @ Bacca Room Photoset Preview
Please keep an eye out for more photos from the DJ Kentaro set at the Bacca Room as well as other rather wild and crazy partygoer shots. ;)
Pictorials - Haiti 70 Days Later
People wait in line to get bottled water and plastic sheeting at an aid distribution operation set up outside of a camp for homeless earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.
Shots Of The Day – MTron Bomb @ Proud Mary
Just some shots of a DJ friend of mine, MTron Bomb, taken during her set at Proud Mary.
Shots Of The Day - Miss Leda Petit @ Proud Mary
Hi all,
Please enjoy the above shots of burlesque dancer Miss Leda Petit performing at Proud Mary that I took on Friday night.
Had I known beforehand that such an event was going to take place, I’d have been front and centre with the camera. However, it took me totally by surprise.
I did manage to capture some video of Leda’s performance which I’ll upload later on.
Kind regards
Shot Of The Day – Hollie Smith (NZ) @ The Longroom
Hi all,
Last night, after the runway shows were over at the New Zealand Fashion Festival, I happened to bump into soul singing sensation Hollie Smith in the crowd.
I had met Hollie once before, while she was hiding out under a tree at New Zealand Fashion Week last year, but it was so brief and so long ago that she didn’t really remember. Not to worry though as my casual manner tends to reacquaint me with people rather quickly. ;)
I was invited down to The Longroom by her and, once there, we spent a couple hours chatting about everything under the Sun it seemed: American cities, Native American heritage and spirituality (something we both share with her being part Apache and my being part Cherokee and Blackfoot), soul music and, of course, fun!
Kind regards
Shots Of The Day - HavocNdeeD (USA) @ Rising Sun
Here they are, all those photos I took at the HavocNdeeD gig at the Rising Sun on Wednesday night.
Enjoy!
Shots of the Day – Mystro (UK) @ The Khuja Lounge
OK, peeps!
Here they are! My best photos from Mystro’s stellar performance at The Khuja Lounge last Saturday night!
As I mentioned previously, Mystro put on one hell of a performance that even got me dancin’! However, what I didn’t mention was that I spent a fair amount of time talking with him, and found him to be a very nice, intelligent and exceptionally talented guy who seems to really appreciate his fans.
He and I chatted about a number of topics, none of which I’ll go into here as we were just doing so casually and I wouldn’t want to betray his trust. However, it was all good though. ;)
If you haven’t heard of Mystro, or his music before, I do highly recommend checking him out because I think he’s one to watch.
Kind regards
Shots of the Day – Party People
Hi all,
These are just a bunch of dance club photos I had laying around that I thought I’d share with you all.
Kind regards
Shots of the Day – Britomart Morning
Just some heavily processed architectural and street photos I snapped early one morning down at Britomart Transport Centre while waiting for a bus to arrive.
Kind regards
Shots of the Day – Thursday Morning Pole Dancers
Hi all,
Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, after the Lord Bishop gig, I decided to roam the dance clubs of Central Auckland looking for interesting people and things to photograph.
I very much enjoy dance club photography because, generally, people are at their most relaxed in such environments. They’re just there to have a good time and to forget their troubles and dance, if I may be so bold as to quote Bob Marley. ;)
Speaking of relaxed, the two young women featured above, totally unprompted by me of course, decided to perform for my camera’s benefit upon seeing me snapping away at this one club - I don’t recall the name - I happened to walk into.
The results, I feel, are spectacular!
Now, I didn’t catch their names – I wasn’t really interested in them as people, just as photographic subjects - and I have no idea if either of them was a professionally trained dancer. However, I did very much enjoy their performance as it was very free, uninhibited and sensual without being overtly sexual. (I’m not some middle aged pervert with a camera going around stalking young women.)
Kind regards
Shots of the Day - Rollin’ with the Family (Bar)
Hi all,
Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, after I got through snapping and chatting with Lord Bishop at The Bacca Room, I decided to roam the streets of downtown Auckland looking for other interesting people and places to photograph.
I roamed down the lower end of Queen Street for awhile, snapped some there, and eventually made my way up to K’ Road.
Since it was a very early on Thursday morning, and most regular people have regular jobs which eat into their leisure time, K’ Road was all but ghost town except for the Family Bar.
Anyone that’s familiar with the Family Bar knows what it’s all about. However, for those of you that aren’t, it bills itself as “The Gayest Bar in New Zealand”. LOL! :)
Some of you are probably wondering what I, being a heterosexual man, was doing at a gay bar. There’s only one reason I was there, that being the place is damn fun. So, get your mind out of the gutter! ;)
The music at the Family Bar was very lively and the crowd was probably one of the most fun loving I’ve ever encountered during all my years of club going.
I did occasionally get some guy eyeing me up and attempting to chat me up for a leg-over (i.e. sex). Also, I had my hand held a bit too long upon offering it for handshakes during introductions. However, none of it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle as homophobia has no place in my life. Why would it, since I have many LGBT friends and family members?
Anyway, please do enjoy the photos above I snapped at the Family Bar that morning. And, if you get a chance, do pop in. I highly recommend it!
Kind regards
Shots of the Day - Lord Bishop at The Bacca Room
Hi all,
Please enjoy all these wonderful photos I took on Wednesday night during Lord Bishop’s black cock rocking performance at The Bacca Room in Central Auckland. ;)
Kind regards
Lord Bishop at The Bacca Room Photoset Preview
Hi all,
Anyone that was not at The Bacca Room last night, and that seemed to be everybody, missed a real treat as the and only Lord Bishop kicked off his first ever New Zealand tour there.
He played to a very small, intimate crowd of about ten people. Unfortunate really, as I was hoping for more. However, everyone else's loss was our gain!
I suspect the crowd was so small because it was a Wednesday night and Lord Bishop is not as well known in New Zealand as he is in Europe.
I chatted with him for awhile and found him to be a super nice guy, as well as a very talented musician.
While I’m not sure if anything is going to come of this, he asked me if I like to go on tour with him in Eastern Europe as the band photographer. Imagine that? ;)
I’ll post more photos from his set later tonight.
Kind regards
P.S. Lord Bishop will be playing at the Masonic Tavern in Devonport tonight!