But this, perhaps, is the point.

Mark and Gus, much like the Cancer Council, enjoy the widespread support of a large cross section of Sydney society. Mark is the former footy hard man from the backblocks of Western Sydney who has become a respected  journalist and commentator, Gus the sport mad but every day bloke who is equally well known for his ties with Sydney’s social hierarchy .In many ways, a yin and yang situation, and the visual representation of this relationship was allowed  further exploitation when they donned the outfits they were told to wear for the shoot :flesh coloured undies!

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Two burly, semi-clad blokes nestled together was always going to provoke a different reaction than that of a near naked actress- even though all other elements of the picture are basically the same. It would have been very easy to treat such a shoot as a send up, or for the talent to ham it up as a way to moderate the strange situation they found themselves in.

The Cancer Council is perhaps the one charity that all Australians have some affinity for. And Mark and Gus championed this great cause with a quiet dignity that belied their state of undress and maybe even their own slight embarrassment.

In the end, it is this quiet dignity, warmth and generosity of spirit of these two personalities that is so clearly represented in the final image, which display this pair as genuine ‘Australian Beauties’. Not so ironic at all then, I suggest.

Oh and a massive thank you to the Company Instant Access, for providing and setting up the scaffolding for the shoot almost for free. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Whilst they are in very different stages of their career, both are internationally recognised as players who possess a special dynamic that typically has them labelled as the danger men of their team. Whilst Dwight’s flamboyance on the field seems to be an extension of his life in general, this could not be further from the truth for Tim; who is a committed father of three young children and has recently married his long time partner and mother to his three kids. Tim’s trip has included his attendance at a charity dinner at Rooty Hill RSL which served as a fund-raiser for the Tim Cahill Cancer Fund for Children.

In between attending training and the numerous media and charity events Tim is aligned with, he was able to devote a couple of hours to Sanitarium, a brand he has endorsed for many years. Smartset were contracted to shoot the latest Weet-Bix commercial, with the stills to be used on its packets, and as life size point of sale cardboard cutouts. Apart from standard type images of him eating and standing alongside Weet-Bix products, a series of  ‘action shots’ were attempted specifically his famous flying scissor kick. Whilst necessary precautions such as a crash mat had been put in place, the capture of such a shot within the confines of a studio is not without its difficulties. Principally, that each time a ball is thrown to Tim and he exerts the necessary effort to complete this highly technical manoeuvre, the photographer is allowed but one frame per go (the relatively slow flash recharge times on studio flashes render the cameras motor drive irrelevant in this situation).

After a few goes, however, Tim was timing his scissor kicks pretty sweetly and I had got my timing right. The general rule for me was to click half a second before I thought I should, and I then had half a chance of getting some boot on ball. Yes, technical stuff.

A couple of hours of this sort of thing and we were done. Besides a couple of signed jerseys he left for us, we were left with a feeling that Tim was a superstar without the ego or attitude that one often associates with football superstars today; a man more interested in spending time with his kids and family than more commonly associated trappings of fame.  In an era punctuated by an endless supply of untalented reality TV divas and their posse of obsequious hangers on, it was a refreshing change.

The message is clear- eat Weet-Bix.

You can add only one book on page

Sound Stage 7 at Fox Studios was the unlikely off-site venue chosen to accommodate Perry’s grand vision of staging Australia’s largest ever fashion show, as part of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 2010. As house photographers for this event, Smartset arrived at the venue at the allotted call time of 3.30pm, many hours before the scheduled show time of 8.30pm. As such, we were witness to the radical transformation of an enormous, dark and cavernous space that looked like it could have been used as an aircraft hangar for the German Luftwaffe pre WWII, to an elegantly laid out space that seemed entirely appropriate to house his 1400 guests and show off his Arabian princess inspired creations.

Behind the scenes, Perry also enlisted a couple of other ‘Greeks done good’ mates to help backstage, with Napoleon Perdis working his magic with the make-up brush, and Renya Xydis in charge of hair. All three are acknowledged masters of their craft, but are equally adept in front of the TV camera and wielding the microphone- which was just as well, as they seemed to be everywhere at this show. Mr Perdis in particular showed amazing dexterity in his ability to conduct multiple interviews and  pose for pictures yet never wavering in his  attention to the girl before him being impeccably made-up. It really was an orderly chaos as the models were  prepared  amongst the slew of photographers, tv crew, PR people, make-up artists, hair dressers and that recently invented term-stylists (what they do I still don’t know).

At a fashion show, if you are running an hour late, this is considered on time, so the mood in the minutes leading up to the eventual start time of approximately 9.45pm was fairly calm and considered.  When the show started, Perry’s vision was brought to life and was a study in his signature brand of elegance- tall slender models sashayed up and down the 150 metre U-shaped runway- the strategically placed down lights and enormous space combining to create a beautiful moody lighting and an unmistakably exciting, tense and  almost surreal atmosphere.

Ffiteen minutes later and it was all over, and Perry himself sashayed down the runway, signature sunnies perched atop his head, to the expected rapturous applause from all present. A very generous delivery time of 8am the next morning was suggested by the PR for delivery of pictures, so the real fun for Smartset begun now as we began sorting  through/editing  2000 plus files to deliver key shots by the allotted time.

You can add only one book on page

With this in mind, Austereo commissioned Smartset to shoot its Grill  team of Mark Geyer, Gus Worland and Stuart McGill in ACDC garb, with a view to recreating the spirit, energy and fervour  the band famously conjures up in its live sets. Such an atmosphere is unapologetically loud and rambunctious, punctuated by a sweaty and masculine air.

It was curious to note; as soon as the talent got changed into costume and the shutter started clicking, they transformed, almost as method actors would do. Familiar tales were shared free and easily by reminiscing tongues. It could be argued that the Smartset team had skillfully engineered such a scenario- the very colourful nature of the banter contributing to the authenticity of the shoot and its ensuing images.

Whatever the case, a lot of laughs were shared between a great bunch of guys in a most convivial atmosphere. We hope you like the resulting images

Smartset recently covered an interesting event in Sydney held at The Wharf Restaurant with international guest chef Fergus Henderson. Fergus is known for his awesome ability to use all the parts of the pig, and not just the obviously tasty ones. Guests experienced the Fergus Henderson celebration of the pig from nose to tail with 3 inspired courses at the skilful hands of Tim Pak Poy, Aaron Ross, Adam Shepherd and the Wharf team. You can check out the video of the even featuring a couple of our shots from the night  HERE.

Wet, grumpy and bleary eyed at having to drive through peak hour traffic in pouring rain to make the appointed 8am media call at the Southee Complex, Olympic Park in Homebush, my disposition was not improved when I was subjected to a mandatory pat down by a police officer with a sniffer dog by his side.- this was a scene that would be repeated in a few days when I would be trying to gain entrance to a long weekend dance party, I thought to myself. The difference, however, was that such measures were put in place to protect his Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama who was speaking to the assembled media on one of his favourite topics-the principles of meditation.

Despite the weather and traffic conspiring against me, I had fulfilled my end of the bargain: I had managed to get to the venue on time. Where was the bloody Dali Lama? Another 20 minutes had elapsed – and still no sign of him!

It was at this point that the representative from a PR firm announced to the media pack: “His Holiness is on his way and won’t be too long,” prompting a colleague to turn to me and ask, “Are you hoping to gain enlightenment from today Don?”

I replied off-handedly that I had experienced all the enlightenment I would ever need when I finalised my divorce twelve months ago. Whilst my glib, off-hand remarks got a bit of a giggle from colleagues (mostly male) in my immediate vicinity, it did get me thinking: Am I really this cynical? My immediate answer was a resounding yes, but I forced myself into a more rigorous internal debate.

Having some Buddhist friends, I am well versed in the rhetoric of his Holiness; indeed, I agree wholeheartedly with many of his ramblings, particularly those centred around the search for truth and compassion, the need for more religious tolerance, the virtues of motherhood and his calls for Tibetan autonomy – issues he touched on whilst standing two metres right in front of me.

My cynicism, moreover, did not involve what he was saying; the issue was rather whether I – your typical inner city living, vain, pretentious, materialistic guy of 35 years – could take something from these teachings and become a better person. Of course not, and I severely doubt whether anybody else in the room could either. Sure, he made us all feel good – in the same way those freaks that lob to Anthony Robbins type seminars hold hands, tell each other they can feel the energy, and thus buy ‘temporary enlightenment’ – are able to feel good.

However, the heart of the Dalai’s mantra revolves around putting away our materialistic instincts, in adopting a ‘being’ mode as apposed to ‘having’ mode. Indeed, he is not the only person who proposed such a theory: Erich Fromm, in his well regarded critique on modern man ‘To Have or to Be’ spruiks a very similar mantra.

The irony with all these guys – Erich, Dalai Lama et al saying similar stuff – is that they are all well regarded, revered and honoured as wise and great men. But society as a whole chooses to merely put them on a pedestal, rather than live their lives according to what they preach, or take from them those values that just legitimize their pre-existing lifestyle. Such is the human condition!

For my part, I was just happy that his holiness is well rehearsed in the art of holding a pose – something that many of Sydney’s current A-List could learn something from.

We have integrated our blog into our main site, so you can easily follow our work and adventures right here on the main page, the thumbnails link to recent posts.

Cheers,

Smartset

Smartset was there as the offical photographers, and images from the event are available for purchase directly from our gallery inside.

Click here to enter Gallery

Social engineers behind the Veuve Cliquot Ball got the mix right: Sun, sand and a good mix of seasoned partygoers and pretty-young-things created a buzzing party on Tamarama Beach set to coincide with the opening of the annual Sculptures by the Sea .

The heady atmosphere was confined mainly within the linen tent, as guests barely managed more than a cursory glance at the sculptures ….. the most interesting artifacts on display were the gorgeous attendees. Taking advantage of the perfect conditions to flaunt their own thoroughly sculptured and spray-tanned bodies, their orange coloured Veuve Cliquot thongs juxtaposed beautifully against the white linen garments. It was indeed ‘Glamarama’.

Similarly, the beach volleyball courts erected nearby didn’t see much action either, as guests put greater effort into scurrying around inside the tent and catching up with familiar faces whenever they were spotted.

Two of the most eye-catching guests managed to catch each other’s eye, and astute observers may have caught a glimpse of well known models Buck Palmer and Cheyenne Tozzi, engaging in a game of footsy with each other. As one does!

Many other guests shared said models’ fun attitude throughout the evening as many orange labeled bottles were emptied. People were happy to sip from the most exquisitely designed plastic champagne glasses – knowing they were at least imbibing the real stuff. Indeed, such was the shared ebullience of the guests that a full busload of people moved on to nearby Bondi Icebergs to continue the merry making.

Of course, I wouldn’t know what happened here, having already overstayed my welcome by a few hours.

A friend of mine adequately summed up my feelings with regard this event: He explained to me how he was to meet the Pope at a mass in a church in Darlinghurst – where disadvantaged youth he looks after would be presented to the Pope, and how everyone was very excited and really nervous.

“I don’t know what they are going on about,” he said, deadpan … “it is not like its David Beckham.”

Strange thing to say, I thought at the time, but this probably encapsulates how our country generally feels about this event. Perhaps, also, he represented the collective feelings of all non-Catholics – amazed by the audacity of the Catholic Church in naming its own event in a manner that suggests they represent all people of the world – when in fact Catholics make up less than a third of the worlds population. And of this number, less than ten percent are practising Catholics.

It was Karl Marx who said that ‘religion lies at the heart of a heartless world’. This generally applies to a country like Australia, with its mostly apathetic attitude toward organized religion. However, for the half a million pilgrims who descended on the city during world youth week, it was anything but! The goodwill and wide-eyed enthusiasm evidenced by the pilgrims all week was palpable: dancing in the streets, mass sing-alongs and constant chanting of all things related to Jesus, God and Pope Benedict were common scenes everywhere.

Local residents’ reactions to such activity, however, varied greatly.

Politicians and public dignitaries seemed to bask in the extra attention. So effusive was their praise for Pope Benedict and his messages of peace and hope for the world that one wondered what had come over such otherwise dull and dreary characters. Small business owners, restauranteurs and cab drivers all bemoaned the unwillingness of the pilgrims to part with any of their own money. Inner city residents were also critical of the inconvenience caused to them by all the road closures. The Gay and Lesbian community was similarly unenthused by World Youth Week, staging a mass kiss-athon between same sex persons as a means of expressing their oppostion to, well, just about everything the Catholic Church stands for.

And the parents of a girl who was sexually abused by a catholic priest, and later committed suicide, were also gaining some media attention as they tried to obtain an audience with the pope to express their very personal dismay with how the Catholic Church had treated them.

So who is right and who is wrong? Does it really matter?

It was the renowned 17th century social theorist, John Stuart Mill, who stated: ‘persons should be free to do whatever they so choose so long as it does not cause harm to others.’ The idea came from his famous essay ‘On Liberty’ and has been the mantra practised by libertarians for centuries. Conversely, this mantra should also serve as a reminder to these same libertarians that freedom to do whatever one chooses does not extend to ‘the freedom’ to mock and criticize those who do not share their views.

For people of either persuasion, once you start hurling insults and cruel barbs and judgements, your argument is lost. Insults and hard and fast judgements, whether they be from Pope Benedict, Cardinal George Pell or some lesbian on Oxford street, do cause harm to others and are therefore wrong. John Stuart Mill’s ideas on this matter seem simple and straightforward; nevertheless they are something that many (including world and religious leaders and regular citizens alike) are dismissive of.

‘All you need is love,’ opined The Beatles. If only it were that simple!

For the record, my role in the charade was small – a couple of events – the papal motorcade and stations 4, 5 and 6 of the Stations of the Cross. Pictures enclosed.