The Surfers original and new Meter Maids bid a fond farewell!

And last but not least...July 11, 2006 Surfers Paradise, Queensland, a crazy town for holiday makers and a good one to end the series - weather was perfect as you would now expect. 

 It's been a long haul  and I will be pleased to see the end results on what has been a pretty tight budgeted project. Compromises were aplenty and probably created some angst from myself and I make no apologies, but that said , it was still satisfying to know that XDCAM performed beautifully throughout, surviving the journey covering the length and breadth of Australia, something that I can't say for myself, tripod, windsock, one pair of shoes, a couple of bulbs and a Dedolight.   

The four one hour programs of Australian Icon Towns  will go to air on the HISTORY Channel during October - segments will be shown over the next three years.

July 2006 Charters Towers Queensland, in the tropics of Nortern Queensland , the place had a gold rush and by all accounts there's still a bit lying around. Nicely preserved buildings and your typical Queensland houses on stilts. The place has charm. Coincidently I met an old mate and his wife from  my Seven Network days - Peter and Robin Humphries run the local Caravan Park - hadn't seen them for some 20 or so years. The mild mannered historian, Scott goes back in time reading "The Northern Miner"

June 2006 Coober Pedy a town famous for its opals.  No ordinary town due to the fact most homes are underground. The place was the scene of a few movies like Mad Max and Red Planet.  It's  flat and dusty. Fine dust  is a big problem for any camera and lens. Managed to keep it clean by using the pressure hose from the local garage. The light was harsh, and for the first time  on this trip I decided to keep the look that was. Little or no fill on the presenter.  One needed to watch where you walked - surrounding the shot of the camera were uncovered mining holes with around 10 metre drops! A weeks break due then to Queensland!

June 2006, Tanunda  in the Barrossa Valley, South Australia. Home of some  of Austraia's best wines. Also has probably the oldest Shiraz vines in the world. Yep, even tried a glass of the wine from the vine. Weather overcast here in the morn on most days, the vines were bare but the place is picturesque regardless. The shot is of Apex Bakeries delivery van against the Chateau Tanunda.

 June 2006, Alice Springs, in the heart of Australia. I'm always amazed at the richness of the colour here. Some crazy things in the outback like this car down to bare metal. The owner runs the local - the best place for a meal in town!Ah, and the shoot is begining to wear on most of us! Cold mornings around -2C and warm days around 28C, there is a longing to return home, but first Tanunda and Coober Pedy.

June 2006 Darwin, the town that copped the worst bombing on mainland Australia during WW11 and battered by a cyclone back in '74. Fortuneately we're shooting during the cooler months but it's still hot at 32C with some mild humidity around. Days are short here, and the production is a well oiled team to get the job done within allotted times.  The stand out feature here was the State Parliament building, known to the locals as the 'cake tin'.

June 2006, Beechworth. Yet another gold town, but this one is better known with its links to Australia's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly. It pays to be versatile in this job, my years of drama shoots came flooding back with a re enactment in the local court house. If your down this way, try the Beechworth Bakery Pies - best in Australia! Also  great Italian food & coffee @ Warden's Hotel. Getting weary - time to go home and prep for the next town!

Weather was just great - but just a tad cold and days becoming very short. Low sun always a challenge when shooting the presenter.

May/June Echuca. A unique part of Australia on the mighty Murray River, dividing the states of NSW and Victoria. It's Paddle Steamer country - the town has a rich and colourful history that keeps the tourists flocking in. And just the best scenery for this cameraman.

23/05/06 Bendigo, once the hometown of producer Michael Neil-Smith - might explain his obsession with autumn leaves. I've been trying out the 'delete last clip'  facility on this part of the shoot. Must admit I had some misgivings on using it knowing full well the dangers of  erasing  'takes' on tape  - however I'm not prepared to call it 'fool' proof  just yet, even if  it really does what it says. Only deletes the 'last' take! And all in a matter of seconds. Mmmm did he really want to keep that take... "hey Michael, look- more leaves"

Weather: Bloody cold! But the coffee is on par with Ballarat. 

20/05/06 Ballarat, seems a lot of Australia's history (and wealth) came from the goldfields. 

Ballarat has the purest gold in the world and some sizeable nuggets like the "Welcome Stranger" were found here. (on desk beside presenter Scott McGregor). Ballarat is also known for the Eureka Stockade - the miners rebellion against the Victorian Colonial Government.  

Pictured left is a 'press' function with the 'Icon Towns' production team. The Scott on the far right is  from Ballarat's WIN Television with XDCAM 530., the story 'aired' the same evening.

Shooting centered around Soveriegn Hill, a recreation of the time of the Gold Rush town and the stockade. One of the actors at Soveriegn Hill played his role as Peter Layler, a hero of the Eureka Stockade.  

The Eureka Flag - there was only one!  (badly deteriorated with bullet holes and missing portions souvinered) is housed at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery - lit by optical tube lighting and  extremely low light. This is a 10 second stills exposure, so you can see what I was up against (ha, literally - that's me reflected bottom right of flag). Mangaged to shoot it on the 530 in frame mode x 16 with 3db gain. Just an amazing innovation to shoot in such low light with minimal gain!  

Weather: Very lucky - fine mornings and overcast afternoons with rain threatning. Coffee in this town is  g r e a t ! 

4/5/06 Kalgoorlie, a goldmining town in the middle of a desert. With the price of gold at the moment, everyone here seems very, very happy. Tracking shots here with the Cinesaddle in action, yet again proving it to be a versatile piece of equipment. 

The silouette of a statue is that of town hero "Paddy"" Hannan who discovered the yellow stuff, town hall is in the background. Prep now for the next leg in  Victoria. 

28/4/06 Albany W.A. About 500k south from Perth - Its main industry till the early 70's was whaling - some 14.000 whales were processed  at the whaling station - Tourism is now the big industry for guess what? Whale sitings!

 Weather a problem here with rain most days - hoping for a fine day tomorrow. Yes, I'm an optimist at heart.

24/4/06 Roebuck Bay, Broome Western Australia, where the red earth of the land meets the white sands of the ocean, creating a stark contrast for a ‘piece to camera’.

High humidity and heat of autumn (35C) in the Tropics makes for hard work and long days (ha...as if that matters to a freelancer).

Locations on this sector included the world’s longest running open air cinema, Sun Pictures. It's been going for some 90 years!

 One of the most amazing things  is the fact it’s situated on the flight path to Broome Airport. Some aircraft are within 150 metres on their approach. A real sense of ‘being there’ especially if they're showing ‘Pearl Harbour’! Used the 'frames' x 16 to see the stars and screen. A 'pearler' of an effect!. (and Broome is famous for its pearls).

  19/4/06 The West Australian component begins, starting in Fremantle and Rotnest Island.  Rotnest (ratnest) famous for it's 10,000 rat like inhabitents - Quockers. Utilising the Cine Saddle here once again for some extraordinary CUs. The weather has been amazing over here, rich blue skies and earthy reds - yes, the wine is good too!                                                  

22/3/06  No, Mt Rushmore is not an Icon town of Australia. Just here in the Black Hills of South Dakota to shoot a few interviews for "The Circle Of Courage" project. 

Guess who  left his gloves in the car? At -13C and snowing, I didn't hang  around there for long. Man it was cold! The XDCAM was flawless under these conditions.

Next  stop is  to be  in  the state of  Westerm Australia - although I have an overseas shoot  prior to this - in fact it's going to be -9C where I'm going (South Dakota, USA) - definately packing the wool gloves this time!

Scott and crew of the Lady Nelson in Hobart

    9/3/06 Onwards to Strahan, SW of Hobart near the Franklin River - a world heritage wilderness site. Amazing weather with blue skies, but cold in the morning  for  dawn shots along the river. The river didn't dissapoint - mirror reflections of Huon pines in the water and misty clouds in the valleys.  The camera boat was a two hull cruiser - very smooth - using the tripod on the bow.

Just wish I could feel my fingers numb with the cold. 

On a personal note this hasn't been an easy going shoot, having picked up a 'stomach' bug in Launceston and getting weaker by the day I sucumbed to seeing a doctor for some antibiotics in Strahon.  Much to the relief of the producer who had scheduled a gruelling few days, the antibiotics 'kicked' in, and all was well. 

Hobart, Tasmania. 4/3/06 One of my favourite towns, Hobart, the state capital. 

About 20+ years ago it was the last port of call prior to sailing to  Antarctica - another story.

Exterior shooting commences with some re encactments by two local actors. 

When your on a tight schedule the last thing you want is rain -  fortunately one of the other stories on the day was about the oldest theatre in Australia (Theatre Royal), so here we are on stage with actors and their garb, followed by a  brief history of the theatre by Scott.  An enjoyable morning despite (ironically) the two fire alarms that interupted the shoot. The theatre was almost destroyed by fire during the 60s.

8/3/06 Met another WIN cameraman with XDCAM whilst getting a few shots around the Cascade Brewery. 

He was on assignment for Commonwealth Games - presumably 'postcard' shots with the 530, tells me it will be upconverted to HD. Shall be watching!

Launceston, Tasmania.  28/2/06 The journey begins from Sydney Airport with the discovery of a vital piece of equipment is still at home. A later flight for  me. Such an embarresment - guess it happens to all of us at some time - doesn't it? Made up for lost time that afternoon. Phew!

One of the best pieces of 'equipment' I carry around for unexpected situations is the CineSaddle. The flip out LCD  screen on the camera makes it a breeze to monitor the move.

Here it is in action for a tracking shot as the 'first'  Australian flag (the one the Australian flag's design is based on) is unfolded in the Launceston Museum. 

Shooting continues around town today 2/3/06. More to come.

Final days in Launceston and we're shooting a cricket match (as overlay) for a story on the oval that commerated the inaugral Tasmania / Victoria games. 

Pic: Scott is holding the century old cricket ball used in the game.

Participating in the local match was Nick Glover, WIN news cameraman (and XDCAM shooter) - small  world! 

Pic: An exchange of notes on the finer points of the camera. 

A quick overnight in a heritage village, Bothwell, the Tassie town with Australia's 1st golf course! And it's still going strong -despite the sheep graizing on the faireways.

'Towns' producer, Michael Neil-Smith meets champion amateur golfer Peter Toogood, who incidently held a 41 year old record for getting a hole in one at the age of eight.

Weather: Too good to be true! Blue sky most days.

Accomodation: Great

Best food: Fish n Chips - that's what it's called. 

Goulburn is about 220 kms from Sydney. Why is it an 'icon' town?  Well you'll find out when the series airs on Foxtel's HISTORY Channel on Foxtel and Austar some time in the last qtr of 2006.

Location durations are usually 3 to 4 days depending on the amount of interesting stories uncovered. Recording at the highest level of IMX50 - with hope that one day it will be upconvereted to HD!

Goulburn was 3 days. 

Like most shoots a pattern emerges and this one is no exception:

First priority is to shoot historical graphics, keeping in mind that some will feature as a 'before' and 'after' match frames within the camera. Just love this facility.

I's an eerie feeling trying to retrace the position photographers set up their cameras over a century ago. Old box cameras and glass plate negatives, and here I am trying to match it with the 21st century wizardry of XDCAM.

Weather was o/cast mornings - got to work with it! Humid but no rain - though the place needs it, still in drought after 9 years or more.

Food: 'The Greengrocer' - just the best lunch and coffee!

Accomodation:  Tops apart from the mozzies. 'Slap"!

Frontpage by the Goulburn Post's writer / photograper David Cole