House & Garden X-mas special of a house in Somerton Park, SA. Stylied by Deni Jones. 

Been playing around with the Adobe Premiere Pro which is awesome. Prefer it over Final Cut Pro. 

This project are just ungraded shorts for my client to make sections. Final project will be a online article on the rehabilitation  the mining company is working towards.

The music is just what I was listen to at the time.   

Travelling the Globe for the best photographs ( and the best down-hill runs) I’ve spent my fair share of time hanging out in foreign airports. But, no matter the zip code, you can almost guarantee a few commonalities … a pair of Macca’s  shiny ‘Golden Arches’, a spot of Duty Free shopping and a decent cup of hot coffee.

So, when I travelled abroad recently for MMG, to catalogue one of their overseas mines, only to discover a far flung Arrivals Lounge completely devoid of Western world trappings, with but a single make-shift café spruiking bowls of curry that would blow one’s head right off one’s shoulders, I knew I’d met my match …. Welcome to Laos!

Nestled between China and Vietnam, the Laos landscape is remote, largely 

undeveloped and has ‘adventure’ stamped all over it.

Jostled by heavy rains, meandering livestock, stifling humidity and an impending cyclone, our entire crew piled into a squeezy mini van for a 6 hour journey via dirt roads and dense jungle to photograph the remote copper/zinc mine south of the capital, Vientiane.

Directing a comprehensive photo shoot sans translator was a challenge … despite my best efforts, sadly, I’ve discovered I’m no Charades aficionado. But, the friendly local Laos miners took it all in their stride and the photographs … including the ones cranked out with my F1.2 Lens … were smashing!

We also visited surrounding villages to document the many impressive community initiatives and infrastructure, provided by MMG, like clean drinking water.

Mucking around with the local kids was a real highlight too … even showing them a few camera tricks … loads of feel-good fun.

With flash flooding and two overturned logging trucks, our mini van return journey left me wrestling with the real possibility of hiking back to town through knee deep jungle mud, with $10,000 worth of camera equipment strapped to my head. Thankfully, our horn-tooting driver delivered us back to the airport café just in time for take-off.

With barely a moment to wash the Laos Monsoon off my windbreaker, I headed to another grey-sky location THIS side of the Equator …Tasmania!

I snapped a selection of great pics at Roseberry Mines … with a few downhill trails between camera rounds, for good measure.

But I’ll also be venturing a little closer to home as well  … across to Port Lincoln to document the construction of mining project, Mega graphite … utilizing James Knowler Photography stills, time-lapse and video … nice!

On the edge of Lincoln National park, the scenery will be sweet, but, camping in a tent in the middle of winter … not so much.

Where’s a bowl of hot Laos curry when you need one??

My brilliant assistant, Sopia, has been out shooting some PR gigs for me too, including ‘Idol’ favourite, Shannon Noll, for the CocaCola Australia Foundation, as well as a handful of colourful events at the Festival Centre.

It won’t be long before I’m flashing my Passport again … I’ll be in the Congo from September 23-30 … looking forward to that!

Cheers …

James

Mining Annual report with images I photographed in Laos. 

Documenting a mining project in Laos. Was hoping to get a blue sky, it didnt go to plan. 

Video for Hillgrove mining of the Kanmantoo mining process. 

2012 Hillgrove Annual Report. The image is photographed at dusk of the processing area.