Seeing Lawrence Leung gatecrash the 2008 MTV Awards on his awesome show prompted me to dig up the red carpet video I shot that very same night with the Hot30 Countdown.

Lawrence’s segment featured a confrontation with 50 Cent where he tries to create some beef with the rapper. Fiddy of course has no idea what’s going on and Lawrence gets harassed by Fiddy’s entourage.

Around the 2:20 mark I managed to capture said confrontation and notice another camera filming over my head.

It appears that the cameraman was shooting this bit at the time.

Awesome! The back of my head, on TV

Ladyhawke and Cut Copy are personal faves so it was a joy to shoot them live.

Whilst Van She, The Presets, Bumblebeez, Klaxons also formed part of the bill, I got a kick out of The Whitest Boy Alive and Hercules and Love Affair.

There are more Nevereverland 2008 photos on Flickr and on the Today Network’s Nevereverland 2008 photo gallery.

It was a sweltering Saturday in December at The Domain in Sydney as Homebake literally became an oven.

Although only a handful of Homebake artists played by Today and Triple M were on hand (Gabriella Cilmi, Crowded House, The Potbelleez, You Am I and Sneaky Sound System to name a few), it was still worth my while snapping other artists and punters.

Pnau were a massive hit with the audience, taking to the main stage with giant strawberries and lead singer Nick Littlemore soaring above the crowd on high wire.

• More Homebake action and punter pics on 2DayFM.
• Triple M’s Homebake coverage, including photos and video interviews backstage with Crowded House, You Am I and more.

I attended the US Election Party held by Sydney University’s United States Studies Centre at Manning Bar to watch the results.

Although the 1500-strong crowd were pro-Democrat/Obama, there were punters of all political stripes amongst us.

It was Australia’s largest election party, and also featured in a live cross as part of CNN’s election night coverage.

More US Election Party pics here.

My brother and his band, All My Dangerous Friends took part in a local band competition in Granville, Western Sydney.

This was my camera’s first serious go at gig photography, and needless to say, I was quite pleased with the way things turned out.

More photos here.

A lovely day out with my partner.

More Sculpture By The Sea 2008 photos here.

This year not only did we provide coverage for Austereo’s Today Network, but also for the Triple M network.

Video and photos over the fold.

Check out the red carpet and media room footage here.

More photos here.

Canon 40D

My gorgeous partner (I can’t stress that enough!) surprised me with a brand new Canon 40D for my birthday recently, and I’m doing my darndest to make her investment worthwhile.

“Dee Dee”, as the camera is affectionately known (it’s a girl) has been doing very well as I begin to immerse myself in the world of digital SLR photography.

I’ve taken Dee Dee to work and a couple of events already; the 2008 ARIA Awards, Sculpture By The Sea, the US election party in Sydney, and a band comp just to name a few.

At present I’m using an EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 lens (included with the 40D). I’ve also had the pleasure of trying out the EF 50mm f/1.2 L thanks to a workmate – a great companion for shooting live music.

Flash-wise I’ve gone straight for the 580EX II Speedlite, just in case I ever need to work with wireless flashes.

All the gear’s housed in a Lowepro SlingShot 100AW. Unfortunately I’ve come to realise that the bag wasn’t what I was truly after – leaving little room for other essentials required for those working in digital media.

The costs of equipment can definitely be a barrier to getting the most out of digital SLR photography, and since I’m not raking in the dosh right now (or anytime soon) I’ve got to amuse myself with an ever-growing wishlist.

• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
• A variety of lens filters
• Canon BG-E2N battery grip
• Sto-fen Omni-Bounce flash diffuser
• Lens hoods

Have I missed any other photography essentials? I’m all ears and ready to hit the ground running.

Did I say my partner was gorgeous?

That's Eva Mendes and I took that photo.

Prior to this moment I’ve always been “behind the camera” at events such as red carpets and so on.

Aired on the Hot30 Countdown, Thursday 28 August 2008 at the Sydney launch party of the 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty Festival.

I also had quick seperate chats with Jade MacRae, Lara Bingle and Jennifer Hawkins.

There’s always room for improvement plus I definitely need to work on my banter.

But hey, I guess not everyone gets to lay claim that their first was with one of the world’s sexiest women.

[Cross-posted here]

Lisa and Jess Origliasso of The Veronicas at Target Westfield Miranda promoting their clothing range. © Austereo Interactive