Tyrone Bradley Photo Blog

Oh 9

2009-01-12T09:07:00.002+02:00

It's been ages since I last posted. Not exactly sure why but it most probably has to do with the fact I take on too much work and never make enough time for myself.. Anyways I hope everyone had as good a new years as mine and that 2009 is going to be one smooth productive year. I will be putting up a few posts in the next couple of days (time to get this freight train rolling again) but for now here are some shots I got yesterday whilst out wrapping up Wandile Msomi's interview for Session Skateboarding Magazine.

Jordanther

2008-11-04T00:45:00.004+02:00

This is Jordan aka Jordanther, father of a 'lil princess. He just had his face rebuilt after an accident. Last week the doctors grinded away at his titanium cheek bone to make it look more like the other side. He is one of the best BMXers I know and I have him to thank for my Modest Mouse fetish. This was taken whilst out riding a few weeks back.

Fourways Sunrise

2008-10-20T10:26:00.002+02:00

This morning while taking photos of a car I shot this sunrise. The sky is so clean at the moment after the rains. Summer is here.

Dell-icious

2008-10-19T21:47:00.005+02:00

This is Tim Dell aka Dell-icious. He just recently got tattoos on his chest and his momma don't know. He might get paranoid when he sees this post, I can only hope. Nothing like making your friends to sweat a little. Tim rides for Iron Fist and wanted to shoot some riding pics for a team update. After we had a chilled session at Montecasino I pulled him aside to mess about with some "available light" shots. This is the result.

Give'r

2008-10-08T22:57:00.004+02:00

These shots are of a friend who is in my thoughts right now. They were taken when he was last in SA around two years ago. On Sunday whilst riding he took a severe blow to the head which has resulted in damage to his brain stem, just how bad I don't know as he is still in a coma but Mike is an awesome dude and I'm hopeful he'll make a full recovery. All my thoughts are with his wife Trista, son Owen and the rest of the family.

Give'r Mike

Maserati GranSport

2008-10-02T08:42:00.006+02:00

The other day I was asked to shoot photos of a Maserati Continental GranSport. It's not a new car and the style is quite dated but man alive this was one of the best cars I've driven to date. Unfortunately the styling of the car does nothing to reflect what it feels like to drive. It felt every bit of what you'd expect a sports car to feel like. Rock-hard suspension, jerky gear changes and enough g-force when you put your foot down to do more good for wrinkles than a years treatment of botox. The best part was that I was able to have the car overnight so time to shoot was on my side. Thanks to the nice folks at Velmore Estate for the lovely venue and no thanks for the damn emu that kept harassing me. These pics are a few that weren't published. Check out the November issue of Cars In Action magazine to see the story.

Summer in Abaddon

2008-09-25T00:00:00.005+02:00

I'm busy listening to Pinback, as some might have figured by the title of this post, which in no way refers to Joburg. I love Joburg and am pretty psyched on the following shots.

Hot Hatch Festival 2008

2008-09-15T16:55:00.004+02:00

My life seems to revolve around cars more and more these days. Having two of my best friends mad about VW's has been a very strong reason as to why. Their passion and love for VW's, especially their own, is infectious. This past weekend Maldino Customs who are very much a part of the VW scene in SA hosted their annual Hot Hatch Festival at Tarlton Raceway so I went along in the morning and snapped a few photos, including a real cheese shot of a demo girl posing on Brad's car (haha, wasn't my idea but was definitely entertaining).

Gonzo

2008-09-09T13:13:00.002+02:00

This is my friend Jordan and his dog, Gonzo. Gonzo rates as one of my favorite dogs of all time, he's always wanting to play and never tires out. The fact that his head is way too big for his body just adds that much more to his persona.

The Motor Workshack

2008-09-07T10:33:00.003+02:00

I am currently shooting a Johannesburg scene report for Ride UK BMX Mag and yesterday a bunch of us headed out to town to get some riding/shooting done. For the last spot we ended up somewhere in the south where I came across this motor workshack on the side of the road. It's run by three guys (who were pretty drunk) and they were kind enough to let me shoot some pictures of them. It's places like this that you'd only ever find in SA.

Red Bull Empire Of Dirt

2008-09-02T21:35:00.006+02:00

Just over a month ago I got to shoot the Red Bull Empire Of Dirt in England. It was the first ever slope style BMX dirt event of its kind with all the best dirt jumpers in attendance. The event was insane and I am so thankful to Taryn and Tristan at Red Bull SA for the life changing experience I had there. The idea was to get the event covered in Blunt magazine however Touchline Media shut down the publication whilst I was in England. Blunt has however kept its website running and they posted the write up I did on the event. So for more pictures and the full story click here.

The Lesser Spotted Short Stop

2008-09-01T16:37:00.002+02:00

Everyone has that one friend who every once in a while just gets wild. Well I have a few of these friends and they never cease to entertain me. Recently I went on a charity road race (Cannonball Run) with my shortest friend Brad and his alter ego The Lesser Spotted Short Stop. These pictures are of The Lesser Spotted Short Stop and rumour has it he went swimming in a crocodile invested river in Botswana this past weekend. When I asked what possessed him to do such a thing I got a one word answer in my inbox "booze".

Ingozi

2008-09-01T16:30:00.002+02:00

Sometimes you just spot signs and feel compelled to shoot them. This was one of those times.

Double Down Grudge

2008-08-30T23:08:00.003+02:00

The other day I hung out at some friends' hotel room and we messed around with some lighting they had hired for a film job. My new D300 has multiple exposure which my previous camera didn't have so I decided to mess around with that. Here are two double exposure results and then a grudge for good measure.

Georgia At War... Again

2008-08-11T22:24:00.004+02:00

Two years ago I went on a trip to Georgia (formerly part of Russia) as part of tv show pilot for MTV. Back then it was believed that many Chechnian Rebels were hiding there. The tv show called "Vagabondz" was/is to be a travel show that would test pre-conceived ideas of places and thus we went to Georgia (despite being warned we'd be beheaded) to try find the rebels and shoot machine guns with them.

Well as if you couldn't guess already we didn't find any rebels let alone any form of gun in the country. In fact whenever we asked about guns, people who had been so friendly to us would get so offended and turn their backs to us leaving us feeling like insensitive pricks. Georgians are perhaps the friendliest most receptive and hospitable nation I have yet come across. They were so proud of their freedom from Russia and the peace they had fought for. It really is a shame to see the chaos that Russia has yet again inflicted on them. Seeing on the news some of the places I visited having just been bombed saddens me. Those great people don't need this. Hell no one needs war, lets get over ourselves already.

Here are some pics from that trip.

Back Home

2008-08-04T20:06:00.004+02:00

I have just got back from a 3 week trip to England where I was shooting an article for Blunt Magazine (R.I.P.) which will now not be in Blunt. That would explain why there haven't been any updates on my blog. I am busy trying to get through the back log of work that has now piled up but as soon as that happens you can be sure there'll be an influx of pics right here.

Some friends came by my place this weekend and took me through to the Cars In The Park event that took place at Zwartkops on Sunday. Here is one of my favourite cars from that...

Green Ramp

2008-07-01T23:23:00.004+02:00

The Green Ramp as it is collectively known is somewhat of a legend in Johannesburg. It's in Parkhurst and was even used in the new Converse ad campaign which Warren Van Rensburg shot. What's even cooler is that it's just down the road from The Riot BMX Shop. So the other day Colin, Greg and myself headed down for a little sundown sesh. We had a blast and I shot these couple of pics. When these two ride together it's better to just put down my bike and pull out the camera which is exactly what I did.

More Car Photography

2008-06-29T13:15:00.004+02:00

This past month has been chronic with all the car photos I've been shooting for Cars In Action but on the flip side I've been getting to drive some really awesome automobiles. Here are some of the shots I have take recently. The '59 Corvette needs special mentioning. This car is immaculate and is in 95 - 100% original condition. It is one of 535 white/silver ones out of 9670 ever made and basically defines a classic. Mooi!

The Exploited

2008-06-29T12:01:00.004+02:00

Although I wasn't planning on going, last night in a last minute decision I went through to Bassline in Newtown to watch the Exploited and supporting acts. Growing up I used to listen to a lot of Exploited so I was keen on getting to hear them live. Once there I bumped into fellow photographer friend, Marcus Maschwitz. It's always good seeing him as it means I get to pick his brain for tips and what not. He's one of my favourite photog's for sure. Go check out his blog

During the fourth song the massively angstful crowd pushed over the barrier and ended up pinning me against the stage whilst crushing my legs. Luckily no harm was done but the girl under me didn't look to good especially after one of the speakers was pulled down onto her. It was quite an eventful evening and I hope that girl is ok. Anyway here are two shots I got.

The Big Z

2008-05-25T23:01:00.005+02:00

Yesterday I went with some friends to watch the Wesbank Super Series at Zwartkops Raceway. I took my twin lens Yashica D medium format camera with and got more looks than the promo girls which made for a good laugh. I can't wait to develop the film and see if any shots came out. Anyways here are some shots I got with the "digi" of the days racing plus one or two shots from last weekend of a friend racing his Ducati.

Flight of the Pigeon

2008-05-04T22:58:00.002+02:00

Bicycle Motocross

2008-05-02T23:29:00.003+02:00

The last ten years of my life has been dominated by BMX. Freestyle that is. Not racing. It was BMX that got me into photography and it makes no sense that I haven't posted any of my riding pics yet. That's all gonna change right now. So here are some of the more recent pics I have taken. Hope you enjoy.

Cars In Action

2008-03-30T23:27:00.003+02:00

Here are a few shots I have taken for Cars In Action. This job has been so much fun. I basically get to drive the coolest cars and shoot them. So far, so good. More often than not I am pressed for time and can't get to take the cars to locations or shoot them in the golden hours which sucks, but hey, deadlines are deadlines. My favorite shot to date is the Mitsubishi Triton. It was taken in the Berg so it was hard not for it to look good.

Magic Wands

2008-03-30T22:38:00.002+02:00

I have been going through some of the photos I have taken of Wandile for that interview I mentioned and came across this one. This was at a spot we went to at the end of the day. By this time Wands was pretty stiff and tired out from "The Kookers" spot and was battling to get the trick he wanted to do. As he stood there after a while of trying to get it I snapped this shot of him. It wasn't planned and I got him totally unaware. I really like the way it looks so natural. Shooting with Wand's has been a real treat for me and I am looking forward to the times we'll shoot more pics for his interview.

The Kookers

2008-03-29T12:59:00.005+02:00

I am busy shooting some photos of my skateboarding buddy, Wandile for an interview he's wanting to put together. So yesterday when we were at one spot I noticed all these pigeons looking down at what we were doing. I got this vision of them as the city's angels looking over us but then reality kicked in, they're nothing more than a bunch of kookers.. but I like them!

Post Processing

2008-03-29T10:22:00.005+02:00

Damn it's been one hulleva long time since I last posted. I had tried several times but my internet just hasn't been letting me load photos. Also been real busy with shooting for Cars in Action. Anyway lately I have been working on some post processing techniques and have figured out quite a belter. Here is a before and after shot of my friend Shaun. I'll post more before and afters soon plus some car photos soon. Sweet.

B+W Film Rules!

2008-02-06T23:14:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since my last post. Mainly because my internet has been giving me major hassles and wouldn't upload any of my pictures but also because I've been occupied with my new job. As of this month I am now shooting pics for Cars In Action on a freelance basis. I am really excited about this new opportunity and will definitely post up pics once they have been published.

For now though here are some B+W images I had developed a while back. These images are old. Two of them being taken whilst I went on a two month mission from England to Georgia (Russia). Despite nearly being kidnapped for my organs, I had a great time and got some really cool pics. Did I mention nothing beats B+W film, photojournal style, yeah!

Soweto Banquet

2008-01-15T21:03:00.000+02:00

Living in South Africa is proving to be somewhat frustrating these days. From power cuts and water cut-offs to non working land lines and internet I have over the holiday period had to find alternate ways to entertain myself. Which has been fun.

I had a friend from England staying with me who wanted to make a 5 minute short film for current.tv which is an online channel for short films started by Al Gore. So, on our way back from the airport we came up with the idea of getting "western cultured South Africans" to eat the craziest, stomach churning Sowetan cuisine we could find. At the end of the day it was quiet a scene when the platter consisted of :

3x cups of chicken intestines
1x Ox Heart
1x pack chicken feet
1x packet Mopane Worms, and then this...

If you are interested in seeing the full story then check out current.tv (link above) in a week or so. Title will be Soweto Banquet.

Oh, and compliments of the season.

The Highway Collective

2007-12-29T23:10:00.000+02:00

My close friend Jonathan has slowly and steadily been getting me into the world of VW's and over the last few months I have been giving my car a lot of attention. Anyway the other day we decided to shoot some pics of our cars. These were the results.

Al Got Bronze

2007-12-20T00:44:00.000+02:00

I have recently returned from Dubai where a bunch of us went to compete and do demos at the Dubai X-Games. Among the crew was Alastair Sayer. Alastair competed in the Moto Whip comp and got Bronze for this beauty. FMX is nuts and moto whips are by far my favourite trick.

Van Coke Kartel

2007-12-20T00:20:00.000+02:00

Damn, it's been a month since I last updated. Reason being that I've traveling a bit lately. Anyways on the last weekend of November it was Woodstock 9 which took place in Harrismith. I thought I had charged my batteries but in fact hadn't so only got to shoot the VCK's set. It was my first time seeing them play and man was I impressed. If you haven't seen them live then you're missing out. Here are two snaps I got.

DIY Makro Studio

2007-11-19T00:54:00.000+02:00

Strobist is one of my favourite sites. There are so many awesome examples and tutorials on speedlight photography. Recently my friend Eedubz sent me a link from Strobist on how to build your own Makro Studio. I got really excited and knew straight away I wanted to shoot pics of my Gary Baseman toys. The mini studio is so rad and is perfect for product shots. I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing a lot more pics coming from it soon.

Audi R8

2007-11-15T01:19:00.001+02:00

A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Stuart, who works as a motoring journo came by the house in the new Audi R8 and damn was I excited when I saw it. After he took me for a spin around the neighbourhood I gave the car a quick wash and then proceeded to shoot a few snaps in the last few minutes of light the day offered. Although the location wasn't great, the light was and I'm pretty stoked at the way my first car pics came out.

NOFX

2007-11-14T18:55:00.000+02:00

Last night was the last stop of the NOFX tour in South Africa. It went down at Bassline in Joburg and man it was a good show. Having been a big fan in my teens this was a really nostalgic event and thankfully they played a lot of their older stuff. Unfortunately I only got to shoot for three songs before all photographers were asked to leave the front of the stage.

Opening for NOFX was Fuzigish and I got this snap of Jay-Bones prior to the main show.

Halloween 2007

2007-10-28T12:52:00.000+02:00

Last night at the Gem theatre, Heritage Music and Blunt hosted the Rock The Casbah Halloween Party. Halloween parties are the best. You just can't help but be in a good mood after getting all ghouled out and this year was no exception. I knew we were gonna rock out so I never risked taking my camera into the venue. When we got there I realized what a dumb ass decision that was but I did get some shots of our outfits before we left. The image of Captain Spalding was snapped by my friend Eedubz while I was finishing up my make-up, I had shot a few but Eedubz got the money shot! I think the one of me (Smack Skelington) was shot by Captain Spalding but if that was Eedubz too, I appologise.

Beer A Go Go

2007-10-27T16:03:00.000+02:00

Well the weather is all wintery again, cold and raining and just kinda miserable. Heard a funny quote this morning actually from some woman in Kempton Park, it went like this: "Dis supposed to be somer maar dis so koud soos winter, stupid weer!" That made us laugh. Anyway, Brad came round to my place just moments after posting my first thread with some ice cold beers and I got all amped to use my umbrella again, these were the results...

My New Umbrella

2007-10-27T13:18:00.000+02:00

I finally got myself an umbrella for my flashes. I've been wanting one for ages now and when Blunt Magazine told me they needed a portrait shot of Katlego Maponyane, one of SA's top up and coming snowboarders, I just couldn't procrastinate any longer. Here are three pics I took with it, I just love how soft the lighting is.