Monday, April 25, 2011

I was 'Caught Inside'

www.leekelly.tv
'Caught Inside' is the first feature film from my good friend and director Adam Blaiklock.
You have to check out the trailer;

www.caughtinside.com.au/

I was working on this film as the sound recordist and water camera operator. We were onboard this beautiful old wooden yaught for 5weeks! This might sound great, sailing around all day, snorkeling, fishing, surfing etc but keep in mind we had a film to make. As it was we only just got it completed in time.
For me this shoot was extra tough because i dont eat seafood. Guess what was on offer for breakfast lunch and dinner...
I am really proud of the film and the success its having doing the film festival rounds and cant wait for it to be released to cinema in Australia, so you can all go and see it. Its already won a heap of awards around the world including;
IF 'Independent Spirit' award
Surf World International Film Festival - 'Audience award'
Surf World International Film Festival - 'Best Surf Film'
Sydney Film Festival 'Audience Award'
Its worth it!

Coldwater Classic Tasmania

www.leekelly.tv

This is a long clip.
Its the show i worked on for O'neill in 2009 for their 'CWC Tasmania' Contest.
I was hired as the sound recordist.
It was great fun working on this series, using RED cameras to shoot a bunch of the surfing and all the interviews etc.
Quality is what O'neill Wetsuits is all about.
In 2010 we went back to Tasmania and scored really good waves and created another really top quality show about the contest. 


O'Neill Coldwater Classic Tasmania 2009 from Ben Hall on Vimeo.

Storm Surfers from Discovery Ch.

www.leekelly.tv
www.stormsurfers.tv
I was hired to work on the first couple of Storm Surfers feature documentaries. We took off down to Tasmania for our first adventure to surf 'Dangerous Banks'.
On the back of the success of that show, number 2 was created. This time it was off to the southern tip of New Zealand searching for big wave locations.
I was a busy boy on these productions. My main roll on 'Dangerous Banks' was as sound recordist. We made some secret waterproof microphones to capture the guys' dialogue (read screams) while they were amongst 30ft waves. I had a secondary roll as a stills photographer during the big wave surf shoot. We had a shocking experience out there though and we werent able to get any decent stills from the session. We just couldnt get our jetski into a position where i could shoot any action. Crazy stuff.
Storm Surfers 'New Zealand' was a little bit more controlled and i was there, again as the sound guy but had secondary jobs such as a camera operator and supplying and rigging/operating a bunch of lipstick cameras in special waterhousings.
Youll see in the clip below shots of me at work in the freezing cold snow and icey water. It was amazing!
I am not involved in the new series but i can assure you the next installment will be awesome. Keep posted!


Shooting Storm Surfers from Storm Surfers on Vimeo.

This clip below was fun to shoot. Towing behind a chopper!!!
I shot the water/ski perspective as well as recording the sound during the interviews and special water mics.


Storm Surfers Break A World Record from Storm Surfers on Vimeo.

These outtakes make me laugh...guess you had to be there.
This series of shows was really fun to work on but involved long hours in freezing water, snow, ice, choppers etc. Everyone goes a little loopy...especially Tom. QUEEEEENTHS-TOWN!


Storm Surfers Outtakes from Storm Surfers on Vimeo.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Made in China



Last year I was asked to document a surf trip in China. Ill tell you right now, im not too fussy when it comes to being paid to travel, however, CHINA??? Really?
It was very last minute so we had to run around chasing visas and tickets etc and within a couple of days we were off.
I was actually there to shoot The Hainan International Surf Festival and interview a bunch of key people about surfing in China and the economical advantages to exposing China to the sport of surfing. I was with O'neill guys, Mark Mathews, Rob Bain and Jarrad Howse.
While we were there we decided to edit a little casual clip to show what we did over there and here it is.

Untitled from markmathews on Vimeo.
There are waves over there and if you were to time it well you could score some really good waves. We were there for a week and had these 2-4ft waves everyday. Offshores all day and piss warm water. I wouldve loved some more time to explore and find some exposed areas of the coast which might have some reefs or good wedges.
Next time!
www.leekelly.tv

Wave of the millenium

Back when i shot this day this was the craziest thing i had ever witnessed in my life!!! I was shooting stills from my boat while my friend Simon Fisher shot video with my video camera.
The place was packed with a heap of other photographers but most of them decided to bail as the wind was picking up and we kind of thought it was over.
Lucky for me we stuck around because look what popped up for Paul Morgan!!!
Have a close look at this wave and what happend during his ride.
FUCKED UP!!!!
Look at the explosion, look how big the barrel is, how did he stay on his board???
Then there is Marti Paradisis at Shippies on a monster.
Next is Tyge Richardson on one of the biggest waves anyone has caught on the east coast of Australia...ever.
Last but not least is Dave Winchester at Blackrock.
Check some images from these sessions;
www.leekelly.tv

Perth Standlick wave of the universe!!!!

Ok ok so its not the best wave EVER but c'mon its pretty bloody good for a beachbreak near Sydney!

What would you do? Youre good friend Wylie Moyes is up for the next wave (its only you two out there) but you have snuck deeper up the bank when the wave of the year pops up. Do you go knowing you have snaked your mate also knowing you are in the better spot for it?
We know what Perth did...

Perth Standlick from lee kelly on Vimeo.

www.leekelly.tv

Its about the thongs...

Ha!
You see this guy is a clean freak. He wears thongs around the house. Not just one pair either ha ha hes got inside thongs, outside thongs, and dont even get me started on the shoes!
After my driving shift on our travels Jose will get a medicated fresh wipe thingy and clean the steering wheel its fucked up!
Chad Waldron used a bunch of my video footage to make this clip and its full of keepers galore. Its had a heap of hits too which is great.
Hope you like it.
www.leekelly.tv

Bodyboarding - Jose Marquina - Indoor Outdoors -Podcast from Waldron Bros Production on Vimeo.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Bodyboarding super sessions

Cam Danzey made this clip using some of my footage. The guys had a ball in these sessions. Makes me sick!
Check out some images;
www.leekelly.tv

In The Nest - Alex Bunting & Jose Marquina - Ep3 from Cameron Danzey on Vimeo.

At the end of the day a film by Rob Norman



Rob Norman made this little movie (below) starring Perth Standlick and Wylie Moyes.
There is a heap of my footage in this clip which i was really happy with. The guys are ripping in some really fun waves.
Check out some photos from these sessions;
www.leekelly.tv

"At The End Of The Day" from Rob Norman on Vimeo.

Wylie Moyes collaboration

Cam Danzey is great on the edit. We collected a bunch of footage of Wylie Moyes from recent sessions and this is the result.
The first clip was used as a video resume i guess as well as entered into a competition for young up and coming filmers. Cam did well in that.
Hope you like it.
Leave a comment.
Check out some photos;
www.leekelly.tv


Wylie Moyes from WYLIE MOYES on Vimeo.

This clip is for Wylies new sponno Afends. Again Cam and i shot this and Cam cut it up.
Enjoy.


AFENDS - WYLIE MOYES from AFENDS on Vimeo.

super dupers

I recently copped some shit for this video. It was something surfline.com wanted from me years ago but i didnt include any of the bodyboarders who were actually dominating this day without jetskis whipping them in. Anyway this clip was for a major surf website and they didnt want anything to do with bodyboarding. Somehow this clip resurfaced recently and a bunch of the boogers who were out there saw it for the first time and were off it ha ha
Some crazy waves this day. I was shooting both stills and video swimming in to shore to swap setups every 30mins or so and didnt stop from sun up til sun down. Looong day!
Check out some pics;
www.leekelly.tv

supers from lee kelly on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What do i actually do?

My website;
www.leekelly.tv
was set up to display some of my photographic work from the past few years. It was a long time coming but finally got it up and running.
People who dont know me well (or at all) may be interested to know what my 'day job' is. I have been working as a sound recordist on tv commercials and films etc for the best part of a decade now. Im the guy who holds the big fluffy microphone. Dont laugh, its actually a really good job. Im freelance so dont work all that often but that allows me to chase waves and shoot photos so its the perfect gig.
I have worked with a bunch of famous people over the years and some names which people find interesting include;
U2 (the band)
Janet Jackson
Ricky Martin
Hugh Jackman
and many more Australian and international stars. I try not to get too caught up in all that hype but some find it fascinating.
In recent years my two careers have morphed and worked as one. I was hired to work on 'Storm Surfers'

a Discovery Chanel big wave surfing doco staring Ross Clarke Jones and Tom Carroll. We did two episodes and had a crazy adventure each time.
I have also recently worked on a feature film by director Adam Blaiklock, called 'Caught Inside'. I was the sound recordist but also my surf photography skills were called apon to shoot all the water/surfing scenes. When i have release dates ill be sure to post the trailer etc.
O'neill wetsuits have used me on their 'Coldwater Classic' series shoots in Tasmania. We made mini webisodes and a 1hour doco about the event and the region of Tasmania where we shot. Good fun.
Macario De Sousa ('Bra Boys' co-director) has been flatout making another doco featuring Mark Mathews and his best mate Richie Vass. I wore a couple of different hats on this project, including recording sound and shooting a couple of key scenes for the film which has been great fun. Again when we have release dates ill be posting teasers etc so stay tuned.
Most of my work is in tv commercials and that seems to suit my personality the best. Its usually in and out quite quickly and do the job and enjoy the rest of the time doing whatever i like. No long term commitments leaves me free to travel and shoot photos.
So thats me.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Nick Ormerod loooong P-pass cave.

While i was on a surf trip in the Caroline islands for Riptide magazine we tried to use a helmet mounted video camera. You wouldnt believe the drama we had with it though. Im not sure if it was because it was really humid or just plain dumb luck but everytime i handed the thing over to one of the guy it would be working, however when they came back to the boat it wasnt and we hadnt recorded ANYTHING.
This clip will give you some idea of how good the waves were and the potential for scoring some of the best point of view surfing footage ever.


nick ormerod helmet bomb from lee kelly on Vimeo.

Alex Bunting Crazy Shipsterns paddle in


Check this old clip i shot of Alex Bunting paddling into (at the time) one of the biggest Shipstern waves ever paddled into. The crew of local surfers on the boat went crazy when Alex dropped into this thing and this clip had a heap of hits.
Crazy stuff.

alex bunting shipsterns paddle in from lee kelly on Vimeo.

Dom Wills Super slab


Supertubes...
What can i say? Would you believe that i was the first person to properly shoot this place from the water? Would you believe that in those early days we didnt think it was surfable? Would you believe i used to flip images and video footage to put other people off the scent?
Its all true. Back then i used to be rather paranoid about having a bunch of spots become exposed to the masses. Being a wannabe surf photographer it was a tug of war. Here i had some of the most photogenic amazing heavy waves at my disposal but to shoot them and send those images out into the world would risk my exclusivity. I used to shoot stills and video back then, taking turns with both setups. Id have my video camera in a backpack out in the water while i shot stills and would swap them over when i felt i had a couple of keepers. I didnt want anyone else to see where we were shooting.
Soon enough though even with all the secret squirrel stuff word got out and now this reef is a circus everytime it breaks. Its still bloody dangerous and as photogenic as it gets but now i share it with 50 other surf photographers.
Dom Wills on a beast of a wave, a real grower. He got flogged!

dom bomb from lee kelly on Vimeo.

Crazy helmet camera footage


My little helmet camera was quite popular back in the day. Its a view all us wave riders want to keep fresh in our minds and with the invention of the GoPro camera we have been bombarded with content like this in recent years.
Well back in the day, this little camera was the bees knees and my friend Ryan Mattick took it on the road and captured these clips which i cut together.
On a trip to Teahupoo one year i flooded this setup and it died without even getting one decent clip out there!

helmet cam from lee kelly on Vimeo.

Monday, April 18, 2011

leekelly.tv is ALIIIIIVVVE!!!!!!

After many friends and family members, as well as potential clients kept asking me about my website (or lack of) I finally took the plunge into webworld with my new site www.leekelly.tv

My cousin from katsiedesign was the mastermind behind the build and im really happy with the result.

Its kind of hard to put yourself out there sometimes, kind of claiming yourself or something when you have a site. Lets face it, its self promotion. Its saying 'look at how good i think i am'. Was kind of hard to get my head around that idea actually.
At the end of the day, when my cuz finished all the work i was really pleased with how it looks. I guess i wanted something i could be proud to show and there it is... leekelly.tv
Done.
Be kind.