Exposure: Alan Moyle

Alan Moyle is a Tasmania-based photographer, known for his extraordinary wedding and landscapes photography as well as for producing many iconic images of some of the world's top comedians.

Zennith Geisler

Oct. 9, 2007 7:19 p.m. PT

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Exposure is a series of photo galleries showcasing photographic talent in Australia. Our featured photographers will share their best shots and give us an insight into both their creative and technical processes. If you are interested in being featured in Exposure, or know any photo buffs who might be, contact us at cnet@cnet.com.au.

Photographer: Alan Moyle

Shooting subject: Portraiture, Wedding, Landscape

Equipment: Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro, Monopod

Alan Moyle has been running his Web site, Photobat, for six years and is known for his extraordinary wedding and landscape photography.

In addition to this, he has also produced many iconic images for some of the world's top comedians. His work is highly regarded in international circuits with exhibitions in Edinburgh, Scotland and an increasing number of clients in the UK.

In 2006, Alan attained his Master of Photography from the Australian Institute Of Professional Photography and in the last six years has received many awards from professional state, national and international photography competitions.

He lives in Tasmania, but doesn't let that stop him!

Adam Hills jumping
Most of my comedian portraits have come about by showing my folio around bars at comedy nights. The folio was initially printed, but more recently has been in the form of a slide show on my phone. The Adam Hills Jumping shot was taken after a discussion in a bar during the comedy festival. It followed my standard shooting procedure, no plans, sit down and have a coffee, then walk about until we find a good background. It was shot on my Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro and is used by Adam for his JoyMonger tour poster throughout Australia and the UK.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

The Umbilical Brothers
This shot was taken in my home town of Launceston. It just happened to be a morning where there was a fantastic sky. It's not always the best idea to shoot people so you can't see them -- I was hoping that they were well known enough that their silhouettes would be recognisable. The Umbies had to do a bit of convincing of their management that it would be a great poster shot, they won out and the shot was all over the Edinburgh festival a couple of years later promoting their show "The Rehearsal".

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

David Strassman
When a comedian is touring through Launceston, I generally try to get some time to do a shoot. Luckily over the years I've met a lot of managers, so it's normally quite easy to arrange something. I had heard through other people that David Strassman liked my shots, so when he was in town I arranged a shoot. I found this great location and the concept popped into my head straight away.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Mackenzie Crook
This shot was commissioned by Mackenzie's manager -- it was all lined up before I arrived in London. He was just back from a holiday after finishing extensive media coverage for the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie,

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Dave Callan
Dave rang me and asked if I wanted to shoot him standing on water, in a gorilla suit, holding an umbrella on fire. I said, "Sure!" The gorilla suit never eventuated and other photographers I talked to said I should be shooting this in the studio and compositing it together later. That sounded like too much effort, so we went to St Kilda Beach in Melbourne at sunrise and with a little help from some wood, managed to get the shot without any major post production.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Ali McGregor's Opera Burlesque, Edinburgh, Scotland
One of the great things I love about documentary photography is the ability to see things that the general public don't get a chance to. This was the case when I spent the afternoon shooting Ali McGregor's Opera Burlesque rehearsal in the Spiegeltent. Keeping out of the way is always a good thing as I didn't want to disrupt what was happening. Afterwards I managed to snap a quick shot of Ali in her dressing room (well, dressing box!).

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

The London Eye
On my first trip to London, I kept being drawn to the River Thames and the London Eye. Always on the lookout for an interesting shot of somewhere that is always photographed, I spent some time walking around this colossal landmark. It was shot in colour and then altered to look infrared in Photoshop, and finally a sepia look added. Once again, the clouds were my friend.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Otter Sanctuary in Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
According to this man, the Otter Sanctuary in Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye rarely has any otters there, it's best to just go down to the river and have a look. I didn't see any otters -- some seals, but no cute otters. However, the view across the water towards the Glenelg area is amazing, even better when the clouds are about!

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Sunrise in Venice
Getting up early is something I generally don't like, but with only 24 hours in Venice, I had to make the most of it. Walking around Venice before the tourists and most of the locals were out is fascinating, seeing areas that are normally overflowing with people is always great. This was shot using my trusty monopod, leaning up against a wall for more stability.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Old Woolsheds, Merino Street, Kings Meadows, Tasmania
This was one of my favourite locations to shoot portraits, the amazing textures and lines all came together for some amazing backgrounds. I shot this while doing some location scouting, trying to find something new in the composition. I returned with a great series of urban landscapes and details. The next week, the sheds were "renovated", all the great walls were taken down and replaced with orange corrugated iron. I'm glad I got to document this area before it was too late.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

South of Kempton, Tasmania
The Midlands Highway is the main road link for travelling up and down Tasmania. About halfway along, the landscape changes from mostly flat farming areas to a much more interesting and hilly terrain. Due to the drought (yes, Tassie has one too), these hills get quite bare and are amazing when the light is enhancing the contours. I had seen the potential of this shot for many years, but never seemed to catch it at the right light, until finally it arrived. I took a few shots, and this one had just the perfect light.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Sventinceant, Croatia
After a morning of getting lost, getting wet and not finding a good coffee, I arrived at Sventinceant. As soon as I got out of the car, it really started to rain. I managed to find my way into a bar with a few locals, uttered the only Croatian I knew "kava hvala" (coffee please) and had a great espresso! It stopped raining, the light went fantastic and I spent over an hour running through the streets getting shots like this one.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Rusty
This is Rusty, the best man (or dog) for Trish and Scott's wedding in the south of Tasmania. This was just a grab shot as I was rushing about covering the ceremony -- I put the camera down at his level and just shot it, didn't look through the viewfinder. Many times this kind of shooting produces some duds, but this time it was a great result.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Wedding at an apple packing shed
Wedding shots are typically taken in a nice garden and other such pretty places. Those kind of places really aren't my favourites to shoot at, which is why when Renee mentioned the apple packing shed across the road from their swanky reception venue -- I was straight there. It was one of those days where everything worked, great couple, great location and perfect light.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Tam and the dogs
This was a surprise shoot as a Christmas present for Tam's fiance Andrew. We headed off to the beach and let the dogs do what they do -- it was a struggle trying to get them both to be in position at the same time. Just as we gave up on the dalmatian doing anything, he stopped running in the perfect spot for the image's composition.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Jade
This is Jade -- I have no idea what I said to her! Her mum Bridgette wanted to have some surprise photos taken for her husband for Valentine's day, so we set out to Jade's favourite park and proceeded to get a little dirty on the play equipment. Shooting with the aperture wide open produces some great shots.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Rufino the Catalan Casanova
Rufino is the French violinist with Mikelangelo and The Black Sea Gentlemen. They're a strange band of musicians who perform all over the world -- their shows have so much character and are musically superb. After first seeing them, I dreamed of taking photos of them and it came about when they were in Tasmania performing in Ten Days On The Island. Rufino is played by Pip Branson, who also has his own band, The Pip Branson Corporation.

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Alan Moyle, Photobat

Elizabeth Street Carpark, Launceston, Tasmania
My fascination with the grittiness and lines of car parks started when I found out a friend was going to be late meeting me for coffee. I had just parked the car and had 30 minutes to spare, so I walked around the roof of the car park taking some shots. From then on, I have always looked for great compositions with the lines and marks in car parks.