Holy Smoke

Kate Winslet

Jane Campion - Vanity Fair Session to promote ‘Portrait Of A Lady’ 1996

Jane Campion was another person I had an immeadiate affiliation with when we worked together on these portraits, which were to appear in ‘Vanity Fair’ and the magazine ‘Premiere’.

Jane with her Daughter Alice

She told me of her future project and asked me if I would be interested in taking pictures on a feature film. I said of course as I’d like the experience and I felt the role of a photographer on a film needed to be enhanced instead of merely documenting the shot list.

We agreed and it was two years later that I got a very unexpected call to confirm dates and schedules for what was going to be a three month production.

First Day on set of ‘Holy Smoke’ shot in the Flinders Ranges South Australia

In Pre-Production we agreed to use polaroid large format stock which related to Jane’s previous film ‘The Piano’ Above is a polaroid positive (Type 55) which also produces a negative and these would be printed in a dark room at a later date.

The ‘halfway house’

As Kate was wearing books on her feet she had to be carried around in order to preserve her ‘shoes’.

There was a lot of real tension between Harvey and Kate during the production. Filming actually stopped for several days while they worked through their personal issues.

Pam Grier with Jane Campion

Alice Campion

Jane’s father Richard Campion (13 December 1923 - 2 July 2013) was a theatre director who founded ‘The New Zealand Players’, New Zealand’s first professional theatre company. On this production (Holy Smoke) he worked as Jane’s personal assistant during the six weeks we were on location in the Flinders Ranges.

Going to the Pub

Jane made a cameo in the film when the band ‘The Angels’ perform in the pub scene.

Australian Gothic

Extras from the final scene which was cut entirely out of the film.

Jane with Harvey during the shooting in Sydney at Fox Studios

Come Fire Walk With Me

Nicky Pascoe - Jimarda 1997

In late November 1997 I flew to Maningrida in Arnhem Land for a commission by ‘The Book Of Loud’ which was a government youth initiative to profile young Australians in a magazine format. I was to shoot a story on the Indigenous artist Nicky Pascoe who painted in the traditional method using bark.

Our plane approaches Maningrida ‘The Place Where The Dreaming Changed Shape’

From Maningrida we caught another light aircraft to the outstation Jimarda where Nicky was living.

Children play as we made tea on a fire when we first arrived in Jimarda.

Nicky sourcing bark for his painting

Nicky paints his totem which is Crocodile Sunrise

The artist James Iyuna

After a night sleeping on the beach in 40 degree heat beside a fire (in order to protect ourselves from the local crocodiles) we were ready to fly back to Maningrida

Alvin was Hermaphrodite and greatly revered among the people of Maningrida.

Fonzie - Maningrida Airport on the day of our departure