About this project

Cut To The Chase: Your backing will enable the following:
> Imaginative photography of some incredible underground hip-hop artists.
> A fantastic photography art book detailing the adventure.
> An exhibition of the work to launch the book.
> A collection of limited edition postcards of the work.
> An adventure for an aussie photographer to rediscover his lost mojo.
The Back Story: In 1985 i was 13 and in year 8 of high school. A friend of mine handed me a dubbed maxell cassette tape he had stolen off his older brother. It had "Run D.M.C ~ Raising Hell" scribbled on the label and it changed my life; it awoke something inside a thoughtful christian kid in surburbia australia... this was a new creative energy that quite simply blew my mind. to this day i have a deep love affair with great hip-hop and it's amazing culture.
i have no musical talent whatsoever but i found my artistic outlet in drawing and photography. that took me from design and illustration into a career in photography. now all these years later i find myself being an excellent wedding and family photographer.... but.... there is something missing. i want to recapture that creative spark. i want to ignite my imagination, get my mojo back and create something unique and that quiet voice in the back of my mind says two words: Hip-Hop.
a few weeks ago a very good friend offered me amazingly cheap return tickets to L.A. {usually over $1200, now $375} and a plan hatched in my mind: an adventure to photograph the underground hip-hop artists that have inspired me!
i will travel to the USA and team up with a few incredible photographers that have stirred me and together we will photograph hip-hop artists that have inspired. along the way i will document everything! The photography and the journalling will become a book in the www.blurb.com style. i will then take the books to publishers and see if there is any interest from them, if not i will self publish and make it available online in both electronic download & physical book form. i will also print up a collection of limited edition full colour postcards + hold an exhibition of the work to launch the book.
It is a massive undertaking and a very exciting project that you will be proud to be apart of from the beginning!
The Cash Breakdown: Travel:
-travel in Australia.................$230
-tickets to the USA.................$375
-internal tickets in the USA..$520
-car hire & gas.......................$295
Books:
-first run of 12 copies.............$565
Total........................................$1985
Rough Itinerary:
October 3rd - Sydney
October 15th land in LA - fly to Seattle
October 16th > 21st - Seattle
October 21st > 24th - Portland
October 25th> 28th - Los Angeles & San Diego
October 29th > November 3rd - Atlanta
November 10th - Melbourne
{to be confirmed asap}
Artist's Impression of the original cassette tape.