SOUND RELIEF at the SCG

In response to the devastation caused by the bushfires in Victoria a little over a month ago, and the havoc strewn floods in Queensland’s north, a massive concert was created in a little more than a week and staged simultaneously in Melbourne and Sydney boasting the creme de la creme of the Australian and international recording artists. No concert on this scale has been attempted before in this country and was certainly a landmark event. No artist, stage hand, venue promotions, flights, or media was paid for.

It was a truly united nationwide effort without charge to get the concert-goerss to pay for a rare one off concert with ALL the funds raised going straight to provide financial assistance and aid for the people who lost their possessions and homes and lives of loved ones in the massive destruction caused. It was a proud day to be Australian.

For the most part the days event, certainly from a participants perspective was a huge party atmosphere, with the evident few who flouted the rules and were caught, arrests were low, anti-social behaviour was a minimum and the atmosphere warm and friendly.

The acts included performances from World famous Coldplay, who teamed up with John Farnham, one of Australia’s musical icons to sing You’re the Voice which rose some 50,000 people to their feet, it was a magical moment for all who witnessed and heard this.

Other artists included, Wolfmother, Macia Hines, the Presets, Icehouse, Barry Gibb (Bee Gee’s) with Olivia Newton John, Taylor Swift, UAMI, Architecture from Helsinki, Little Birdy, JET, Eskimo Joe, Josh Pyke, the Hoodoo Gurus and in Melbourne, Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue, Hunters and Collectors, Split Enz, Jack Johnson, Paul Kelly, Gabriella Cilmi and many, many more.

It was an event I was honoured to be a part of. I was not there as a photographer as such, but in the VIP section with some dear friends, BUT I am rarely without a camera and whilst I could have taken a bigger camera, I chose to take a small compact camera which I have on loan from Nikon Australia called the Coolpix S630.

WHAT a Camera!. I had people around me amazed at the results this little camera produced, which you can buy for $499RRP. I am still so very impressed. ALL the pictures I took were on this little beauty. It has a 7x optical zoom and a massive 260mm zoom capacity. Everyone I know rubbishes digital zoom, and whilst it is not as sharp and the like, I defy anyone to say for a unit that is so small and can fit into a pocket or small bag that this isn’t a very viable image for most people. I cannot speak highly enough of this amazing unit. It takes a 12 mega pixel image and is just a wonderful unit. Please note that NO tripod was used in these images, it was ALL taken hand held. The camera has auto scene mode and face recognition and many more features. Admittedly it's low light performance was a little grainy, I am yet to see a camera that offers the other features listed AND has terrific low light performance. Overall, it is a camera I would genuinely recommend.

Here are some sample images

37mm wide


approx 70mm zoom


approx. 160mm zoom


approx. 200mm zoom


Full 260mm zoom

Another example in the zoom capability.

Full 37mm wide angle


approx 80mm zoom


Full 260mm zoom

NOW, some of the other pictures I took...


Coldplay on stage.


The Crowd numbered almost 50,000 I am told and an 80,000 people crowd supported in Melbourne


More Crowd shots


coldplay were sensational. This is a shot I took in the crowd on the ground.


Chris Martin lead singer of Coldplay with Australia's own John Farnham (close-up photo by ninemsn.com.au) wide photo by me




I retreated to the VIP stand to get out of the biting sun. The grey flooring you can see was placed over the ground to minimise the impact of people on the grass


The Men and Women in Blue keeping the ground safe and even.


always time for a catch up photo with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and then.....


The skies grew dark


and within seconds it bucketed down.


As dozens of people sought refuge under a blue tarpaulin that inched its way across the ground collecting more souls eager to avoid getting drenched


It poured! Some were angst ridden, whilst others just danced and loved it. On this occasion I was happy to remain dry in the stands but I loved seeing them having fun.


And as quickly as it came the rain was gone, and the sun returned! it was 4 Seasons in one day.


Then, after the rain the shone through, as accomplished and classy Aussie import and current Australian Idol judge Marcia Hines came on stage and sang Fire and Rain, by James Taylor and what a beautiful version.


The sun came back out with the darkening sky and thunder made for an interesting shot.


Then came Taylor Swift, a new sensation from the US of A hit the stage. Very talented and adept young lady.


and within seconds her T-shirt and jeans were ripped off highlighting this gold dress underneath. She had LOTS of young members of the crowd bopping and dancing.


This close up of Taylor was very good considering, I was so far away it wasn't funny. At this time though the sun was biting...again.


a reverse zoom shot, Taylor still on stage...



Same view of the stage from my seat in the stands. See how far this is!



Lets see this zoom capacity again. 37mm wide


approx. 75mm zoom


approx. 180mm zoom


Full 260mm zoom!


Right in front of stage this time with Iva Davies of Icehouse, Great Southern land. They played a great set!




I am at the barrier to the side, and took a shot of the crowd.


Australia's iconic music presenter Ian Molly Meldrum


Barry Gibb (Bee Gees) still looking and sounding magnificent. Has this guy found the legendary fountain of youth? He was a huge hit. Much better than I imagined. Let me explain. I didn't think the crowd would think he was "hip" enough but the crowd knew all or most of the words and it was a great pleasure to hear and see. I was right at the front here.


More Barry


and still more


Barry with Australia’s favourite daughter, Olivia Newton John. Still so elegant and so charming – her voice is still there!


I have met Olivia once before when I photographed her and found her to be a charming person. Here she seemed to be looking right at me! Perhaps she was thinking, is that tall guy really expecting me to take him seriously with THAT camera?! Yes Olivia, you certainly can!

Here is a couple of great clips. The first is only a short clip. I actually took this on the Nikon Camera of Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton John. I wanted to show the quality - remember it is handheld and zoomed in. Noting that, and remembering of course this camera fits in your pocket. It is a great camera.
The next clip is of Coldplay singing one of Australia's most iconic songs, Youre the Voice by it's writer and original artist John Farnham, amazing. The words are very powerful. And lastly, the clip of Coldplay singing Fix You, as Chris Martin abandoned the stage and ran into the crowd. It was a magical moment. I still feel the tingles and yes I WAS THERE!!!