WARNING: Drama ahead!
This blog has been bouncing around in the cogs of my brain for about a month now. I don't want it to sound wrong so I'm going to have to figure out the right way of SAYING it. I suppose the first thing I need to talk about is the reality of being a SG in Australia (or even just living in Australia) so here are the facts:
* There are about 20 SG's in Australia and 500 members of SGAustralia (our local regional group) and 55 Aussie hopefuls (a sizeable bunch really).
* There are NO staff photographers in Australia .
* There is MadDame who is trying for Official Photographer - she lives 870km (aka: 539 miles) away from me.
* There is another hub of SG activity (Scotty, Tez, Zombia etc) who are actively turning out sets - they live 940km (584 miles) away from me.
* I don't even live in some piss pot country town. I'm a Sydney girl.
* In my photoset City Elite, MadDame was shooting AND in the background there are the following Interstate SG's: Scotty, Allura, Sin as well as the hopeful Ainslie. All up, there was over 3300km (2000 miles) of travel in order to get everyone there and several months planning on my part that had gone into shooting that set.
* So far the set's gotten 988 comments. That's 3km/comment (2miles/comment) and I don't even want to think about the $/comment, let's not worry about that. I'm not complaining about that, I'm not in SG for the money anyway.
My conclusion?
Neither SG or you guys appreciate what a mammoth effort it is to shoot something of this scale in this country. Nothing like this set has ever been attempted in Australia before. And I'm guessing that by the response, nothing like this will EVER be attempted in Australia again. I hope that the issue isn't *me* letting down the set. But judging by the first set I shot (5000+ comments just shot on a cheap DSLR with a kit lens out in a mate's paddock) I assume it is not.
At the time I shot City Elite I was really excited about it. All these Aussie members and SG's getting together (many of whom had never met one another before). The community was alive and kicking. Girls were meeting other girls. Photographers were coming out of the woodwork, several sets were being shot, new girls with amazing photographic talent were appearing, hopefuls were making friends, we had our most successful SGAU Ball of all time with over 75 members attending. Even Team Perth came along for the ride! I was so psyched to be shooting a new set because I had gotten SO many messages from members about doing another one. And even a message from SG to do another. I was on top of it. Getting the forefront photographer in the country on board and a bunch of other girls too. Seven Aussie SG's met up all at once which is a record for us. We had a great night and I answered the query "so tell me about SG" more than a handful of times. And SG were *finally* considering putting up a booth at the tattoo conventions that happen all over the country.
And since then? Nothing.
I am not implying that American sets or South African sets or sets from anywhere else do not have a lot of effort go into them. I am just stunned at the sheer lack of local support (and support from abroad) for a country that many would argue have the HOTTEST population of women in the world (yes, I just said that). Among others; This set, this set, this set this set and my set should all be live by now. The last Aussie set to go up was my debut which went up on June 2009. What is going on with TeamAustralia that we are lagging behind so badly?
You know what the worst part is? I am still getting messages from guys asking "when are you going to shoot a set again". It makes me so mad that you guys don't appreciate how difficult this is. When will I be shooting again? When I have some random lonely days off to fly interstate to get one done! Or when I have the funds to burn on a fancypants camera and photographer hire.
So I hope this stirrs the pot a bit. I want it to. We need local support if SG Australia is ever going to be anything more than a group of guys and girls that sits around and admires the beauty of foreign girls and not our own. And a handful of super hot members that are too frightened to try shooting because they know that they won't get anywhere. SG is willing to send merch to Australia, our Annual Ball can be massive, we can have booths at local conventions and maybe even burlesque tours. All it takes is a bit of fucking effort. A bit too much it seems.
As for my set? Enjoy the dream while it lasts, I doubt I'll be keeping it up much longer.
I love you SG, but I can imagine so much more.
This blog has been bouncing around in the cogs of my brain for about a month now. I don't want it to sound wrong so I'm going to have to figure out the right way of SAYING it. I suppose the first thing I need to talk about is the reality of being a SG in Australia (or even just living in Australia) so here are the facts:
* There are about 20 SG's in Australia and 500 members of SGAustralia (our local regional group) and 55 Aussie hopefuls (a sizeable bunch really).
* There are NO staff photographers in Australia .
* There is MadDame who is trying for Official Photographer - she lives 870km (aka: 539 miles) away from me.
* There is another hub of SG activity (Scotty, Tez, Zombia etc) who are actively turning out sets - they live 940km (584 miles) away from me.
* I don't even live in some piss pot country town. I'm a Sydney girl.
* In my photoset City Elite, MadDame was shooting AND in the background there are the following Interstate SG's: Scotty, Allura, Sin as well as the hopeful Ainslie. All up, there was over 3300km (2000 miles) of travel in order to get everyone there and several months planning on my part that had gone into shooting that set.
* So far the set's gotten 988 comments. That's 3km/comment (2miles/comment) and I don't even want to think about the $/comment, let's not worry about that. I'm not complaining about that, I'm not in SG for the money anyway.
My conclusion?
Neither SG or you guys appreciate what a mammoth effort it is to shoot something of this scale in this country. Nothing like this set has ever been attempted in Australia before. And I'm guessing that by the response, nothing like this will EVER be attempted in Australia again. I hope that the issue isn't *me* letting down the set. But judging by the first set I shot (5000+ comments just shot on a cheap DSLR with a kit lens out in a mate's paddock) I assume it is not.
At the time I shot City Elite I was really excited about it. All these Aussie members and SG's getting together (many of whom had never met one another before). The community was alive and kicking. Girls were meeting other girls. Photographers were coming out of the woodwork, several sets were being shot, new girls with amazing photographic talent were appearing, hopefuls were making friends, we had our most successful SGAU Ball of all time with over 75 members attending. Even Team Perth came along for the ride! I was so psyched to be shooting a new set because I had gotten SO many messages from members about doing another one. And even a message from SG to do another. I was on top of it. Getting the forefront photographer in the country on board and a bunch of other girls too. Seven Aussie SG's met up all at once which is a record for us. We had a great night and I answered the query "so tell me about SG" more than a handful of times. And SG were *finally* considering putting up a booth at the tattoo conventions that happen all over the country.
And since then? Nothing.
I am not implying that American sets or South African sets or sets from anywhere else do not have a lot of effort go into them. I am just stunned at the sheer lack of local support (and support from abroad) for a country that many would argue have the HOTTEST population of women in the world (yes, I just said that). Among others; This set, this set, this set this set and my set should all be live by now. The last Aussie set to go up was my debut which went up on June 2009. What is going on with TeamAustralia that we are lagging behind so badly?
You know what the worst part is? I am still getting messages from guys asking "when are you going to shoot a set again". It makes me so mad that you guys don't appreciate how difficult this is. When will I be shooting again? When I have some random lonely days off to fly interstate to get one done! Or when I have the funds to burn on a fancypants camera and photographer hire.
So I hope this stirrs the pot a bit. I want it to. We need local support if SG Australia is ever going to be anything more than a group of guys and girls that sits around and admires the beauty of foreign girls and not our own. And a handful of super hot members that are too frightened to try shooting because they know that they won't get anywhere. SG is willing to send merch to Australia, our Annual Ball can be massive, we can have booths at local conventions and maybe even burlesque tours. All it takes is a bit of fucking effort. A bit too much it seems.
As for my set? Enjoy the dream while it lasts, I doubt I'll be keeping it up much longer.
I love you SG, but I can imagine so much more.
VIEW 25 of 38 COMMENTS
HAVE YOU EVER CHECKED HOW MANY SWISS SG GIRLS THERE ARE?
ALL I CAN DO IS TO VOTE FOR YOUR SETS AND TO HOPE, YOU DON'T GIVE UP.
FOR ME, THE HUGE AMOUNT OF DIFFRENT COUNTRIES AND PEOPLE WHO BUILD THE COMMUNITY OF SG, IS THE REASON, TO BE A MEMBER.
AND WHEN I SAY, PLEASE SHOOT AGAIN, I KNOW WHAT I SAY. IT WOULD SAY: DO IT AGAIN. IT WAS WONDERFUL. I KNOW, WHAT IS NEEDED TO ORGANAZIE A SET IF YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WITH LESS PEOPLE.
SO, I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORT AND HOPE, THE AUSTRALIEN FRONT WILL BLAST US AWAY!