I wanted to share with you a project that I’m working on called One Shot: An Image and an Attitude. Here is some info about the project below, and you can click here to help fund it:
‘One Shot’ is a short documentary that looks into the life of Russell Ord, a West Australian, world renowned surf Photographer as he embarks on a mission to capture ‘one shot’ that defines who he is, not just what he does. A husband and father of 3, Russell has for years shot professional surfers and ocean scapes, only to wake up one day and look back on his images with total emptiness and dissatisfaction.
“I do not want to be remembered for just being in the channel at the right time and right place capturing the surfer’s wave of a lifetime. Because in the end, that’s easy. As a photographer I want to remember myself for taking that “one” photo – not because of the surfer’s name or reputation, but because of the position I put myself in to capture the moment in time.
An amazing view of the ocean cannot be captured without an element of risk; It’s taken me years to find my niche within my photography, and now that I have, it’s such a great place to be.”
Fueled by a burning desire to have ‘his moment’, Russell embarks on a journey that finds him tackling a secret big wave location in Western Australia. It is known by many big wave surfers as one of the heaviest slabs in the world. Remote and renowned for sharks, the effort, commitment and training that lies behind that ‘one shot’ is both an inspiration and education to many, and will change the way we view a photograph forever.
Russell is the only photographer that will risk his life to shoot inside the barrel at this location and is fully aware of the consequences of taking such chances.
‘One Shot’ is an inspiring journey about one man taking a chance, following his dreams and living a life without restrictions. You only get one shot at life…you have to live it as best you can.
Russell Ord
Darren McCagh
Why does this story need to be told?
This is not a surf movie…This is a character driven documentary about a guy who is not afraid of life’s challenges. I think we all need to hear these stories to inspire us to achieve, to find out what we’re made of, to get a very personal inside view of what drives people like Russell, to do the things they do.
To reach the pinnacle of your field requires great determination, hard work, huge risks, and often for very little reward. This documentary aims to expose the challenges that are faced, the fears that are overcome, and the deep seeded desire by many to have ‘their moment’.
What is your money being used for?
We really only get one shot at telling a story… and this is ours. We’ve fought with the idea of going it alone, but when it’s all said and done, we believe that with your help we can do this project a great justice. The expense lies in getting to locations, post workflow (colour grade, original score by Tony Anderson, assistant editor, on-location and post audio), equipment hire/additional camera crew and the use of Phantom Flex super slow-mo camera for climax. Part of this documentary will be shot in California in January and the rest will be shot in logistically difficult parts of Western Australia, making travel expensive.
These things will all be possible should we reach our goal of $16,050 in time to receive the 3 to 1 funding from ScreenWest.
If we are unsuccessful in receiving the 3 to 1 funding but reach our pozible crowdfunding target, we will still complete this documentary. The difference lies in the quality of the finished product. We will be unable to afford many of the things outlined above and will need to dig deep and do much of it ourselves. With the additional money we can create a documentary with greater impact and intensity. A documentary that we can all be very proud to say we were a part of.
Want to see the location of the climax? Watch the clip below…
