The Big Chill Festival 2026
16/05/26
Armidale was once again graced by the Big Chill Festival, and while I was initially planning to give it a miss due to work commitments, local band The Rocky Bottom Girls ended up bringing me on to record their set on the Live and Local stage. It was an awesome set, I captured some great footage, and I can’t wait to share it at a later date.
The original plan was to head home once my shoot wrapped, but since I already had a media pass, I thought it would be fun to mix things up and return to shoot some of the headliners with my vintage lenses. So back in I went with my jankily adapted 1970s Nikon 35mm and 85mm lenses. There’s no way I’d attempt something like this on a paid shoot—unless specifically asked to, of course—but it was a great opportunity to really test my manual focusing skills, which became an absolute nightmare once the strobing lights kicked in.
It also gave me the chance to see Sneaky Sound System and The Presets, two groups that were huge during my late teens and, as much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, there was no way I was turning that down.
In the end, thanks to my chosen kit, I came away with far more misses than hits photographically—but the hits I did get landed pretty hard. I’m especially happy with many of the shots I captured of Connie Mitchell, whose stage presence was incredibly dynamic compared to many of the other acts. I suppose one big takeaway is that great musicians don’t always make for great photographs.
Still, I’m mostly happy with what I came away with, and it was fun being the only photographer in the pit not carrying the trusty old 70–200mm. I went in trying to capture something unique, and while the results didn’t end up quite as strange or distinct as I’d imagined in my head, I’m still really pleased with them. And even if the photos hadn’t worked out at all, it still would’ve been an absolutely fantastic night. Everyone involved brought their A-game, and I feel really lucky to be invited to events like this.
