IN JIM’S WORDS…..

 

“I have accomplished some spectacular results with time-lapse photography and to a lesser degree, pretty good results with high speed photography but the area of significant achievement is in special EFX. Long before computers, all special effects were accomplished by filming naturally occurring or manmade phenomena such as explosions, fire, wind, smoke or water and fluids, often filmed in time-lapse or high speed depending on the scale of gravity to create a believable event. In 1976 I was approached by a producer from the ABC science show to produce EFX for a trilogy of documentaries about “The Big Bang Theory”. I immediately took up the challenge. I remembered from my university days some of the chemical reactions formed by mixing different chemicals together. I thought I could easily produce all the required effects, implosions, explosions, binary exchanges, giant red bodies, galaxies etc. In short… I accomplished all of these and more. I’d bought dozens of different chemicals and also raided the kitchen cupboard for appropriate ingredients. When I finished the project I noticed some strange translucent crystal structures among the myriad of glass Petrie dishes I had used. I held it up to the light and noticed that little pairs of eyes were staring back at me. I also noted that when I rotated the dish the light source behind changed the look depending on the angle the crystal structure lay in relation to the light source. I took some photographs and from viewing those images a brand new passion was born. I became absolutely obsessed and this obsession remains with me to this day. I believe this has developed into the most unique art form in the world today. I have established unusual techniques to steer growing crystals into strange landscapes, animal and plant forms, alien but beautiful.

I have had several successful exhibitions and among the high profile people who have prints are Colleen McCullock, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Sylvester Stallone and Goldie Hawn.”

 

 

    ABOUT JIM FRAZIER.....

 

Jim Frazier is one of Australia's most highly decorated Cinematographers. He is the winner of an Oscar, Emmy, three Golden Tripods, a US Industrial Film and Video Gold Camera Award, a Golden Panda, an Honorary Doctorate for his contribution to Scientific Knowledge and an OAM. He has won over forty National and International Awards for his works, including the Technical Oscar in 1997 for his invention of the Frazier Lens System which revolutionised the international film industry. In October 1998, because of the invention and design of the Panavision/Frazier Lens System, Jim was presented with the John Grierson International Gold Medal for pioneering work in micro/macro cinematography of invertebrate animals. He was a Finalist in 2016 as Senior Australian of the Year.

Jim’s career as a Wildlife Cinematographer has been spread over more than forty years, with many of those years travelling the world filming with Sir David Attenborough. He is an Artist, Scientist, Environmentalist, Inventor and Author. Recently he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Australian Cinematographers Society. Jim has also been made an Honorary Rotarian and has assisted Rotary in raising funds for many of their projects. He is a community-spirited person, an engaging and inspirational public speaker. He loves to speak to Community groups and Social groups. Because of his high profile, he attracts big audiences.

His innovative approach to Art and Photography has led to the creation of a Crystal Art form which is unique in the world with high profile people such as Hillary Clinton, Colleen McCullough and Oprah Winfrey owning some of his extraordinary creations. Within this format, Jim grows and manipulates crystals, then, with the use of extraordinary colour backlighting and macro lenses, he creates amazing abstract and fantasy crystal landscape photographs.

Similarly with his unique style of photography he has recently produced an extraordinary book “Butterflies on my Mind” where he has captured butterflies in flight which nobody else has ever been able to emulate. Through Jim’s extensive travel around the globe filming wildlife for Sir David Attenborough, National Geographic, Time Life and the Discovery Channel, as well as his own productions, he has become greatly concerned about the mass environmental destruction by humans. Jim has conceived a unique concept of producing a global blockbuster environmental feature film “Symphony of the Earth”. Using an entertainment approach, a ’Woodstock of the Cinema’, the collective power of the world’s foremost singers, musicians, entertainers and filmmakers will be harnessed. Jim aims to create a new genre of music, using sounds from the natural animal world. The main goal is to bring Global Environmental Awareness, to inform while at the same time offering solutions and encourage harmony with the planet. Jim has donated his book “Butterflies on my Mind” to Symphony of the Earth to help in raising funds for the project.