Road tripping West with the Vixens.
One of my next bucket-listers is to tour with a band and take care of their socials, promo and behind the scenes content of the chaos and magic on the road. So when the Vixens wanted to stash me in the back of a proper-vintage Kombi van and hit the road for two days to shoot the clip for their next release, I was more than willing to oblige to get a little slice’a that dream.
The kombi, who is a strong contender for the star of this photo series, is affectionately referred to as ‘George!’ by its owner (and absolute legend) Teena. Sometimes though, like when it breaks down on a dirt road hours off of the highway, it’s referred to as ‘GEORGE!’. What’s an Australian road trip without five people spending an hour trying to learn how to use jumper leads for the first time in 37 degree heat?
Two years on from our first connection, this is the fourth clip I’ve shot with the Vixens. You can see our previous work together on their Youtube channel here. So, if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve no doubt become somewhat familiar with these absolute stunners. The girls of Vixens of Fall are siblings, and the magic that comes along with that is shooting in an atmosphere of complete comfort and willingness to play and move and bounce off of one another’s energy. As a human person, it’s electric to see, and as a content creator, it’s the gold star of good opportunities.
The nicest folks you’ll ever meet, I adore them and so does everyone who has the pleasure of being pulled into their orbit. Not to mention, they’re making some bloody remarkable music currently alongside the heavyweight likes of Rod McCormack and Gina Jeffreys. Their first 2020 single ‘The Long Game’ went #1 on the Apple Country Music charts, and sat there solidly for near a week. Watching dreams come true from the side-lines makes me a happy camper and is one of the many perks of this job that keep things moving and interesting!
The first Friday of December, we headed off from Gympie - the four of us in a car with aircon, and Teena manning the ever-tempremental, but way-cooler-even-without-aircon George. Our route was West for as far as we could go with daylight to spare, stopping off as the scenery shifted and each perfect landscape unveiled itself. You’ll catch glimpses of Lower Wonga, Kilkivan, Kinbombi and Goomeri in their latest content and impending film clip release. It’s land that I adore having a reason to head back to - it used to be shooting weddings in the sticks, or visiting one of the vineyards out in the most underrated wine region in Australia, but this week found me manning a gimbal, tucked into the only viable filming space between the front seats and the bed in the back of the van, shooting a film clip of a road trip that we were actually on.
Aside from George’s attempt to call it quits after many miles in the outback sun, every bit of the day contained memorable goodness. You’re gonna want to stop in at the Goomeri bakery if you ever find yourself there (my recommendation is that you instead put yourself there). And that was day one; golden sunlight filtered through dusty windows, fallen curls struggling against brutal humidity, an esky stashed with enough frozen water bottles for the travelling party of five and kilometres of fields and gums and blue, blue sky.
Day two saw us up and off by 3am, determined to catch that blue-to-pink-to-golden sunrise back out East over Rainbow Beach. When life offers up an opportunity to be in the majesty of an ocean-framed sunrise, I enthusiastically accept no matter the sleep deprivation. The Vixens, being the Brisbane-ites that they are had never been to Rainbow, and what a surprise it Came to me to find myself bloody stoked to be able to introduce them to it for the first time.
We parked George up directly in-front of the golden halo of Friday morning’s beginning, ran out full pelt onto the shore and created the final moments of cinematic magic. Once we’d done the compulsory round of applause for the end of an epic shoot, Teena (who was still kicking along being an absolute trooper amongst this project), whipped up a hot breakfast for us and so there we were, drinking poppers and swapping stories in the floaty fresh Summer air watching the waves roll in.
Two constant themes compelled me to pen this blog before I’d forgotten the feeling:
1. The pride of living in such a glorious spot, often discredited by folks who’ve never spent time here and might not have the perception to see it the way locals do anyhow, but despite the shallow summaries from some, being blessed to experience our regions goodness daily, and
2. The surreal beauty in finding such darling folks in this big wide world of ours who without this gig I may have never crossed paths with.
The gratitude of these encounters is so huge within me. Gratitude, for my home, for my work and for my clients: that’s the magic.
Don’t miss out on following the Vixens of Fall in all the places where it matters! Watch the new film clip for ‘Break It Easy’ here.
All photographs captured within a Jazmyn Produces x Vixens of Fall Full Service Film Clip.
