After a few weeks of cruising with Easy Tiger, Sans Souci and Cruising Kitty, we all decided to share our New Cal photos.  This came about when we got together one night after one of our walks.  We ‘airdropped’ (a brilliant way to exchange photos thanks to Apple) each others photos to our various devices.  My underwater photos were of interest and it was decided we’d each present a slideshow of our photos to share one night.

Well … this became bigger than “Ben Hur”!  The Newcalademy Awards were born.

We started with a simple premise which was sharing some photos.  We’d all had experience watching someone else’s travel photos by the thousands, so we put a 7-minute time limit on each.

Then this simple premise took off!

Photos became videos and then even live performances got a gig.  Poor Hugh felt the pressure as Neville decided to write a rally song.  Easy Tiger’s crew were fighting over their GoPro as both wanted to do a video each.  Steve’s our video man, but Leanne was determined to do it better.  So our 7-minute slideshow became 15-minutes per boat and any combination.

And … we were going to be scored!  Rated from 1-10 on various categories.  One prize was to be submitted per boat.  No alcohol or food.  Hmmm … preparing the prize took as much time as my slideshow.

As I said, bigger than Ben Hur!

 

Fresh off the press …

Presenting …

The Newcalademy Awards

Le Age  

Reporter – Amanda Chapman     Photographer – Leanne Ludemann

New Caledonia, 27th August, 2017

Last evening, I had the privilege of attending the premiere event of the Newcalademy Awards for 2017.  New Caledonia hosted one of the finest Awards nights ever.

The hosts, the acclaimed cinematographer, Mr. Steven Ludemann and his aspiring cinematographer wife, Leanne, were very welcoming with their introductions and had set a program for the evening that included champagne canapés, nominations, attendee interviews and a sit down dinner.  The aspiring nominees were to present after dinner, with the awards taking place after dessert.

As the first attendees, Amanda Chapman and Neville Mills, stepped up to the red carpet, their numerous nominations were announced including Best Musical Score and Best Cinematography.  Amanda was dressed in chartreuse, sporting a new coiffure by Noumea’s latest stylist, the Latin Quarter’s Franco. The red carpet was then graced with Hugh Harvison and his new lady, Juliana.  Juliana is certainly a class above his more recent Playboy company.  Juliana’s Coco Chanel frock certainly took the limelight.  The last attendees, Kenny and his lovely partner, Toni Borrett, were new to the awards night, but they certainly wasted no time in joining in the festivities.  They were very confident of an award it seemed, with a joint nomination for the photography and musical score categories.  It also appears, from my unnamed sources, that Mr. Kenny is an aspiring guitarist.

With the formalities attended to, including the presentation sequence, it was Amanda Chapman’s photography that captured the guest’s imagination first up. Her close-up stills were to behold, with the magic of the deep in all her images. There were obvious signs of appreciation and respect for Ms. Chapman’s work.

Neville Mills, the acclaimed guitarist followed with an unoriginal score but original lyrics, with a Rally tribute song. The crowd enjoyed every moment with momentous applause and obvious signs of rapture. There were murmurings amongst the crowd … this is going to be a difficult night for the judges.

Mr. Steven Ludemann, the acclaimed cinematographer, was introduced next. There was much anticipation. Mr. Ludemann had recently produced several award winning short films so expectation was high. He was also now under immense pressure with his wife, Mrs. Leanne Ludemann, joining his esteemed company. Mrs. Ludemann, while new to this profession has recently gone on record saying, and I quote, “I am going to win”.  Mr. Ludemann’s presentation did not disappoint. There were shouts of “magnificent” and many sighs of relief.

Hugh Harvison’s presentation unfortunately started with some backstage difficulties. The AV technical department made a big blunder when they unfortunately showed Hugh’s Playboy ‘stable’ up on the big screen. There was disbelief and uncomfortable sighs from the audience. The usually calm and quiet Juliana was obviously distressed. It was so distasteful. Fortunately, his presentation overcame this uncomfortable beginning with the screen now showing the eloquent Dorothea Mackellar. Hugh’s presentation did justice to the ‘I Love a Sunburnt Country’.

It seemed Ms. Juliana had recovered from her earlier discomfort as her presentation was dignified and professional. Ms. Juliana presented her photography with astute awareness and aplomb. Her coverage and knowledge of the subject was evident. There was a quiet calmness about Ms. Juliana with Hugh Harvison by her side.  A credit to her after Mr. Harvison’s earlier behavior.

Now for the moment the audience was waiting for, Mrs. Ludemann’s presentation. The tabloids have been rife with Mrs. Ludemann’s recent tirades. Can she, will she, overshadow Mr. Ludemann’s accomplishments? You could hear a pin drop in the audience. Mrs. Ludemann’s presentation was received very well by the apprehensive audience. There was clapping and bravos. But were there more for Mr. Ludemann? We will have to wait and see.

The final presentation was by Mr. Kenny and his lovely partner Toni Borrett. This was the only joint presentation for the evening so the expectation was immense.  Will a joint presentation get the judges attention? The Newcalademy are quite staid with their beliefs so will they be open to a left-of-field presentation? There was also a rumour earlier in the day that Mr. Kenny and Toni Borrett could not get their presentation to the judges on time. Both looked quite nervous so I’m sure they were hoping for no technical difficulties this evening.  Their presentation went smoothly, considering. Their songwriting talents and unoriginal musical score were thoroughly enjoyed. There were even requests from the audience, “play us the one about the Gambler!” This pair may be the ones to watch in the future, as they accounted for themselves in the most professional way.

It was now time for the judges scores to be tallied.  The security box was passed to Mr. Steven Ludemann (the only non-drinker). While dessert was being served, the scores were tallied. There was an amazing amount of tension and anticipation in the air.  The attendees congratulated themselves and each other.  Mrs. Ludemann and the usually controlled Juliana were both deep in conversation.  My sources overheard a rather vigorous exchange with both parties declaring their aspirations for first prize.  It was now in the hands of Mr. Ludemann.

The presentation of the Newcalademy Awards followed.

Seven Nominees –

The Winners –

First Prize – Neville – Cats In The Rally – song/guitar

Second Prize – Leanne – Video

Third Prize – Steve – Video

Fourth Prize – Amanda – Photo Slideshow

 

What a fantastic night!!  So much fun.