Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Australian Photography

So, should it have won? It’s the question that’s probably been on a few people’s lips ever since the 2017 Olive Cotton Award for portraiture was announced in late July. The winning shot, Maternal Line by photographer Justine Varga, was definitely what you might call a ‘different’ take on the classic portrait shot. Featuring her grandmother’s scrawled pen marks and saliva on a piece of film, it was not shot with a camera, yet it still took out the top gong and received a $20,000 prize in what is easily one of our most prestigous photography competitions. As you might expect, there’s been some robust conversations about its validity as a winner, to the point where judge Dr Shaune Lakin, a senior curator of photography at the National Gallery of…

HAVING recently encouraged Sydney’s photographers to boycott Vivid festival, photographer Ken Duncan has now set his sights on Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s office. Some two years after he was nearly arrested in Barangaroo for taking images, and having received a promise from then premier Mike Baird that an investigation into regulation of photography in public areas would happen, Mr Duncan says he is increasingly frustrated that little progress appears to have been made. “It’s like entering a roundabout, going round and round,” he said. “There’s been endless meetings that go nowhere.” The renowned landscape photographer has now appealed to Gladys Berejiklian to pick up where Baird finished, starting with re-establishing a working group to investigate onerous restrictions on enthusiast photographers in Sydney Harbour. The group appears to have been disbanded once…

In this age of digital photography and social media, we’re exposed to an endless stream of stunning landscape images. And while browsing through galleries of postcard-perfect photos can be a satisfying experience, it can also create the impression that capturing memorable landscapes is a relatively simple thing to do. It’s alluring to think that with a bit of luck and the right gear you’ll be shooting award-winning landscapes in no time. But landscape photography has very little to do with luck and gear, and everything to do with perseverance and grit. We don’t expect poets to write timeless verses on a whim. Nor do painters produce masterpieces in single sittings. Why then should we expect any different for striking landscape images? FROM SNAPSHOTS TO PHOTOGRAPHS Like a lot of people,…

There are many photographic locations, in Australia and across the globe, that can be very cold. Unlike in more temperate climates, shooting when it’s freezing carries it’s own challenges and risks that can come with being unprepared. I’ve been lucky enough to spend many years photographing in these extreme environments and have learned, by trial and error, how to ensure success. Here’s my top tips. 1 BRING THE RIGHT CLOTHING It’s important to have the right clothing while photographing in very cold conditions. There is nothing worse that shivering away, feeling miserable, while standing in some amazing location and not being able to warm up. Having the right clothes is absolutely invaluable! I suggest wearing lots of thin layers underneath your main outer jacket, as this will work better as…

KEEP IT SIMPLE Alan Coligado summed up this shot with the comment: “A splash of samba on Mardi Gras Saturday at Westfield Sydney.” This image shows how a different point of view can make for an interesting and unusual shot. All those mainly grey hard-edged metal surfaces, different lines and textures make an interesting, but not distracting, backdrop for the soft colourful, and flowing feathery-style costumes. While there is a lot in this image it works well. The main weakness is the balding guy. Yes, with his plain attire and thinning scalp, he is a contrast to the fantastic creatures above him on the escalator but his impact is minimal, and in terms of the big picture, unnecessary. I would suggest cropping him from the scene as much as possible…

DYLAN GIANNAKOPOULOS Melbourne photographer Dylan Giannakopoulos has set out to capture all that inspires him. See more at dylangiannaphotography. com.au. MITCH GREEN Mitch Green is a Sydney-based travel and landscape photographer. He can be found at mitchgreenphotos.com or on instagram@mitchgreenphotos. LIBBY HOLMSEN Based in Perth, Libby Holmsen is taking tours to Northern India and Vietnam in 2018. Find out more at libbyholmsenphotography.com. MICHAEL SNEDIC Michael Snedic is one of Australia’s most accomplished wildlife/nature photographers. See more at wildnature photoexpeditions.com.…

NEIL BRINK Canadian Grey Wolf EDITOR’S COMMENT It’s all in the eyes with this stunning shot by Neil Brink. He says he was on holiday in the Canadian Rockies when he booked a ‘wolf encounter’. “We ended up walking with two mature wolves and their carers in the open bush,” he explains. “The money shot came as one wolf turned around and glared at me with those piercing eyes. With back button focus, I was able to focus on his eye, giving pin-sharp detail on the head and great bokeh on the bushes. What an experience to get close to these magnificent animals!” We love the moment captured here, helped by your balanced composition and subtle editing that emphasises those menacing eyes. A striking image that was a clear winner…

While generally known as a nature photographer, I consider myself an all-rounder. Landscape is my first love and I enjoy seeking out textures and patterns in nature. I also enjoy the challenge of sports photography and seeking out unusual events. When my father joined his local camera club in the early 1960s I trailed along. I soon acquired a second hand Practika camera which allowed me to use my father’s Pentax telephoto lens. Through my student years I was a member of several clubs which offered summer field trips to the mountains and this is where my appreciation of alpine plants bloomed. My wife and I moved to Papua New Guinea in 1985, staying for eighteen years. However travelling around PNG for photography was difficult due to a lack of…

Landscape photography would have to be the most challenging for me due to all the variables such as light, timing, composition and the patience involved to truly capture the essence of the environment. Fortunately, this image came down to being in the right place at the right time – dawn at Point Lookout, New England National Park, NSW. My alarm went off half an hour before sunrise, when I unzipped myself from my sleeping bag and poked my head out of my tent to find a dull overcast sky. I thought that the sunrise was going to be a no-show, so I closed my tent and snoozed the alarm for another 15 minutes. The alarm woke me, so I checked the sky once more and to my surprise the clouds…

While travelling around North America earlier this year with my wife, I organised a helicopter photography flight over Manhattan, New York, during the golden and blue hour lighting phases. As with most genres of photography, planning and research are critical to a successful shoot. Low light aerial photography presents a number of interesting challenges which you will need to plan for in order to overcome. After months of research I composed a shot list and determined I was going to hire two Sony Alpha a7R IIs and two lenses, a Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and a Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA. Unfortunately, no matter how well you plan, problems you never considered tend to arise. Here’s what I learned. 1 SHOOT WIDE OPEN It may surprise you…

If you want to rekindle your creativity and satisfy your cravings for new streetscapes, characters and stories, travel is the way to go. It’ll give you a chance to reflect on your life and values, reinvigorate your creativity and your love for your craft. But with a seemingly endless number of places to go and ways to get there, where should you start? THE ORGANISED TOUR An organised tour is the ideal way to begin your street photography adventures abroad. Travelling with a photographer guide on a tried and tested itinerary means you can relax and really indulge in your photography. Get to know the work of the photographer you’d be travelling with. If their style resonates with you, their mentoring and choice of itinerary probably will too. Read through…

We often hear about ‘writer’s block’; a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. There is less use of the term ‘photographer’s block’, but I have heard of many people who have experienced the phenomenon of going through a creative rut or, even worse, not coming out of it. I haven’t personally suffered from photographer’s block. I’ve never had a problem finding something to photograph in all the years I have been a passionate enthusiast amateur photographer. Perhaps that is why, when people learn that I am a photographer and ask what I take photos of, my response nowadays tends to be along the lines “anything in front of me that moves, or that doesn’t move”.…