Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Australian Photography

Black and White photography really is in our DNA, and something we hold very close to our hearts. Consider this very magazine, established way back in 1950, yet it only went to full colour spreads in the late 90s. We’ve always championed black and white photography; from countless tips stories for making the most of your black and white images, to profiles on some of our best black and white shooters, and of course the hugely competitive black and white category in our Photographer of the Year competition, which has shone a spotlight on some of our best up-and-coming black and white shooters for the past six years. So it’s fair to say our first dedicated black and white issue is something that’s been stewing away for a long time.…

In my time as a photo tour guide I’ve probably seen and heard it all, but it’s also helped confirm for me a few of the traps to avoid and the things to encourage people to think about when it comes to their own photography. So without further ado, here are a few tips for avoiding some of the common traps in this modern age of overnight photographic experts. YOU DON’T NEED TO SHOOT EVERYTHING AT LOW ISOS! One of the new shooting styles that is afflicting some photographers is pixel counting, or perfection in incremental digital detail. You may know one of these people, or you may be one yourself! The reality is we don’t need to shoot at one or two hundred ISO anymore, and we don’t need…

MAJOR SPONSER SUPPORTING SPONSOR Run by Australian Photography and Capture, a judging panel of nine of Australia and New Zealand’s finest photographers judged the more than 2,000 entries in the competition, which gave entrants a simple brief: the best single black and white image across one of two categories, People and Places. Leppien’s winning People-category image, captured in Madagascar, shows a fleeting moment as a boy plays with a tyre in the shadow of the island’s iconic Baobab trees. For judge John Crawford, the image was a standout in a hugely competitive field. “It’s striking and unique, with all the elements perfectly placed. A beautiful image,” he said. Gaanesh Prasad’s image Fly High was the result of more than two hours patiently waiting at the Wings over Illawarra airshow for…

I love black and white photography. If it wasn’t for the demands of my clients I’d only work in monochrome and publish all my books filled with B+W images. Take a look at Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis book and luxuriate in over 500 pages of gorgeous black and white imagery of the highest calibre – inspirational to say the least! But why? What is it about monochrome imagery that appeals so strongly in a time of amazingly rich and technically perfect colour photography? Prints have never been so vibrant, and even TVs can now show colours that even exceed what the eye can see. As I see it, there are three principal factors at play here. Firstly, there’s nostalgia for times past. Black and White was the only game in town…

• GET OFF THE COUCH! Get out and look about. One of the things I like about B&W is that by nature it has graphic appeal. I look for shapes, light and tones that will compliment an image. I often shoot either really early or late afternoon when the light is low. • BUY SOME ND FILTERS AND A TRIPOD Most of my B&W photography is achieved using long exposures. I am drawn to subjects that share a static object within an environment that displays some movement. This could be in the form of clouds or the ocean etc. Keeping it simple is the key and look for locations that suggest a simple minimalist form. Start by shooting some buildings against a cloudy sky. The results can be stunning. •…

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that digital took over from film, but recent advances in photography sometimes even leave me shaking my head at how far we've come. Consider this image of a rusty old Austin under the Mily Way I captured on a property on the outskirts of Orange, NSW. I captured this image using the phone app PhotoPills to plan the date and time to establish the Milky Way position, and I used a weather app to monitor the cloud cover overhead. I used my Canon Wi-Fi control app on the phone to trigger the camera while I moved around with an LED torch painting light on the subject, and finally I used Photoshop to stack the images of the foreground and background for the final…

STEVEN TEE Steven Tee is senior photographer for F1 Racing magazine and perhaps F1’s most respected photographer. See more at latimages.com NICK RAINS Nick Rains has been a professional photographer for over 30 years, and as well as being a Leica ambassador, runs the Leica Akademie in Australia. See more at nickrains.com SAM EDMONDS Sam Edmonds is a photographer, writer and antarctic expedition guide focusing on issues of ecology and conservation. See more of his work at samedmondsphoto.com DARREN MIDDLETON Songwriter for hugely succesful Australian band, Powderfinger. Darren Middleton pursues a solo career as a musician, film scorer and photographer. See more at darrenmiddleton.com…

AUSTRALIAN DRONE LICENCE SCHEME DELAYED THE Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has delayed the roll out of a nationwide drone registration scheme, with recreational users not expected to need to register for the scheme until mid to late 2020. Peter Gibson, Manager Corporate Communications at CASA, said the initial rollout will begin later this year. “Commercial operators [will be] first [to register], then recreational,” he said. “Recreational users are likely to start in mid to late 2020.” Reports in March suggested drone registration for recreational users is expected to cost $20 a year for recreational drones, while commercial drone users will be charged anywhere from $100 to $160. According to the CASA website, commercial and recreational users will need to also complete an online training course, with Gibson confirming users…

MAJOR SPONSORS SUPPORTING SPONSOR SHARRON LEPPIEN BOY WITH TYRE Hailing from the Hunter valley, Sharron Leppien describes herself as an observer, and was recently honoured to be the first woman ever elected as the Chairman of the Maitland International Salon of Photography since it was incorporated in 1953. “Thinking fast and always being prepared is the life of a travelling photographer. Changing light, changing situations and the ever changing terrain when travelling is a challenge that can only be conquered by planning ahead. I may have an idea of what I could be photographing on a particular day but, people and the ever changing environment can throw a myriad of thrills and surprises that only with experience can be dealt with successfully.” Her winning image, captured in Madagascar, is the…

As one of Australia’s most well-respected cinematographers, Allen Koppe ACS’ career behind cameras has spanned more than thirty years. The Sydney creative has spent the larger part of his life honing his skills in the industry and now at the age of sixty can glance back at a lengthy string of accolades including a Gold Award for his work for Amnesty International, a host of recognition for his work in automotive advertising and in 2006 became an accredited member of the Australian Cinematographers Society. But lesser known about Koppe is his equally fierce love of black and white photography; what he calls a creative outlet and at times a “rebellion” against the typical demands of cinema. Koppe’s work, often recognisable by his square framing and tendency towards long exposures, helps…

I spent almost half of my life writing songs and touring the globe with my group, Powderfinger, a little band that sprung out of Brisbane in the early 90’s. Throughout that time touring, I was also snapping away, capturing as much as I could about the band, on stage and backstage as well as the people and work behind the scenes that made it all happen. When our band finally pulled up stumps at the end of 2010, it didn’t call an end to my passion for photography but meant a chance to dive in even further. In the following pages, I share my thoughts and approach to music photography, both live performance and behind the scenes. BETWEEN THE LINES Photography has always been a bit like good songwriting to…

DROPS OF GOLD Andrew Thomson described some of the challenges taking this image on a rainy morning. “One of the plant’s leaves was catching the rain and forming drops which then fell onto the leaf below. I was trying to capture a drop in mid-fall so was shooting in continuous release mode. There were a number of challenges. The breeze kept moving the foliage and as the rain fell the weight of the water weighed down the leaf until the drop released and then sprang back up to continue the cycle. I spent a considerable time and took many images to get this shot and it wasn’t until I uploaded them to my computer that I noticed the small starburst.” This is a lovely minimalist image with some pleasing colour,…

We work for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix promoters, and a key image for them is obviously the start, with the Singapore logo on the bridge above the track. In 2017 I was tasked with getting this image. I first shot the starting grid before walking down to turn one, and up into the grandstand, which has an area for the photographers. It's also head-on to the corner. Using a 70-200mm lens allowed me to perfectly pre-frame and pre-focus the shot to include the Singapore bridge logo. It was then just a matter of waiting for the five red lights to go out; the cars to start the race and fill the bottom of the frame, and the job would be done – or so I thought. The two…

PORTRAIT ANNETTE COLLINS My hoodlum EDITOR’S COMMENTS Annette Collins says she captured this image on a beach. “I noticed the light reflecting onto my son’s face nice and evenly so I snapped this photo, hood and all. I converted it to black and white to simplify it and remove the warm colour casts the sand was throwing onto his face. I used Topaz to emphasise his freckles and do the Black and white conversion,” she says. As well as the freckles, you’ve also caught interesting light in your sons’s eyes, which adds up to an evocative portrait. Well done. TECHNICAL DETAILS Nikon D750, 50mm lens, 1/320s @ f2.8, ISO 100. Lightroom used for sharpening, shadows, highlights, burning, dodging. Topaz used for black and white conversion. JILL VELINOS Poppy EDITOR’S COMMENTS…

MAJOR SPONSORS SUPPORTING SPONSOR Paul Hoelen PAULHOELEN.COM Self taught, travel hungry and with a healthy thirst to grow as an image-maker he thrives on the challenge and freshness of shooting a wide diversity of genres, ranging from fine art nudes, landscapes, and large-scale event photography through to fashion, travel, documentary and environmental portraiture – though he’s most renowned for his exquisite landscape imagery, particularly from the air. Paul is a Master of Photography in the AIPP (2 Gold Bars) and Fellow of the NZIPP (2 Gold Bars), two times Winner and four times Finalist for International Photographer of the Year in NZ, three times Tasmanian Professional Photographer of the Year and seven times Tasmanian Landscape Photographer of the Year. He judges regularly at a state, national and international level, runs…

I’m a 34-year-old photographer from Sri Lanka, although I now live in Sydney. My interest in photography began as a high school student in Sri Lanka, although my background is in Fine Art, a subject I’ve written two books on. For my day job, I work in the horticulture industry. Early on I developed a relationship with a small lab where my early efforts shot on film came to life. This changed when I purchased my first DSLR in 2004 and I started to self-study to get better control of the new camera. Bit-by-bit, my photographs started to show improvement. My favourite types of photography are Portraits, Street and Travel, and I’m driven by a passion to depict the human condition. When shooting, I try to frame my photographs around…