Rod McNicol at MGA..

I went to a lovely talk on Saturday at MGA.

Rod McNicol is currently exhibiting "Momento Mori"  at MGA. It's running till the 31st August so please pop in and take a look.

Rod McNicol's portraiture is quite amazing. His very unique style makes for photographs that draw you very deeply into the gaze, yet the amount of information is kept to a very bare minimum. His sitters are generally sitting square to the camera in a head and shoulders frame, and stare blankly and very directly into the camera. There is a sensation in almost every image that you the viewer are peering into the eyes trying to find a connection, the sitter in the image is doing the same to you. You walk the exhibition space and start to feel a little paranoid about these people staring directly at you, not speaking and just observing. The images seem to have a 'cruel tenderness' about them. By that I mean there is a 'cruel' hardness and formalness in the image. The sitter not smiling and square to the camera having their image taken like they were to appear as a mug shot on television; then you look deeper into the image and the 'tenderness' of the sitter starts to come through and steals your breath just slightly as you connect to them.

Please visit the gallery and take a closer look for yourself. These images will stop you in your tracks.

Martin Parr announced as President of Magnum Photos.

In something that could only be described as brilliant, the wonderful  Martin Parr has been unanimously voted in as President of Magnum Photos International.

“This is an exciting time for Magnum. We have consolidated and increased our photographer base with a very talented group of people coming from diverse photographic and cultural backgrounds. We have launched several initiatives to engage further with the worlds of digital and social media, while at the same time strengthening our relationship with our estates. Finally, we have managed a leadership transition. Giorgio Psacharopulo arrived at Magnum in a difficult time and, through his efforts and dedication, put us on the right path. I am confident that David Kogan’s experience as a successful media executive and entrepreneur, and his sensitivity as an important collector of photographs, brings the right mix of competence and vision to open this new chapter of Magnum’s history.” (M.Parr, Magnum, http://www.magnumphotos.com)

You can read the full blog post here.

Sometimes you just have to choose......

When we take digital photographs we always end up with a dilemma, Black and White or Colour?

Is there anything wrong with either? Well no, but sometimes a photograph can 'feel' like a black and white image yet not really make it. 

This is the same image (yes i know the crop is slightly different) with the same RAW processing. Even though it's the same image, do we get a different emotional response from the colour to the black and white? Do they feel exactly the same, but one is aesthetically more pleasing to look at thank the other?

These seem pretty important questions to most photographers. Sometimes the work just doesn't have the 'punch' to go black and white, and as a colour image has a touch of the 'ABD' (Already Been Done). I know I only took this image yesterday, but I have been slowly picking it apart critically  for most of the night and this morning and have come to the same conclusion as I did when I took it which is it's a pretty good image, but lacks punch. Something is missing from this image in both versions, and I can't think what it might be. They are both just kind, well boring to be honest. I love my work most of the time and really enjoy the act of taking photos, but in this case I think the image in my head has missed the image shown in the camera.

Just ever so slightly.

Photobook Making day at Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive

I was lucky enough to get my first real photo book made and it was also critiqued and shown at Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive. The lovely Linsey Gosper from Strange Neighbour and Jason McQuoid from Edmund Pearce Gallery took some time to look through all the photobooks on the day and offer some wonderful feedback.

I was a book I have based on my Semester one folio idea of the recurring fear we have that can still haunt and upset us in our adult life. We know these things can never hurt us, they are only toys, but we have a unusual irrational fear of them.

Do I plan on doing a proper book of them later on.. Yeah I might. I do keep my eye out for crazy old toys every time I walk past a second hand store, so I do think this will be a very long and open ended project for me.

Still Life..

Sometimes a Still Life image needs to be something a little more off putting..

Passion.. Creativity.. Originality..

There would have to be a few ways to describe what this is about and how to look at it.

I would suggest if you asked Doctor Daks it's about not being a copy cat DICK and you will never fake it till you make it.

Doing anything takes hard work and persistence. You gotta try and try and try till you either love it or leave it. It's about passion, late nights, and busting your ass over every job or advantage that might come your way.

Art is hard, don't ever think it's easy, and to be even more direct photography is fucking hard. Everything you do as a photographer is held up to a light that started in the 1800's and the only thing to really change has been the technology. The amount of pressure put on your shoulders to 'Be Original' is so hard to hear, that the words bounce around in your mind till they mean nothing.

To be original, you have to work HARD!! To work HARD you have to have PASSION!! Then with HARD WORK and PASSION, you will find ORIGINALITY!!

When things need to change..

When we make decisions about the work, sometimes we need to let go of the idea. Then again sometimes the idea will change without us even knowing. Watching this Alec Soth video reminds me I need to be very open minded and remember that the work is allowed to change, even though I don't want it.

Like Me. The Selfie as Modern Day Portraiture.

This is a set of portraits I took for my Final Folio for First Year at PSC.

It's a social commentary on how the world and we ourselves look at self portraiture now. The 'selfie' has all but taken over as one of the most popular ways of how we represent ourselves, but is it really the person we see? We see ourselves very differently an arms length away and in private.

You can read my research paper here at Wordpress.

Been far to long..

I must again apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to post something here. I have to admit I have been quite lax, and I have no one to blame apart form myself.

It has been a very busy year with study, work, and more study. Finishing my degree has made it a little tougher for me to get some of the work I would have liked to get done done, but I just have to keep plugging away at everything just a little at a time.

I have a few great ideas for next year for work to do, mainly for University not personal stuff. I have a personal project I plan on getting going, but more on that was it comes alive.

So my endeavour now is to keep this platform better updated. I say this every year and it all goes to shit very quick, but I need to be a lot more diligent, and I have some amazing ideas and things coming up..

Richard Misrach on "Destroy This Memory"

This is a wonderfully short and poignant way of looking at how people can sometimes find a comedic voice in devastation.

Ian Strage at the NGV Melbourne

 

I have to admit something kinda silly here, I haven't heard of Ian Strange aka Kid Zoom before. I was at the NGV looking at this amazing graffiti covering the sides of houses, and a video of a house on fire, and I was awestruck.

I couldn't believe an artist could see the things he see's, and how he sees them. To quoted David Hurlston "SUBURBAN is a powerfully evocative and compelling body of work. Through his photographs and and videos Strange challenges the notion of the family home being a place of warmth and safety." and I have to admit, I agree intirely.

The work is powerful and haunting. standing there watching the burning house, you almost feel compelled to help. You are drawn in and thrown away, either in fear of the darkness of the images or wishing you could help those souls you think trapped and lost.

I implore anyone and everyone to visit the NGV and wander the exhibition while it is on..

Ian Strange 'SUBURBAN' will run from 27th July 2013-15th September 2013

Gregory Crewdson... Brief Encounters...

Gregory Crewdson is a photographer that many would say, is a genius.

His creativity and wonderful scenes can take your breath away, and at the same time drop you in a reality you have never belonged. He uses a massive crew for the world of Television and Cinema to create this "artificial" worlds. 

As this is only a trailer, I'm so excited!! This man is a wonder and to hear and see the process he takes in getting these images will be amazing!! I really hope this film gets to Australia. I would hate to have to find Ben Shapiro and drag him hear to perform it in interpretive dance!!

Gregory Crewdson Brief Encounters Has opened in the USA at selected cinemas. Check the site for dates and times.

Nikki Toole Exhibition.. Geelong Gallery Victoria

So I popped into the Nikki Toole exhibition today to look at what she has done with her Skater Portraits. 

They are lovely images. Inkjet Printed 24"x18" (63cm x 48cm) prints mounted into white board and timber frames, the images are strikingly pretty. The shading and tonal range is sublime, withe very deep velvety blacks and crisp clean whites. 19 black and white images make up the exhibition.

The prints are of Skaters from Melbourne and around the world. As far as the Czech Republic and as close as Fitzroy, we see how the skating subculture is not much different from place to place. The faces and expressions all seem similar and familiar. We connect to her subjects understanding the discomfort and shyness we all seem to have within. 

I would love to have seen some full portraits though. All of Nikki's work was shot with the riders lower legs and feet missing. Not having access to this information made me want to see how the riders were standing, and the position of their feet. I think this is why once I looked through the exhibition, I kinda felt left out of what she was trying to show. 

If you read form the poster "Curated by Dr Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, this special exhibition features 19 black and white photographic portraits that examine identity within skater culture. Toole asks whether there is a ‘global look’ or if there is still a place for the individual or the loner to express him or herself. She is driven by the desire to understand and commune with her subjects while exploring the forces of identity that define the lone skateboarder." I didn't really get any of this, well not from all the 19 images at least. 

Yes I would recommend you go see these images as they are lovely. You will need to make your own decision on the meaning and if they look into "Skater Culture" and show a "Global Look". 

For me..  I know what I would have, and will do, differently. There is a lack of connection to the subjects, and they all have a slightly tilted bored look. I would like to have seen a little more interaction, and more of what the skaters "space" looked like.

Anyway... Go see Skater Portraits by Nikki Toole on until September 9th.

500px....

I just upgraded my 500px account for a year. I have not been overly happy with this platform, but will give it a little more time to schmooze me.. 

We all need a web presence for image sales, but this one doesn't have the POP I thought it would.

Melbourne Open House 2012..

Today was a day to get some great shots around Melbourne, and I did..

Open House Melbourne was run today, and I had a ball. Yes there were A LOT of places I never got to, but that's what next year is for. 

I managed to get only to 3 buildings today, mainly because I made a mistake with one (it was closed and I ended up like 6k away from one of the others). 

Next year I will be taking the whole weekend off so I can get to a lot more places, and hopefully I will be back on the bike enough to be able to ride between more of the places. That way I can cover more ground. 

I'm even planning on traveling a little lighter as well.

Please take a look at the flickr collection. 

It's almost nice outside... Beautiful clouds I must say!!

It's almost nice outside... Beautiful clouds I must say!!, a photo by Phynyght Studio on Flickr.

Sometimes iPhoneography can give me the impression that I almost don't need a camera. 

These pictures from the like of Hipstamatic and Instagram are really making and taking photography to a different level. We have access to these cameras 24/7, and the images are able to be shared at the same rate. I have found a new found fondness for my iPhone since my DSLR has been getting serviced (more on that later). 

Well it's just another picture ins't it??

Been a while since my kids have made an appearance in a picture so I chose this one..

I was working on a set of shots that were kinda Zombie/Slasher inspired, that had a sense of innocence and frighteningly simple nature. I had a pretty good one of my wife Michell, and this one of the kids came out great as well. I did struggle to get a full set done so passed on the idea. 

I might go back to it one day.. 

Go over to my flickr and have a look... 

Cannon T4I/650D... Same Camera... 2 Names...

What is it with Cannon?? I don't use one cause, well to be honest, I never liked the name. A camera that is named after a device designed for killing?? Could never get past that...

Anyway I digress, this is about the NEW offering from the Cannon stable. The T4I/650D (I think that depends if your in Australia/America). This is still a kinda Entry Level camera in the DSLR market (at $900 for body only). It carries an 18 MP Sensor, 3" Screen, 5 Frames per Second Shooting, and Full HD shooting in Video Mode.

Without getting my grubby hands on one to play with, it kinda looks pretty good on paper. It's about a Nikon D3200 comparison, but why compare? Well the Cannon probably has a better Video, but I think the Nikon might has a better chance in the Stills department.

So until I can get one of each to test out back to back (anyone can lend them to me ANYONE) for a day or two, I think the old photographers adage of "Cannon for Lens and Nikon for Body's" might still hold true. The layout of the the controls on the Nikon just looks nicer. Also the Cannon Flippy Turny Screen thing... I still don't get it. It's the first thing I can see a punter breaking, and I wonder how expensive it's going to be to replace! As a body only and a nice EF50mm f18 II lens, I can see a begginer making some very lovely shots. They might even get the EF 40mm f28 STM (I think it fits) for a more diverse range of shooting and video options. 

Aftermath - Joel Meyerowitz

I added a new book to my collection today.

I won't say much at the moment, because I haven't had a really good look yet.

But first impressions are OH MY GOD! I'm so glad Joel fought to get on the site to document the damage. I'm not sure exactly on the technical details, but I'm pretty sure he used a Large Format 8x10 camera for the bulk of this work. The detail is phenomenal, and the images are a mix of the iconic and devastatingly sad. 

I will do a big write up once I have had the chance to read through and look at all the photographs. 

If ya don't know the past, how can you predict the future?

I though today I would talk a little about knowledge. 

I was sitting around the other day looking at my bookcase and could only think "Shit you have a lot of books".. I think I could almost open a small library just with my stuff. But I couldn't get over how many were Art or Photography books. I  have a MASSIVE amount of books on most of the classic painters and artists like Monet, Rubens, Botticelli, right through to photographers like Ansel Adams, Ed Ruscha, William Eggleston, and everything and one in between. I use these as my Bibles. I spend my days trawling through websites looking and learning what everyone else is doing, and if and how I would do it different.

I'm of the opinion that if you don't know the past, how can you see in the future. 

I don't think there is a Newsagent or corner store I walk past that I don't stop and look through all the photography books and magazines. Checking the ones I haven't seen yet for anything that I might be conjuring up myself. 

Art is something that evolves around ideas from the past, that reflect to the future. I'm not sure how many times we can do the same thing, but as long as our twist takes it to a new level, there will always be new art..