Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Australian Photography

Growing up in Perth certainly had its perks. The city has some of the country’s most stunning beaches on its doorstep and if you venture north or south it only gets better. I haven’t seen all of Australia’s beaches but I would be willing to bet the Great Southern region of WA is home to some of them! Being near such beautiful stretches of coastline has provided me with easy access to beautiful places to improve my photography and in particular, my coastal work. When I first fell in love with landscape photography the vast majority of what I was photographing was local beaches. At the time I didn’t consider too many other factors other than being there for sunrise and sunset colours, and using long exposures to create the…

Looking at my Lightroom catalogue I see that I have 253,376 images in it right now. That’s not as big as some, but still, that’s 4,000GB of disk space! One part of my photography business is supplying images for books and calendars, as well as specific commercial shoots for magazines. In this game, if you can’t find an image it simply has no value, so I have to have some sort of reasonable filing system that allows me to find images when I need them without resorting to my own memory. By sharing with you the way I work then you may be able to adopt some parts, or even all of it, for your own needs. At the very least, it should help you understand the principles and make…

RUNNER UP 2015 JUNIOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR HAMISH COWEN MOMENTS “Hamish’s images work well as a group. The images were a really good attempt to present the photographer’s vision of Australian life and culture. I feel that I was given an insight into Hamish’s world. I liked that both colour and black & white were used, however, whether using post production software, or darkroom techniques, be careful when dodging and burning or making masks and selectively lightening or darkening areas. A light touch is best. Great job, well done!” – David Knight. “I enjoyed Hamish’s images depicting the spirit of childhood. I especially loved the composition and humour of the eagle-eyed lifeguard ready to slide into action at any moment. A point of improvement would be to avoid…

Photographer: Nick Terry South West Rocks, NSW, is a favourite dive site of mine, but I’ve only recently started taking my camera with me on dives. Underwater photography can be difficult due to the fact you lose light the deeper you descend, and with many species like this grey nurse shark, which are gererally found quite deep, it can be a challenge to capture them. When I took this shot I was using a rebreather, a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath, allowing the reuse of the oxygen in each breath. Using a device like this lets you get closer and interact better with marine life. Despite the teeth, grey nurse sharks are quite placid and I was definitely not on the menu. I…

For Sydney-based photographer Nick Bassett, the challenge of environmental portraiture isn’t always just the photo. “I photographed a teapot collector for a series on different types of collectors recently. I was working in a tiny teahouse in the Blue Mountains, using two big studio lights on stands, a tripod and an assistant. The hardest thing wasn’t even the photos, but that either of us could have knocked over a studio light and smashed some of the fragile collection of valuable antique porcelain teapots! We also had the added pressure of a coach-load of tourists streaming into the already jam-packed teahouse before we’d even packed up.” Time for a chat Compared to more traditional studio style portraits, an environmental portrait is the difference between taking a photograph at a location, and…

“You never know when something’s going to kick off; violence can escalate quickly there. Even something a simple as taking a photograph could cause trouble.” I hung up the phone and immediately began weighing up the risk. It was 2015 and I’d been invited to Afghanistan to document the fifth annual Afghan Ski Challenge. A back-country race that takes place every spring in Bamyan Province, the challenge draws entrants from all round the world. I was fairly naïve about Afghanistan and what little knowledge I had was based on news screened almost daily around the world. The negative press highlighted violent attacks against women, suicide bombings and reports from the front lines where solders fight a drawn out war against Islamic insurgents. It hardly sounded like an idyllic holiday, but…

Aussie photographers sweep World Press Photo awards Three Australian photographers have won major awards at this year’s World Press Photo with Warren Richardson, Daniel Berehulak and Rohan Kelly taking out four of the contest’s top prizes. Freelance photographer Warren Richardson was awarded the highest honour of the competition with his image ‘Hope for a New Life’ named World Press Photo of the Year 2015. The World Press Photo of the Year honours the photographer whose visual creativity and skills made a picture that captures or represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance in the last year. Richardson’s picture (see page 3), which also won first prize in the Spot News category, shows a man and child crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary, near Horgoš, Serbia, and Röszke,…

WINNER PHOTOGRAPHER Howard Jack TITLE Reaching for the sun EDITOR’S COMMENT We love the perfect moment captured in this shot of volleyball players at a beach tournament in Coolangatta. The flying sand along with the players poised for action gives it a great feeling of motion. Photographer Howard Jack says he likes to get low to take action shots for added effect. “Shooting on continuous I had a choice of the ball being right in the sun or the ball out of the sun but a less pleasing shape to the subject,” he says. We think Jack made the right choice. His composition, with the net dividing the players, subtly creates a sense of competition while also breaking up the vivid blue sky. Well done. DETAILS Sony A77 II, 10-20mm…

Meet Tiree Dawson: Lake District-based commercial, food, portrait and wedding photographer, marketing executive, caterer and mother of two, shooting 72 weddings just last year. As busy as she is, the talented multitasker isn’t the least bit tired. Her secret weapon? The photo industry’s no. 1 voted photo hosting and e-commerce solution, Zenfolio. She relies on the platform as her go-to solution to beautifully display her images online and keep things organised. “I literally could not run my photography business without Zenfolio,” she says. So what makes this online platform such a success for professional photographers? It’s the all-in-one solution to present your photos, keep everything in one place and sell more. Here’s how Zenfolio helps grow the photo businesses of 100,000 photographers worldwide. It allows you to build your brand…

Wildlife photography is as challenging as it is rewarding. While wild animals are naturally interesting photographic subjects, they are also cunningly elusive and difficult to photograph! For most wildlife photographers, the road to success follows thousands of hours of practise. That said, there are a few things you can do to accelerate your development in this notoriously challenging field of photography. In this series, I’ll take a look at some of the things I’ve learned over the years that can help you quickly improve your wildlife results; from learning to anticipate the behaviour of the animal you’re shooting, to making sure your camera is setup to deliver sharp, well exposed images. 01 Watch and anticipate Even before you pick up a camera, take the time to sit and watch the…