Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Australian Photography

Have you ever heard this quote above? It has been accredited to a few people over the years-Steve Jobs, Pablo Picasso, William Faulkner-but whoever said it first, the essence is the same – that stealing is a part of artistic genius. Now I can’t claim to be the first to consider it in the context of photography, but recently I watched a YouTube video by Ted Forbes of channel The Art of Photography (You can watch it here: https://bit.ly/3ADFgoq) who did just this, and much more eloquently than I ever could. As he says, while inspiration is essential to photography and copying a picture can teach you a great deal, there is a point where you have to dig deeper and try and find your own voice. YouTube videos, Instagram,…

When you think of snow, you probably have visions of snow-capped mountains or glaciers in some faraway winter wonderland. Snow in Australia is not something many people associate the country with, and neither is snow surrounded by stark industrial landscapes or suburban sprawl like I captured here during a snowstorm in June. When I heard that snow was forecast, I was keen to try something different, so I made an overnight trip up the Northern Tablelands, and to the small mountain town of Guyra in New South Wales. Here I was greeted with an unusual scene of snow in Australia. Some people would call this low graphic style of photography ‘boring’, or describe the image as a “snapshot”, yet despite its banality, I believe that even bland subject matter can…

JOHN VAUSE Ejected EDITOR’S COMMENT John Vause’s image Ejected is one of those shots we probably all dream of capturing – the decisive moment, pin sharp and in beautiful light. He tells us the image was taken at Yallingup in SW WA in May, on a day where he had headed down to the southwest coast for wave and ocean photos and also to try out his new Fuji 70-300mm lens. “This location can work well in the late afternoon with backlight on the waves, great water colour and usually plenty of surfers,” he says. “A changing cloud cover made exposure difficult as the light was constantly varying, so I had to constantly check exposure and ISO to keep a high shutter speed as I was restricted to F8 with the…

Whether it’s rays of light in a rainforest, subtle early morning sunlight poking through mist or gorgeous backlighting on a bird, nice light can make the world of difference to the feel of an image. NATURE’S DIFFUSER Without exception, nature provides the best diffuser. An overcast day will always produce much more favourable and ‘even’ lighting as the light is much more subtle. On a sunny day you will often end up with harsh light projected onto your subject as well as contrasting shadows. Unfortunately, trying to ‘fix’ these type of images in post-processing is usually a lost cause. Modern cameras are excellent at metering available light and photographing wildlife on overcast days will generally produce images with perfect exposure. However, care still needs to be taken if the subject…

I was an early adopter of digital and the wonders of Photoshop in 2002, but it was in the darkroom back in 1988 that my real love of photography developed. The ability to influence the look and feel of an image post capture hooked me for life. Since then, I’ve learned from some very accomplished photographers in my local Photographic Society in the UK and again in Australia where I have retired a few years ago. This image came about because I love capturing scenes which occur naturally in nature but are generally overlooked because they are too small or happen too quickly for the human eye to see them. In this instance I was exploring the refractive properties of water droplets and wanted to show the beauty that can…

Thanks to our great sponsors Eizo, Mark Sibley has won an EIZO CS2420 image-editing monitor and EX4 Calibration Sensor valued at $1,500. EIZO monitors reveal subtle details and colour tones in your photo files that would otherwise be hidden from view, and the EIZO CS2420 is a perfect entry level professional monitor made specifically for photographers and designers. Notably, it features a wide colour gamut-99% of AdobeRGB. With a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200 (HD), an excellent contrast ratio of 1000:1, and brightness of 350 cd/m2, you can edit graphics and images to the smallest pixel. Find out more at eizo-apac.com HOW TO SUBMIT AN IMAGE • Email entries to: imagedoctor@australianphotography.com with “Image Doctor” in the subject line.• Include your name, image title and up to 150 words about…

MICHAEL SNEDIC Michael Snedic is one of Australia’s most experienced professional wildlife and nature photographers. See more at wildnaturephotoexpeditions.com. DOUG GIMESY Doug Gimesy is a professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist who focuses on Australian issues. His clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, bioGraphic and others. See more at gimesy.com. DREW HOPPER Drew Hopper is an Australian freelance documentary photographer exploring ecological themes, landscape and place. See more of his work at drewhopper.com. MATTY GRAHAM Matty Graham is a photojournalist and former mag editor based in the UK. He specialises in landscapes, portraiture and video. See more at mattygraham.com.…

UPCOMING COMPETITION THEMES OCTOBER ISSUE DETAIL July 31, 2021 NOVEMBER ISSUE PETS August 31, 2021 DECEMBER ISSUE SEASONS September 30, 2021 JANUARY ISSUE INSECTS October 31, 2021 FEBRUARY ISSUE BLUE November 30, 2021 YOUR ENTRY 1. Email your entry to yourbestshot@australianphotography.com with the name of the competition theme in the email subject line, for example: Weather, Abstract, Landscape, etc.2. The image file must be the same as your name, for example Jane Smith.jpg. If you enter multiple images, each new image file name should be appended with a unique number, eg Jane Smith2.jpg3. A maximum of three images can be entered per person.4. Images must be in JPEG format.5. Email file size must not exceed 7MB.6. Please include the following information about your entry in the body of your email:…

It was said by Apicius, a foodie from first century Ancient Rome, that we first eat with our eyes, and then our mouths. And, centuries later, the quote has never been more accurate. Today, cookbooks illustrated with page after page of mouth-watering images are always amongst the best sellers, and good food photography is a must for any business keen to draw customers into their kitchens. For a select group of our finest food photographers, capturing what we eat is a real artform, and Sydney photographer Omid Daghighi knows this better than most. In his more than 25 years as a photographer, he has worked with clients such as David Jones, Guzan Y Gomez and Meat and Livestock Australia. But he’s also wary of being titled something he’s not. “I…

We’ve heard it for the last couple of years; DSLRs are dead and mirrorless is the future. But not all photographers are so keen to jump ship and dump the mirror for a variety of reasons such as battery life, build quality and the fact that they may already be hugely invested in lenses for their DSLRs. Well, there is one brand hanging doggedly on to the DSLR dream and that is Pentax, who have just released its newest camera, the K-3 Mark III that takes over as the flagship APS-C sensor model from the Mark II, which was launched all the way back in 2015-yes, six years ago! After such a wait in between the new camera and its predecessor, there is a lot of pressure on Pentax to…

One thing I have learnt in photography is the importance of seizing the day. A few years ago in Tuscany with friends, I remember noticing the light revealing wonderful patterns and folds in the ploughed fields. But I couldn’t bore our friends with tripods and settings so decided to go back later. Unfortunately, weeks went by before I could as there was rain every day. We would be leaving Tuscany soon, and I began to fear I would never get that photo of the striking folded hills I’d so wanted. On the last day but one, however, it was clear and we dropped everything to make the trip. In golden hour I captured the images I had visualised, one of which has since become a prize-winning photo. Seizing the day…

MARTIN KANTOR PORTRAIT PRIZE RECOGNISES 27 AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHERS THE finalists for the 2021 Ballarat International Foto Biennale’s (BIFB) Martin Kantor Portrait Prize have been announced, with 27 photographers recognised in the annual portrait photography competition. The Martin Kantor Portrait Prize is both an exhibition and award for a photographic artwork of a significant Australian. Images must be a portrait of a living individual distinguished in art, letters, science, sports or politics. The award is named after the late photographer Martin Kantor, and is an acquisitive prize, with first prize also winning $15,000 AUD. The finalists were selected by judges Naomi Cass, Max Delany, Bill Henson and Fiona Sweet. The finalists for 2021 are George Angelovski, Graeme Armstrong, Fiona Bowring, Su Cassiano, Anna Maria Antoinette D’Addario, Elise Derwin, Stephen Dupont, George…

I never quite expected to reach this milestone when I first started writing for Australian Photography back in 2010, but this is my 100th Straight Shooter feature! Over the years I’ve shared hundreds of images and written thousands of words about photography on these pages, and yet I still get the same kick out of it today that I did when I first picked up a camera as a young guy who dreamed of being a photographer. When I first took on writing for the mag, I was always keen to focus my features on practical advice, and today I see my goal as to help photographers learn, improve and be challenged to be better creative artists. Every Straight Shooter is based on targeting a particular facet of photography. First,…

Fujifilm’s GFX 100 is a simple proposition on paper – the 102-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor from 2019’s GFX 100, paired with a body not much bigger than a DSLR and at a price tag that puts it squarely in the same price bracket as many high-end full-frame mirrorless cameras. But to look at it just like this doesn’t tell the whole story, with Fujifilm’s focus on usability and price making this perhaps the most accessible medium format camera on the market today. THE BODY The Fujifilm GFX 100S is a much smaller camera than its predecessor the GFX 100 – it’s also smaller than the GFX 50S, and it adopts a more DSLRlike styling rather than the rangefinder design of the GFX 50R. Fujifilm has been able to cram so…

MINIMALIST MAGIC With a rising full moon and perfectly calm conditions, Mark Sibley and his mate ventured to Dunalley in Tasmania to capture the moonrise over Norfolk Bay using the local jetty and fishing fleet as the foreground interest. While shifting positions for a different composition, he said that he noticed the ladder from the jetty to a pontoon left a perfect reflection in the water. “This was a one-off shot as I was more interested in capturing the moonrise but after viewing it at home and performing some editing, it has become one of my favourites from the night out.” What a graphic image! This is black-and-white at its best in the creation of an image with great interest and intrigue. It is an extraordinary and clever image, as…