Innholdsfortegnelse for June - August 2019 i Photo Review

This editorial started to coalesce in my mind while I was seated in a dentist’s chair. As he busied himself with the instruments he’d need for our subsequent – as it were – interaction, the dentist, the hygienist and I chatted about matters photographic. As a picture-taker himself, he has more than a passing interest in the finer points of photographic practice. His office, I should add, has a nice view down one of those urban canyons that are characteristic of all big city CBDs. It was a lovely day outside, with picturesque clouds appearing now and then in the little notch of sky visible from the chair where I now reclined, sporting a pair of dashing protective dark glasses. Our pre-procedure conversation drifted onto the topic of the ‘photographic…

The exhibition of 39 portraits was on display at the National Portrait Gallery from 23 February to 7 April 2019 and is now on tour to the following locations: Collie Art Gallery (WA) 26 April – 9 June 2019 Geraldton Regional Art Gallery (WA) 27 July – 22 September 2019 Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery (SA) 4 October – 17 November 2019 Blue Mountains Cultural Centre (NSW) 25 January – 22 March 2020 The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual event intended to promote the very best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers. There were 40 finalists selected from 3.113 entries and the 2019 winner was Alana Holmberg for her portrait ‘Greta In Her Kitchen, 36 weeks’. Alana received a $30,000 cash prize along…

There's no 'right' printing paper for every image and every situation, although you can make informed choices based on quantifiable data as well as unquantifiable 'artistic' qualities. Both play a role in the mastery of the craft of printing. Navigating a path through the wide diversity of inkjet media can be difficult because the sheer breadth of options can be overwhelming. But once you understand the key criteria, matching a particular image to a specific paper will become much more straightforward. The most critical selection criteria are the thickness and surface of the paper and its inherent tonality. The surface and tonality have the greatest influence on the appearance of the printed image. But both are affected by the type of ink your printer uses, so that's where we'll begin.…

5 40,000 years ago one of our ancient hominid forbearers used a shark tooth to carefully incise a series of repeating geometric shapes into the surface of a mollusc shell. It’s about 300,000 years older than any other known artwork and therefore the earliest example of the use of repetition. In its modest way our Repeat Yourself challenge taps into this 5400-century long tradition. Asked to seek out such patterns in the natural world, our winner Amanda Keesing found a marvellously subtle repetition in the breast feathers of a Painted Button quail. First Runner-Up Ingrid Makowski’s mirror-effect study of seagrass was similarly complex and delicate in its use of repetition. Susan Shanta picked up an honourable mention for the way she contrasted the spiral pattern of a rolled leaf against…

Long before he became a professional photographer, Geoff Comfort was a competitive dinghy sailor. ‘When I finished school, I had a short stint in the public service, but felt dissatisfied there. I left that position and started my boat building career which tied in with my involvement in racing sailing dinghies,’ he explained. For the first 20 years of his working life he raced and built boats. ‘I didn't have much interest in photography before that. But then I did a black and white photographic course, and that inspired me to think about changing my career, getting out of my boat building business. ‘Some aspects of boat building aren't that nice, especially the fiberglass. I was living in Sydney then, but at that stage in my life, I had a…

Why visit Spending a week or two in Japan during the Northern Hemisphere winter is a great way to escape summer's heat and humidity, find exciting new subjects for your camera and experience a different culture that is interesting and engaging. Hokkaido, blessed with an abundance of ice and snow, dramatic landscapes and seascapes and opportunities to photograph wildlife close-up, is located between the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean. Ranging from Hakodate in the south to Wakkanai in the north, Hokkaido boasts the longest winter season in Japan, making it a magnet for anyone interested in snow sports. Visitors can participate in activities like skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, snow rafting, ice fishing, dog sledding and drift ice sightseeing cruises where the winter scenery is, literally,…

Penny For your thoughts By Blane Coulcher Olympus E-M1 Mark II; 40-150mm lens + converter at 210mmm; 1/250s; f/5.6; ISO 1600 I took this photo in Sri Lanka, in a forest glade where there was a family of monkeys all hollering. Amongst all this cacophony I was able to focus on one individual who seemed very pensive and I was able to take this shot as the monkey looked directly at me. Don’s response That delicately posed simian hand really makes Blane's picture work for me. At the risk of straying into anthropomorphising, I can't help but feel that this little creature really was looking back at the camera with a kind of curious regard that is very familiar to those of us in the human clan. A moment of…

If you have any interest in what’s happening in Australian music, you will very probably be aware of Tash Sultana’s spectacular rise to fame. And if you have seen a photo of her in ecstatic flight on stage somewhere in the world, chances are it was taken by Dara Munnis. Munnis, who was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, has been building his career as a music photographer for seven years. In a tough, highly competitive field, he was doing better than most when, three years ago, he met the first of two Australian women who were destined to change his life. One of them is Sultana. The other… Well, it’s best that Munnis tells the story himself (in his typically warm, lilting Irish accent). ‘In mid-2016 I was doing…

A Google on 'photography in Japan in winter' will bring up plenty of tour options; some designed for ordinary members of the public and others dedicated to meeting the needs of photographers. Most cover roughly two weeks, although a few are only a week long, which is the shortest time we think you should allow for. Since prices are variable you need to have a clear idea of what you want in the way of places visited, experiences offered and creature comforts. Low-to-mid-priced tours will often require you to use public transport, sleep and eat Japanese-style (i.e. on tatami mats) and buy the occasional breakfast or lunch from a convenience store (to make time available for shooting opportunities). Small-group tours are generally better for photographers since they provide greater flexibility…

Few people find watching raw video footage satisfying, so editing is essential. Although many cameras come with built-in editing capabilities, these are usually limited to trimming and combining clips, which won't necessarily produce enjoyable movies. Camera manufacturers also 'bundle' video software, normally making it available as a free download in the same way as they provide raw file converters. But, like raw file converters, the supplied software can vary between useful and best avoided. The software you choose will depend on the operating system your computer uses, your graphics card and the editing functions you require. Your computer needs to be powerful enough (and have enough RAM) to handle the large amount of data that needs to be processed. Recording formats can vary from camera to camera and will determine…

Simply up your images your to win one of four Fujifilm X-T100 with XC15-45mm lens RRP $1049 each. (See more on the X-T100 at www.fujifilm.com.au) Send your images to imagereview@photoreview.com.au • jpeg, minimum 200mm on the longest side, at 300 DPI • your name and image title in the jpeg file name • camera/lens used and image description/comments IMAGE REVIEW 11 First winner will be selected 3 September 2019. See terms and conditions at www.imagereview.com.au…