I haven’t done many portraits recently but I took this photo of a friend (she’s a DJ) last night. I like the B&W version. A flash was used - bounced off a ceiling about 20ft high. The lighting combined with converstion provides a satisfying result.Just the right amount of contour.
Style and content
Reflecting on my own work…in particular the abstract images I’ve been working on for the past months. I’ve been observing how the images have been forming. In particular, the relationship between the aspect of visual appeal and any meaning or symbolism that develops as layers are added. I’ve posted some thoughts already about when a piece of artwork can be considered as finished. From my own perspective as the artist, when I clearly ‘see’ or recognize some symbolism or idea that reflects back to me a message, or, the elements within the image show strong enough relationship to one another (in the case of an abstract), I then pay attention to other visual aspects in the same way as I might with a single photographic image. Things like tone, contrast, colour etc.
Religio botanicus marinata
…my working title. I've given it a latin based name (massively pretentious and long?) because of its natural feel, some 'hidden' iconography and watery context. If you can come up with a better title, I'm listening! A particularly satisfying mix of organic elements. This is definitely one of my favourites especially as the print is almost identical to the screen version. Curiously, as I may have previously mentioned, some images refuse to print as expected for no obvious reason. Several of them contain a very similar colour palette this image.
Talk at the Light and Shadow Gallery
I was given an opportunity today to speak at the Light & Shadow Gallery at Leura. The theme was Reflections on Fine Art Photography. More particularly, I was asked to describe how I arrive at the images which are multi layered from the current series Elemental Fantasy.
Len Metcalf, an excellent Blue Mountains photographer, specializing in sepia toned nature images (but also including nudes) gave his insights on his photographic processes. He spoke about his choice of square format for his images and his preference for warm tones. A fine example ihangs the wall behind me. Otherwise he gave his personal experience of how his own psychology plays an important part in his photographic life.
A big thank you goes to Peter White for organising the afternoon and giving us both the chance to share our work.
Len Metcalf introducing his work
Determining factor
That our psyche plays a huge part in the appreciation or interpretation of art I think noone would dispute. In the creation of an image once a distinctive character has been developed, its very difficult to see beyond it and the completion of the image is now governed by how it can be enhanced (if it needs to be) or not. There’s not a lot more that can be done because there is no other prevailing interpretation no space in the mind, nor any other compelling reason to create anything new. I have a very clear vision about this image and I can’t see it any other way now. But I’m happy with that.
So far, unnamed..
I temporarily misplaced the SD card with photos from the recent trip to Tasmania. I admit, there was a little concern as there were many images I liked on the card. Fortunately a more intensive hunt turned up the missing card and I’ve started on another series of images from the Elemental Fantasy set. Something I haven’t done recently which can add dimension to the artwork is to include a B & W with the colour. Maybe the next one.
One-eyed smoking alien
More of an abstract than some of the others which have a more landscape-y aspect. I'm not sure what's the maximum amount of hidden faces allowed in an image but I think I'm getting close.
Dancing tree
Reminds me of the Dancing form of Shiva called Nataraj. Taken on the north west coast of Tasmania.
Peacocks and monkeys...
the question could be - what animal looks as beautiful from behind as it does from the front? Well close to it anyway. Beautiful deep tones and feather formation from the peacocks wandering around near Cataract Gorge in Launceston. In the city itself, Macaque monkeys donated By Japan. you can see them in photographs of Japan sitting in hot spring baths in the snow. I’d rather see them in the wild myself. They kept themselves entertained but no substitute for a natural environment.
Cradle mountain in the snow
You don’t expect snow in the last month of spring. I’ve photographed at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania many times, even in winter but this is the first time it snowed here. Pretty lucky for a 3 week window at this time of year. There were 2 straight days but it didn’t settle on the first though the weather was dramatic - windy, rainy, sleety, snowy. From photography viewpoint I love the mixture of monochrome and colour in the same shot. This region also has beautiful, deep yellows and browns that stand out nicely against the snow. I haven’t uploaded and portrait oriented shots due to the software distorting them. Nevertheless, there’s a good selection for the moment.
Around the coast of Tasmania
I’ve been lucky enough over the past few years to travel around Tasmania. The coast has been a source of many productive photo ops. A geologist’s dream you could say. When viewed in passing from the roadside it doesn’t look like much ad so a lot of places can easily remain unvisited by photographers unless you know what to look for. Anyway, here’s another batch of images from the north and west coast taken this year.
View from ‘home’
Well, home away from home anyway. About 5 kms from Mt Roland as the crow flies. From here you can observe a multitude of moods as the weather changes, which it does here a lot. A few days back we were treated to a decent snow fall at Cradle Mountain, about 40 kms from here. A circuit of Dove lake there took 5 hours. If we weren’t so absorbed in photography it would be close to 2 hours. Snow in November is not usual, so it was quite a treat witnessing the transformation of the landscape. Tasmania has plenty of places worth visiting and with relatively easy accessibility given the small size of the island. Mountainous regions, rainforests, lakes and a beautiful coastline packed with features.
Late afternoon - Mt Roland
I should mention something about the camera’s performance in the wet. I only brought one camera on this trip - the Olympus em5 MKII. For most of the shots I used the 12-40mm f2.8 lens. Longer shots were taken with the 40-150mm f2.8 with a 1.4x extender. I had the camera out the whiole time for the 5 hr walk. For the first day ( we went twice for approx the same time each day), it snowed and rained of and on. I shot hundreds of images in these conditions without much concern. Only on the last part of the walk on day two did I start to worry about the effects of the weather. The small lens began to fog up. I tried drying it with the car a/c with seemed to work but through the viewfinder the image was not clear. After an overnight session by the fire, the next day it was back to normal and no problems since then. Given the amount of moisture it had to endure I’m pretty happy with its performance and I kind of expect it from any half decent camera these days. The images also are first class and I expect to print several 1 metre canvases on return.
Light & Shadow Gallery
Tucked away in Leura adjacent to the Lily Pad Cafe is the Light & Shadow Gallery. Peter White, the gallery owner introduces the work of Peter Hill currently being exhibited. Peter (pictured centre) works exclusively in black & white and has some excellent examples from his rather large body of work on display for the next couple of weeks. They share the gallery space with the work of the iconic Australian photographer Max Dupain. Not bad company. Peter White's mother who worked with Max Dupain for 20 years is also represented in the gallery. Upstairs are 2 more exhibition areas with other works by various photographers. Well worth the visit to this hidden gem. The gallery also offers a good variety of quality photography in the form of cards and matted prints in various sizes. Plenty on offer.
Elemental Fantasy
A recent addition to the Elemental Fantasy series...
Cute locals
Mum and her pudgy kid wandering around Cradle Mountain environs. Weren't particularly worried about me moving around nearby. Beautiful animals though not long lived in the wild. Below, some shots around Cradle Mountain. Even a short trip to this environment is very satisfying. If you get some keepers, its a bonus.
New project
As mentioned in a previous post I have been working on a project which incorporates anything from 6 up to 30 images in one, resulting in an abstract and sometimes ethereal representation of the natural world. A more detailed explanation is available on the last addition to the site. The project is titled Elemental Fantasy and will be added to from time to time.
Overlooked
I came across a couple of images I had overlooked on the first round. The first is from around 2014. The second is from early 2017. I'm sure there's a few more... they'll have to wait.
Multi layers
Gladiator's Dream
I've taken a number of abstract images over the years many of them have a water-based origin. Some of them were quite striking and took on an 'oily' appearance. Somehow, I got to fooling around with a number of abstracts of a stream nearby combined with a few others. I'm pretty happy with the 'look' as I didn't really want the final image to be recognizable, at least not easily - a feature that gives the abstract image its appeal. Anyway, during the process of combining layers I discarded a couple of contenders as they rendered the final look either too static or detracted from the colour balance I was looking for. While maybe not a Picasso, it keeps my imagination fed.
Return
He cut a sad figure on a misty day..
Tree and ripples
Still summer - a month to go but now its raining over a few days. Some bushfires over the past weeks but nothing epic fortunately. I'm taking the time to walk around and see what's what. Many gum trees shedding bark due to very hot conditions. Not so with the european trees. Below some ripple shots looking almost reptilian.