[Competition] Smile with Centro

With a cash prize of $10,000 plus a multitude of Olympus MJU-600 cameras to be won, the 'Smile with Centro' photography competition is certainly going to be a popular one. More information along with entry forms and an online submission form can be found on their web site: http://www.smilewithcentro.com.au/

Entries close: 5pm Friday 15th September

[News] Simple country boy takes "Highly Commended" prize at City of Belmont Art Awards

Nathan Cantwell, a self-professed "simple country boy" from Albany, WA, took out the "Highly Commended" award in this year's City of Belmont Art awards for his photograph entitled: "Fleeting".

This was an inaugural win for Cantwell, 31, who has been a keen photographer for a few years. Usually a photographer of landscapes, Cantwell decided to branch out into a more 'impressionistic' style of photography when he was given an old 300mm lens by a good friend.

"It's a completely manual lens - no autofocus, no metering, no apperture or shutter speed priority," said Cantwell, which is certainly testament to the fact that it's not the equipment that makes for an outstanding photo -- it's the photographer

Cantwell's compositions of local bird life, caught in mid-motion, have a painterly quality about them; award judges agree, remarking that his entry - "Fleeting" - an image of a butcher bird just taking flight from a branch - is reminiscent of a Japanese print.

Fleeting ~ by Nathan Cantwell

Cantwell's prize-winning photograph, as well as other entries in the City of Belmont Art Awards, can be viewed at the Belmont Forum Shopping Centre from Monday August 21 to Saturday September 2nd.

[Exhibition] Sam James - I'll believe in anything - Perth Centre for Photography, 91 Brisbane St. Perth, 16 Aug - 3 Sept

Sam James inaugural exhibition "I'll Believe in Anything" takes us into the intimate worlds of his existence. Showcasing a collection of portraits (self and others), snapshots, events and incidents, "I'll Believe in Anything" is, according to Sam:

"... about we and us. The feeling of we and us. I love that feeling.
I don’t mean we and us exclusively, as a couple, like boyfriend and girlfriend or
anything like that . I mean we and us as in, you know, The Gang... us... the
whole gang… all of us.
It's about the feeling of being one of us.
"I’ll believe in anything" refers to my susceptibility to be sucked in by these
feelings and ideas. It refers to a willingness to take the bait, to get wrapped
up in the moment. To blindly have faith in and trust the people around you, the
world around you. I think life’s just more fun that way..."

Where: Perth Centre of Photography, 91 Brisbane Street, PERTH (Cnr Beaufort and Brisbane St)

When: 16 Aug - 3 Sept

[Exhibition] BAZGASHT: Return, Perth Centre of Photography, Aug 2 - Aug 13

From the Perth Centre of Photography web site (www.pcp.org.au):

BAZGASHT: Return - A photography exhibition

Opening Wednesday August 2nd 6:30pm - until August the 13th at the Perth Centre of Photography, 91 Brisbane Street, Perth WA 6000

Curated by Shirin Jahan Panah

This stunning exhibition showcases photos from the collection of Iranian photographer, Reza Jahan Panah. 'Bazgasht' focuses on people in remote areas, landscapes and ancient architectural monuments. Come and see a new side to this ancient land, in deep contrast to the contemporary face of Iran as portrayed by the Western media. If you are interested in exploring the ancient cultural face of Iran, please don’t miss this exciting exhibition!

For more information, visit: http://www.pcp.org.au

[Exhibition] Offline Online, Breadbox Gallery, Northbridge: 12-27 August

In "Offline Online", 11 Australian photographers explore rural, urban, social and degraded spaces in their photography.

Breadbox Gallery
233 James Street, Northbridge
12-27 August
Wed - Fri: 12-6pm
Sat: 2-5pm
Sun: 2-5pm

Details: www.breadbox.com.au

[Exhibition] Erwin Olaf: Elegance and perversity - John Curtin Gallery, 21 July - 15 September

'Elegance and Perversity' brings together a selection of works from Dutch photographer, Erwin Olaf. In this exhibition, Olaf entertains and confronts through a series of staged photographs where "the body becomes a site of transgression that throws into question the current codes of morality, freedom and beauty." (Paco Barragan, exhibition curator). Hence, viewers are treated to glamourised portraits of a bleeding Poppaea Sabina, whose husband, the Emperor Nero, kicked her to death while she was pregnant. Similarly, we see Lady Diana Spencer, who died when her Mercedes crashed whilst avoiding paparazzi in Paris, posing with a Mercedes hood ornament embedded in her bleeding arm.



The exhibition is open at the John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University of Western Australia (Kent Street, Bentley)
Monday-Friday: 12-5pm
Sunday 30th July, Sunday 13th August, Sunday 27th August: 1-4pm (parking is free on Sundays)

More information:

• http://www.johncurtingallery.org/exhibitions/


• http://www.erwinolaf.com/

[Exhibition] Liquid Images, Heathcote Museum and Gallery, 14 July - 13 Aug

Liquid Image is a exhibition of water photography by local photographer Christoph Hoppen. The exhibition is at:

Heathcote Museum and Gallery
Point Heathcote in Applecross
(Heathcote Cultural Centre, Duncraig Road, Applecross)

14th July to 13th August.

A keen sailor for more than 15 years, Christoph took these photographs over the last five years on trips around Australia and Thailand. His photographs present visions of water, light and landscape.

For more information, visit: www.liquid-images.com.

[Exhibition] Photographies de France: Murmurs

In Murmurs, 16 Australian photographers reflect on their enduring relationship with France and the French tradition of photograpy. Largely in black and white, this exhibition of photographs reveal intersections between Australian and French identities - all photographers in the exhibition possess an Australian or French connection of some sort.

The exhibition is located in the upstairs gallery of the Fremantle Arts Centre and is on view until July 16 (Sunday). The Arts Centre is open from 10am to 5pm daily.

[Exhibition] Backpacker Essentials - Travel Photography Exhibition

For those of you with the travel bug, or for those who love travel photography, the winners of this year's Backpacker Essentials YHA Photography competition will be exhibited in Perth at the
Perth City YHA, 300 Wellington St, Perth: 6 - 26 November.

More information about the competition, photographs and exhibitions can be found at the Backpacker Essentials website.

[Musings] Re-envisioning landscapes

I've only very recently (in the last three months or thereabouts) begun taking landscape photographs. I've always been more inclined to be a people and events photographer - one who interacts, reacts and snaps in the hopes of recording, with some artistic and journalistic merit, the moment characterised by the person (or persons) and their engagement with the world. Then, influenced by a few photographer friends, I decided to take up landscape photography.

I started taking photographs that look like these:



Long-exposure shots of the coastal landscape at sunset, with the aperture stopped down to f16 or more, and the camera secured to a tripod, ND grad filters used to allow both correct exposure of the foreground and sky. You set up the tripod, frame the scene, expose, then wait for that "magic moment" - with a 2 second delay to account for the timer (with mirror lockup) - before hitting the shutter button.

Wallah.

I loved it. There was a sense of achievement in catching that right moment - that combination of light, setting and movement. And in achieving landsapes that seem so unearthly and which glowed.

So I did it again.

And again.

And again.

And it started feeling rather mechanical for me. Like writing a novel according to a formula. Like writing a Mills and Boon romance novel.

Just as quickly as I gained it, I lost the love for landscape photography.

I told myself that I should take a break from it. To begin re-thinking the way I photograph landscape.

Now, I make landscapes like these:

[Exhibition] StyleAID: Heaven

Models. Once-off fashion pieces designed by some of the top fashion designers in WA. A photographer's dream come true.

Falling out of Heaven ~ by Ivan Shaw

Heaven, a StyleAID project, is a unique exhibition displayed in a range of retailers in Perth which shows off each photographer's interpretation of the theme of 'Heaven'. All time and materials have been donated by the photographers, designers, make up artists and models, with the proceeds of the sale of each print in silent auctions going to the AIDS Council.

Featured in this exhibition is an innovative piece by young Perth photographer, Ivan Shaw, whose "Falling out of Heaven" shows a celestial beauty dramatically posed across a shattered skyscape, an angel falling into a gritty and grimey urban landscape.

Ivan's and the other photographs in this exhibitioncan be viewed at the following venues:

• The Colonnade, Subiaco


• Carillion Arcade, Perth City


• Adam Heath, Claremont


• Varga Girl, Perth City


• Saints Clothing, Subiaco


• Preacher, Mt Lawley


• Stiller, Cottesloe

Bids in the silent auction can be made at individual retailers.

[Event] Michael Coyne: Their Stories are My Stories - Photog seminar, Perth July 6

The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) and SanDisk are proud to present Michael Coyne, ‘Their Stories are My Story’, a series of insightful seminars where Coyne shares the stories behind his pictures and will also be exhibiting his moving and powerful work. Coyne has worked as a photographer for 30 years and covered wars, revolutions and international events around the globe. He has also been widely published in Newsweek, Life, Time, the NY Times, and has photographed assignments for National Geographic.



Coyne's seminar will be in Perth on Thursday, July 6th, 7pm at the Karri Room in the Parmelia Hilton. For more details, visit the 2006 AIPP/SanDisk National Speaker's Program page.

Tickets are $50 for non AIPP members, and $30 for student non-members ($30 for AIPP members and $15 for student membets). You can book your ticket/s here.

21st Perth National Photographic Exhibition, 2006

Conducted by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA, this year's Perth National Photographic Exhibition are now open for entries - with an exhibition of winners at the Perth Royal Show, 30 Sept - 7 Oct, 2006.

Categories include:

• Youth Prints
  
• Open Slides
  
• Open Colour Prints
  
• Nature Slides
  
• Nature Prints
  
• Australian Rural Life Slides
  
• Australian Rural Life Prints
  
• Open Mononchrome Prints
  

Entries close: Wednesday 26 July
Selection takes place on: Friday 25 and Saturday 26 August

For more information, download the entry form.

[News] Head heads up City of Stirling Photography Competition winners

Local hobbyist photographer, Brendan Head, has won a section prize in this year's City of Stirling 'Moments of Stirling Spirit' Photography Competition.

Head, 24, an upcoming photographer with a penchant for candid street photography, submitted photographs taken at this year's Vodafone volleyball championship at Scarborough Beach to the competition. His tools of trade are a Canon 350D digital SLR and a Canon 28-135mm IS USM lens.

The winning entry in the 'Characters of Stirling' section, pointedly entitled "The Joys of Volleyball" cleverly comments on the more voyeuristic aspects of women's beach volleyball spectating.


The Joys of Volleyball ~ Brendan Head
Head's winning photograph, along with other section and category winners from this year's competition, will be on display at Westfield Innaloo shopping centre from the 8th – 14th June 2006.

[Competition] CBH Photographic Competition

One for lovers of rural communities and environments, though entry is limited to CBH employees, groups and regional residents:

"Reveal your creative flair in the 2006 CBH Group Photographic Competition

"The CBH Group is holding its sixth annual CBH Group Photographic Competition. The theme of this year’s competition is Four Seasons – Life in the Country. Entrants need to visually depict life in WA’s grainbelt by showing the triumphs and challenges of living on the land; the changing faces of the land, the CBH Group and the grains industry; or the spirit of partnership and community in working together for the future.

"The competition is divided into four categories: CBH Group Members and their immediate family (8 winners); Children, up to and including 15 years of age (2 winners); CBH Group Staff (2 winners); and Rural Community Residents (4 winners). In addition, one overall winner will be selected.

"Some of the prizes up for grabs include an oilskin coat, accommodation vouchers for the Comfort Inn Bay of Isles Motel in Esperance, Tradewinds Hotel in Fremantle and the Broadwater Hotel in South Perth, a colour printer and a $500 cheque."

[Competition] City of Belmont 2006 4th Annual Photographic Awards & Exhibition

The Photographic Awards are an initiative of the City of Belmont, with the aim of encouraging excellence in photography. This year, you can submit entries to two categories:

1. The Open category


2. City of Belmont Focus category

Prints depicting the City of Belmont will be selected for a Sister City Photographic exchange with the city of Adachi in Japan. Selected prints will be exhibited in Adachi and a fee of $50 per print will be awarded to the photographers.

Entries close 4.30pm Friday, 4th August, 2006.

For more information, download the entry form, or contact the City of Belmont Recreation Services on 9477 7208.

[Competition] Red Lens International Photographic Competition

From: http://www.csu.edu.au/student/community-ed/photo/index.htm

Charles Sturt University Community Education’s Red Lens International Photographic Competition has grown remarkably in reputation over the last three years, attracting entrants from all over Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

With over $7500 in prize money to be won in 2006, Red Lens has also extended its prize pool to include publication of the winning photograph in Photo Review Australia magazine and website, and possibly a spread of other prize winners if the standard is of a high quality as in previous years.

For more information about the competition, its terms and conditions, and an entry form, visit the Red Lens International Photographic Competition web site (http://www.csu.edu.au/student/community-ed/photo/index.htm)

The Competition closes on Monday 28th August 2006, at 5pm.

[Competition] City of Stirling Photographic Competition - 'Moments of Stirling Spirit'

The City of Stirling, Perth, organises a photographic competition every two years, attracting over 100 entries and providing an excellent opportunity for photographers to capture the City of Stirling at work and play. Details of the competition and links to entry forms and conditions of entry can be found at the City of Stirling web site.

Entry closes 31 May (not long to go, folks!) and an exhibition of key entries will be held at Westfield Innaloo Shopping Centre, 8th June to 14th June.

Given my previous rent [see previous entry] about insidious and sinister motivations of photographic competition organisers, it's heartening to see that the City of Stirling acknowledges the rights of the photographer to his or her images: "Photographers will retain ownership of the copyright existing for their photographs entered, and the photographer will be given naming credit whenever their photograph is used for promotional purposes."

Good on ya, City of Stirling!

[Rant] Always read the fine print

A recent photography competition organised by Tourism Australia and The Australian newspaper - 'Wish You Were Here: Tourism Australia Photographi Competition' -asks for entries on the theme of "People on holidays" with categories for Nature, Outback, Cities and Beaches. You could win a camera, photographic gear or even holidays. Sounds good! Until you read the fine print in the Conditions of Entry, which states thus:

"Each entrant assigns to the Promoter all copyright and other intellectual property rights in each photo and description sent in as part of an entry in this competition. Each entrant acknowledges that the Promoter, as owner of the copyright in the photographs and descriptions, may reproduce the photographs and descriptions in any media or marketing for any purpose without permission or payment. The entrants agree to waive all their rights, including moral rights, in the photographs entered by the entrants in this competition."

So, for a few thousand dollars in equipment and holidays, the promoters become owners of free stock photographs taken by others - photographs which could essentially make them hundreds of thousands given the demand for quality stock images of Australian scenes for travel brochures, expos etc. Given the enthusiasm in which such competitions are often received, they stand to make a tidy killing from this simple competition.

Lesson here: Read the Conditions of Entry. Find out what you are surrendering before you send in your photograph/s. You could well be signing away your intellectual owenrship of the photograph/s - surrendering your moral right as the photographer and owner of your photographs, no longer being able to use them without seeking permission (and paying) for their use.

Be aware.

World Press Photo 2006 Yearbook available

The World Press Photo Yearbook 2006 is now available for purchase from their website at www.worldpressphoto.nl - select the 'Publishing' link in the 'Activities' section of the homepage. The Yearbook, priced at 21 Euros for the English-language version, features photographs from this year's World Press Photo contents.