[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.

[Exhibition] Nemesis: The Source of One's Destruction - Perth Centre for Photography, May 3

Curated by Yvonne Doherty, Nemesis: The Source of One's Destruction opens at the Perth Centre for Photography on May 3. In this exhibition, photographers are asked to explore the following:

• the source of harm or ruin
• an opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome
• one that inflicts retribution or vengeance
• the source of damaging and dangerous behaviour

"Delve into your own or your subject's psyche, and find the nemesis lurking beneath the surface creating powerful emotional responses. The challenge lies in capturing your nemesis in visual form in a compelling way. The meaning of the word nemesis evokes darker themes but humour and kitsch can also be used to explore ideas."

Perth Centre for Photography: 91, Brisbane Street, Perth.
For more details contact: 9227 6620

[Photo opp] Swedish Tallship Gotheborg Visit

Date: 13-25 May 2006
Venue: Passenger Terminal Victoria Quay Fremantle

The Swedish tallship, Gotheborg, will arrive in Fremantle on 13 May and depart on 25 May. The arrival, which will be at 10am, will be a major event, so it might be one to put in your diary. The Götheborg is a replica of Eastindiaman and displaces some 1200 tonnes compared with Endeavour 550 and Leeuwin 220.

Might be of interest to photographers with a nautical bent.

[Photo opp] Fremantle Boating Festival: 28-30 April, Esplanade Reserve, Freo

[from http://www.fremantlewa.com.au/events.asp]

Date: 28-30 April 2006
Venue: Esplanade Reserve Park Marine Tce Fremantle
Ph: 08 9476 9476
Fax: 08 9486 1933
email: info@exhibit.info
web: www.exhibit.info

April is a great time of year for boating. The strong summer breezes have gone, the winter rains are some months away and the days can be warm and balmy. And the selling season is far from over with buyers looking to replace or upgrade gear and in some cases planning that new boat for next summer. Taking advantage of its position near the end of the season, the event will also provide a terrific opportunity for merchants to ‘ship out’ discontinued and over-stocked lines.
The Fremantle Boating Festival truly represents all aspects of boating and water activities including luxury cruising, sailing, fishing and scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, water skiing, wake boarding, windsurfing and kayaking. The Festival will present entertainment, tourism and boating destinations, career information and classes covering everything from fishing tips to marine navigation. The Festival will also feature next summer’s boat and beachwear, cooking demonstrations and much, much more.

It makes perfect sense to hold a premier boating festival in Western Australia’s internally recognised harbour city. The festival will also benefit from its location on the Esplanade Reserve Park in the heart of Fremantle. Close to the Cappuccino Strip and a short stroll from Fishing Boat Harbour, the park area will be laid out to provide a relaxed atmosphere where enthusiasts and the general public can stroll the show and see all things nautical.

Fishing Boat Harbour, the home of the 1987 Americas Cup defence, will be a focal point for the festival featuring up to 50 large vessels presented as they should be – on the water in a working harbour setting. Double the size of the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, and with the ability to accommodate boats of any size, the Fremantle Boating Festival is big in every way and will rapidly become people’s favourite boating event.

[Event] WA Press Photographer of the Year Awards 2006

The WA Press Photographer of the Year Awards 2006 exhibition showcases over 500 photographs from the portfolios of WA News Photographers. The winner this year is The West Australian's Nic Ellis. The exhibition is now on at the State Library of WA - from April 1 to May 31.

Monday-Thursday: 9am-8pm
Friday: 9am-5.30pm
Weekends: 10am-5.30pm

[Courses] Wildheart Photography Courses/Tours, 2006

Dale Neill runs Wildheart (www.wildheart.com.au) , providing photography holidays and workshops for amateurs, professionals and enthusiasts, along with workshops located in locations as exotic as Broome, Cervantes and the Pinnacles.

The 2006 tour/workshop programme includes:

• B061 BORNEO WILDLIFE 14-23 Oct 2006 AU$3150Led by Dale Neill, Western Australian Professional Photographer of the Year 2005, John Prudente, Sabah Tourism Award 2005/06 Best Tourist Guide and Denise Williams, Australian graphic designer and photoshop expert.Enquiries: Dale Neill on +61 8 9430 6422 or borneo@wildheart.com.au Free Borneo Information evening at UWA Thursday 12 April 7.30-9pm. Please tel UWA on 6488 2433 to book.
• FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY May 31, June 7,14 & 21 2006 Maximum 10 per class $220Techniques and practical work in Photography as Fine Art. Exhibition of your work in Monart Studio & Gallery.Information & Bookings: Mona Ketelsen, Monart Studio & Gallery 9386 9066 monartstudio@iinet.com.au Two vacancies left in class.WF061
• WILDFLOWER FIELD TRIP September 24 2006 1 day $75With Nick Djordjevic and Dale Neill. Techniques in lighting and design to get the best macro images.Limited to 20 people. Trip was booked out 2005 so be early. Enquiries: macro@wildheart.com.au
• ET071 EGYPTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE 6-24 Jan 2007 19 days AU$3200 (approx) with Mona Ketelsen & Dale NeillFollowing the great success of our 2006 Egyptian tour Mona and Dale have scheduled a new, longer tour for 2007. Travel agent: Harvey World Travel, Fremantle. Free EGYPTOGRAPHY exhibition and information day at Monart Gallery, Dalkeith on 22 April. Contact Dale on Egypt@wildheart.com.au or Mona on 9386 9066 to book.

For more information, contact Dale at dale@wildheart.com.au telephone: (08) 9430 6422 visit www.wildheart.com.au

[Event] Book launch - Portrait of a Revolution

[Update 18/4/06] - The book launch for Portrait of a Revolution has been rescheduled for July to allow additional publication time. Parties interested in attending the launch should still email Bohdan at bohdan@warchomij.com .

In creating Portrait of a Revolution, Perth photojournalist Bohdan Warchomij returned to his parents’ homeland, Ukraine, to document the memorable events of November 2004: the Orange Revolution.

Then, in the city of Kyiv, thousands of Ukrainians voiced their protest against a rigged Presidential election. The passion, fervour and extraordinary dedication of protestors -- people from all walks of life, from all over Ukraine -- led to Democratic candidate Viktor Yuschenko’s victory over incumbent Prime Minister Yanukovych. In Ukraine, Warchomij recorded these events for the British and Canadian press, creating images that became visualisations of the collective voices of Ukrainians and their bid for a fair and free political system.

Portrait of a Revolution also chronicles the lives of Ukraininans and Tartars, and features a series of startling, yet poignant and beautifully photographed, images of children affected by the legacy of Chernobyl.


Currently on exhibition in FotoFreo, the Fremantle Photography Festival, Warchomij’s photographs will be published in Portrait of a Revolution – the book in May 2006. To secure your invitation to the book launch, contact Bohdan Warchomij directly at bohdan@warchomij.com

More information about Portrait of a Revolution, and Wachomij’s body of work can be discovered at http://www.warchomij.com/

[Event] Indonesian Transitions: photojournalism by David Dare Parker, Murdoch University Library (first floor), Mar 17 - May 19, 2006

I dropped in to this exhibition at Murdoch University today (first floor of the Murdoch Library) - and what a powerful collection of recent images of Indonesia. Taken at key turning points in recent Indonesian social and political history (the Tsunami, Aceh, the fall of Suharto, the transition from Megawati Sukarno Puteri to Suseno Bambamg Yudhoyono ) the withdrawal from East Timor), the black and white photographs by freelance photojournalist, David Dare Parker, are brutal, searing, touching and relevant.

If you live in the area, or find yourself south of the river, it's a worthwhile visit. Needless to say, the Aceh and East Timor photographs have the most immediate impact, but two 'sets' that formed a great impression on me were a series of four photographs juxtaposing prostitutes with the women at a high-society fashion show in Jakarta; and a series of photographs of the inhabitants who live in a slum by the railway.

The exhibition is in association with Fotofreo 2005, and runs from 17 March to 19 May 2006.

Some photographs from this exhibition, and more, can also be viewed at David Dare Parker's website: www.daviddareparker.com

[News] NPPA The Best of Photojournalism Winners

The (US) National Press Photographers Association 'Best of Photojournalism' winners have been announced. You can view the winner, category winners and honorary mentions here.

For me, photojournalists are the creme de la creme of photographers - they're not there to create aesthetically pleasing, technically perfect, though often vacuous, compositions. The images they take are searing, powerful reminders of the "world out there" and the need for us to remember that world and to respond in a politically responsible way. It's a pity that many of their images do not make it to our daily press. How much more powerful would our response to the Kashmir earthquake have been if The West Australian had published this image and this image and also this image?

The photographs in the Local Portrait and Personality category are amazing. And the stories they illustrate are shocking and confronting.

Have bear hat, will travel

I recently acquired a head accoutrement in the shape of bear's ears, and have been having a bit too much fun with them on Flickr.

It was designed and crafted by Creative Caps, by Cate of Fremantle (actually, my friend Kate).

It's generated enough interest on Flickr that one of the Perth Flickrites, Scroop, had commissioned one for himself.

Who knows, this could be the beginning of a whole new business for Kate! :-)

[Event] The Amazing Race, Goomaling style

This Saturday, the wheat-sheep belt town of Goomaling comes to life with keen competitors roaring across highways and byways in a scavenger hunt to end all scavenger hunts: The Goomaling Amazing Race (GAR)!

Patterned after the TV Amazing Race, the GAR sees teams of up to four people scouring the countryside in search of clues, completing challenges, all in the hopes of becoming GAR champion for 2006!

Entry charge is $50 for teams of 4, dress-ups are optional (but encouraged) and having fun is mandatory.

Get your camera, check your engines, sharpen your smarts, and prepare for the most amazing race of your life!

Highlights from the 2005 GAR include:

• sheep chasing trials (wear a mouth guard)
• scaling a rock wall
• hole in ones at the golf course
• getting stuffed with marshmallows
• count the hay bales in the paddock
• and more!