Skin Holes, Kaaron Warren

I found this story rather upsetting, in the beginning of the story the female character talks about the way she feels in relation to body piercings, she doesn't have any intention of getting any and hopes the fad will pass... however... by the end of the story she wakes up in bed, looks down and the first thing she thinks is how beautiful she looks! all because her body is covered in piercings! The male character has completely f**ked with her head, he's messed with her mind and manipulated her way of thinking. He's made her into who and what he wanted her to be, instead of accepting her for who she was. I believe he had no right to change her body without her consent. In my pictures I tried to show the internal struggle going on inside her head (whether she knows it or not). I think she's confused as to who she is, she has been hypnotised and has lost track of her own beliefs, becoming blinded by her boyfriends.

Mate, Kate Grenville

After reading the short story Mate, by Kate Grenville,It made me think about how Australians are stereotyped (Akubra wearing G'day mate) and viewed by others. I think that Australia's identity is closely related to the land we live on. I tried to convey a connection with the land in my pictures.

Bromoil Printing Technique

Bromoil Printing was discovered in 1907 by C Wellbourne Piper, and has been in use ever since. Bromoil printing is essentially a print that has had the silver image bleached away and replaced with an oil pigment.

The process is as follows:

An image is printed onto silver bromide paper, the print is then placed in a bleaching bath which hardens the gelatin where the image has formed. The print is then soaked in a week sulphuric bath which allows the paper to swell, (darker shadow areas containing the hardened gelatin are less prone to swelling, whereas the highlighted areas will swell the most). Bromoil ink is then applied using a specialised brush, areas with water will reject the ink as water and oil don't mix. and volla! A Bromoil print!:)

Images by Joe Besse.

For more information on Bromoil printing click here.

 

Short Story

I couldn't think of a short story idea so i looked on the net and found this web site that generates one for you, all you have to do is put in some words then it comes up with a story for you. this is what it came up with for me...

Things That drive Me Crazy

I just hate it when.

Mum serves chocolate for dinner.

my pet dog chews my house.

Silvia gets mad at the class for being furry.

My best friend Tina decides to sleep with somebody else.

I get wasted for something I didn't do.

Dad makes me wear only shoes to school.

My favorite TV show "friends" gets cancelled because the station has to broadcast a news conference.

People skip into my bedroom without knocking.

*here is the link if you wanted to try, its pretty funny. www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/adlib.cgi

The Beer'st Day Out, National Capital Craft Beer Festival

Mid day we set out, downward street to enjoy a day of beer tasting, good times and ahoy!

We arrived with excitement only to be told, to come back in an hour only pre tickets had been sold, so off we went not a beverage in hand, waiting outside where we could hear the band.

Once we were in the fun times began, beer after beer of tasty delight, some tasted remarkably like rotten banana, but we didn't let that ruin our larger.

A sausage sizzle down and a few more beers the final hour drew ever near, "ow no!" we said "many beer tickets we still have" well drink up my dear friend we shall have to scull down.

Three beers at a time was the plan from there on in, well what do ya know we finished with a grin!! So off we went with a swing to our stride homeward bound we were, to make hot chips and goodnight.

Icon and Archive, Australian War Memorial.

There was more to this exhibition than i initially thought, there was so much to look at and take in. Looking at the photographs I could only imagine what it was like to live in those times of war. I kept looking at the pictures of all the departing ships full of young men waving and cheering goodbye, I couldn't help thinking, how many came back... it's amazing that there are so many photographs documenting the wars, it must have been so so hard being amongst all the action and chaos whilst trying to capture those shots, definitely not something I'd be able to do...

Georges Perec A Void

A Void

Beyond Reasonable Drought, Old Parliament House.

What a great example of documentary photography... This exhibition really shocked me, I had no idea that things were so bad. It so easy to forget about things we don't see, I wish there was something I could do. Its so sad to think about all the loss associated with drought, I think the images in this show were sad and definitely eye opening. Even though it was hard to look at I couldn't seem to draw my eyes away because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I hope this show will act as a wake up call for many people, hopefully they'll think twice before wasting water. Beyond Reasonable Drought.

photos by Peter Eve and Andrew Chapman.  

M16, Dan O'Day and Hilary Wardhaugh.

M16 is a great space, i love going to see exhibitions there. Dan O'Day and Hilary Wardhaugh's photographs were completely different from one another. i didn't find Hilary Wardhaugh's images particularly amazing on there own although when pared with the text they were incredibly moving. Dan O'Day's photographs were great, i love the way he uses light to create an atmosphere. i think the images with balloons were my favorite although its hard to choose when i liked them all.

photographs by Dan O'Day.

Pinhole Camera, New Parliament house.

The pinhole exhibition was great, it was really interesting to see the type of quality prints you can achieve with just a pinhole in a box. The images were beautiful and very creative.

Strike a Pose, with Lee Lin Chin

what a funny exhibition! from mini skirts to leather pants! what more could u want...

i enjoyed the bright colours and comical styling of this exhibition.

it was great to see what fashion photography was like in the 60's and 70's... 

though slightly cheesy, i thought it was a show definitely worth seeing although to be honest i didn't pay too much attention to the photography side of things just what was in the pictures.

Wild Placees, Richard Green

What an amazing exhibition, the landscapes in this show were breathtaking... it was lovely to read in the brochure that Richard Green wants to create awareness about climate change through his photographs, turns out its not just a pretty picture...

The images were fab, so much detail! I'd love to be able to do something similar to this one day. 

It seem even nature has a deadline, it must have been hard to get the shots he was after before the sun rolled behind the hills :)

photos by Richard Green

A Modern Vision, Charles Bayliss

The first thing I noticed about Bayliss's photographs was the amount of space he created within the frame. Many of his photographs were of wide open spaces, i noticed that even when he was photographing a subject instead of focusing his and the viewers attention on the subject he chose to focus and include their surrounding environment. 

I think I often get distracted and pay too much attention to the subject i'm photographing and forget to take a step backwards and see what it is that i'm not photographing or including in the picture. 

The Indigenous Edge, Blacksoil country by David Malouf

The main character to me in the story was the land. I wanted to take pictures that portrayed the land as being beautiful and strong.

CMAG Canberra Museum And Gallery

Most of the works within this exhibition were based around Canberra, my personal favourites were the works by Ted Richards of Canberra during the 1960's. It took Kirsti and I a while to try and figure out what was what and where... it was almost unrecognisable. Canberra really has changed! I also enjoyed the images of the different pools within Canberra, some of them i didn't even know existed. Just goes to show there's still plenty more places in Canberra to be photographed. 

Picture Paradise, National Gallery of Australia

The Picture Paradise exhibition was quite large and had so much to take in, I felt slightly overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I tried to take in as much as I could but once we'd left only a few pieces stuck in my mind. I particularly enjoyed the last two rooms, it was fantastic to be able to see Ansel Adams original work. I also really enjoyed the Japanese photographs, the way they used colour dyes really brought the images to life. The small daguerreotypes were also fascinating to see, really beautiful. It makes you think about how much we treasure our photographs.

ACMP Showcase Gallery

I really enjoyed the ACMP Showcase Gallery exhibition. All of the images were entertaining some even comical. None of the exhibitions we've been to have really had any advertising photography in them so it was interesting to see a commercial side of photography (not that we don't see it everyday). I thought it was an interesting way of displaying the images (on paper instead of in frames) but it seemed to work, maybe it's because we're used to seeing images like this on paper in magazines.

Michael Franti And Spearhead - We Don't Stop

We Don't Stop Song Lyrics

Chris Fortescue, CCAS.

I don't really like Chris Fortescue's work, I'm not quite sure what it is about it but it just doesn't appeal to me... i don't like the colour blocking effect that he uses, i think it makes the pictures quite boring and lifeless.

Photo by Chris Fortescue.

Iddid Djura by Sarah George

I was disappointed with this exhibition. The pictures were fine and the story's were interesting to read (they gave the photographs character) but.... the way in which the images were were hung (coloured mounts against the coloured walls) brought the impact of the imagery down. It distracted you from the photos. It really made me realise how important good framing is and how it can affect a show.

Photo by Sarah George.