Arts Freedom Australia

Long overdue. My website is being updated, a lot will be changing so go and take a look.

www.roberthoehne.com

"I had white bread once, got stuck to the roof of my mouth, terrible stuff" Adrian, 10 years old.

and I followed it. and yes my favourite lenses are a 35mm and 90mm

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Just over 2 weeks before sofobomo. What will I shoot for that period? I have a few ideas which will be done whether for sofobomo or not.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see shadows - Hellen Keller

This photo is love. Thankyou Mario Giacomelli.

Surrounded by 9 juice bottles with garden hoses attached.

If the value you are espousing is one that could never get anyone, anywhere, sent to prison, then strictly democratically speaking you are useless.

M. Slouka

The sun comes up and it gets warm, the sun goes down and it gets cool. The sun determines our weather patterns.

This tree was ring barked. I presume the leaves that fell each autumn upset the occupants of the house since it fell on their precious carport.

What I do not understand is this constant worry about carbon and carbon trading which is meant to reduce carbon pollution (what a load of rubbish) and then the constant destruction of trees because they drop leaves onto carports, driveways and into backyard pools. I'm not saying these people give a care either way but does anyone?
I've always liked trees, I feel most myself when I am outside walking or doing things amongst them. I don't feel that many people feel the same.

Tell the truth the first time, then move on.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Walking in the mornings is usually a quiet, personal affair.
This morning differed.
While walking looking for pictures to take, my camera still in my bag, on a quiet suburban street a man almost knocked me over while he sped in his car around the corner.
OK, maybe forgot something at home, having a bad day or just another idiot.
But then 5 minutes later at other end of the street, pulls up hard directly in front of me (I am about to cross the road). My camera had just been pulled from my bag, set up exposure ready for a picture I knew was around the next corner.
"WHAD R YU DOIN MATE? TAKIN PITURES!"
"good morning, I have not taken a picture yet this morning. I'm a photographer, pictures are what I do."
I turned and walked away as he reached for something on his front seat.
Around the next corner I took my picture I knew was there.
8:15am 15/12/09.
Just another idiot.

From here to here to here.

This is the same trolley as seen here. 10 meters in 10 days.

Rules can be very freeing in art. They focus your mind. They eliminate distractions. They get you to narrow down on what's really important...and get things DONE.
Anthony Allen

my favourite photographer and yet I do not have one of his books, and I have plenty of books.

It never felt right. The dentist did not test for metal sensitivity. Now that it is gone things should eventually feel better.

The X1 sporting a Nikon D300 sensor in a very small package.

The Leica S2 was surprisingly small and easy to handle for such a huge sensor camera. For me this camera was the highlight of the night.

Every camera seems to have taken miniturisation as its main design aim, successfully I may add.

It is a blessing to governments, that human beings do not think for themselves.

-- Adolf Hitler

So a few weeks ago I had a dream, I was running in a field with a beautiful mare. She was a light grey colour (silver) and was galloping with the type of powerful happiness that only a horse seems to give off. My mother was watching on and seemed happy as well.
Later that day my father rang to tell me my grandmother had passed away in her sleep that night, a week short of her 102nd birthday.
I'm just saying.

On Thursday the 9th of July

Dear Sir/Madam,

at 5:10pm this afternoon I saw a fluorescent green creek running from 33°45'37.74"S, 150°59'21.21"E, End of Conie Avenue, Baulkham Hills, NSW, 2153. The strongest smell ( of fuel) was at the drain point on the attached picture. Upstream of this point was clean water.

I have no feedback as to what came of this event other than being told that they would investigate. Ofcourse the filthy pigs that dumped these fluids in the creek chose a period of heavy rainfall.
My biggest concern is that this minor creek feeds into Toongabie Creek which then feeds into Parramatta River which then goes into Sydney Harbour. We have/had a healthy amount of frogs, eels, lizards and ducks along this stretch alone.

All is quiet now.

Pigs.

a quote by Chuck Swindoll about attitude:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

They were fun but ultimately not used as much as I thought they would be.
Mamiya RB67 + Sekor 127mm f3.8 + film backs + polaroid back + polaroids + film.

...when your ears prick up if any of the following words are mentioned in your vicinity:
...picture
...camera
...photo
...picture
...painting
...drawing
...crafts
...arts
...perfection
...excellence

...friends save pieces of photographic "junk mail" thinking you are interested (and you are).
...when friends show you their pictures to you and you enjoy seeing them no matter what level they are at.
...when friends show you pictures and you find several ways in which they might improve.
...when you realise that spilling forth with ideas on how others might improve their photography is not going to work and keeping your ideas to yourself is OK.
...when you always have a camera with you.
...when the look of sodden, trodden on paper on a footpath visually interests you. As does twigs, rocks and the like.
...when lens talk no longer interests you.

I'm not taking pictures of twigs, rocks, leaves, water, trees or whatever else you see here.

When the items in front of me look right together, when they meet the edge of the viewfinder and look like they are meant to be there, the shutter goes click.

I beg to differ, plenty to see here.

You may of noticed I enjoy going for walks. There are a few resons for that and I will list the ones I can think of here but they are in no means in any order of importance.

You know that those times when you'd love to bring your decent big camera along with you but you have no room in your bag for something that big. Well here is the camera that gives big camera performance in a small compact camera package.
On my wish list.

Uncooked; unripe; in unwrought or untreated state; not (completely manufactured); undiluted; crude in artistic quality; lacking finish.

Why is it that in photography we must write RAW instead of raw? Does the word really need such emphasis? as if being yelled at us.

"Oh so you use jpg files, you fool, use RAW".

It's been a while since I have taken pictures of strangers, it took me a very long time just to get the courage to lift the camera. Then the friendly local camera store let me borrow a new Leica 18mm and a Zeiss 18mm as well. I had to shoot to get the feel of the 2 lenses, there was no dawdling. Suddenly I was back, not caring who looked and who didn't. So once I got my lens back and thanked the salesman I was happy to point and shoot at people with a lot less dread.

For those of you planning on printing your sofobomo projects you may like to read this from Jonathan.
While you are at his site take a wander through his pictures, I enjoy most of what I see there.
What is sofobomo? go here.

Robert Frank took 27000 frames with his Leica for his book The Americans which contains 83 of those pictures.

I'll be back in a while, SoFoBoMo starts tomorrow.

The picture I last posted is out of season and is a part of a backlog of pictures I have. But then it is out of season like a picture taken 50 years ago is out of season, yet I still buy books full of these old pictures. I don't understand why season matters when viewing a set of pictures, like viewing Trent Parke's Christmas Bucket pictures in a gallery when it is not christmas.

I'm sure Winogrand was always a touch out of season as well :o).

Excepting sofobomo or when I send a set of 200 pictures to my mentor I am usually behind by several months, my flash cards fill and wait for me to empty them, my film is stacked up ready for scanning and more is sitting in the freezer waiting to be developed.

My children, under the direction of my son, are planning on creating another Bionicle movie. I will post last years effort here soon.

prohibiting photography was something we used to ridicule about the USSR

I like the people from RedBubble, the type of humour I expect only from an Australian company.

Hello again Robert,

As you know you recently made a sale on RedBubble and now we've just shipped this order to your customer, this means we have to send you another slightly uninteresting looking email filled with more important data.

Please find attached a receipt for the fee RedBubble charged to manufacture the product(s). But please note this receipt has been paid in full and you do not owe any money.

This invoice is purely for your records. We'd suggest filing it under 'R' for Reasons Why I'm Brilliant.

Big love,

Mr Baxter - Head of Numbers

Working late has done strange things to me, hopefully I will get more time to get back into my photography (not that I don't always have a camera with me) so that I am all limbered up and ready to go sofobomo 09.

"are you taking pictures for the council?"

"they need to clean this up"

"the bush is nice but it is such a mess, someone needs to clean it up" - passerby

"Did you find a lizard?"

"have you seen the wildlife photos at the museum?"
"you'd love them, they are amazing." - passerby

You are told to take pictures in beautiful light, let the subject glow, light is the tool with which to illuminate your subject, the golden hour of light, make your prints glow.

Then they take the work, they hide it behind glass, they show it in dark galleries, they use small point sources of light that reflect off the glass no matter where you stand, they light you so you are reflected in every picture, you have difficulty appreciating the picture due to the obstructions.

An oil painting is not so delicate that it requires glass, and it is set in a brighter room, and you can see the print unobstructed.

Please take away the glass and let me see the pictures.

"The American reading public is fast becoming not even a looking public, but a glancing or glimpsing public."
a quote from an essay by Lincoln Kirstein in American Photographs, Walker Evans, published in 1938.

available here, http://5b4.blogspot.com/ and very highly recommended. Having such close access to material like this is priceless.

Bricks at Night, Baulkham Hills Shire Council

It's too hot here, 42C and expecting just as high tomorrow. Melbourne and Adelaide got it even worse last week. Europe is having some of the coldest weather in a long time.

It may be global warming which may or may not be triggered by our carbon emmisions. Most of us have been swayed by the media that this is global warming and we have triggered it.

So I have a question, who out there that believes in what we are being told chose not to create more carbon emmisions by leaving their airconditioners off? Who left all of their windows, curtains, blinds, doors shut for the day and did as little moving as possible to keep cool? Who ate a simple salad that required no cooking and very little preperation? Who made sure that they only bought in season fruit and vegetables that required no storage and short transport distances?

Who made an effort to care about their actions and choices?

I need to get out and take more pictures, it has really cut down lately which is a bad thing. Problem currently is that I feel I have no focus (haha) on what I want to show people, what do I have that is interesting enough to show others.
No one at my new place of work knows I take plenty of pictures so carrying a camera there seems like an awkward thing to be doing. I'll hang plenty of my work around my dilbert cube and see if any comments come my way, an ice breaker and possible way of having a camera nearby accepted.

I don't know why this young chap (Dale) features so often in the pictures of the night, he just seemed to be comfortable in front of a camera. While I did not ask him to do anything he definitely delivered.

Take every opportunity you can to take pictures, it is only then that opportunities present themselves for you and your camera.

Driving to work this morning I was thinking how writing code for embedded devices or designing a circuit board has become a task I can become so totally immersed in that the people around me no longer exist, time becomes something I don't feel pass, the music I might be playing at the time is no longer heard. In effect I forget about self, about me. This is something I can fall into quite quickly once I start tapping at the keyboard.

That maybe because I have been doing this for so many years that I can become totally creative with my skills. This relates with what I do in photography, the skill set is in place and after only a short time I can get into a groove that lets me get immersed in the visual information around me and not in me.

When writing code for new devices/peripherals there are some hurdles getting the nitty-gritty out of the way but once moving it is all immersing once again. Not much different to picking up a new camera, new lens, new software, new lighting setup.

The interesting thing is that I do not remember taking the picture in the previous post and very little of this picture. And yet I know that the camera never left me, if it was not in my hand it hung from a strap over my shoulder while I changed cards.

This little grin brought one to my face as well.

It is interesting to find that many of my best captured pictures are so spur of the moment I remember either nothing or very little of it. Maybe that is hte measuring stick I should use.

Brooks Jensen has possibly mentioned those forgotten moments in a podcast, Colin Jago and Paul Butzi may also have mentioned this. Honestly, there is so much information out there (and pictures) that most of it becomes a blur.

One from Friday nights school formal shoot, expect more.

The big complaint on the Leica M8 is that it does not filter infrared. While this is not from a Leica M8, only a Panasonic DMC-TZ3, it took some drastic adjustments to make my pants not look purple. Maybe this is not an IR issue but it is the only wrong colour in the picture.

A head sculptured by Alan Somerville, the artist that created the WWI ANZAC Digger on the ANZAC Bridge.

I often wonder why I take pictures, I stand there and think "what's the point, I see it now why not just be happy with that."

Then I raise camera to eye and begin exploring anyway, after some time I come out with a set of pictures of things I didn't really see until I let go and started clicking.

Morning light is playful but enjoys a rest from time to time.

I have taken up hill sprinting recently, a part of trying to be active and healthy. My job requires me to spend the whole day at a PC writing code or designing boards, I enjoy it but really like to move around as well.

Hills sprints take up a lot less time than jogging around the block and lack of time seems to be the standard excuse for not exercising so this seemed like the natural thing to do. Glad I have taken it up as it burns off a lot of nervous energy and I can get back to work or photography quickly.

This morning, after a sprint, I was thinking how this I might be able to relate this to photography. What quick burst of visual exercise would keep me visually fit the way a hill sprint keeps your body fit. After a while I realised that the answer was with me already.

I nearly always have a camera with me, it may be in another room, it maybe in the car or my notebook bag, but I'm never far from one. My family is used to me dashing off and grabbing a camera then coming back and spending time (who knows how long sometimes) playing with taking pictures of the light coming through curtains, shadows or spots of light on walls.

My visual hill sprints are those times I play with the camera at home, I can always find a few minutes for taking pictures at home. If I only took pictures when I went out to specific locations I'd rarely take pictures at all.

Where the garbage goes.

The other night I watched another episode of Chopping Block, for those not in Australia or not watching this is a show that pits 2 failing restaurants against each other, the winner receiving $20000.

A leading Australian chef, Matt Moran, is brought in to help each kitchen create foods that will help their chances of winning. A food critic will then come in and judge food, service and appeal of the restaurant. All clean prime TV time stuff where, in my opinion, both restaurants end up winning by having a much improved service and food.

One thing that comes up constantly in each weekly episode is Matt telling the competing chefs to simplify, let the flavour of the (good) ingredients speak for themselves. Don't add to many ingredients, two or three flavours is enough. Also bring some love and passion into what you are doing, don't just go through the motions of making food.

Not bad advice for photographers either, don't add to many ingredients to your pictures, keep it simple and let the good ingredients speak for themselves. That can be said for over photoshopped pictures as well, if I notice the photoshop work then the subject matter is being drowned or wasn't good to start with.

I've been meaning to write about this book for a while but as usual other things always seem more important.

The book is a hardcover book with generous page sizes of 28cm x 28 inches, the well printed pages have a B&W picture per page of which there are just over 100 and each being 24cm along the longest edge. The book is just edging on the slightly to large size to hold comfortably while seated on the lounge but just right to have on the kitchen table, our kitchen table having more even lighting anyway so the place of choice for my picture book viewing.

As a part of a highschool project David and Peter took pictures, using one camera between the 2, of Mclellan Street and managed to capture a friendly neighbourhood, a place where friends play in the streets, neighbours swap gossip and live life through all of its sunny and rainy days.

There are many pictures of people that seem to have a relationship with the photographers even so David and Peter did not live in this neighborhood. Evidence of the comfortable relationship the brothers had with the people livin in the street is that pictures have been taken in front yards, inside peoples homes and from their upper windows of the street below.

While this book is about people living in a poor area it is not a book about poverty. The pictures show happy groups of people just getting on with life. If you are interested in pictures of people, pictures of life in public places (the street) this book should not be passed by.

As Mike Johnston has written, this is a book that every young photographers should take a look at.

Take a look

I can't say I am getting better at this but I feel the same peace of mind, the same thought processes involved as I do when out taking pictures with the camera.

Paul Butzi has been writing about his finding peace of mind while spending time on his driveway taking pictures. I find this peace of mind when drawing, out taking pictures and sometimes, although rarely, when writing.

The writing is more difficult especially when using the keyboard, the flow of ideas is stifled by having to look up at the screen to make sure I have not changed screen and started deleting or renaming files (that's right, I can't type properly). This is why now when I write my ideas and longer narratives down I do it with a pencil and writing pad.

Maybe I should learn to type without having to look at the keyboard, my lack of technique on ht ekeyboard gets in the way of my ideas. That can be said of not knowing your camera as well.

Exercise is important, a few weeks ago I started thinking I should improve my fitness and started spending 5 - 15 minutes per day doing something that would improve me in some way. Now 15 minutes isn't long and you are probably wondering what the point is if that is all you are going put into it.

Well it seems you can achieve a fair bit. From having a hard time doing 20 simple Hindu squats without serious heavy breathing I am now doing 80 squats and feeling good at the end of it. And I didn't practice squats everyday.

The same goes for exercising your photographic seeing, do just a bit a day even when you have no projects on and it will be easier to get into seeing as an artist does.

Read more! »

You are thinking American flag right, to my wife it is just more ironing.

Excuse my abscence, no excuse really, just abscent.

The word excuse makes me think how strange the English language can be, difference in sentence changes pronunciation and meaning.

Pictures can have the same perculiarities. Put them in context of different projects, different times, different viewers and they can have different meanings.

Pictures are strange things.

Errata Editions have their first 4 books on books series published and are taking orders for the limited edition set.

If in Australia I'd suggest watching the exchange rate.

I'm keen to see the books.

My drawings seem to be similiar to my photographs. To me this means I see without a lens in front of my face, I don't need the viewfinder to help me crop out the world around what I want to capture.

The flowers are the same flowers, although a slightly different angle, as those seen in the post on the 17th of October.

I had a pack of 10 polaroids, got them cheap, thought I'd shoot them off over the weekend. Can't find the 10th shot!

Tried my hand at some drawing last week.

Today I received a package from Jonathan of i like to tell stories. Jonathan asked me to send him a picture of the package when it arrived and with my wifes help we did just that.

LOL, he posted on his website today the picture I sent him, love it Jonathan, thanks.

More tomorrow on the contents of the package.

I'm open to critisism of my pictures, that is why I put them up on Stills, Pictures and Better in Print. I'm also quite happy to hear (read) from anyone here or redbubble or a number of other places I have put up pictures in the past.

I value the time you spent to contact me, to comment, whether positive or negative, short or long. The comments I value most are those considered ones that tell me how the picture made you feel or how you think I wanted you to feel but did not succeed. Those comments that suggest changes to a picture in context of what you think I was trying to do are also worthy of my time reading them.

Thank you to all those people.

That's the warm fuzzy bit, now to those comments that I am indifferent to. I'm not so keen on the ones that tell me how you would of taken my picture. You see, it is my picture and while it may not be perfect it is my picture making exploration taking place and not yours.

You are welcome to tell me rightly or wrongly whether my pictures are good or bad but I'd rather you tell me if they hit any mark. Don't tell me how you would of taken my picture, take your own and send it to me to consider how much better it would of been your way.

21-11-08 update: you can tell me how you would of taken the picture, what a lot of drivel this is.

Available as a card from Redbubble

Over at Paul Butzi's site he has a post that reminds me of when I go to school to pick up my son Adrian, often times I have a camera with me. One of Adrian's friends, Luke, always greets me with "hey, there's the camera man."

It has been a while since sofobomo and I have not shot anything worthwhile since then, a huge crash off the back of a fantastic wave.
Shortly I will be starting a new project, quite small but hopefully it will fire up my creative juices once again. The equipment has been chosen and is pictured below, one lens on one camera. The method of displaying the work is set, a clear view of the total project has emerged over several nights of planning and I'm happy with how I think it will all turn out.
As the project progresses I will post pictures here.

Thanks Jonathan for pointing the Flak Photo site out.

One of my sons enjoys writing comics, a bit of a comedian this one. For Fathers' Day I received this little gem.

Guess what I fixed today.

While this does not fit pictorially into the Shopping project I like it enough to show it here and it was found while at the shops.

So I got to look at a friend's pictures which he is happy with technically and asthetically but he feels they are to commercial. I'm not sure my friend reads this blog but I am going to give my feelings on his latest work none the less.
The series of work was good to look at and I had my favourites.But in general it did not seem to tell me anything. I see someone following a look and choosing a subject to suit that look.
The question that needs to be asked is does this work represent what you are interested in? What is the subject?
The subject should not be chosen to suit a look, the look comes with time after working the subject, whatever that may be. Concentrate on showing me what you want to show me, not how well your lighting skills are coming along or your photoshop techniques. My gut feel here is to tell you to stop looking at other peoples work and just shoot your own.
Sorry I cannot show you the work I refer to, you will have to trust me.

No real food to be found here.

Seen here.

tinytinygroupshow is a mini electroexhibit of photographs based around a basic theme. There are no gallery hours, price lists, commissions, lengthy wall texts or attractive gallery attendants. tinytinygroupshow is a place to have a brief look at some photography, by photographers known and unknown, in a manner that hopefully provokes a little thought

And if you do not have Photoshop this online version may well be enough for you. Pixlr.

You may recall I entered the Sydney Opera House photo competition, see here. The winners have been announced and I must say I can't see the merit in these. I hope I am not being a sore loser.

The Grevillia is flowering and a small flock of these birds visit our backyard daily for a feed.

This print has won Highly Commended at the Muswellbrook Photographic Awards 2007, commended in August 2008 Digital Photography + Design and a merit during a photo competition judged by David Oliver.

For the month of August I have 20 copies at $20. The print is on A4 Museo Silver Rag using K3 pigment inks. Larger sizes are also available, just enquire and I will be happy to assist.

Prints available here.

While this picture does look quite leafy the tree cutting sounds around here just keep on going. The trees you see are on the council strip which are not allowed to be touched, trees on people properties just keep on going.
I still think that humans have to knock everything down that is bigger than them unless they themselves built it.
Toyota Tree day, join in.

As Kjell wrote why not enjoy both colour and B&W.

Every month I put up a print for sale at a special price, I'm a bit late posting about this for July but better late than never.
Several years ago I printed this picture and people enjoyed viewing it then and I expect they still do now.
You can find the print for sale on my site by clicking on the picture below.

The picture is printed on A4 in warmtone K3 pigment inks on Hahnemuhle Photorag paper.

It seems that you can come across content on the web and so easily forget how you got to it, add into the mix a bad memory and you find it really hard to give credit to the site that pointed you that way.

Some thought provoking content I enjoyed reading lately; this, this and this.

If you read it and then decide to forward the links on I will not chastise you for forgetting to write that you found it via my site.

While I do not believe in competitions improving my photography, or anyone elses for that matter, I still enter them.
Competitions have a place, they are there to advertise/promote products, on the other side of the coin they may advertise/promote your own photography. Peer recognition is also a part of the game to play.
Even the previous blog compeititon which required links from your blog to the competitons host is a form of promotion as it will rank them higher with google.
So my Sydney Opera House picture that I sell here is entered in the Sydney Opera House and HP competition hosted by snapfish. This is my House-In-Focus entry.
What I find interesting is that they request pictures that are not the usual post card type material, not their words but mine. Here are their words from the SOH site.

Lateral thinking, unusual entries and a fresh way of looking at one of the most photographed buildings in the world are what the judging panel will be looking for.

And here from the competition rules site on snapfish.

The judges Jan Utzon, Eric Sierens & Michael Mendenhall will select prize winners from amongst the finalists on a subjective blend of artistic merit, technical ability, creativity and presentation of Sydney Opera House in a manner consistent with its reputation as a World Heritage Listed masterpiece of human creative genius.

The judges will choose the winners from the top 10 voted pictures.
Well that is all fine but if you look at the voting so far you will see that mostly those post card type pictures are gaining the votes. If they are looking for lateral thinking then maybe getting people that have magazine/advertising photos pushed down their throats all day should not be the ones voting.
I'm not certain this was thought through all the way.
By the way, if you want to vote you will have to create an account with snapfish.
Promotion, promotion, promotion. I'd ask you to log in and vote for my picture, but that may take me outside of the competition rules. It would also be wrong of me to offer a free A4 print to each of you that vote for the picture. So I won't ask.
This picture of someone's sister or daughter must be the most honest picture in the competition.

Scroll down a few entries to the 30th of June and you will see mention of a photo print competition. I just came across another blogger giving away a prize, this time for linking to his blog. So I am entering, here goes.
Check out the Black Cover competition here.

Kjell and I swapped prints 2 weeks ago and I received his print last week. It is a tranquil scene of ice, water and tree, it is a picture I wish I had taken.

Further to the list of print exchange names is Douglas Stockdale. Doug's In Passing series was published in Lenswork edition 74 and the extended edition on CD that features an interview with him.

Print swapping is something I have done in the past with other photographers and would like to continue doing. It seems that I stumble from time to time on a photographer that is willing to swap, several openly say they are willing to swap.
Since there is no print swap register that I know of (let me know if you know of one) so I thought I'd put in a brief list here.
Colin Jago
Lentic Photography
Eric Jeschke
If you know of other photographers then please comment here so I can add you to the list.
BTW, Robert Hoehne also print swaps.

The setting sun as seen coming through a window onto a curtain.

Recently it has been brought to my attention that my pictures have a certain feel to them, they are of fleeting enigmatic moments, closeup views of things that are usually not seen as pictorial.
Have I stumbled/dicovered my niche or am I now stuck in a rut?
Is it because my stage in life has me concentrating on the smaller details, head down, limited financial future, is the bigger picture not as attractive as I would like it to be?
Or is it that these smaller pieces will come together to create the bigger picture, the single all embracing picture is no longer attractive to me and I must create projects and portfolios for me to satisfy my visual curiosity. I'd like to think that I have moved up a stage as Andy Ilachinski (http://tao-of-digital-photography.blogspot.com) puts it in his post here (http://tao-of-digital-photography.blogspot.com/2008/06/8-fold-way-of-self-discovery-through.html).
Questionable, it is probably just another experiment in a way of seeing things, more Siskand like.

I've noticed a few pictures of curtains in my collection, in Australia curtains are rarely used to shut out the cold and are more for shutting out vouyers (not that we have more here than anywhere else) and for dressing up a room. This curtain was used for stuffing a hole in the window, it was harldy necessary on the mirrored glass of a south facing window.

This is the usual scene at family occassions, this particular one being my daughter's 6th birthday.
It is rare that I am among the throng of photographers aiming my camera at the poor dazzled subject and am instead pointing mine at them.

I do not know who Pinkberry is but Jonathan Saunders has a post on their photography policy.
I enjoy Jonathan's posts, they are from the heart.

What is it with photographers these days? Are they really all terrorists, or does everyone just think they are?

Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.

Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don't seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?
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A special offer on one of my favourite pictures from the SoFoBoMo project, Frosted Window. The picture has a wonderful 3D quality to it and once mounted you need to look at it several times to figure out if the curtain is in fact behind the glass or if this is a picture of curtains behind glass, a fascinating picture.

The print will be on Harman Gloss FB AI using K3 pigment inks. Delivery worldwide is free!
be quick, only 20 are available at this price.

As of issue 75 Lenswork will no longer sit on magazine stands at the newsagents, not that I have ever seen a copy in Australia on a newstand.
Looking at the Lenswork website they have a statement here.
You have to wonder how they will get new business but then I can across this sample offer. Amazingly you can order a copy of both the magazine and extended DVD for US$5, free shipping within the US. That is amazingly low.
If you want to see some of the best photographic printing and read about what it means to be a creative photographer then I would recommend at least one copy on your shelf.
Over time I have found that the better the printed pictures and books I have in my library the better my own prints have become.
As a side note, I have 4 copies extra that I am willing to sell, 3 no longer available as back issues. I have copies of 24, 38, 46 and 75 all in great condition.

I was more interested on this night of the people looking at the Sydney Opera House rather than the building itself.

This post is to see what extra traffic is generated by posting a subject that is popular, iconic and will often be typed into Google. Will the fact that I have now posted a picture of the Sydney Opera House draw more attention to the web site, draw more people to my photography?
Will it work better than posting pictures of abstract views of backyard (mine or others) junk?
In the end does it really matter whether I get one hit per day (my own) or 1000s of visitors per day. The important bit is that I am creating things, even if it is boring dribble to most people and a few pictures I am proud of put on a web site that is basically an off the shelf software package.
If SoFoBoMo has taught me one thing or at least brought it to the surface since I think I knew it already it is that I love to create things. Creating a series of pictures and putting then into a book format has been one of the most rewarding photographic experiences.
There is no longer the search for the winning picture, now there is just picture taking of what is interesting. If something good comes from it, great, if not well then it was great to have my eyes open to everything and my senses alive to the world around me.
In a strange way whether the pictures are good or not so good does not matter, the winning is in the noticing, the heightened awareness and the quietening of the left side of the brain.

To those waiting for their books of Balcombe Heights I ask you to please bare with me, my printer is not enjoying this paper.

Printing the SoFoBoMo book has been an interesting learning curve. My thought was that double sided paper would be a problem in regards to orientation and also having facing pages correctly numbers may be troublesome. Seems these were the easy hurdles to get over.
There is more time spent in feeding a printer which does not like to pick new sheets correctly than in shooting the project, editing, laying out a sequence and writing text.
No wonder so many other people have gone down the path of POD (Publish On Demand).

The paper chosen for printing is Ilford Gallerie Smooth Heavyweight Matte Paper, quite a mouth full. At 200gsm it is also quite heavy for bookpaper and has been a challenge to fold and trim with the guillotine. The guillotine is rated for 25 sheets of 80gsm which is equivalent to 10 sheets of 200gsm but I still feel it will not live long at this load.

Cricket season ended over here for juniors a few weeks ago, a welcome break for all the parents that give so much time each week.

Soccer season is here, to bad if you thought you could rest. Why are so many parents slaves to the weekend sport grind?

I am not sure how this works but after my little whinge below about not getting my printer yet I get a call from Epson saying my printer will be out within 2 weeks.
There are some strange connections out there, or just a plain old coincidence.

It has been almost a month since I posted here that I had won a printer.
I am very grateful that my picture was chosen, even more grateful if the printer I have won had arrived yet. No such luck. Considering that the magazine layout had been done probably several weeks before I received my copy and the winner had been chosen a lot earlier than that I'm perplexed as to what can possibly take so long. I jokingly tell people I will get it when it is superceded by another printer and they need to get rid of old stock of the model I won.
Last month Australian Photography contacted me about another picture I had submitted and was possibly going to be printed in the July edition, that is 2 months before release of that edition. So it is possible that up to 2 months in advance of receiving the magazine they know who wins what, so why the delay?
Instead of asking you maybe I should ask them.

Four whole copies of the SoFoBoMo have now been printed, one copy for my wife, two have left for the US and one sits in my camera bag for those occassions when people would like to see what I do.
More paper has been (back) ordered along with inks for printing. Another 14 copies are to be printed of which half are for family and friends and the rest out to local organisations that have an association of some sort with Balcombe Heights.
Many of the books done for SoFoBoMo have been on POD (publish on demand) websites with the possibility that these books can be purchased by anyone. After reading David Beckerman's posts on his POD trials and tribulations and then Paul's I thought I'd home brew my books. A decision I am glad I made.
Creating the books, creating anything really, comes as a joy to me, something I have been doing ever since I can remember. I am lucky enough that I create things for a living, granted creating electronic gadgets is not usually considered artistic but it feels pretty close to me.
Is anyone else printing their own books? Is anyone having their POD books printed?

The last few days of putting this sofobomo book together has been hectic but it is nice to have completed the project within the 31 days.

Click on this link Balcombe Heights to download the pdf version. You can also see the gallery of pictures without the small amount of text here.

Rushing along now trying to get my pictures together before the Friday 16th deadline for my SoFoBoMo. There have been 27 across the finish line already with some wonderful work done, the question is how many of those that signed up will post on www.sofobomo.org ?
The big question for me is will I actually finish since no layout work has been done yet. Here is a quick gallery of pictures that made my SoFoBoMo.

While I enjoy Marian Drew's short series of Pond Life pictures I do find the Australiana still life series a little disturbing. Maybe still life is not quite the correct term for what is shown.

There is less than 2 weeks left on my SoFoBoMo project and the editing has begun. My lesson today, there have not been enough pictures shot. Over almost 3 weeks only 4 hours of shooting (on this project) and 214 pictures made of which 16 are accceptable.

So many more pictures to be taken and my next available morning is 3 days away.

Editing the pictures I have taken for my sofobomo project is going to be difficult, I'm not sure I will have a set that feel like they are cohesive.

Several of the early starters have completed their projects and they can be seen on the official www.sofobomo.org website here.

Splitting up the book into themes can make the editing more simple as a whole body of work no longer has to represent one idea but it can have several threads, like chapters I guess. Sixteen pictures of people using an area, another sixteen or so of details within the area and a few general views.

To many chapters and this idea falls apart.

Read more! »

Half way in respect to time but shooting is not complete let alone editing my sofobomo project. This mornings shoot was freezing. The temperature as the sun rose was about 4C, not a wonderful time to get on a push bike to go to a photographic destination. The fingers were fine, nice and numb, it was when they thawed once back home that the pain begun.
contacts after the break...

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an Epson 1900 no less.

For Christmas my lovely sister-in-law bought me a subscription to Australian Photography, a great gift thankyou.

Australian Photography have a monthly competition where you send in a printed picture of the months subject. February (the first edition to arrive) the subject of the competition was Summer, the picture that best showed an interpretation of summer would win a printer kindly supplied by Epson.

While I no longer think that competing in any photographic competition will improve my photography the decision was made to use my editing skills to find a picture in my repertoire that felt like Summer and send it in. I wanted to win something.

I'm happy I did.

Seriously, they do.
My young family has lived in this neighbourhood (Baulkham Hills, Sydney) for 6 or 7 years now and I have pretty much worked from home all that time. Well, except when I travelled away from home for 2-3 days a week for several months.

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This morning it was raining, that usually does not stop me making pictures or walking about in general. The reason for not going out in the rain is beacuse my sofobomo destination is only a short bike ride away and I refuse to start the car for such a short distance, riding a bike in the wet is not much fun. Walking would have taken me to long this morning, there is work to be done, so today may just be used for editing.

Just more excuses.

So this morning was the beginning of the sofobomo for me, it feels great to have actually begun something, something you could call a project instead of my usual wandering capturing singular pictures.

On my pushbike at 7am, a late start, I headed off to Balcombe Heights knowing I was going to start with the buildings at the northern end of the area. The next 45 minutes (96 frames) was spent limbering up, trying to get a feel for what was going to work here, at this stage it looks like pipes, windows and rooftops (always had a thing for roofing).

The idea of following through someones project via contact sheets is so very interesting for me, seeing how a photographer worked and what the final edit looked like makes the journey as compelling as a short story. So the contacts for this project will be popping up here every now and again. Laugh, cry, wince along with me.

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a dark smoke filled smelling shed.

It is the 14th day of April and I really wanted to start my sofobomo project today. Time seems to just slip by without any real photographic output, yes I have a few more prints on my walls from recent short spaces in time when I've been able to squeeze a few shots in. The picture with this post is one of those, it was taken while playing hide-and-seek with the children. It is these small spaces in time that get filled with photography, the short spaces between other events (like hiding and being found).

If sofobomo has done one thing for me, at this stage it would be that it has shown me that my photography seems to have taken a back seat to work (and will always be backseat to the children).

This is something that needs serious addressing, less working hours anyone?

By far one of my most requested pictures for printing is this one. The colours and composition still work for me and while they do I will continue to sell it here.

Read more! »

Daylight Saving time ended last weekend for us in NSW, Australia. The half yearly ritual of changing times to be enjoyed by all.

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Several years ago I bought and read several of the books written by Freeman Patterson and found them to be quite inspirational. They also helped me see what I was looking at, take labels away from what I was seeing and break things down into shapes.

I recommend reading any of his books, particularly those written as workshops in a book.

The latest Candid Frame episode by Ibarionex R. Perello features an interview with Freeman and is a recommended listen.

This is my editing time and when I plan on getting most of my projects done, that is if I do not have an excess of work to get through. The hour after I wake up and they do is another available time.

It was via Jim Colberg I came across Bernd Kleinheisterkamp. I enjoyed viewing the galleries here, particularly the Stills gallery.

A very hectic week this week so I have not and will not start until some time next week. My posts here will also be a bit light on for content.

Last night in a state of exhaustion I made the decision to photograph an old Masonic school grounds. It is a short bike ride from home and a nice place to spin the wheels. The area has something like 16 old school houses and is built on a gently sloping hill.

Most of the buildings are now rented by small organisations or clubs, there is a local radio station, a pottery class, child minding, model railway club and a few others I cannot recall. The more I think about it the more I am happy with the decision to photograph this area and to be starting a project.

Gordon McGregor has created a Yahoo pipes thing so you can keep up to date with the many people writing about their own experiences, cool.

Today is the official start day of Solo Photo Book Month. I still have not decided on a subject to take on for the 35 pictures. The idea of having to pick a subject makes me think that the result will be shallow, what I think should really be happening is that I just continue on taking photos of the thing I really like taking photos of.

But then is this was an assignment given to me then selecting a subject should not be on the basis of things I already do anyway, on the other hand the assignment could be taken on as a book of things that you already take pictures of put into a formal arrangement.
You can sit and think about this stuff all day long and not get a thing done, a few early morning walks letting my mind stroll elsewhere maybe all that is required for me to have a book subject sorted out.

from the yet to be printed book, Toowoon Bay.

Just a quick heads up, World Pinhole Day is coming, April 27. To participate head on over to http://www.pinholeday.org/participate/ for details.

I better get a move on and buy a pinhole adaptor for one of my cameras so I can join in.

So I have been thinking about the type of book I will be making for SoFoMoBo.

I am not totally new to the idea the of a book, it has been on my mind for a few months now. During 2007 I got to visit and stay on the central coast (Toowoon Bay) of NSW one night a week for work. During that time I amassed hundreds of pictures and sharing them with others seemed like a good idea and what better way than a book. The book is going to be 36 pictures in total, 36 being chosen because the Hahnemuhle photo albums were 40 pages in length. That allowed a title, introduction, index and colophon pages and 36 pictures.

The book size in this case was chosen by the default number of pages in the album, the layout and amount of pictures were chosen based on that as well. SoFoMoBo stipulates 35 pictures which is darn close to the 36 pictures for the Toowoon Bay book. So to quick track my decisions on the layout of the SoFoMoBo book I will follow the same layout as the yet to be printed Toowoon Bay book.

To share the book with everyone online there will be a pdf version made, it will be made first since that will be the only way you get to see it unless I ship paper copies to you. I was thinking of making the pdf version similar to the Lenswork pdf versions of their extended portfolios but those do not look like the printed version of Lenswork. It would work best if both versions had a similar feel and that if you read one version you get a very good idea of what the other is like.

Paul Butzi posted back in January the announcement of SoFoBoMo, Solo Photo Book Month. The idea carries on from similiar projects for novels and musicians.

I have known about this project probably since its announcement as I read Paul's site regularly. If it wasn't from there then many of the other authors of blogs that are on my daily web surf would have alerted me as many seem to have taken up the challenge.

Up until now the whole idea seemed a bit difficult, still does, but what the heck I'm taking up the challenge. What better time to take up a new challenge than when you have no time, many projects on for both work and home, no preparation, no plan, no idea. Should be quite a learning process!

Quite some time ago I worked within a company that got a new manager, nothing special about that but I remember him explaining why he asked so many questions. he said "I do not know what I do not know", a line I will never forget and is how I am feeling about this whole SoFoMoBo.

What will the 35 pictures be of that go in the book? what will be written in it? how will it be set out? what software to use? what format? what other questions should be asked when you start to create a book?

The project is a 31 day block starting April 1, 2008 and ends by May 31, 2008, There had better be some answers forming for those questions soon.

Mike Johnston on his TOP site has mentioned the book today as well under What Leicas Do.

"after half a century, it remains seminal, original, darkly lyrical, instructive, subversive, eloquent, heartbreaking, harsh, I hope no longer controversial"

There is nothing I can add to that except how much I enjoy the book.

I was lucky enough to be able to buy the book The Americans by Robert Frank recently, it arrived 2 weeks ago and I have been enjoying it so much. The pictures are fantastic, gritty views of American life in the mid 1950s.

An article on Robert Frank came my way today which I read enthusiastically wanting to know more about Robert and his pictures.

28,000 pictures taken from 1955 to 1956 while traveling across America on a Guggenheim grant, a final edit of 83 for the book. That is over 350 pictures taken for each one selected. I don't feel so bad now when I take many pictures only to have a handful that work.

And when it comes to the recent spate of stories of photographers being harrassed for just being a photographer, here, here and here and comparing it to Robert being jailed and run out of town for just taking pictures, sounds like not much has changed at all in 50 years.

After cleaning up the office last weekend I ended up with all of my prints in one spot which gave me the opportunity to go through them.

Amazing how much work you go though just to have a handful of decent prints. The prints I still enjoy are now on a large white board which is supposed to be used to organise my workload. A whole lot of magnets from the local businesses are holding them up.

Another wall of prints will be up soon as well. The new viewing area will be lengths of strong fishing line on the wall where pegs will be used to hang pictures from. Looking more like the old bathroom/darkroom all the time.

Taken during the same afternoon outing here.

Here is one I have always enjoyed looking at. Even when I took the shot I knew it was going to be set next to a picture of a fingerprint. For a while I thought I had overdone it, the idea, or I may be to close to it, remembering the cold morning the picture was taken and how that afternoon I took another of a fingerprint and then printed the two.

Sometimes the memory of how and where clouds your judgement of the result, it is hard to distance yourself from your own ego.

This still works for me almost 2 years later, but then maybe I am still clouded.

I am not sure why I keep coming back to this picture, I'll live with it for a while and figure it out, possibly not.

I've been using a Canon 10D now for about a year, maybe just over a year. It is not exactly the latest gear out there, release date was 2003 which was 5 years ago, that might just make it ancient gear in the digital world.

The whole time I have had this camera I have been shooting with only one lens on it, that is a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II. Quite a good lens if you use it within its contraints, it does have issues with veiling glare and flare. Mike Johnston has a great article on using lenses without stressing them here, worth a read.

I enjoy using the 50mm on this camera because I can keep both eyes open while shooting without feeling dizzy due to differing fields of view. That is, the image within the viewfinder is the same size as seen with my unconstrained eye. This makes seeing things outside the field of the viewfinder quite easy. That is quite important to me and why I like shooting with a rangefinder camera as well, more on that later.

When you can see outside the frame of what will be captured by the film or sensor you can still see new compositions in front of you without moving your camera about everywhere. I find this especially useful when my children are running about and I can see a picture forming and can have the camera pointed that way when the picture has come together.

This is quite possibly not so important when you are doing tripod style photography, that is, landscape or still life.

After using the one lens for 12 months or so on this camera I am quite certain that the field of view of the 50mm on a Canon 10D is to tight for me. The 10D has a field of view equivalent to a 80mm on a 35mm film camera. Quite often while shooting I seem to be taking steps back to get more of what I see within the frame. Details tend to become what I shoot with this lens attached.

It might be time to sell the 50mm and see if I can pick up the 30mm f1.4 Sigma which is reported to be quite good. The other option is to purchase a Canon 5D or the new Nikon D3, actually, not a financially viable option at all.

So where will I scrounge up the cash, another selling spree on ebay no doubt. Anyone want to buy a print?

I did not realise I was on private property until I had left this area.

I didn't know it existed, no idea how it works but since I have received some automated trackbacks and posts that mean nothing I've had to moderate this blog. Sorry for any inconvenience if you happen to want to see you comments immediately and they are valid to whatever the subject is.
If you have a tool or advice on Blog spam or whatever it might be called, please leave a comment.

Here are a small group of sandstone textures, you couldn't really call this a project, to few pictures, not much variation and most importantly I am not exploring anything.
I really have to get my mind into a project, begin it and not procastinate, that means at some stage finish it.

I just read Mike Johnston's review of the Zeiss Ikon >and have to say it is the best camera review I have ever read, honesty throughout. Top marks to Mike.

A short series taken during a wedding in Toowoon Bay. These magic old cars and the light were just begging for shallow depth of field treatment.

Go here to purchase any as prints.

What do you do with your prints? I've wondered what I should do with all of mine, they are everywhere. I have a draw in my office full of prints, a plastic bag with more and a box in the garage as well. That is not counting all of those I have made that are hanging around the house.
A lot of them I have printed for local competitions, they may or may not have received an award, and then they are shoved in storage. I'm sure a lot I won't see again for a year or two, maybe more. That begs the question of whether they were good enough in the first place.
A fellow photographer I spoke to about the this subject suggested I pack them off to friends and realtives as surprise gifts. The receiver is happy because you thought of them and I regain storage space for some other dust collecting items.

Antique Jogger, 2007

This is one of my favourites from 2007. Is there anyone that does not need a soundtrack to everything they do?

On Douglas Stockdale's blog here he has mentioned a group he is involved with that exchange pictures.
I tried something similiar within a club here in Sydney but it was not an organised event and relied on an interested party asking a photographer for a print swap. An organised event sounds like a great way to get people together and discuss pictures and have the opportunity to own someone elses print.
If anyone in the Sydney region is interested in such an event I'd be happy to organise a venue and date, get in touch and let me know.

this is Ian, he lives across the road from me and is the kind man that let me stay in his holiday home in Toowoon Bay while I worked in that area. I found it easier to stay away from home one night a week than have to travel the 160km round trip two days in a row.
It was quite a good opportunity to walk along beaches and lakes collecting pictures, I have not done it this year but may do so again for that reason.

So why a blog? I don't recall seeing many new blogs, mostly I see them once they are established so I am not sure how they usually begin but I would imagine that many go through a stage of explanation. I'll tell you now why I am doing this blog.
I'm a photographer (even so my main income is from Electronics Engineering) and I'd like to get my photos out there, show them to people other than my family and immediate circle of friends.
My first attempt at publishing my pictures on the web was to put them straight into a store front so I setup Imagetank. As a store it works well, as a site to view pictures I find it is noisy, colours clash, text can be overwhelming, it just isn't the best place to do your browsing.
So recently I pondered on what sort of site might be more attractive and more inviting for return visits. There are so many attractive sites on the web so I initially thought that might be the way to go.
Unfortunatley after one month of having my own domain name and also server space I never seemed to get time to complete the site. This was the first dilemna, if I was taking so long to put a site together when was I ever going to have time to update the site.
After a few weeks of procastination I thought about the sites I visit and the ones I return to on a regular basis.
The sites that interest me the most are those that have new content on a regular basis, new material is a big draw card for me. It may be no surprise then that blogs are my most visited sites, picture blogs, art blogs and the occassional forum.
So which was it to be, a gallery type of site which may or may not get updated often, may or may not get viewers coming back. Or a blog which had the same problems but I could update on a small and regular basis while also allowing me to write when I had something to write. I let these thoughts go in circles for several weeks and I finally decided on blogs.
So if I enjoy visting blogs so much then maybe I'll enjoy my own blog, visiting it, updating it.
I hope you enjoy it as well.

Taken at Crestwood Fair 2007

I would like to open this blog with one of my pictures taken last year at Crestwood Fair, a small Fair in my neighbourhood. This picture has been entered into Head On.