Australian Photography August 2022

When does 21 million euros sound like a bargain? When you buy something genuinely priceless. You may have read our story recently about Oskar Barnack’s personal Leica 0-Series No. 105 selling for 14.4 million euros ($21.7 million AUD) at auction (You can find the story here: https://bit.ly/3NHwQS4), which makes it officially the most expensive camera ever sold. And although I‘m only kidding when I say a $21 million camera is a bargain except to a very select few, it’s worth considering just how important a piece of photographic history the lucky buyer has got their hands on, even if they had to break a record to do so. The device that laid the groundwork for every modern 35mm camera we use today was the brainchild of Oskar Barnack, who joined Leitz Camera Germany,…

MANDARINE MONTGOMERY Mandarine is a Melbourne based photographer, who’s passion lies in live performance photography along with creating surreal and conceptual fine art portraits and landscapes. She was the 2019 recipient of the Ilford Trophy. See more at mandarinemontgomery.com MITCHELL KANESHKEVICH Award-winning photographer Mitchell Kaneshkevich is a travel photographer, YouTuber, writer of ebooks and creator of educational photography courses. See more at mitchellk-photos.com STEVE THOMAS Steve Thomas has been racing, shooting and writing about bikes and adventure travel for most of his life, and has earned his crust from it for 25-plus years. See more of his work at stevethomasimages.com ANTHONY MCKEE Anthony McKee is a Melbourne-based writer and social documentary photographer. In 2014, he was named AIPP Documentary Photographer of the Year. See more at anthonymckee.com.au…

I grew up in the 80s, which was an extraordinary time for music. It was the birth of MTV, the beginning of the New Romantic movement and the rise of new technology like the Fairlight keyboard. So, while most people know me as a conceptual fine art photographer creating multilayered portraits and landscapes, one of my passions is photographing live music, especially artists I really admire. Photographing this genre is a privilege I have never taken lightly. The bands and their management trust in your technical and creative ability. They expect you to be discreet, invisible and to deliver! It’s a very different discipline from my other work. Capturing live music is like herding cats in a strobe lit space with 1000 volts of spaghetti cords underfoot. You work at lightning…

VICTORIAN photographer Adam Haddrick’s portrait of Indigenous elder Cordy, titled Cordy in the Clouds, has won the 2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize Art Handlers’ Award. NPG Collection Officers Jess Kemister and Jacob Potter say they were ‘mesmerised’ by Haddrick’s portrait of Cordy, whose name means ‘Spirit of the Sunrise’ in the traditional language of the Tjungundji people of far North Queensland. Haddrick says he was equally as mesmerised when he first encountered Cordy in Charters Towers. “He shared his story and told me of a visit to India for an archaeology conference where the locals greeted him as a holy man. I hadn’t seen clouds in the sky for weeks but while taking his portrait they rolled in behind as if on cue,” he said. For Jess and Jacob, the photo “captures a quiet…

What is that makes us photographers want to get up well before sunrise, walk for miles and take photographs with no guarantee you’ll even capture anything half decent? I have photographed landscapes more times than I can remember, starting at Carnarvon Gorge in Central Queensland over 40 years ago, and I’ll share a secret with you – even now, I still find landscape photography a tough challenge. However, one thing photographing many landscapes over the years has taught me is the importance of a few key factors. So, what are they? TIME AND TIMING The first factors are time and timing, and you really do need both to maximise your chances. This means time to explore and timing for the right time of day to photograph. I’ll always study up on a…

HIGH KEY THIS MONTH WINNER TONY STRETCH Fishermen EDITOR’S COMMENT Tony Stretch says this image was taken in Koh Samui, Thailand, and from his resort looking out to sea. It’s a good example of how images captured in less than flattering light can often be recovered with a deft hand in the editing suite. You’ll need to start with a good base, like what you’ve got here, as both fishermen are well exposed and retain enough detail to define their shape and reflections. The minimalist framing is a nice touch too, and we like how you’ve positioned them on the left of the frame as well – it gives them space to look into. TECHNICAL DETAILS Nikon D750, 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 lens @85mm. 1/160s @f4.5, ISO 100. Thanks to the team at Blonde Robot, Tony Stretch has won a…