Australian Photography March 2020

If you’ve ever wondered if your images are capable of making a difference, then just take a look at photojournalist Matthew Abbott’s image above. This shot, which he captured on New Year’s Eve at Conjola Park, three hours south of Sydney, will most certainly be remembered as one of the images of 2019. In the days and weeks following its capture it has been shared around the world, sparked debate, drawn ire, and perhaps most significantly, come to represent the collective grief for our fair country. This is something powerful imagery can do. How do we possibly begin to understand the scale of the devastation from this bushfire season? It has been something that has likely affected every Australian in one way or another, and yet at times it’s simply felt…

GREG BASCO Based in Costa Rica, Greg Basco is a wildlife photographer and former BBC/Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year. See more at deepgreenphotography.com. MICHAEL SNEDIC Michael Snedic is one of Australia’s most experienced and published professional wildlife and nature photographers. See more at wildnaturephotoexpeditions.com. DREW HOPPER Drew Hopper is a travel, documentary and editorial photographer. He is captivated by the diversity of cultures, people and environment. See more at drewhopperphotography.com. MICK FLETORIDIS Sydney-based freelance magazine and web editor Mick Fletoridis is also a keen photographer with a growing interest in landscape and astrophotography. See more at flickr.com/photos/mickflet.…

In 2018 I timed a working visit to Mumbai, India to coincide with one of the subcontinents many festivals – the ritual of Dahi Handi which is part of the Hindu festival of Janmashtami. Krishna Janmashtami celebrates the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, one of the most widely revered gods of Hinduism. At once a religious celebration and a sport (it was classified by the government as an adventure sport in 2014), Dahi Handi is performed the day after Lord Krishna’s birthday every year. Teams of up to a hundred young ‘Govindas’ form human pyramids in an attempt to reach and smash a pot, the ‘Handi’, which is filled with yoghurt and other ingredients and suspended tens of metres above them. The event is based on the legend that a baby Lord…

I was recently reviewing a trip to the Kimberley I made in 2010, and I came across a series of images of a scene in Purnululu I shot for a panorama. Terrible but true: I had not processed the series until now! However the great thing about waiting so long to edit this image is I was able to take advantage of new technological developments, like the ‘Fill Edges’ feature in Panorama mode, along with old features I’ve used for years like reducing the highlights. It was quick and enjoyable. When I started photography, processing was in the hands of experts only. Then with digital it became accessible, giving us tricks and gimmicks like the HDR trend and presets. We still have these of course, but I think today is an era…

TAMRON LAUNCHES NEW 20MM F/2.8 LENS FOR SONY E-MOUNT TAMRON have announced the newest addition to the Japanese company’s Sony E-mount lens line-up, with the announcement of the Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 lens. Built with 10 elements in nine groups, the lens includes one glass moulded aspherical element and three low dispersion elements. It’s also moisture resistant, and features a fluorine coating that repels dust and fingerprints. A BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coating should also suppress reflections on the lens element surfaces to help manage unwanted flare and ghosting. There’s a minimum focus distance of 0.11m, giving the lens a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2 (hence the name). Inside is an OSD (Optimised Silent Drive) DC motor to help with quiet auto-focusing, and it’s also compatible with many Sony autofocus features, including…

UNUSUAL ANGLES The challenge for this month’s Your Best Shot was to bring something new to your imagery by going high, going low, or shifting your perspective entirely. These are our favourite images captured from unusual angles. KATHY WALLACE Jingle bells EDITOR’S COMMENTS Shooting from an unusual angle is a great technique for transforming an ordinary subject into something unique. Case in point Kathy Wallace’s image Jingle Bells, which shows her local shopping centre’s Christmas display. “When viewed from directly below the main Christmas bell shape, it looked like a unique golden cogwheel,” she explains. It’s an eye-catching image that is also really nicely processed, with the cool blue tones contrasting with the warm yellow ones, and a nice use of vignette too. It was certainly worth Kathy’s neck-cracking experience to capture the decorations from…