Photojournalism Now: Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up

April 28, 2017

Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up - 28th April, 2017

This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up it's all about the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney. Part one of a two part feature kicks off with my top picks for the festival's featured exhibitions, but there are so many shows that there is sure to be something to appeal to every visual style. Next week I'll be blogging from the opening weekend.

And tomorrow my interview with Markus Klinko, about his amazing exhibition Bowie Unseen, undoubtedly one of this year's Head On highlights, is in the Australian Financial Review Weekend.

Special Feature:
Head On Photo Festival - Sydney
5 - 28 May, 2017

The annual Head On Photo Festival is a week away from kicking off with another spectacular line up of exhibitions, workshops, talks and other events including a debate with photographers from around the globe, and moderated by myself, on the question "Does photojournalism facilitate or counteract 'fake news'? Click here to register. It's free!

Get ready to have your mind blown. This year's Head On Photo Festival program rocks!

Exhibitions - My Picks

Juli Balla - Where the sidewalk ends

This stunning series by Hungarian-born Juli Balla features extravagant staged scenes that draw on street photography from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Their filmic aesthetic is reminiscent of Gregory Crewdson’s work, although Balla has a distinct European sensibility in her visual signature.

Each tells a unique, compelling story.

Visually engaging and meticulously designed and executed, these are fabulous images that capture the imagination.

Also opening at Olsen Annexe at the same time is Australian photographer Tim Georgeson's ethereal series Oracles.

Dina Litovsky – Meatpacking

In this series Ukrainian-born Dina Litovsky, who has lived in New York since 1991, shows us another side to the city’s meatpacking district. Transformed at night into what she calls “a microcosm of sexual politics,” this former working class district was once populated with fetish houses and gay bars.

Now it is a mecca for those flocking to new fashionable nightclubs, which attract young single women looking for romance.

These girls who place themselves on parade hoping for Mr. Right, outnumber the opposite sex creating an environment in which competition is rife, giving new meaning to the idea of 'meatpacking'.

Litovsky doesn’t make any moral judgments, rather she captures scenes as they unfold, the industrial setting making for a startling background to the painted and stiletto-heel clad throngs of women hoping to be the ‘one’.

Venue: Head On Photo Festival Pop Up QVB Forecourt, Sydney.

Maggie Steber - The Secret Garden of Lily LaPalma

This is a very personal series of photographs, which Maggie Steber says "was made in the shadows of a dark side of me that, as of late, I have begun to re-explore. Without meaning to make them so, these photographs reveal my fears and private memories, all the things that are wrapped up in a human life. In The Garden there is danger and beauty in a wild jungle that grows unfettered. The photographs are a documentation of my subconscious and imagination, often posing as something entirely unrelated and recognised only by me. They are created spur of the moment. I go from the gut. I don’t want them to be perfect because reality isn’t perfect; it’s messy, and the imperfection of these spontaneous moments reflects what I’m after.”

In addition to the exhibition, Maggie, who is a multi-award winning photojournalist, photo editor and curator, is holding a workshop for a limited number of extremely fortunate photographers. If you want to “Walk on the Wild Side with Maggie Steber” there are still a few places left. Don't miss out.

Venue: AD Space - UNSW Art & Design

In Brief:

Two Australian Photojournalists - Brian Cassey and Michael Amendolia

Based in Far North Queensland, Brian Cassey, who was born in London, but we've claimed him as our own, has been shooting since he was a lad. A multi-award winner, Brian has covered sports, news and features and shares a selection of his life's work in this exhibition at Juniper Hall.

Michael Amendolia is another super talented Australian photojournalist who is best known for his work with the late Fred Hollows, whose pioneering efforts to bring sight to those in third world countries is one of the most remarkable humanitarian stories of the past century. In this exhibition Michael shares some of the images taken over 25 years documenting this marvellous work. His work is on show at Head On Photo Festival Pop Up QVB Forecourt.