Sunday Morning

9am Sunday morning. The air is still the gales of yesterday subsiding to a cool, gentle sigh. Rain has cooled the ground, houses, the trees. From the high twenties we are now in the high teens, a drop of ten degrees. It is a welcome change. 

Today I head to the State Library of Victoria to undertake research into my next subject for my December Pro Photo feature, Australian photographer, Max Pam. Now in his sixties Max has an impressive body of work behind him. I am going to enjoy this project.

I have also started a novel and am halfway through another non-fiction book. The creativity is flowing.

This photo, below, is of the Yarra River at Southgate. It was taken on a Sunday around noon. Such a beautiful city.

.

Melbourne Rain

One of the few wet days we have had this year. This photo was captured whilst sheltering from the rain on the steps of the Shrine of Remembrance in the city's botanical gardens. One moment the sun was shining and the next the sky had darkened and down came the rain in great pellets splashing on the ground before me. I raced up the steps keen to keep the rain off my new Olympus super zoom lens. I huddled against the stone wall as the rain was whipped up the steps by a cold southerly. And then the wind paused allowing me to take this shot.

Today there are spring showers. The sun shines through grey clouds and rain glistens on freshly washed leaves. Petals fall from newly budded flowers and there is jasmine lying on the ground. The scent of spring is in the air.

Ed Burtynsky Done and Dusted

Uranium Tailings No. 7,
Elliot Lake, Ontario 1995

It is a fantastic feeling when an article is finished, scrupulously polished, checked and re-checked and then "sent".  My interviews with Burtynsky, an extremely gracious and generous man, were entertaining and incredibly insightful. Listening to him talk about his work gave me a greater understanding of its messages, and of its artistic beauty. 

When photographs of open pit mines and the detritus of a resource dependent world become abstract works of art the gap between photography as a science and photography as art is truly bridged.

I post here a photograph taken by Edward Burtynsky in Ontario in 1995 of the uranium mining tailings.  And I thank Ed for sharing this, and his other works, with us.  

Look for my story - Edward Burtynsky - Redefining the Landscape - in the October issue of Pro Photo.

This City

Can't get enough of this city, Melbourne.  Spent Sunday out taking shots and then the evening working on them. Today I'm doing another photo shoot.  I am so in love with my camera, my Olympus E3.  Here are some shots from Sunday's exploration.

Ed Burtynsky Mark II

Interviewed Ed last week.  What an inspirational man.  His photography is so awesome and only matched by his dedication and persistence to get the shot.  I am now in the process of putting the feature together.  This is the part I love, creating the story . . .

Architecture

Last night I attended the HP Cityscape 2020 Awards in Melbourne.  My love of architecture, particularly as a focus for my photography, is obvious and so it was with great interest and pleasure that I got to see tomorrow's architects articulate their ideas for Australia in 2020.  

Tom Morgan's entry, an almost apocalyptic view of the future saved by an ingenious take on recreation won and deservedly so.  All of the entrants put in so much work and demonstrated passion and commitment.  

A selection of my Melbourne series of photos was also on display on large screens around the room.  It was so cool to see them at such a large scale.

And I met Tom Kovac, an architect I have followed with interest over the past few years.  A great night all round.

Venice

More photos .... Venice

    

  

The Cotswolds UK

More photos from my European Collection

The Cotswolds, UK
    

Barcelona

Photographs from Barcelona Hues Exhibition

Over two trips to Barcelona I spent days photographing Gaudi's extraordinary creations. Here are some photos from my homage to a great artist.  These images were exhibited at the Port Art Gallery.

     

     

Ed Burtynsky feature

Very excited. Interviewing Canadian photographer Ed Burtynsky tonight for a feature article in Pro Photo's October issue. Ed is renowned for his amazing industrial landscape shots. His new book, Australian Minescapes, has just been released. I met Ed last year at Foto Freo Festival in Perth. At that Festival I also met Paolo Pellegrin and Stephen Dupont, both photojournalists. I've written features on both Paolo and Stephen - in fact my story on Stephen made the cover of Pro Photo this month and spread over five pages. Foto Freo was a very fruitful experience and I made some fantastic contacts.

My Melbourne - Photos from my new collection

I'm working on a new collection of photos at present with Melbourne as the central theme. I started this project in January and every weekend am out taking new shots to add to the collection. Here are some of my favourites.