Masterclass with Jack Picone & Stephen Dupont

AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM THE MASTERS

I've just uploaded the first feature article for my blog (Please click on the Features Article tab above). This piece is on the Masterclass Workshops that are run by internationally renowned and award-winning photojournalists, Jack Picone and Stephen Dupont. Most recently the pair, along with visual journalist and multi-media specialist Ed Giles, ran an intensive six-day workshop in Luang Prabang, Laos...click here to read full story and see photographs.

A new view of high rise living

These houses are built on the top of an eight-storey shopping centre in Zhuzhou, China. Check out this photo and others from Time LightBox here

New Friday Round Up

You may notice I have a new tab on my blog - Friday Round Up. Today is the first post...please check it out - Friday Round Up

Join Darren Jew & Les Walkling on Orpheus Island Workshop

Award-winning underwater photographer Darren Jew joins artist, educator and photography master Les Walkling for the second time at this year’s year residential photography workshop on Orpheus Island September 30 – October 5. 

Les Walkling (below) has been running the Orpheus Island Residential Workshop for eight years. Last year Darren Jew joined him for the first time to run the underwater photography component – Orpheus Island is situated within the Great Barrier Reef marine park and provides an ideal location for underwater photography enthusiasts and professionals. 

This intensive Workshop is run over five days and held at the Orpheus Island Research Station where accommodation is limited to 40 guests.

“Each day commences with lectures, demonstrations and presentations, followed by hands on work after lunch and into the evening. Aspects of fine art printing, advanced editing, camera craft, raw processing, pictorial design, colour management, marketing and business planning are highlights of the workshop. Each year Les is supported by five very experienced tutors to ensure that the knowledge participants acquire is immediately translated into real-world imaging skills and new ways of seeing. The workshop also offers underwater photographers of all levels the opportunity to develop their skills in an unmatched creative environment. Certified divers* enjoy two days of quality diving led by Darren Jew and Divemaster Michael Cranfield, with additional boat trips to the outer Great Barrier reef, visiting Bramble, Trunk and Rib reefs, and other dive sites”.

* Minimum dive qualification requirement is Open Water Diver Certification. Tanks and weights are included in the package. Other personal dive equipment to be provided by the participants.

To book for the workshop please visit Orpheus Island Residential Workshop

Dying to tell the truth

According to a report commissioned by the International News Safety Institute (INSI) in the last six months more than 70 journalists have been killed doing their jobs.

"Journalists are more than ever in the cross-hairs of the enemies of freedom," said INSI Director Rodney Pinder. "Despite some encouraging international political moves to halt the murder, the gun and the bomb remain the favoured method of censorship in far too many countries. Each and every killing chokes the free flow of information without which free societies cannot function."

In a press release announcing the findings, it was revealed that "the great majority of news media deaths around the world are in peacetime. Forty-three journalists died in countries officially at peace, victims mostly of vicious criminals, often abetted by corrupt security forces, politicians and business interests. Most of the dead were shot or bombed, but some suffered appalling ends - beaten, tortured, strangled, stabbed or decapitated. The rate of impunity for murder of a journalists has remained constant at around 90 per cent globally for the past 10 years - undoubtedly fuelling more of the same. Scandalously, most of the killers of journalists continue to get away with it. In the first half of this year only one person was identified in connection with 47 targeted killings worldwide".

Please take a moment to consider the sacrifices that journalists and photojournalists make on a daily basis to report on events that impact all of us. Thank you.

Samm Blake on the X-Pro1

Here's the last post on the Digital Show interviews with photographers using the Fujifilm X-Pro 1...

Samm Blake, wedding photographer - “The more my subjects see of my face the greater the connection. It becomes a dialogue between us rather than a piece of machinery between our faces”.

“My style of wedding photography is very intimate, personable, and honest. I still use my DSLRs, but I also like to capture very quiet moments and the X Pro 1 helps me to achieve this because it is not as intimidating as holding a big camera up in front of someone.”

She continues. “I also use it a lot at the receptions where I am trying to get photos of people laughing and having a good time. With a big camera with a big flash they see you coming and give you ‘cheesy photo face’, whereas I go into more stealth mode with this camera. I get a lot more shots that I can use to tell the story of their wedding day in a more photojournalistic style”.

“There’s nothing I don’t like about it. It definitely takes you back to the roots of photography where we all started, that’s one thing I really, really enjoy about this camera. I find it really refreshing…shooting with a new camera that’s where I find new work,” Samm concludes.

Copyright Samm Blake 2012

Dan O'Day on the X-Pro1

Wrapping up my posts from my interviews at the Digital Show in Melbourne earlier this year photographer Dan O'Day talks about the ease of travelling with the Fujifilm X-Pro1, a fab little camera that has turned the market on its head...

Dan O’Day, fine art and wedding photographer - “When I’m travelling taking my digital SLRs out with me all the time is a real pain, but the X-Pro1 is very easy to carry so I am not missing out on anything”.

“Portability is a big thing for me travelling and working on my own projects, and this camera is so easy to carry around,” says Dan who is also impressed with the quality of the prints.

“The problem I’ve had with compact cameras before is that the files aren’t good enough for fine art prints. I really like the fact that I can get a serious body of work that I can put in a book or show in a gallery from this camera.”

He says the X-Pro1 is also a great asset with his wedding clients. “In a wedding environment I am using it for the ‘getting ready’ stages of the day and at the reception. The X-Pro1 is so unobtrusive and it is a nice way for me to ease in”. Below are some recent photos Dan took using this camera.

Copyright Dan O'Day 2012

Jeddah Diary - Olivia Arthur on Saudi Women

Magnum Photos Olivia Arthur's latest book, Jeddah Diary, gives viewers an insight into the private lives of Saudi Arabia's women. Behind the abaya and the headscarves are women who love fashion and hanging with their girlfriends. Arthur has taken the time to get to know these women over several visits, gain their trust and then capture their lives to give outsiders a more rounded view of a culture few of us know very much about. You can see more photos from Jeddah Diary at Daily Beast

Copyright Olivia Arthur 2012

Time Machine - Atomic - Contemporary Photography

Time Machine is an Australian quarterly online magazine that publishes contemporary photography from around the world as well as essays, interviews and news. The current issue - atomic - features work by Jessie Boylan, Guillaume Herbaut, Barry W Hughes, Miyako Ishiuchi, Alexander James, Mark Klett, Robert Knoth and Michael Light. An eclectic collection of images that further demonstrates the level of diversity that exists in contemporary photography and is definitely worth checking out. Time Machine is put together by photographers Lee Grant, Tom Williams and Sarah Rhodes.

View the current issue here

Copyright: Robert Knoth - Fukushima 

Megan Lewis on the X-Pro1

Here's another installment from my interviews with photographers using the Fujifilm X-Pro1....

Megan Lewis, social documentary photographer - “I am really blown away by this little camera. It produces incredible quality, and is so light and easy to use that I want to take it with me everywhere. You don’t even know you’ve got it with you, it just becomes part of what you are doing and you can shoot from the hip”.

A former newspaper photographer, Megan Lewis now works on social documentary projects, the most recent of which is ‘Conversations with the Mob’, shot over three years while living in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia with the Martu Aboriginal community.

She says when the X-Pro1 camera came out, “it was exactly what I was looking for. I had been hoping someone would come out with a lightweight camera that takes really high quality pictures, and the X-Pro1 is that camera. Carrying heavy equipment around all the time becomes a burden. In fact you get to the point where you stop taking pictures because you are thinking about the weight of the gear”.

Megan also likes how discreet the X-Pro1 is explaining that when you are shooting out in the desert, where there is no background noise to absorb sounds like the shutter firing, this smaller, quieter camera helps her connect more readily with people.

Having previously shot her major projects on film Megan says she now wouldn’t hesitate to use the X-Pro1. “For me the X-Pro1 replaces film. I wasn’t sure about shooting digital on projects I feel are really important stories to tell, but I think this camera can do it”.

Copyright Megan Lewis 2012

Bearing Witness - Extended Articles Online Now

I am very excited to announce a new feature on my website - Bearing Witness. This is my new masthead for extended interviews, articles and Q&A with photojournalists from around the globe. The name reflects what I see as the definition of photojournalist - to bear witness and document, not influence beyond that of your presence.

The first story is an extended interview with legendary Indian photographer Raghu Rai who I had the pleasure to meet in March in Fremantle. I hope you enjoy the story which you can read at Bearing Witness. I always feel privileged to interview photojournalists who I believe are making a difference to our world and bringing stories to light that may never have been told otherwise. Please enjoy.