Carla Coulson - win a portrait shoot

I first interviewed Carla in Paris in 2009. Since then this extraordinarily talented and gutsy woman has gone from strength to strength. Carla is an inspiration and continues to reinvent herself. She has just launched a new business and is generously giving away a portrait shoot and make over in either Paris or Sydney. Check out this link for details Carla Loves Photography Competition

And look out for my feature on Carla in a coming edition of Pro Photo magazine.

From Paris with love....indeed!

Photography by Carla Coulson (c)

Big Day Out Photography Exhibition - Arts Centre Melbourne

Two exhibitions definitely worth checking out at the Arts Centre - one celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Sunbury Music Festival and the other "a nod to the 20th Anniversary of the Big Day Out" (BDO). Australian photographer Marty Williams, who has covered the BDO for 20 years, and shot thousands of gigs over his rock'n'roll photography career (so far), has a number of photos in the BDO exhibition. On at the Arts Centre in the St Kilda Road Gallery until May 27. Rock On!

Scott Owen, Living End, BDO

Marty Williams Photography (c) 2012

Foto Freo Highlight - Old Sad and Mad Exhibition

Kevin Cooper's series of portraits shot at Siddhi Shaligram Briddhashram - Home for the Elderly at Pashupatinath, in Kathmandu Nepal, is on show at the Buffalo Club, High Street, Fremantle. The black and white photographs depict the elderly residents of this ramshackle facility that is housed in a structure built in the mid-19th Century. The Home is rundown and the amenities extremely poor, a single tap for washing, and too many rickety flights of stairs for old bones. A number of residents, who have nowhere else to go, suffer from dementia. 

Cooper's photographs may echo with poignancy, and to deny the atrocious state of the facility and the conditions in which these people live would be to ignore reality, but these photos also capture the human spirit with dignity. Cooper said to me he wasn't sure of the ethics of photographing people who don't really know what's going on, but in my opinion one of the roles of a photojournalist is to bring to a greater audience a view of life that may alter perceptions, evoke compassion and force action for a better world.

This is an excellent collection of compassionate and honest photographs that is a must see at this year's Foto Freo. To find out more about Cooper's photography check out his website: Kevin Cooper

Martin Parr No Worries - story on website

My Martin Parr profile feature for Pro Photo is now on the website Reality Illusion

Foto Freo FutureGen2012 Winners

The brainchild of Foto Freo Festival Director Bob Hewitt, FutureGen2012 is a new project "combining the best emerging photo-media talent from around Australia and China - the best of the 'future generation'". Last night at the John Curtin Gallery at Curtin University two Melbourne photographers - Paul Batt, Monash University and Giles Crook, RMIT- won the top prize, a trip to Pingyao International Photography Festival in China in September where their works will be exhibited along with the 8 other finalists. Congratulations to all. FutureGen2012 is sponsored by FujiFilm.

Raghu Rai and Martin Parr exhibitions at Foto Freo

In a word these exhibitions are stunning, although both extremely different. Raghu Rai's black and white portraits of India are nothing short of incredible and this photographer's integrity, commitment and humility is clearly evident in the selection "My India". Martin Parr's "No Worries" captures the Aussie of the outback and is a fine example of his style.

If you are in Fremantle, check out these exhibitions at the Western Australian Maritime Museum (WAMM).

From "My India" (copyright: Raghu Rai)

Foto Freo - 10 x 100 Exhibition Opening

Last night the 10x100 exhibition opened featuring works by Brad Rimmer, Max Pam, Louise Whelan, John Ogden, Lee Grant, Jack Picone, Tim Page, Heide Smith, Marian Drew and Narelle Autio. All photographs were shot on the Fujifilm Finepix X100 of which the editor of Pro Photo, Paul Burrows has said, "cameras this good simply don't come along all that often". The works speak for themselves, an eclectic collection of images from a diverse group of photographers.

If you are in Freo check it out at the Prison. If not, you can buy the book published by T&G Publishing.

Cover photo: Louise Whelan

Foto Freo is on - Now!

Last night Foto Freo turned on a star spangled evening for its opening and it wasn't just the heavens that sparkled. On the ground were photography luminaries from around the globe. Opened by Martin Parr (Magnum Photos), the crowd gathered in the gardens of the Fremantle Arts Centre included noted social documentary photographers and photojournalists, here to celebrate a festival that has grown from an idea tossed about by three local photographers a decade ago - Max Pam, Brad Rimmer and Graham Miller - to become one of the most important on the international photography calendar.

In a scene that could be likened to the heady days of Paris at the turn of the last century when artists - visual and written word - came together to share ideas, spark off each other and enjoy a sense of community - Foto Freo's opening proved that in the Digital Age of the 21st Century we still gain more from face to face contact than we ever will via cyberspace.

Look out for my feature on Foto Freo Ten Years on coming up in a future edition of Pro Photo.

To find out more about Foto Freo please visit Foto Freo 2012 Programme

This is the image on the cover of Martin Parr's book - No Worries published by T&G Publishing. The exhibition of the same name and the book launch tomorrow, Sunday 18th March 6.30pm at WAMM Victoria Quay, Fremantle.

Photo: Martin Parr 

The Big Picture - Japan a year after the tsunami

The Big Picture (Boston Globe) - photo essay on Japan a year after the tsunami. Photographs really do say more than words - view here

Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images March 10, 2012

Martin Parr No Worries - Foto Freo Opens tomorrow

My profile story on Martin Parr and the Foto Freo project, No Worries, is the cover story for the March issue of Pro Photo magazine. Foto Freo opens tomorrow in Fremantle and Martin will officiate. Check out the Foto Freo Program. Another fantastic amalgam of photography from around the world. Hats off to Bob Hewitt and his team, for without their passion and hard work this important photographic festival would not happen.