Friday Round Up - 30 January, 2015

This week on Friday Round Up Australia's largest photography festival Head On calls for entries for the 2015 awards, exhibitions in London, New York and Melbourne, and links to some interesting articles on photography.

Awards:

Head On 2015
Entries open for the Head On photo awards on 1st February and close 1st March. In addition to the Head On Portrait, Landscape, Mobile and Multi-Media Awards, this year there will be a fifth award category, but just what that might encompass is currently under wraps. Visit the website here for more information and updates. Head On runs 1-31 May in Sydney.


Exhibitions:

London:
Drawn by Light: The Royal Photographic Society Collection
More than 200 photographs, some dating back to the 1820’s, feature in this exhibition which, if nothing else, shows little change in human nature and the subjects photographers are drawn to. The exhibition is cleverly hung to depict images taken decades apart that evoke similar sentiments. Many of these photographs are taken by doctors, soldiers and other non-professionals - nothing's changed there either. The Guardian has published a series of articles on the exhibition (oh for a newspaper in Australia that finds photography that important!). Start here and work your way through each posting. It’s definitely worthwhile especially if you can’t get to the physical show.


Portrait of Christina, c1913 by Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman
Photograph: Royal Photographic Society © National Media Museum, Bradford


Daguerreotype St. Paul’s Cathedral, c. 1840s


Hippopotamus at Zoo, 1852, Juan Carlos Maria Isidro


Nude c.1855 

The Gate of Goodbye c.1916 Francis James Mortimer 

Movement Study, 1926 Rudolf Koppitz 

Refugees from East Pakistan on the Indian Border, 1971 Don McCullin 

Until 1 March
Science Museum London

New York:
Ken Schles - Invisible City/Night Walk 1983-1989

Invisible City

Forty black and white images from Ken Schles will be on show in celebration of the republication by Steidl of Invisible City and the newly released companion Night Walk. My interview with Ken will be published in the coming weeks, but to whet your appetite, check out these images.


Invisible City

Invisible City

Night Walk


Night Walk

Night Walk

Night Walk

Until 14 March
Howard Greenberg Gallery
41 East 57th Street, suite 1406
New York

Melbourne:
Wouter van de Voorde
(Hume) sunrise

This exhibition is part of the inaugural Photobook Melbourne festival which opens on 12 February. Look out for next week’s festival feature.

Of this body of work, Wouter van de Voorde says: “Early morning fog is one of the features of the Canberran winter rendering non-places into mystical wastelands. Wandering through these paddocks while shooting this series I imagined soldiers running through the fog, bombs, grenades, WWI… The photographer as a lone soldier wandering zig zag across the front-line in a brief instant of cease-fire. Until the sun breaks through the fog”.

5-28 February
Colour Factory
409/429 Gore Street, Fitzroy
Opening night: 12 February 6pm

Interesting Articles:

What can a pregnant photojournalist do? Everything 

Lynsey Addario 

Lynsey's book "It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War" will be released next week (5 February). To get a glimpse of what this book has in store read Lynsey's article in the New York Times here. 

The costa del concrete: the Mediterranean coastline then and now in pictures by photographer Pedro Armestre for Greenpeace - The Guardian 

Award-winning Dutch advertisement shows how guide dogs are being used to help those suffering from the nightmares of war - Daily Mail 

How photography’s ‘decisive moment’ often depicts an incomplete view of reality by Fred Ritchin

The death of Fabienne Cherisma, from the series Haiti, 2010, © Nathan Weber/NBW Photo 

Friday Round Up - 23 January, 2015

This week on Friday Round Up Chobi Mela opens in Bangladesh, two historic exhibitions in Melbourne, the winning entries in Getty #RePicture and Alexia Sinclair's new work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Festival:
Chobi Mela - Bangladesh

The 8th installation of Chobi Mela, Asia’s first and largest photography festival, opens today in Dhaka, Bangladesh and runs until 5th February. This year’s programme, with the theme of “Intimacy,” features more than 30 photographers from 22 countries. 

(C) Denis Dailleux

(C) Jana Romanova


(C) Jannatul Mawa

(C) Malcolm Hutcheson

(C) Max Pinckers

(C) Nepal Picture Library

An initiative by Drik Picture Library and supported by the South Asian Media Institute, Chobi Mela combines “big name” artists with lesser known and emerging, presenting a comprehensive selection of exhibitions, talks and workshops.

A key feature of Chobi Mela is the exhibitions that are mounted on rickshaw vans, which travel around Dhaka City literally taking photography to the masses.

Festival Director, Shahidul Alam, who is also founder of Drik and a renowned photographer in his own right, says, “It is time Bangladesh began to take pride in itself. We are now a role model in the world of photography. The world is looking up at Bangladesh. The nation needs to respond”. 

(C) Paolo Patrizi

(C) Yusuf Sevincli

(C) Abdollah Heidari

(C) Anwar Hossain

This year’s festival is curated by Munem Wasif, ASM Rezaur Rahman and Tanzim Wahab with guest curators Salauddin Ahmed and Mahbubur Rahman.

Until 5th February
Various venues and locations
For more information visit the Chobi Mela website

Exhibitions: Melbourne

Bohemian Melbourne

Liz Ham, Vali Myers in her studio in the Nicholas Building, 1997

Bohemian Melbourne shines a light on the city's cultural bohemians from 1860 to today, tracing individuals who have pushed against convention in their lives and art, from Marcus Clarke, Albert Tucker and Mirka Mora to Barry Humphries, Vali Myers and Nick Cave. The exhibition, which is currently on at the State Library of Victoria, features photographs, artworks, books including artists' journals and multimedia presentations. Well worth the visit. 

Mirka Mora in her studio, 1978 © Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Nick Cave, 1973 (C) Ashley Mackevicius & National Portrait Gallery 

(C) Albert Tucker, Self-portrait with Joy Hester, 1939

Bohemian Melbourne
State Library of Victoria
Swanston Street, Melbourne
Until 22 February

Dreams and Imagination: 

Light in the Modern City

(C) Mark Strizic - 1967 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

In "Dreams and Imagination: Light in the Modern City" curator Melissa Miles has selected a diverse range of artists and images through which to explore what she terms “the myths that surround light in the history of Australian photography”.

Miles, who is an Associate Professor at Monash University, has come to this exhibition through her larger research project into Australian light and photography. In ‘Dreams and Imagination’ it is the urban space and how photographers have responded to the changing modernist city, which draws Miles’ focus. Artists include Max Dupain, Mark Strizic, Olive Cotton, Arthur Dickinson, David Moore and Harold Cazneaux with works dating from 1920s through to 1971. Many of these images are important documents in the visual history of Australia and it is rare to have the opportunity to inspect these treasures at leisure.

(C) Mark Strizic

(C) Max Dupain

(C) David Moore

Dreams and Imagination: Light in the Modern City
Monash Gallery of Art
860 Ferntree Gully Road
Wheelers Hill
Until 1 March

Competition Winners:

Getty #RePicture

Australian photographer Ben McRae has taken out second place in Getty Images inaugural #RePicture competition for his image #RePictureFamily. McRae was one of more than 2500 photographers from 85 countries who entered the global competition that is premised on "challenging how we look at the world and exploring how we can change the paradigm around stereotypical imagery currently used to describe people and communicate concepts". US photographer Braden Summers took out the top prize for his image "All Love is Equal" (see below).

(C) Ben McRae

(C) Braden Summers

To see more visit the #RePicture site here

New Work:

Alexia Sinclair - Art of Saving a Life



Australian photo-media artist Alexia Sinclair is known for her penchant for historical figures so it comes as no surprise that her latest artwork for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s project Art of Saving a Life, is situated in 1796. In this work Alexia celebrates the invention of the first smallpox vaccine discovered by Dr. Edward Jenner. You can see the behind-the-scenes video here and watch how Alexia painstakingly creates this image right down to growing the flowers she needed! 

Friday Round Up - 16 January, 2015

Welcome to the first edition of Friday Round Up for 2015. This week in celebration of the launch of #everydayclimatechange, we look back at some of the stories published on Photojournalism Now in 2014 with environmental themes.

(C) Edward Burtynsky

(C) Paul Blackmore

(C) Sean Gallagher

(C) Katie Orlinsky

Launch:
#everydayclimatechange on Instagram

#everydayclimatechange launched on 1st January, 2015 and the concept has quickly attracted a diverse group of photographers from around the world who are committed to sharing "visual evidence" that climate change is real.  

Founder of #everydayclimatechange, Tokyo-based photographer James Whitlow Delano, says the idea for the hashtag was borne from a conversation he held with Peter DiCampo, co-founder of Everydayafrica. The "everyday" concept has proved popular and there are now various #everyday where photographers upload uniquely local imagery. 

The creation of an environmental "everyday" seems a logical step in building on this proven platform as does Delano's involvement, which stems from his long term commitment to document natural disasters. 

It's a fantastic initiative and it's exciting to see how many photographers have come on board so quickly. Seeing is believing, and these photographs provide proof that our climate is shifting. This is where social media platforms come into their own in reaching potentially millions of viewers. The more people who "follow" #everydayclimatechange the greater the likelihood that perceptions will change. 

2014 In Review - The Environment

James Whitlow Delano - Black Tsunami

Last year Photojournalism Now reviewed Delano's book, Black Tsunami. Published by FotoEvidence Black Tsunami features 91 black and white photographs that capture the apocalyptic scenes that were left in the tsunami’s wake. Divided into four parts Black Tsunami charts Delano’s coverage of the disaster over what he describes as an “intense 18 months”. After the initial trip to Iwate Prefecture Delano returned to Tokyo. Soon the damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant and its consequences for the country as a whole began to overshadow the devastation of the tsunami. It was at that point the story shifted for Delano from recovery to nuclear disaster....(you can read the full interview on the book review tab at the top of this blog). To see more of James' work you can visit his website here.

Simon Harsent – Melt: Portrait of an Iceberg



Photographer Simon Harsent says the underlying theme that resonates throughout his personal work “are the paths we choose in life”. It is this proposition that has influenced his series on icebergs, Melt: Portrait of an Iceberg. While the literal translation can be seen in the pathways these frozen behemoths follow in their physical journey, allegorically it can also be applied to the environmental choices that the human race has taken.

In Melt Harsent captures these glacial giants as they journey down “iceberg alley” from the Ilulissat Icefjord to Greenland’s Disco Bay and onto the east coast of Newfoundland. These icebergs can take years to make a journey that transforms these giants as they are reclaimed by the ocean. (Click here for full story and more images)

This series, which is also a book, will be on show from 27 January to 15 February in Sydney at Blackeye Gallery.

Ed Burtynsky - Water

Undoubtedly one of the most respected landscape photographers working today, Edward Burtynsky’s body of work titled ‘Water’ builds on his already impressive oeuvre and is nothing short of breathtaking. Burtynsky’s approach to the landscape is driven by his desire to capture humankind’s relationship to nature and how this is expressed in the industrialised landscape. Published by Steidl.

Paul Blackmore - At Water’s Edge






Australian photographer Paul Blackmore's book, At Water's Edge, tells the story of our relationship with water. From the vastness of the Pacific Ocean to the toxic black waters of the Buriganga River in Bangladesh; from the voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti, to the holidaymakers bobbing in the Black Sea; from the water pipes that carry fresh water to Mumbai’s elite to the squalid lives of refugees in Ethiopia, “At Water’s Edge” reminds us that no matter our race, gender or the size of our bank account, we all rely on fresh water for our very survival. It is a precious commodity and yet the devastation of our fresh waterways and oceans continues apace. While Blackmore’s photographs are in part celebratory, they also serve as a warning. Published by T&G Publishing, Sydney. 

Chris Jordan - Intolerable Beauty

American photographer Chris Jordan's series "Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption" is fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The rampant consumption of the West, which countries like China and India want to emulate, has resulted in masses of waste that threaten to choke the planet. Jordan's photographs are interesting compositions, almost abstract at times, yet the message is clear. To see more of Chris' work visit his site here. 

Sean Gallagher - The Toxic Price of Leather

Photographer Sean Gallagher's photo essay, and short film “The Toxic Price of Leather” is a powerful study of the shocking impact of India’s leather industry on both human beings and the environment. In my opinion Gallagher is one of the most insightful documentary photographers working today and his images continually bring to light issues that should concern all who are interested in caring for others and for the planet. In this series Gallagher documents the lives of those working and living in Kanpur, India. Here there are around 300 tanneries, with Kanpur now the largest exporter of leather in India. Ninety percent of its products are produced for Europe and the United States.

The environmental impact of the tanneries on the local area, and the Ganges River, is significant as is the toll on the health of both tannery workers and local residents. Once again the West is procuring goods at ridiculously low prices ignoring the fact that their practices are in fact exacting the highest price of all.

To see more of this work and other environmental projects visit Sean Gallagher’s website here and follow #everydayclimatechange to see Sean's posts.

Daniel Beltrá - SPILL






SPILL documents the disastrous Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 when more than 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the ocean devastating an area of more than 68,000 square miles. This spill was one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters of all time.

Beltrá’s aerial photographs may appear as abstract art, and are undoubtedly visually stunning, but the truth behind these images which capture the monumental scale of this disaster should not be forgotten. Published by Gost Books.

Murray Fredericks - Topophilia

Shot over a three-year period from 2010-2013, in Topophilia Australian landscape photographer Murray Fredericks builds on his earlier work, the multi-award winning series Salt shot in Australia’s Lake Eyre. In both series Fredericks uses featureless, flat and seemingly infinite landscapes to echo the vastness of space where time is frozen and voids open like the maw of a yawning giant. In Fredericks’ eye the landscape is the vehicle, which conveys a greater story that transcends the physical form.

Fredericks spends weeks at a time alone in these vast expanses and it is in isolation that he creates his large-scale works that are nothing short of breathtaking. To see more of his work visit his website here.

Alex Masi - Bhopal Second Disaster

UK photographer Alex Masi's book Bhopal Second Disaster documents the plight of more than 30,000 people who live in colonies that are still affected by the toxic waste from the catastrophic industrial accident at Union Carbide’s Bhopal chemical plant in 1984. This waste that has never been cleaned up and continues to pollute underground water reserves. Birth defects, neurological illnesses and other severe health issues burden a people that have largely been ignored by the outside world. Published by Fotoevidence.

Katie Orlinksy - Bear Town

American photojournalist Katie Orlinsky's photo essay for Al Jazeera America shows the impact of climate change on the Arctic's wildlife. In the Alaskan town of Kaktovik, polar bears are seen frequently scavenging for food as the ice recedes, and armed residents are joining the polar bear patrol to keep locals safe. The proliferation of polar bears is also becoming a tourist attraction. To see more of Katie’s work visit her website here.