Newsletter?


Gary over at Thoughtfactory is now writing a newsletter. Like so many  he is distancing himself from the devils bargain that is “free” Facebook gmail and so on.  I totally support this move back to the pre facebook era. A time when blogs and blogging held sway. At absolutely no cost to the reader.

Encourage him and others like him so we can reclaim the web.

Here’s a little list of newsletters I subscribe too.

  • Craig Mod [Ridgeline free] [Roden Subscriber based] is a Japanese based Photographer and Writer.
  • Noah Kalina is a US based Commercial Photographer
  • Jöerg Colberg is a US based Photographer, Academic and Writer
  • Andy Adams is a US based Curator and all round friend of photography.
  • Lewis Bush is a UK based Academic and Writer
  • Suzanne Phoenix is a Melbourne Based Photographer Photobook maker and Artist.
  • FoPG The Friends of Photography Group (FoPG) is a film photography group based in Melbourne, Australia. Membership is free and you are emailed events and exhibitions.

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr | altfotonet

Walking & Photography [Online Exhibition]

screengrab from the exhibtion organsied by Gary Sauer-Thompson
screengrab from the exhibtion organsied by Gary Sauer-Thompson

The response to the pandemic in the arts industry has been overwhelmingly positive. SALA is running its entire festival through artists websites this year. I have been very fortunate in that Gary Sauer-Thompson via his studio in Encounter Bay invited me to exhibit with an idea that explored the pandemic. The online exhibition is entitled, ‘Walking/Photography’, its premise is simple:-

“The exhibition explores the interrelationships between these two modes of being-in-the-world. The ethos is to go for a walk in your local area, where you can find what you don’t know you are looking for. It is a step into the photographic unknown that uncovers the forgotten or buried history of the area.”

The ‘exhibtion’ opens on the 1st of August and runs until the 30th of September.

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr | altfotonet

altfotonet.org

first issue of altfotonet.org
a screengrab first issue of altfotonet.org

In what now feels like an eternity, but was only 11 years ago; I created a website called altfotonet.org.  It was going to be a publication of photography from creatives/artists/ideologues/ratbags/visionaries. I published 3 issues along with Gary Sauer-Thompson. Somewhere along the line it all became too much for me and the idea lay idle, the web site remaining static. In the intervening 11 years the ground has shifted drastically. So much so that even after recently having revived the website I am unsure if I should continue publishing? I originally published 3 issues.

The site was meant to showcase work that fell outside the mainstream art world and was not commercial photography either. I’m not sure what possesed me to undertake such an endeavour? As Facebook was launched in 2004, and it must have taken a few years for it to reach critical mass here in Australia. Facebook has famously sucked the life out of many other online communities; flickr in particular. So I ploughed on regardless. The truth is I was very fortunate to have been donated some server space and the ideas driving the idea were all very egalitarian at the time. I was hoping to make something that was useful and new.

Now I have a new appreciation of what it takes to publish a magazine. I have also learned lots about photobook publishing. The world both in real life and online, is completely different now compared to 2009.

With all this in mind I have archived the old site and started a new one. Using a WordPress installation I will write at length about the ideas and concepts that drive my picture making and some of my underlying concerns. With occasional guest writers artist and photographers.

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr | altfotonet

North Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2020-07-05 13:30:42

Melbourne is undergoing several major infrastructure projects right now. The West Gate Tunnel,  The Metro Tunnel, and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link to name just three.  All of them impact on the roads and environment I use and photograph regularly. This crossing on Dynon road has been added for cyclists to use to cross the road. The bike path and associated underground tunnel has been closed while construction work is underway.

I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon walking from Arden street to Dynon road and back following Moonee Ponds Creek. I shot about 1 and a half rolls of 120 film and about 50 or so digital pictures. The light was very good as it often is this time of year. The light was the  main impetus for me going out to begin with. Having driven past a few times I had noticed some changes. In particular the 2 new bridges built for pedestrians and cyclists. I wanted to capture the state of things as they are. They will I’m sure revert to some form of their original state once the projects are completed.

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr

Footscray Competition Outtake

I am considering entering the annual Picturing Footscray competition this year. This is an outtake. I’m still consider the brief which is, “to capture the essence of this great location during this tumultuous time, with the added challenge of respecting physical distancing and self-isolation requirements.  ”

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr

Slow burning projects

Vacant Land awaits redevelopment in Sunshine
Vacant Land Sunshine pending possible redevelopment, 2020-05-30 15:57:48

In the middle of 2017, possibly after discussions with Gary Sauer-Thompson, I decided to deliberately photograph Sunshine. With an emphasis on the rapid change that is occurring.  This has turned into slow burning project. Its final conclusion and outcome is uncertain.

I have lived in this suburb since the early 2000s. Digital photography at the time was still in its infancy 20 megapixel sensor DSLRs were still prohibitively expensive. I was predominately using film. My first digital camera was a Kodak DC 260. A capable camera by the standards of the time. Disks and storage in the early 2000s were also prohibitively expensive making archiving difficult. This was the era where the floppy disk at 1.5 mb was the standard. Still with that first camera I managed over 12000 pictures in its 4 year life. Many of these pictures were of anything and everything that caught my eye. I was at this stage a relative newcomer to Sunshine, so there was lots to explore and look at. Living near a major infrastructure site helped too. We have a grain silo on one edge of the park at the end of our street. We have both a busy Metro train service and a 3 regional  rail services using the station near us. The land in and around these kind of service spaces have always fascinated me. Even before moving to Sunshine I would trek out to the Western suburbs of Melbourne looking for unique sites of neglected post industrial glory.

This project, currently housed on tumblr ticks away quietly now. There are some major infrastructure projects underway, with a major residential hotel planned nearby as well. So change is constant. I have discovered a new commemorative plaque nearby too. I think I need to capture all these as well now. They are useful for their textual information alone. I am building a page dedicated to the history of Sunshine on my static website too.

Website | Flickr | Instagram | Photography links | Twitter | Tumblr