Category: art

A day with Joshua Holko

Like many photographers, I suffer from a tendency to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). For a while now I have been aware that the quality of my prints and skills as a printer haven’t been improving and fall well short of what is expected of a fine art print. First solution is more megapixels, right? So I upgraded my camera. This resulted in bigger prints but didn’t do much for my ability to print, so new printer, more software, more plugins, still looking for that magic bullet.

Then I happened upon the website of Melbourne-based landscape photographer Joshua Holko. Joshua has won many awards and regularly leads photograph trips to places such as Iceland, the arctic and Antarctic.

After an exchange of emails, we arranged a day for me to take advantage of Joshua’s mentoring program. And what an eye-opener that day was.

Starting with shooting technique we discussed the entire workflow needed to produce a gallery quality print. Joshua critiqued some prints I had brought with me, then spent several hours taking me through a Photoshop workflow that produced much better results than I would have imagined.

And to prove that more gear isn’t the answer, Joshua then produced a beautiful, detailed print from a file from my old camera, not the fancy new one.

Spend a little time to go through Joshua’s website and his list of achievements, this man knows what he is doing.

Before you give in to the symptoms of GAS, try learning how to use and get the most out of the equipment you already have, that might solve the problem.

A farm in Iceland

Seagulls

I live beside a lake and very near a wetlands sanctuary of world importance (listed under the international convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat).

On an evening walk I regularly see ducks Australian black swans, pelicans, fairy terns, cormorants and herons.

And seagulls. Lots and lots of seagulls. They can be annoying, irritating, noisy, pushy and messy. But they can also be beautiful and a joy to photograph.

photocrati gallery

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Under the West Gate Bridge

The West Gate bridge connects the centre of Melbourne with the western suburbs and the highway to my home town of Geelong.

The West Gate, or lack of it has been a main feature of my life. Before it was open, the only way to get into Melbourne city, or through it to the suburbs in the east, was a long, slow trip through the western suburbs and inner city suburbs. After it was built in the 1970s, I spent quite a lot of my time driving over it; and sitting in stationary traffic on it.

In October 1970, during the construction phase, one of the spans fell, killing 35 workers. There is a memorial park under the western end of the bridge to commemorate this tragic loss of life.

Recently a lot of maintenance work has been undertaken on the bridge to repair cracks and put up higher safety railings.

The West Gate can be a beautiful sight; it has the form of a long, sinuous curve and presents different aspects in different weather conditions.

photocrati gallery

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Suburbia

I live in one of the fastest growing areas in Victoria, in fact all of Australia. Although the area is fairly well-heeled and there are some people with serious money, the suburbs around me aren’t exactly full of cutting edge architecture.

In fact I regularly have to endure conversations that include the terms; cheap, thrown together, cookie-cutter, ugly, cut-price, design free, boxes made of ticky-tacky, little boxes all the same. Not many of the boxes are little though.

There is a lot of truth in these comments, this period in this area won’t be remembered as a classic example of modern architecture or building techniques.

However, I do enjoy photographing as I walk around the streets. Given the right time of day and the right light, there might not be great architecture, but there is design, and sometimes even art.

photocrati gallery

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Russell Boyle

My good friend and poet Russell Boyle has added his words to two more of my images. I am always very impressed with just how well Russell captures the mood and the thought process behind the image.

Apocalypse

This is based on my image Early Morning in Little Lonsdale Street. The photo was taken with bright low morning sun shining directly down Little Lonsdale Street, turning the old building facades into a series of light and shade and vertical lines.

Door

This image was taken in Fitzroy. I was attracted by the band of diagonal light down the wall. The original image can be seen here.

A framed A2 print of this image is for sale at Seddon Deadly Sins in Victoria Street, Seddon, Victoria. Ask for Chris and have a coffee while you are there.

In a Hallway

I am working on a set of images that I want to use for my first attempt at an art folio. I came across some neat (and cheap) folios at Dane Creek Folios. I’ve purchased three to have a try and only realised the issue after I received them. They are sized for US Letter paper and not A4.

Try buying US Letter sized fine art photo paper in Australia. However, the good folks at Giclee Media are helping me with that (big thanks to Anne-Marie for her patience and information).

Last week I organised a series of test images to see if the idea would hold together and produce something worth putting into a folio. I was happy with the results I got but need to work on getting the exposure and contrast working better before I try printing them.

Here is one shot from the test. Once again, the subject is my good friend, the multi-talented Miss Sharon.

In a hallway

Pop Art

Recently good friend Sharon and I had a photoshoot, partly for me to become more familiar with a new piece of lighting equipment, partly to produce an avatar image for Sharon to use online (@msscarpenter on Twitter).

However, the best thing that came out of the whole session was this lovely piece of pop art produced by Sharon from one of the images.

Pop art Sharon

In her artist’s statement Sharon said the piece was specifically inspired by the work of prominent American pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein.

Here is my version of the image, but I think Sharon’s version is much better.

Portrait of Sharon
Portrait of Sharon