As the first batch of 2011 Digital SLR Photography students eagerly await their Top 30 results we have a little bit of exciting news to announce.
The Top 30 will now have a ‘Viewers Choice Award’ for the most popular image as selected by you, our supporters and photography enthusiasts.
The process is simple, just after Easter once the first Top 30 for 2011 is announced, we will create a gallery where you will be able to browse through the final images and vote for your favourites. The image that gets the most votes within a set period of a month will receive the great prize courtesy of Lexar Media.
“To show Lexar Media’s continued support of the Australian photography industry, it is proud to support the SPW Top 30 Viewer’s Choice Award. Lexar media will be offering the talented winner of this award a professional photographer’s memory accessory prize pack, valued at $470.00″
The pack includes;
1x Professional Dual Slot Reader
2x 16GB 600x CF Cards
1x 16GB JumpDrive S70
We’re sure you’ll agree that it’s indeed a very worthy prize. A huge thank you to Lexar Media for their kind support. Make sure to check out Lexar’s Digital Photography page for some great workflow tips and lessons.
Meanwhile, do yourself a favour and check out the amazing selection of Top 30 images from 2010.
2010 “Top 30″ Galleries
2010 Intake 1
2010 Intake 2
2010 Intake 3
2010 Intake 4
2010 Intake 5
Also, don’t forget to check us out on Facebook. Make sure to ‘like’ our fan page to receive all the latest updates and inspirational tid-bits.
Behind The Scenes - The amazing Bradley Chatfield turns it on for our first ever weekend workshop back in June 2005
I can’t believe that I didn’t think of this earlier! Last night while trolling through the thousands of images taken over the last 5 years worth of workshops, I realised that there are just so many amazing images that have never really been seen, so over the next however many months I’m going to open up the vault and see what pops out. The amazing models, cool locations and the fun we had.
Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed making them.
I’m very excited about working with Steven from InkedupTV on the creation of a new promo clip for SPW so keep an eye out, it’s coming soon.Without doubt Steven is one creative dude!
Browsing through some of his most recent work I came across this clip which he had just completed. Enjoy!!
NEW EDGAR “OSOK” HOILL VIDEO!!! Steven catches up with leading photographer of Lowrider Magazine! Without a doubt Edgar Hoill has a natural talent of capturing the raw essence of his subjects. “All my stuff is street, so all my stuff is real. And everything that I shoot is either people I know real close or that I work close with or just stuff I see on the streets.”He also has a sick ass collection of tattoos done by some of the best around the world. Jack Rudy, Horiyoshi III, Ben Grillo, Tattoo Tony just to name a few
A huge congratulations to our very own SPW tutor Michael Good who recently entered a work in the Thirroul Seaside Art Festival. Competing against over 300 other invited artworks and judged by the curator of Wollongong University Art Collection, Michael won the overall, Anita Commelli Prize .
Upon seeing the work I was immediately intrigued by the process that led to it’s creation. As it turns out the process was a collaboration of two great talents and is an alternate slant on the CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) process that seems to dominate today’s photography. I asked Michael to pen a few words about his latest collaborative project.
“A little over a year ago I had a chance meeting with an amazing artist Arthur Apanski, when I was commissioned to photograph his house being put up for sale. I found it very difficult to control my enthusiasm, as every wall in this little cottage was filled with a number of Arthur’s amazing artworks. Of course being the curious type I talked with Arthur for quite some time about his works and what he had in mind for the future. This led to us coming up with a new challenge that Arthur believes hadn’t been done before. I was to get some of my landscape photos printed on to large format canvas and then hand it over to Arthur for him to perform his own piece of magic on the works.
To set the context of my trepidation I provide you with two images which easily show Arthur's amazing and very intimidating talent.
Our first projects consisted of two commissioned works. One of which was for a local builder who wanted a classic Arthur signature piece to hang on his wall. Not being able to afford one of Arthur’s original works we offered to create an artwork especially for him. This meant photographing his favourite landscape (East Corrimal Beach) and then handing over to Arthur for his interpretation. East Corrimal beach is a very classic long sandy beach with small sand dunes. A very cliche kind of landscape.
Being the first work I was going to produce for Arthur I had little idea as to how it should be photographed. To add to the mystery I hadn’t met nor spoken with the client. This gave me free reign over how I chose to photograph the landscape. Having gone to the location more than a dozen times in varying lighting conditions I felt that I had a good selection to present to Arthur. I had photographed from many varied angles emphasising many different aspects form large landforms to small detailed driftwoods. In the end I need not have worried too much as the point of the project was that I would give my own impression of the landscape. Arthur would then add to it without comment or input from myself. We wanted to see how the project could work without collaboration. i.e. I was not to produce works to suit Arthur nor would he try to enhance or compliment the landscape presented. He would simply interpret the scene and paint accordingly.
Here is the end result of the first commissioned work. Arthur's belief is that Wollongong will be inhabited by great lizards and crocodiles in 50 years due to global warming.
The second commissioned work was for a client who had inherited the family home which would be demolished in the near future and so the theme was to show the existing house being carried away much the same way as the sand dunes come and go…
Our second commission
We have since moved on to our main project which are my selected landscape works to be exhibited in the Wollongong City Gallery in 2011. So far we have produced 8 art works, some of which you can see here. This experience so far has really made me look at landscape and people photography in a whole new light. Not being content with cliche images the project has forced me to think in a more artistic way and really consider all the elements including composition, colour and textures and of course considered lighting and atmosphere. This will help my future photography grow to greater heights no doubt. Being my first exhibited work I’ve now gained a desire to enter more competitions.
When Australia’s leading experience supplier Red Balloon Days approached us about trying our Beginners DSLR Photography Workshop in order to write a review, I was naturally nervous. Although I was always quietly confident that we had one of the most thorough and inspiring beginners workshops on the market, there is always that little voice that says ‘perhaps you’re just biased’. Especially now, with so many new offerings out in the market place, the pressure is on to provide the best experience possible. After all, these days more so than ever it’s all about the experience!
Well now the confidence is back in my step, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Red Balloon Days had to say about it.
Daniel, not sure why you’re so surprised. You HAVE got the best course in the business. I thoroughly enjoyed my time doing this course and have recommended it to others.
Not only did I learn a heap of new, invaluable information but Scott, my tutor on the beginners course and you,Ben and Wendy on the Travel and Documentary workshop, have how helped make me see the world in a whole new way!
A little while back you might remember me posting about the fabulous still life work of Chuck Bradley and in particular his Life Aquatic series. Well, what started as a commercial job has now developed into an on going fine art project which is starting to attract some international interest from assorted art buyers and style makers.. Here’s what Chuck had to say about it.
“My Life Aquatic series came about quite by accident late last year when I landed a commercial shoot for a major client who needed a duck and duckling swimming in a tank. They wanted them shot so they could swim across a web page. To execute the shots I had a large perspex tank built for this purpose.
After a long day and a lot of quacking, it occurred to me that the shots of the ducks were very graceful and poetic in their movements so once the commercial part of the shoot was over I decided to do a quick re-light, drop a black back ground behind the set and shoot the adult duck, just being a duck. The images captured showed the grace an beauty of the animal, above an below the waterline, a scene most never get to see. From this start I began looking for other creatures that would be as playful and graceful as the duck.
Living on an Island in the middle of Pittwater, it’s my daily “tinny” commute to the mainland that finally brought about the inspiration for the creatures that now make up the later images in the series.
The reason I love this new series is that to me “It’s about the subject, not the post production”. I guess I’m striving to open up a world that no-one ever sees. “It’s organic. You find your subject, you light it, it is what it is – minimal retouching. It’s nice to escape overworked images and the trickery that’s so prevalent in this CGI world.”
Hot on the heels of the PX3 contest winners, and off-course our world renowned Foto Priority Top 30 …………, Photo District News Magazine (PDN) has announced their Top 30 New and Emerging Photographers To Watch in 2010.
If their portfolios alone don’t blow your socks off, then make sure you read the interviews. Now that’s dedication!
Thank you to all those who have subscribed for our regular updates. We look forward to keeping you photographically inspired!
As promised, we had 2x A2 Canvas prints to give away (valued at $149) courtesy of DigiDirect.
The lucky winners are georgie@greaterdata.com.au and melissajones@aapt.net.auCongratulations to you both!
Now go and decide on an image to print. We’ll be in touch with you shortly.
Visit the DigiDirect Lab
By the way, we’ve had great reports filter in from various students that the guys at Digi Direct have really been looking after them on price and service. If you prefer personal attention beyond the slick website, pop in and check them out in the City or Bondi Junction, and don’t forget to mention SPW or FotoPriority.
Shutterbug Photography Festival, now in its fourth year, is open for submissions from any photographer earning under $20,000 per year. As well as a prize pool of $10,000, 15 finalists will have their work shown on the big screen at the huge Shutterbug Projection night in July 2010.
Submissions can be made online from until the 30th May 2010.
In an interesting twist to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year results, the ultimate £10,000 winner Jose Luis Rodriguez has been stripped of his award amid suspicion that the shot was indeed staged.
…………, Photo District News Magazine (PDN) has announced their Top 30 New and Emerging Photographers To Watch in 2010.
April 30th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Great idea Daniel. I’m looknig forward to seeing them.