May in Sydney shows every sign of promise, considering the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize http://www.moranprizes.com.au/ winners will be announced on May 3, at an exhibition at the State Library of NSW and the Head On Photo Festival www.headon.com.au/ is also scheduled to flood Sydney with artistic diversity in early May. In th
e meantime, I have been absorbed by events in Adelaide, especially a discussion on historic photographers Henri Mallard and Captain Samuel Sweet (pictured, below right) conducted recently at the Adelaide Festival Centre Gallery. Sydney photographer Henri Mallard (1884-1967) readers may know, extensively documented the epic construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge in the early 1930's (pictured) while Captain Samuel Sweet (1825-1886) was an industrious, talented South Australian photographer during the second half of the 19th Century, with, as I found out, an equal enthusiasm for photographing the construction of bridges. The other good reason for attending was that Gael Newton, Senior Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia and distinguished South Australian Curator Karen Magee were to speak, with Newton also opening a compact exhibition 
of contemporary fibre-based silver gelatin prints made by the late David Moore (1927-2003) www.davidmoorephotography.com.au/ of Mallard's unsentimental, powerfully realised observations. Visitors to David Moore's website (above) will discover that Moore made some of the most definitive photographs of that huge, single-span structure during his long, distinguished career. Newton and Magee are, respectively, acknowledged experts 
on M
allard and Sweet, and their witty, informed comments were well received by the capacity audience. Newton regaled us with droll revelations about Mallard's known love of all things French. (the photographer spoke with a French accent, affected an appropriately Gallic air, and was commonly seen wearing a beret and sporting a generous moustache) Mallard was, however, French by parentage only, having been born in Balmain, Sydney. Sweet, Magee informed us, was born in Britain, a master mariner before he was a photographer, and shared Mallard's love of great endeavours, photographing such comparatively modest, but important South Australian projects, as the building of Murray Bridge. Much more can be discovered about the master mariner turned photograp
her on Karen Magee's website http://captainsweet.com.au/ His well organised photographs are
e meantime, I have been absorbed by events in Adelaide, especially a discussion on historic photographers Henri Mallard and Captain Samuel Sweet (pictured, below right) conducted recently at the Adelaide Festival Centre Gallery. Sydney photographer Henri Mallard (1884-1967) readers may know, extensively documented the epic construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge in the early 1930's (pictured) while Captain Samuel Sweet (1825-1886) was an industrious, talented South Australian photographer during the second half of the 19th Century, with, as I found out, an equal enthusiasm for photographing the construction of bridges. The other good reason for attending was that Gael Newton, Senior Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia and distinguished South Australian Curator Karen Magee were to speak, with Newton also opening a compact exhibition 
of contemporary fibre-based silver gelatin prints made by the late David Moore (1927-2003) www.davidmoorephotography.com.au/ of Mallard's unsentimental, powerfully realised observations. Visitors to David Moore's website (above) will discover that Moore made some of the most definitive photographs of that huge, single-span structure during his long, distinguished career. Newton and Magee are, respectively, acknowledged experts 
on M
allard and Sweet, and their witty, informed comments were well received by the capacity audience. Newton regaled us with droll revelations about Mallard's known love of all things French. (the photographer spoke with a French accent, affected an appropriately Gallic air, and was commonly seen wearing a beret and sporting a generous moustache) Mallard was, however, French by parentage only, having been born in Balmain, Sydney. Sweet, Magee informed us, was born in Britain, a master mariner before he was a photographer, and shared Mallard's love of great endeavours, photographing such comparatively modest, but important South Australian projects, as the building of Murray Bridge. Much more can be discovered about the master mariner turned photograp
her on Karen Magee's website http://captainsweet.com.au/ His well organised photographs arepopulated generously by the many workers needed to make such constructions possible. Both Sweet and Mallard clearly understood the value of labour, especially the remarkably varied skills needed to conquer the challenging spaces between shores. It was noticeable that Newton and Magee's talks were well attended by Adelaide's fine-art photography community - notably Ian North and Gary Cockburn. 
While I was in the Festival Centre complex, with its sweeping views of the South Australian Parliament, I took the opportunity to test a new camera sent from Sony www.sony.com.au/ - their tiny but remarkably well featured Cybershot DSC WX-7. (pictured) Barely larger than a laptop mousepad and no thicker than a pack of playing cards, the WX-7 seems typical of what camera manufacturers are offering consumers today. For under $300, this camera has 16 Megapixel resolution, a 5x Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens (25-125mm equivalent) with Full HD (1920 x 1080/50i) video recording and full Optical Image Stabilisation, with Sony's proven SteadyShot. 
This camera also offers another, increasingly popular feature - Sweep Panorama (pictured, above) which I predict will prove popular with travellers wanting to s
ee beyond the edge of their vision. In this mode (set at the detent between stills and video) the WX-7 automatically, and rapidly, takes a number of images as it smoothly pans in the direction of an arrow which appears on the screen) These exposures are then seamlessly stitched within the camera, creating the panoramic image seen here. There is also a 3D function associated with Sweep Panorama, which sadly, I did not have time to explore. I am sure many will find this an option worth exploring when coupled with their HDTV. Usually I test lenses at their limit, assuming they can only get better from this point on. I made this informal office portrait (pictured, above right) of Adelaide psychologist Michelle Sexton which shows fine rendering of detail with little visible distortion, at f2.6 and at its widest angle - 25mm. Finally, I recently noticed a sign (pictured, above left) by the side of a highway -for an event presumably those interested should have already known about - a 'psychic festival.' The WX-7 rendered this scene with great clarity. I hope to soon test the remarkable new generation of advanced compact cameras featuring unusually fast, wide lenses. For those who have used Leica M, Nikon S, Canon VIT and the current generation of Voigtlander Bessa M mount coupled rangefinder cameras, www.mainlinephoto.com.au/ it could prove nostalgic - and perhaps prophetic.
Luke Hardy Returns with "Dragonfly", to Meyer Gallery
Photographer Luke Hardy, who made such an impact with his Yuki Onna "Woman of the Snow" exhibition at the Meyer Gallery www.meyergallery.com.au/ in 2009, again salutes the power concealed within the ephemeral in "Dragonfly". Anyone who has been transfixed by galloping archers in an Akira Kurosawa film, will understand the Zen lode which Hardy mines in these delicate, resonant colour images. Opening with on May 4 as part of Head On Photo Festival www.headon.com.au/ "New York Photographs 1985-1989" by Julie Sundberg opens the following week (pictured).
Text Copyright Robert McFarlane 2011. http://www.ozphotoreview.com/
While I was in the Festival Centre complex, with its sweeping views of the South Australian Parliament, I took the opportunity to test a new camera sent from Sony www.sony.com.au/ - their tiny but remarkably well featured Cybershot DSC WX-7. (pictured) Barely larger than a laptop mousepad and no thicker than a pack of playing cards, the WX-7 seems typical of what camera manufacturers are offering consumers today. For under $300, this camera has 16 Megapixel resolution, a 5x Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens (25-125mm equivalent) with Full HD (1920 x 1080/50i) video recording and full Optical Image Stabilisation, with Sony's proven SteadyShot. 
This camera also offers another, increasingly popular feature - Sweep Panorama (pictured, above) which I predict will prove popular with travellers wanting to s
ee beyond the edge of their vision. In this mode (set at the detent between stills and video) the WX-7 automatically, and rapidly, takes a number of images as it smoothly pans in the direction of an arrow which appears on the screen) These exposures are then seamlessly stitched within the camera, creating the panoramic image seen here. There is also a 3D function associated with Sweep Panorama, which sadly, I did not have time to explore. I am sure many will find this an option worth exploring when coupled with their HDTV. Usually I test lenses at their limit, assuming they can only get better from this point on. I made this informal office portrait (pictured, above right) of Adelaide psychologist Michelle Sexton which shows fine rendering of detail with little visible distortion, at f2.6 and at its widest angle - 25mm. Finally, I recently noticed a sign (pictured, above left) by the side of a highway -for an event presumably those interested should have already known about - a 'psychic festival.' The WX-7 rendered this scene with great clarity. I hope to soon test the remarkable new generation of advanced compact cameras featuring unusually fast, wide lenses. For those who have used Leica M, Nikon S, Canon VIT and the current generation of Voigtlander Bessa M mount coupled rangefinder cameras, www.mainlinephoto.com.au/ it could prove nostalgic - and perhaps prophetic.Luke Hardy Returns with "Dragonfly", to Meyer Gallery
Photographer Luke Hardy, who made such an impact with his Yuki Onna "Woman of the Snow" exhibition at the Meyer Gallery www.meyergallery.com.au/ in 2009, again salutes the power concealed within the ephemeral in "Dragonfly". Anyone who has been transfixed by galloping archers in an Akira Kurosawa film, will understand the Zen lode which Hardy mines in these delicate, resonant colour images. Opening with on May 4 as part of Head On Photo Festival www.headon.com.au/ "New York Photographs 1985-1989" by Julie Sundberg opens the following week (pictured).Text Copyright Robert McFarlane 2011. http://www.ozphotoreview.com/
