Ansel Adams is famously known for his dramatic natural landscapes of America, but back in his day Adams was also taking on less artistic commissions to make ends meat.

For example in the 1940's, Fortune Magazine sent him to document Los Angeles' aviation industry. While there he decided to shoot around the city, giving a facinating vision of a youthful city.

Unfortunately he was unhappy with the results and donated all the shots to the LA Public Library. Where they are now resurfacing as an exhibition in the Drkrm Gallery.  

Get more details of the exhibition at www.drkrm.com/ansel_adams

Vivian Maier was a nanny from Chicago who from the 1950s through to the 70s, driven by a seemingly completely private motivations began taking beautiful street photographs of the world around her.

To be specific she took and catalogued some 15,000 images without ever sharing them with the rest of the world. Solitary and extremely driven Vivian showed an amazing natural ability in capturing the essence of Americana.

Her images have been salvaged from garage sales from across Chicago and are now in a private collection touring various galleries in the US.

www.vivianmaierprints.com/

After being plagued by finacial worries, and legal troubles that almost lost her the rights to her own collection of work, Leibovitz said she had been left feeling "emotionally and mentally depleted".

However, she is fighting back being with a brand new exhibition that has just opened in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The project on show is a departure from her normal celebrity portrait work, and in fact was inspired by the humble family snapshot.

The exhibition called "Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage" includes scenery and historical objects such as Sigmund Freud's couch and Elvis Presley's Harley-Davidson.

“It’s a project I did for myself. I wanted to be seduced into a photograph and not make it up,” she said. “And I wanted to take my time.”

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/leibovitz/

Two years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, much of the country is still struggling to recover. However photographer Maggie Steber who has worked in the country for decades is also upset at the damage that the subsequent media coverage has caused, with all the images coming out of the country only show the damage and suffering. So Steber wants to show the world that there is more to Haiti that what we see on the news by giving the power back to the people.

Working with the FotoKonbit organisation she is giving students in their workshops access to Holga cameras in order to capture their daily lives and communities.

The results were a stunning series of complex images, “When you see what Haitians think is beautiful to photograph, important, profound,” says Steber, “you learn more about them than anything an outsider can show you. To put cameras in the hands of Haitians give them the power to show us what they think is important.”

fotokonbit.org

The winner of 2011's Travel Photographer of the Year has been announced as US photographer Louis Montrose for his work in Mexico and Burkina Faso.

The organiser say he caught the judges attention with his two "striking, and very different, portfolios; one documenting life in a painted village in Burkina Faso and the other depicting the Dia de los Muertos Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico."

The judges this year included travel photographer Steve Bloom, Director of Photography at Conde Nast Caroline Metcalfe and travel photographer Chris Coe.

A selection of the winning images will be on exhibition between June and August of next year at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Showing this month in the Australian Centre of Photography is a project that caught our attention for it unforgiving rawness that strips photography back to the basics.

Angophora Obscura by Benjamin Stone-Herbert is a collection of prints created using a home-made, lensless, wooden camera. Intended to capture the wildness of the trees and the beauty of the natural light.

Rebelling against the ease and accessibility and speed of digital photography Herbert brings photography back it's bare bones an emphasisizes the time-consuming process that has gone into each piece. With some of the exposures taking up to an hour to complete.

"My hands-on approach, from building the camera, developing the film to hand-making the final print, for me returns photography from the way we experience it today to its original pure form."

Showing in the ACP gallery until 15th January 2012

Back in the early 1900's mug shots were not the disheveled, shame filled, white flashes that we know today.

'Arresting Images' is a new exhibition in the Helen McClung Gallery in Ontario, Canada, that has dug into the Niagara police archives and found the best 100 photographs from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.

During these times photography was still a novelty and a skill, criminals would be brought to private studios and photographed in front of backdrops, or even posing on plush chairs.

“It’s important that the collection survived,” Curator Jeanie Tummon tells the Star. “It’s an amazing record of Canadian criminal history. These are quite extraordinary moments.The photographic quality, in some cases, is stunning.”

http://www.opp.ca/museum/en/exhibitions/travelling.php

In Sydney's Stills Gallery they celebrate the passing of the year with a group exhibition by some of their favourite photographers from the previous 12 months.

The pieces are all previously unseen work drawn from artists such as; Petrina Hicks and her brightly coloured 'Hippy and the Snake' series.
Hicks continues to surprise with her tantalisingly super real portrayals of young women in relationship to creatures and nature.

Mark Kimber's pinhole camera series 'The Cloud Chamber' "Its how things look, how they are represented through the camera that intrigued me then (as a child) and now”.

Gilbert Garcin's surreal structures in 'The Man Who is an Image' The work will touch your heart and bring a smile. They are romantic, playful and remind of the cartoons of Australia’s Leunig.

See all the work at Stills Gallery until the 22nd December

A new exhibition has been opened, curated by photographer Martin Parr, in Liverpool, England. It explores the obsession with celebrity culture and includes the work of two photographers Richard Simpkin and Simone Lueck. 

Australian photographer Simpkin is a ‘star-hunter' whose work questions identity and social boundaries. What began as a personal project to photograph himself with celebrities soon became a lifelong mission which has produced a collection of over 1000 images. "Knowing how difficult it is to get access to celebrities in this day and age, it is an awesome achievement, and turns his whole game into a compelling piece of art", Parr says of the work.

LA-based Lueck's project 'The Once and Future Queens' is the result of what happened when the artist posted an advert on Craigslist inviting older women to be photographed in the guise of their favourite film star.

The exhibition runs from the 13th January to 18th March 2012 in the Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool.

A gallery in Amsterdam has just opened an exhibition by artist Erik Kessels that aims to show us just how buried by images we are in this Digital age.

Named "Photography in Abundance", the project concentrates on Flickr, which recently passed the 6 billion photo mark. Kessel realised however that our capacity to comprehend this number is limited. So to put it into perspective he has printed every image uploaded onto the site in a 24 hour period.

The result is literally piles of images filling the gallery space. There have been some complaints that the project is wasteful, but those people should perhaps be glad that Kessel choose Flickr who recently announced that they recieve roughly 6 billion photos per month!

Erik Kessel at the Foam Gallery

We have been following these awards for years for a reason, and now it's that time of year again:

"Now in its eleventh year, ACP is again proud to present this prestigious exhibition of outstanding Australian press photography. From daily-life and photographic essays, to portraiture and sport, the Nikon-Walkley Photographic Awards recognise excellence in Australian press photography.

Every year more than 1000 photographers are judged for selection in the awards and this exhibition will showcase more than 100 works by Australia’s best photojournalists shortlisted for the Awards. Heartbreak and triumph, jubilation and devastation: this exhibition presents the big moments of the year in news as seen through the lens of Australia’s most talented press photographers."

The exhibition is running until the 19th November 2011 at the Australian Centre for Photography.

After surviving terrible conditions shooting Ernest Shackleton's epic Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1914 to 1917. Australian photographer Frank Hurley's images will finally go on display in Buckingham Palace nearly a century after he hand delivered them to King George V to share their story.

The images showed an amazing tale of survival from the bottom of the world, from a strong technical photographer.

He shares the exhibition which is the first of it's kind for the palace with English photographer Herbert Pointing who shot Robert Scott's ill fated attempt to reach the pole first.

Hurley famously showed his unflinching dedication to his craft by diving into icy waters to retrieve glass negatives stored in the sinking ship Endurance.

Hurley was allowed to keep only 120 of 520 negatives from the foundering Endurance to reduce weight for the troubled expedition. The remaining 400 negatives were smashed to stop him trying to reboard the slowly sinking ship.

Exhibition curator Sophie Gordon says it is a shame the images were lost. "Hurley was a highly accomplished photographer and he had an eye for a good photograph . . . that is several hundred photographs that we have lost," she says. "That is a big loss."

Several Australian Photographers were amoung the finalists of this years Sony World Photo Awards. Including Melbourne Photographer Liz Loh-Taylor who was named 'Travel Photographer of the year' for her series of pictures documenting a native tribe in Southern Ethiopia.

More than 100,00 entries from 72 countries were recieved in this year's awards. For the first time the finalists images will be showcased in Sydney along the Western Boardwalk of the Sydney Opera House.

In conjunction with the exhibition, there will also be free photography classes. For more info visit www.masterclass.sony.com.au

You can always count on the Wildlife Photographer of the year competition to bring us some amazing images.

This year the overall winner is Spanish photographer Daniel Beltra with his shot, Still life in oil. An amazing shot of a group of pelicans rescued from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of June 2010.

The chair of the judging panel, Mark Carwardine, described the image as ‘a strong environmental statement, technical perfection and a work of art all rolled into one. The sheer simplicity of this powerful image makes it really beautiful and shocking at the same time’

As with other years the winners and shortlisted entries will tour in an international exhibition, beginning at the Natural History Museum in London.

Visit the official site

The Malian Ministry of Culture with the help of the Institut Fancais has created perhaps one of the most influence photograhy event in Africa. Bamako Encounters, now in it's 9th year is An African Photography Biennial offers artists exceptional opportunities to meet fellow artist as well as industry professionals from around the world.

Running from 1st November 2011 to 1st January 2012, this years theme is "For A Sustainable World" reflects the social and political commitments of African artists. Artists are invited to explore the theme in any way they deem appropriate.

Those who are lucky enough to have their work chosen will be exhibited in galleries around the world, raising awareness andcintrbuting to the development of the African art market as well as rasing their own profile more than could be possible on their own.

 www.rencontres-­bamako.com

In conjunction with the Melbourne Festival, the Contemporary Centre for Photography brings us 'In Camera and In Public'.

There is always plenty of controversy surrounding the legalities of street photography; privacy disputes, terrorism laws and copyright issues are constantly filling the newspapers.
'In Camera and in Public' confronts these issues head on by exhibiting some of the most famous and controversial street photography projects. Some of the featured work includes Bill Henson, Sonia Leber, Kohei Yoshiyuki and Sydney photographer Cherine Fahd.

Fahd's project caused a stir when rather than portraying the message of how beautiful the private, mediative gestures displayed in public where. People instead questioned whether she had crossed a line morally.

The project was images taken of homeless people and locals sleeping in the Kings Cross park, as seen from the security of Fahd's apartment 6 floors above. All her subjects were anonymous and no faces could be seen, but the issue was still raised whether taking a person image without them knowing was right.

Decide for yourself as the exhibition runs til the 25th of October at the ccp.org.au

NSW

Stranded by Warwick Thornton
Stills Gallery
Ends 8th October 2011

Stranded, Thornton’s foray into creating artwork for a gallery space was commissioned by the 2011 Bigpond Adelaide Film Festival. Stills Gallery is proud to premiere in Sydney the 3Dscreening of Stranded and a series of photographic works inspired by the video.



ACT

Imitation of Life: Memory and mimicry
Canberra Museum
Ends 16th October 2011

27 Canberra region artists have incorporated pre-existing imagery into some stunning artworks.




WA

National Photographic Portrait Prize
Fremantle Prison
Ends 27th November 2011

The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual event promoting portraiture by contemporary Australian photographers, both amateur and professional. The Prize provides an opportunity for photographers whose work is unpublished, or carried out as a sideline, to introduce their work to art professionals and the public alike.




SA

Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide: British Art Now
Art Gallery of South Australia
Ends 23rd October 2011

Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide: British Art Now brings together the audacious best of contemporary art straight from London’s internationally acclaimed

Saatchi Gallery – arguably the biggest influence on contemporary British art over the past 25 years. It features groundbreaking works that challenge conventional artistic sensibilities, created by more than forty of the new generation of daring British contemporary artists.

VIC

In camera and in Public
Contemporary Centre for Photography
Ends 23rd October

Taking a look at society through the lens of the state, the photographer on the street, the artist and the eye of the voyeur, In camera and in public examines the abandonment of the contract between photographer and subject.

QLD

Celebrating Diversity
Brisbane Powerhouse
Ends 16th October

Postive Exposure, founded in 1997 by former fashion photographer Rick Guidotti and Diane McLean, MD, PhD, MPH, is a highly innovative arts organisation working with individuals living with genetic difference.

One of our favourite competitions to watch out for is the British Wildlife Photography Awards. So we were glad to get the news through of this years winners announcement and we were not disappointed.

The winning image of a jellyfish was captured by Richard Shucksmith. His photo was taken at Sula Sgeir (meaning Gannet Rock) a small uninhabited Scottish island, 41 miles north of Lewis. The inhospitable area is home to exposed islands sustaining an astounding variety of marine life. The remoteness of these islands, as well as the challenge that comes with visiting them, makes Richard’s incredible photo all the more special.

Take a look at some more of the winners,

Check out more winners on their site http://www.bwpawards.org/

The Park 51 Islamic community centre, dubbed the 'Ground Zero Mosque' last year faced huge opposition from Islamophobic activists and right-wing politicians during it's development close to the site of the old twin towers.

However, despite all the controversy the centre has now opened its doors to the public for it's first event, a photography exhibition.

The exhibition looks at photographer Danny Goldfield's latest project titled 'NYChildren' which is attempting to photograph a child from every country in the world living in New York City.

He started the project in 2003 after meeting Rana Sodhi, a Sikh whose brother was murdered in a hate crime following 9/11. His efforts to reach out to people in his neighbourhood to eliminate prejudices and fears inspired Goldfield create NYChildren.

dannygoldfield.com

Opening this month in the Art Gallery of NSW is a new portrait photography exhibition that takes work from Australia's A-list photographers and asks What's in a face?

All portraits reveal something of the sitter, the photographer and also of us as viewers, but none reveal a whole and complete being, no matter how much we believe this could be so. This is part of the enduring fascination with the photographic portrait, which purports to be an exact likeness but operates more accurately as a metaphor for the self and how that self might exist in the world at a particular point in time. – Judy Annear, senior curator, photographs.

The exhibition includes 45 photographs from artists such as Max Dupain, Nan Goldin, Olive Cotton and more. It focuses on some of the crucial points in the history of photographic depictions of the human face, ranging from studio portraiture in the late 19th century to contemporary practices today.

www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/whats-face/