Passion. It's a word that gets thrown around in photography circles more often than a bat ball on a European beach in summer. It is however a powerful word and an even more powerful emotion when fully realised.

Photo Art Gallery member VladimirDI is a shining example of photographic purpose and passion to their craft. Vladimir D Ivanovic, lives in Melbourne, and since 1998 owns and operate a business named VIMS Management Services which is a highly unusual combination of Art and Sport Photography, Photoshop Digital Imaging Services and IT & Risk Management consulting.

 He was introduced to photography by his father Dimitrije way back in 1958, and to this moment and forever art and sport photography was and is one of the most important things in his life. Vladimirs' grandsons (Dushan is 11, and Milan is 7) are co-owners of his (not yet a brick and mortar) PhotoArt Gallery VIDIM (which is made up of their names, and in their native Serbian language also means I SEE). Other details about his professional, photography and Photoshop digital imaging background can be found on his sites: www.vims.org and www.photorimas.org , and on his grandsons’ sites: www.vimsmilan.org and www.dushanvims.org .

Photography is certainly in the family blood. Well we are honoured to have you as one of our members Vladimir and we congratulate you and your spirit of photography.

Check out his profile>  http://www.photoartgallery.com/artist/VladimirDI

Here is but a sample of Vladimir's imagery.

We have mentioned Matt Hull before. The head photographer over at Myoko Snowsports, this man knows what it takes to get outstanding pictures in tough conditions like fog and snow. He promised to write us something special, full of tips, hints and how he got started. Everything you need to know about shooting in the snow. Matt didn't disappoint, he has written a monster article over on the Tutorials section of Photoartgallery.

"I cant believe I get paid to do this..." Matt says about his job. Currently working with Myoko Snowsports in Japan, Matt gets paid to snowboard around and take photos of other people snowboarding around. A pretty sweet gig by any standards. And Matt tells us the story of how he went from working the dreaded 9 to 5 job to living the dream in the land of the rising sun, sourrounded by falling snow.

Matt has been published in magazines like Transfer Magazine and the sequence below is of a man named Tom Costa, who is travelling around Japan to find the best snow he can ski. His Website Where's Tom is creating a huge following showing Tom's exploits and adventures and Matt has featured there as well.

So take a leap over to the Tutorials section of the site and read the article Matt has written.

We at Photo Art Gallery love it when people get a kick out of the technology photography offers.

Take this guy, for example.

While Friend of PhotoArt Gallery Matt Hull, photography supervisor at Myoko Snowsports, was taking some pictures at the kamakura matsuri festival inside an Igloo using a bit of wireless flashery like the witch Doctor he is. A tourist spotted the flashing light and decided to take a closer look, Matt continued to shoot, with each shot he fired setting off the lone flash in the middle of the room. Every time the flash fired the man would suitably loose his mind at the seemingly magical way it fired all on its own.

Matt thought his reaction was priceless and snapped a picture of the mesmerised individual while he chuckled to himself.

Ahh the Voodoo that is Wireless flash!

Keep an Eye out for Matt as he will be appearing on these pages very soon discussing with members all things snow photography. A man who really knows his stuff about photographing in challenging conditions like the snow fields

With the Test Drive of the New Olympus E-PL1 being launched yesterday in conjunction with Olympus Australia, the entries have piled in!

Lots of great images from people who want to be the first in Australia to get their hands on this great camera!

A few things to remember when you are uploading your images however:

In the description section we need the following information:

• What Camera you captured the image with
  
• What type of photography your are interested in
  
• and WHY you should be considered a test driver for the Olympus PEN E-PL1
  

Without this information your image Will not be eligible

So get that one image you're really proud of and get it into the running!

We are pleased to announce the release of the New Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds System interchangeable lens digital Camera.

This Camera will be positioned to join its kin, The Olympus PEN E-P1 and E-P2. Both Widely acclaimed cameras that aid even the most inexperienced photographers to take high quality images through its live guide interface.

The Photo Art Gallery is aiding in the Launch of this amazing piece of gear and in an interesting twist, the Australian Public will be among the first to actually trial this camera and give their thoughts on how it performs. More information on this will be revealed shortly here and on the Olympus website so Stay tuned for more news on that front.

      
PR1002004
February 3, 2010

Don't miss the opportunity to learn Lightroom from start to finish in this series of two-day “hands on” Australian Lightroom workshops this February. Jerry shares his strategies for making clear choices on how the application can simplify your photography workflow. See why Lightroom puts the focus on the word “speed”. Photographers will spend less time in front of their computers and more time behind their cameras.

Registrations and complete workshop information can be found at

www.jerrycourvoisier.com/workshops/photoshop-lightroom/

2010 Lightroom Workshop Schedule:

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.0
Start to Finish Workflow for Photographers w/ Jerry Courvoisier

 February 5th - 6th   (Fri-Sat)   Melbourne, VIC
 February 12th - 13th  (Fri - Sat)  Sydney, NSW
 February 19th - 20th  (Fri - Sat)  Brisbane, NSW 
 February 22nd - 23rd  (Mon-Tues)  Perth WA
 February 26th - 27th  (Fri - Sat)   Adelaide SA

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Start to Finish Workflow for the Photographer
with Jerry Courvoisier

"Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is the essential software of choice for digital photographers on both Mac and Windows. This unique hands-on application experience is an intensive two-day workshop focused on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, in which participants learn to download, organize, manage, develop, and present digital photography using their own laptops. Led by Jerry Courvoisier, a master teacher of digital imaging, this workshop ensures a smooth transition to the digital workflow.

We begin with an introductory overview called “Wrap Your Head Around Lightroom,” which covers database components, catalog files, previews files, the metadata structure, and the steps for setting up application preferences specific to your personal workflow requirements. Topics include digital camera setup, choosing appropriate file formats for image capture, efficiently downloading images from camera or hard drive, sorting, rating, editing, global tone and color correction, critical local corrections, input and output sharpening, presenting slideshows, and printing photographic images using Lightroom from start to finish."

Jerry emphasizes using Lightroom to its fullest potential by generating timesaving keywords and metadata searches, presets, and templates. Once images are processed, participants learn how to produce slideshows and web sites within Lightroom. We also study slide presentations and look at ways to integrate Photoshop or Elements for further image processing if desired.

Jerry shares his recommendations and strategies for making clear decisions based on how Lightroom benefits each participant’s personal approach and workflow needs. Under Jerry’s expert guidance, participants come to see why Lightroom puts deliberate focus on the word “speed,” for this program allows photographers to spend less time in front of their computers and more time behind their cameras.

The Lightroom tutorial exercises provided on the workshop DVD supply a broad assortment of images to work on, so you can continue to revisit the DVD when you finish the workshop. Jerry’s book Lessons in DSLR Workflow with Lightroom and Photoshop is a brilliant companion to this workshop.

“Jerry Courvoisier is, plain and simple, one of the best teachers of digital workflow and image management working today. He demystifies the digital world for both the beginner and the advanced user. --Joe McNally, photographer and author of The Moment It Clicks

Who Should Attend
This workshop is for photographers just entering the digital camera realm as well as those who already have one foot in the digital door. If your skills are more advanced, please contact Jerry to determine whether this workshop is appropriate for you.

Skill Level
Computer literacy is essential. No first-time computer users please!

Equipment Requirement
Each participant is required to bring a digital camera, camera manual, a card reader , and a laptop computer, PC or Mac, with DVD drive and a minimum of 1 GB of RAM (2 GB preferred). The laptop must have the current version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software installed and at least 10 GB of available hard drive space.

Paul Nicklen describes his most amazing experience as a National Geographic photographer - coming face-to-face with one of Antarctica's most vicious predators.  

Where were you this last new years eve? Did you have a tripod and camera in hand? These guys certainly did! Enjoy.

One of the earliest places in the world to celebrate the start of the year 2010 was Sydney in Australia. Around 1.5 million people crowded into the harbour to watch.

Around 120,000 people crowded into Moscows' Red Square in Russia.

In Berlin in Germany around a million people were expected near the famous Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the new year.

In Paris officials decided against a fireworks display. Instead they produced an amazing light show using lasers for around 70,000 people.

In London people were treated a seven-and-a-half minute fireworks display, centred on the London Eye on the South Bank of the River Thames.

One of the biggest parties was in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where around two million people crowded onto beaches to watch the display.

In New York, America people partied in Times Square, where very high levels of security were in place to keep them safe.

Las Vegas was another popular place for Americans to mark the beginning of 2010.

Hello all!

Remember Trent? (photo gallery member, TMphoto) He won our essence of Australia comp and has since gone on to do some great things!

This Friday the 18th Trent will have his first ever solo show at Concrete Gallery in Mona Vale. It kicks off at 6pm and wraps up around 9pm.

Like all art shows, if your life is too "busy" it's always a good excuse to have some beers, wines, relax and kick-off Christmas and check out something a little different!All the pieces will be up for sale and all of them are one-off works.

If you can't make it on the Friday, he also is part of a group show on Thursday 17th at The Palmer Projects Gallery in Darlinghurst. For some this may be a more accessible option! Lifelounge and Boag's are supporting the group of 6 emerging photographers in this show, with the project eventually producing a special edition book/magazine.

It should be a pretty interesting show, given the diverse range of subjects and styles on show.

For more details check out these details below!

See you all at the shows!

xKat

It’s an interesting question, one that photographers debate about constantly, especially between those who are, and those who aren’t. The general view of photographers is that Paparazzi photography is below a photographer’s credibility and those who do it are after a quick buck and couldn’t care less about the nature of photography itself. This maybe true but is there merit to what they do?

Most people, when asked about Paparazzo’s, see that money hungry person with a camera relentlessly pursuing and harassing celebs for that shot, going to any extent to get it, regardless how much danger is puts themselves or others in. However paps are also those guys who stand at red carpet capturing the stars as they pose more then happy to have their photographs taken and published in the same magazines that the trashy ones that they tried to avoid having taken appeared just the week before.  This kind of attitude that Paparazzi are fine when it works for me but is an invasion of privacy when it works against me, is what causes a lot of these photographers to claim this smacks of double standards, and they probably have a point.

Just in the last few days, Queen Elizabeth II has warned British tabloids not to run any unauthorised Paparazzi photos of the royal family. Click here for more details. In other words the same photographers that are free to run the photos of Prince William giving a speech at a charity ball, or Prince Charles attending one of his many charity organisations, cannot publish the shot of Harry wearing a swastika at a fancy dress party. Many would argue that this isn’t fair, and that anything or anyone in the public view is fair game, others would ask for boundaries and restraint. But then whose version of said “boundaries” do we adhere to? My idea of what is acceptable will be very different to the view of my grandparents, or even my parents for that matter. Who is to say what is off limits?

A photographer has mounted an interesting exhibition documenting the scandal full life of sought after celebrity Gigi Gastow. The exhibition contains covers of magazines from the sixties when she was at the height of her fame, it includes her various album covers and EP’s and clippings from tabloid magazines from that turbulent period where she had a passionate affair with famed and seemly happily married actor Giorgio. The exhibition documents and existence that was rife with scandal and mixed with success and tragedy, the only thing is, Gigi doesn’t exist. The whole collection is a fabrication, quite deliberately by photographer Josh Gosfield, shot with his Nikon D300, using Photoshop he created these very authentic looking damaged archived photographs, each suiting their time period exactly. Josh Gosfields exhibition “Gigi Gastow: Black flower” can be seen here.

This raises questions and causes us to reflect on everything we think we know about people simply because we read about it in the media.

No Paparazzi may not be the most popular photographers in the world, but they are performing a service for which people are looking for, I see more tabloid magazines being sold then any thing else. So love them or hate them, the will not be going away anytime soon.

Glen.

Good Morning fellow photogs!

What an awesome way to begin summer (a fan of rain and cold :P ) and what an anticipated year for Australian actors, artists and fans all around the country, brilliant opportunity for photographers to head down and take photos of our Australian stars (mind you, cameras were EVERYWHERE!) 

The yearly award ceremony was held on the 26th of November at the Acer Arena! I didnt have tickets to the show but I decided it'd be awsome to head down to check out the red carpet, who wouldnt! Anyway, I trekked it to the Olympic Park, took me 3 trains to get there but i managed to take a wicked nap on the train, waking up right before my stop!

So i woke up, made sure my bag still had everything in it and jumped off the platform along with a massive crowd of other lovely looking ladies and gents. Suits, ties, gowns, heels... majority of the crowd waitied anxiously at the baracades for the nominees and celebrities to walk down the red carpet. You had your little ones screaming for Jessica Mauboy and Ricki-Lee and cant forget the crazy Short Stack Fans who held out their pads of paper waiting for their sweethearts to walk down and pose for them on their camera :)

Okay enough talk from me, check out a few snaps from the red carpet ;)

Hope you enjoyed! If anyone at the ARIAs, leave us a link to your photos or let us know what you thought of it!

Have an awsome week!

Roxy :)

Today at Photoartgallery.com we are loving this photographer!

If you do not know who Andrew Zuckerman, then you must be living under a rock!!

Perhaps one of the most influentual photographers of the moment.

Having published 3 books - "Creature" a portrait series of animals, was released worldwide in November 2007 to critical acclaim. "Wisdom" a book, film and travelling exhibition released in October 2008. Andrew travelled the world to shoot and interview influentual characters, from Judi Dench to Nelson Mandela.

The latest book however, my absolute favourite, "Bird" which was released in October this year (2009), where he documented and photographed the rarest bird to the most common.

Definitely a book (and website!) that will captivate any photographer or visual guru!!

Swoooonn!!! I Just love his work - he is definitley an inspiration to my own work at the moment.

Okay, that's it from me for now - I have talked everyones head off about this guy!! haha I'm off to see what other A.Z masterpieces I can find!!

Oh and checking out the ph.orum for any new groups to join!!

xxKat

High brow interior design magazine belle contacted us recently looking for an image of the American desert. Lots of rocks and Joshua trees they said. So we sent them a few examples from the gallery and they loved KJohnson's image titled Joshua Tree National Park.
What exactly did they want to do with it? Oh just enlarge it to 3 x 3 METRES as a vinyl print and use it as the whole backdrop on a photography shoot. The studio wall became a desert scene and the art director then brought elements of the image out into real life, like rocks, cactus etc. The resulting shoot looks amazing!
Both the artist and the gallery were credited. Look out for it in the latest edition with belle embossed in gold. As for the lucky KJohnson, we will have a copy of the magazine off to you shortly Kimberley. Congratulations! Here's what the print looks like when we strung it up in the office. That's Glen aka gephotog casually checking the time whilst strolling through the desert.

Oh yes people, it's time for some more photography links to satisfy your eyes til they turn square!

WebUrbanist brings us some awesome works of light graffiti.

Amazing insect photography by Igor Siwanowicz. Up VERY close and personal.

Wow-inducing examples of photo manipulation. My personal favourite is the man punching himself in the face.

Teenage photographer Arielle Nadel and her 365 Days of Danboard. Cute, and strange!

A few shots of the stunning Maldives.

The Chive shows off a collection of amazing photography. No particularly genre, and mostly awesome.

The story of Katie Kirkpatrick Godwin and the beautiful photos that go with it. I dare you not to tear up!

Sweet Rockabilly photos by Erik Refner. Did I mention they're saweet?

I have plenty more where these came from, but I'm sure you people have work to do! I can't have you glued to the computer for too long, so stay tuned, there'll be more soon enough!

Em.

HELLOOOO!!!!!!

Well after a quick and much needed break, I am back in the Photo Art Gallery offices as a married man! HARAH! ready to throw my self at all things photography again.
Of course while I was away I took my trusty Canon 5D with me, never go any where without my camera. I of course got the usual holiday snaps and a few arty ones as well while I was on my Island get away, but it wasn’t until we started to come home that I was really glad I brought my camera with me.

You see both me and my lovely new wife have something in common, when it comes to traveling costs, were a tighter then Santa in a spandex! we try to bring the costs down on everything, so when we get to where were going, we have more money to spend on the fun things. However this often creates longer trips with connecting flights and slower modes of transports, it can also mean relying on lesser known air lines to get to your destination which often results in cancelled flights with no explanation and no money back....but that’s another story.

ANYWAY! during a 6 hour stop over in Darwin airport after landing at 1:00am there was absolutely nothing to do but wait around in the terminal for our flight, un-able to sleep I was restless and bored. It was then I decided to pick up my camera and document a few things around me to pass the time. Photographing in a Airport terminal at 3:00am is an interesting experience, people are often so exhausted and out of it they don’t even realise you are there, and when a bunch of people who all feel around the same level of fatigue are together, dignity goes out the window and people will do almost anything to get comfortable regardless on how it makes them look, usually because if they are comfortable, everyone else wishes they were them. This makes for extremely interesting subject matter.

So I started snapping away, photographing not so much the individuals waiting for a flight, but the collective feeling of everyone in the terminal, just wanting to get where they are going and more importantly a bed of some kind. Next thing I knew it was time to board our flight.

Capturing photographs in a situation like this allows you to get some really photo journalistic style images, the best photos of people in the world, are those that capture raw emotion and people are rarely at their rawest then after a flight in the middle of the night only to be waiting longer for another flight, just to get home.

So the next time your bored out of your skull, check to see if you have your camera on you, and you should always have some sort of camera with you look around and think, what can I take a photo of around here???

Twelve succulent photos for you to choose from as wallpaper for your computer screen. No need for glue or kitsch designs. This photography is awesome!

Get 'em at www.photoartgallery.com/community/octoberwallpapers/

I came across a very interesting article in the paper yesterday.
Photographer Jeremy Parks decided to do a book. A normal sized coffee table book? Not quite. This behemoth is almost bigger than the coffee table. At more than 2m wide and 1m high this doesn't exactly make for ligt bedtime reading.

"Footpath Philosophers" is a photographic collection of 25 portraits of people of all ages and backgrounds. He shot it in a single day and then got his producer to collect a 1 sentence statement from each participant that summed up their thoughts on life basically. Some are poignant, others funny.

Director of digitalpress in Surry Hills, Sydney first had the idea to create the biggest case-bound book in Australia. It's now being submitted for a printing award.

Good day all!

Today is my last day working at the gallery for a while, because I get married on Saturday! YAY me! Or should that be YAY us from now on??

Anyway, as a wedding photographer myself, as far as my wedding photographs were concerned, I knew exactly what I wanted, and exactly who to see to get it. But when I awoke to this story this morning I wondered, how do other people perceive wedding photographers and wedding photography?

A photographer in the UK has been ordered by a judge to reimburse a couple £1,450 after describing the wedding photos as "woefully inadequate". Out of the 400 photographs taken, only 22 images were actually approved by the couple.

Among other things, the cutting of the cake was missed, images were taken that chopped off peoples heads, were poorly lit or with people not looking at camera. And to top it off, the thank you cards made by the photographer had the wedding couple's names spelt wrong.

This story raises a discussion very commonplace among photographers, in that, the evolution of digital photography has created cheaper and more accessible high quality cameras. Couple that with the ability to see straight away whether one has captured an acceptable photograph or not and the market has opened up to a whole new group of "digi pops". So-called professional photographers who pop up shortly after purchasing digital SLRs and believe they have the ability to capture someone’s wedding effectively. After all, how hard can it be to get good photographs of happy people on the best day of their lives, possibly looking the best they will ever look?

Answer: EXTREMELY DIFFICULT! Ask any seasoned professional wedding photographer and you will get a list as long as your arm, and then some, as to why shooting a wedding is so hard:

• the pressure of the capturing the biggest day of someone’s life
• having the ability to keep the bride and groom from getting swept away with the emotion of the day and forgetting they have 4 photo locations to get to in an hour and a half
• organising 100+ guests all at once to look and smile for one nice group shot
• making sure you get all the "basic" shots to keep parents and grandparents happy
• all the while keeping one eye open for that split second moment, that one child blowing bubbles, that quick sly kiss from the couple, Aunty Jane wiping tears away from her face; all the moments that if captured, will make sure the emotion of the day is kept forever, and if missed then those beautiful moments in time are lost. Forever.

Combine this list with the fact that the wedding album delivered by the photographer to the couple will be the ONLY thing they will have to remember the day by, and one of only a handful of things they will pay for on their wedding day that will actually be around after the day is done.

This is what you pay for when you hire a professional wedding photographer, what any professional photographer WILL be able to do for you, and what every "digi pop" will be lacking. It comes from years of training, assisting and shooting at weddings. Gaining an understanding of how weddings work and what happens on the day.
As a photographer, I hear a lot of horror stories regarding wedding photographers but I wonder how many average people get wind of these stories? As it appears, the only way a bad photographer can be picked is if someone is going for the cheaper option or if they have been fooled by someone who is a far better salesman than photographer. Either this, or simply not enough research was done in selecting a wedding photographer.

So how do you avoid leaving your wedding day memories in the hands of a hack with a nice suit and a nicer camera?

Answer: Research. Most, if not all wedding photographers will meet with you and show you their work for free. So you have good reason to see more then one, compare their work, check their website and choose your favourite. Perhaps they have a blog or something similar that doesn’t just show you their favourite images, but show real photos from real, recent weddings.

This will give you an idea of how many weddings they shoot and if the quality of their shots is consistent.

Don’t be afraid to quiz them about things you don’t understand; a good photographer will give you a straight answer off the top of their head. Finally, ask around. Word of mouth is important; clearly if someone was really happy with their work then chances are that photographer can’t be that bad!

If one looks hard enough for the right wedding photographer, the best will always stand out from the pack.

Glen Edwards.

Finally the decision has been made, the bickering has finished and the praises have begun.

The Magic Hour judges have emerged after days of shortlisting, finalising, arguing, Re-shortlisting and arguing again. They had finally agreed on a top 12.

But after much deliberation, conversation and contestation (did I just make that word up??) the Winners have been decided, and you can check the winners and the finalists out here (full screen too!) So without any further buggery,

The Winner is:

“Lets Run A Race” by Partha

Well Done and congratulations!

2nd Prize goes to: “After The Fishing “ by Johan_Ensing

3rd Prize goes to : “After The Fire – Kinglake” by Rvarga

Notable mentions to: “Under A Southern Sky” by annetteb

“Bondi Storm” by Allan

“Flight” by Goran

Well done to you all and Congratulations!

Thank you to our sponsors for all their support!

Digital Camera Warehouse

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