Perth photography workshop filling up fast.
February 17, 2012
Places are filling fast for the March 24th workshop. If you want an opportunity to see what large format photography can offer in realising your photographic vision, then this workshop is for you. We will be outdoors, using 4×5 cameras, you and a workshop colleague setting up a camera, viewing the composition, getting first hand experience and expert guidance. We are not just stuck in some boring classroom discussing theories and looking at an example. Only two spots left. So grab a spot before they run out! Details online.
Intro to Large Format Photography
February 6, 2012
Introduction to large format photography workshop, Point Walter, March 24th, 2012, 1.00pm to 4.30pm
During the month of FotoFreo 2012 I will be holding an introductory workshop to large format photography.
The aim of this workshop is to introduce you to a large format 4×5 inch field camera, provide some first hand experience with its workings and techniques, with applications for both portrait and landscape work.
If you have ever wondered about the advantages of using a large format camera in your work and what’s involved, or are considering large format for your photography, then this is for you.
This workshop will be conducted outdoors along the foreshore of the Point Walter Reserve, so you can see and experience using a 4×5 field camera on location. Through discussions and field demonstrations, I will guide you through the process of setting up, and the camera techniques in using a large format camera. I will also talk about choice of film types and applications, film loading, processing, lens choices and printing options including digital output.
Point Walter Reserve will provide ample subject matter in a relaxed learning environment for participants to gain experience in using a 4×5 field camera within a group setting. Participants who don’t own a 4×5 are encouraged to attend, if you have one then it bring it along. To maximise the experience, workshop numbers are limited to 6 people.
During the workshop I will be assisted by friend and colleague, Peter Kovacsy. We are holding an exhibition, “Changing Places” at the Barracuda Studio Gallery, U3&4/56 Pakenham St, Fremantle, March 17th to 31st, as part of the FotoFreo Fringe Festival 2012.
After the workshop relax and enjoy a coffee at Walters Cafe. Peter and I also invite you to a special evening viewing at Barracuda Gallery, Fremantle, on Saturday 24th March from 6.30PM to 8PM, where we will discuss our work.
Book online or download a pdf form and post to Alex Bond Photography.
Bracken Ferns, Augusta.
January 13, 2012
During summertime I have to vary my darkroom routine to account for the heat. This means that I usually like to get to work early before the heat of the day sets in. With tasks like film processing it is important to be consistent, and that means keeping the temperature of the developer constant with the use of tempered water baths. It’s simple to do really, just add refrigerated water (during summer) to the room temperature tap water. You may also like to use a pre-rinse which can help adjust the temperature of developing tanks, film and reels prior to the actual development process. These days I just stick to a water bath and choosing a time of the day when you don’t have to fight too great a temperature differential between the room temperature and developer. Anyway, my point is that the window period for film development for me during summer is shortened, so it can take a while to catch up with a back log of film. So I was delighted when I viewed this morning’s processed black and white sheet films and rediscovered what I was photographing exactly one month ago during a trip to Augusta; in this case, bracken ferns. Developing films can be a bit of an adventure, you can never be absolutely sure what you have on film is what you see, and in this case I think I see more in the image than what I remember at the time on the ground glass.
Foto Freo 2012 Fro on the Fringe
January 6, 2012
Yes, the news came through this afternoon in a collective email from Foto Freo headquarters for this year’s fringe dwellers to be given the “go ahead”. So there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. According to Bob Hewitts’s Foto Freo December 2011 newsletter, “Landscape photography, along with wild life photography, has not received much attention in past Festivals.” So I am pleased to assist by doing my small part in addressing this imbalance by participating in this year’s Foto Freo Fringe Festival 2012, along with my good friend and colleague Peter Kovacsy. Our exhibition, “Changing Places” will be held at the Barracuda Studio Gallery, U3&4/56 Pakenham St (corner of Pakenham St and Nairn St, Tele 08 9430 6606), starts March 17th. Come along, see some traditional hand made prints and catch up for a chat.
Spring time ramble.
October 23, 2011
Spent the last week in the south west and Spring is definitely out. I was doing a few coastal walks, the weather was wonderfully changeable, rainy and blustery one day, then calm, fine mornings with light wisps of high cloud the next. Just the sort of conditions I like most as it offers a wide range of photographic opportunities, from different light qualities to varying subject matter. On my way back one fine morning I sheltered for a while under these peppermint trees which were laden with white trails of bloom. There was the added bonus of a small brook and the sound of running water. So nice to see some water flowing in the brooks and streams this year compared to the dryness of last year. It’s a great time of the year to get out and do a bush walk, ramble, hike or what ever you choose to call it.
Introductory Large Format Photography Workshops
April 25, 2011
Swamp Sheoaks, Canning River Reserve
During May and June I will be offering some introductory workshops to large format photography.
The aim of this workshop is to introduce you to a large format 4×5 inch field camera, provide some first hand experience with its workings and techniques, with applications to both portrait and landscape work. If you have ever wondered about the advantages of using a large format camera in your work and what’s involved, or are considering large format for your photography, then this is for you.
This workshop will be conducted outdoors along the wooded banks of the Canning River Reserve, so you can see and experience using a 4×5 field camera in a real life situation. Through various discussions and field demonstrations, including some with Polaroid instant 4×5 film, Alex will guide you through the process of using and choosing a large format camera. Discussion will also include choice of film types and applications, film loading, processing, lens choices and printing options including digital output.
The Canning River Reserve will provide ample subject matter and an ideal learning environment for participants to gain experience in using a 4×5 field camera within a group setting. Participants who have their own film or digital camera, regardless of
format, are encouraged to bring it along.
To maximise the experience, workshop numbers are limited to a maximum of 6 people. For more information about dates etc, you can down load a printable pdf or you can get more details and book online.
You will be the envy of other photographers with the strikingly fashionable dark cloth hairstyle.
Fire on the Landscape
February 11, 2011
Last week, with strong gusting winds, fire has once again touched the landscape in several locations around Perth. Whilst helicopter water bombers battled the severe fire at Roleystone, where tragically over 70 homes were lost, fixed wing aircraft dropped water on a blaze in the Canning Regional Park. Thanks to the firefighting crews, the fire was contained by the evening. Logic would have it that fire should travel in the same direction as the prevailing winds, but when I took a walk through the burnt area it became clear that the fire had not only jumped the river, but travelled backwards on itself, upwind against the gusting easterly winds, to ignite unexpected areas. That gives an idea of the ferocity of the winds created locally by the fire’s intensity. It’s a sobering reminder that fire continues to be a major force in shaping our landscape, evidenced by our highly flammable vegetation, the charred bark remains on mature trees and the fire dependent reproduction cycles of native plants. Has the reduced use of fire on the landscape over the past 200 years had the unintended consequence of increasing fire severity and therefore greater risk of destruction of homes and environment? This image was made in an area of the park which I regularly visit as part of a longer term photographic project exploring the seasonal changes and activity within the urbanised setting of the Canning River Regional Park, and was made several days after the fire.
Related Articles
- Fires destroy 41 properties in Perth hills (news.theage.com.au)
- Bushfires rage around Perth (theage.com.au)
Pipes, Fremantle.
January 20, 2011
Film tests can be time consuming and generally bore me to tears, but every now and then they are a necessary evil. So to make it a little more interesting I tried to find some local subject matter that had some visual appeal.This image is quite industrial and not my regular subject matter, but was quite suitable for the test I had in mind, and I found the silvery curve of the pipes created an intriguing juxtaposition against the background of formal straight lines.
The scene is high in contrast, from the deep shadows under the bridge to the brightness of the sunlit wall. To retain the bright detail in the far left wall I cut the development, so that I did not have to perform darkroom gymnastics to obtain detail in the final print. Normally with such a cut to development I would increase the exposure to compensate for film speed loss, but I didn’t do this in this case. On inspection of the contact proof, the negative still held plenty of printable shadow detail, however in making the print it looked better when I printed these low values down further.
Related Articles
- Photo Enlargers Loom Like Dinosaurs of the Film Age (wired.com)
- Analog: A Melancholy Photographic Tribute To Darkrooms And Enlargers (crunchgear.com)
- Dodging and burning (pixiq.com)
- Out of the shadows: A new exhibition sheds light on the photographic darkroom (independent.co.uk)
- Photographer Richard Nicholson’s best shot (guardian.co.uk)
Liquid Light
December 20, 2010
I was walking back to my campsite late one evening. The clear blue skies of the day had slipped away into a dull metal grey with a light but steady rain of an approaching cold front.
It had been a strenuous day’s walking on the south coast, but otherwise it was uneventful from an image making perspective. Although I usually find plenty of subject matter for my camera, on this day I just couldn’t get the photographic elements to come together in some manageable way. Not to mention that the coastal vegetation was full of ticks, for which I had to check myself continuously, and was one reason why I didn’t stand still long enough to set up my tripod!
Away from the onslaught of ticks I stood for a few minutes near the edge of high granite cliffs. Below me there was the loud sound of air under pressure being rapidly released, punctuated by a spout of water vapour, followed by a long inhaling breath. A few seconds later a humpback whale swam leisurely by, just a few metres out from the cliff’s edge. As it passed underneath me I watched it follow the cliff line and then disappear.
Braving the ticks, I made my way across the low bush towards a four wheel drive track used by local fisherman. The rain, now pooling along the track, caught my attention as it reflected the glow of the evening sky. It was if the light was seeping out of the ground. I quickly set up my camera and made the exposure, the light fading rapidly, before a deluge of rain hit.
That night in my tent I heard the whales calling to each other as they swam into the bay.
Groundhogs Day
November 8, 2010
I often rise early before sunrise. I like to think its because I am a dedicated landscape photographer, but truth is this: the cat has me trained so well to let her out at that time in the morning it has become a habit. When I am at home the morning starts with a brewed cup of coffee. As the predawn light softly filters through the kitchen window I survey the sky for a whisp of cloud or any other clues as to what the day is bringing. At this time of year, Perth summer weather can be very predictable, just like in Groundhogs Day. Today was no different, the cloudless grey sky was slowly turning blue and a gentle but persistent easterly breeze was coming off the scarp, just like yesterday.
I went into the backyard and stood under the jarrah and marri trees with my cup of coffee. Above me in the trees I could hear the industrious sound of insects buzzing. Looking up, the jarrah tree was heavy with tiny yellow blossoms, which stood out in the soft predawn light. With the extent of its flowering I wondered why I had not noticed earlier? During the day when the sun is blazing in the cloudless summers skies, these soft yellow flowers become almost invisible, lost amongst the bright light and glare.
I got out the 4×5, and focused in tight on the tiny flowers and a cluster of seed pods. The magnification was life size on the film and with every breath of wind the pods and flowers jumped in and out of my ground glass viewing frame. Working at this magnification depth of focus is very shallow and I used some back tilt on the camera to help bring the foreground seed pods into the plane of focus. For just a moment the breeze stopped. In a rush I placed a single sheet of Polaroid Type 55 PN film into the camera back, set the shutter for 1/2 second at f8. Both these settings were a compromise to sharpness, but it was all I could get. To make matters worse I could hear the leaves in the tops of the trees rustle in the breeze as I pressed the cable release to make the exposure.
I like to process my Polaroid in the darkroom, preserving the negative and clearing it in sodium sulphite solution whilst in complete darkness. Most my Polaroid prints are overexposed as my aim is to obtain the negative, which I expose at the slower 32ISO rather than the recommended print speed of 50ISO.
The first rays of sunlight began hitting the blossoms, the sky turning a bright pale blue. It was going to be a fine summer’s day in Perth. What remained of my coffee had gone cold, but at least I had awakened my senses as to what was happening in my own backyard and saw something anew. Maybe it wasn’t going to be another Groundhogs day after all?
