Yesterday morning there were signs that the seasons were changing with our first mist for the calendar year. The daytime air is still warm but the sun is getting up a little later each day. I took an early morning stroll with my camera, the landscape enveloped by a gentle glowing light, something we don’t see too frequently here in Perth. A few early morning joggers and walkers were out enjoying the cooler air, but mostly I had the misty forest and pathways to myself, it was a quiet and peaceful morning of a long weekend. You could barely believe that this regional park is bordered by suburbia, shopping centres and highways. For those of us who live near the Canning River in Perth, we are just so lucky to have this wonderful asset at our doorstep whilst being in the middle of a city.

We had an enthusiastic crew  turn up for the introductory large format photography workshop, including some fine art students from Curtin University, a musician and someone with bee keeping experience. The later came in handy when a wayward swarm of bees briefly investigated our group before heading further afield. After some basic instruction everyone got down to looking under the focusing cloth and using a 4×5 camera, making some film exposures.  There were lots of questions, a lot to cover, and the time flew by. The afternoon warmed up and we finished off at the local cafe.  Thanks to Peter Kovacsy for his assistance on the day, and thanks to  Fitzgerald Photo, Jamie Paterson and Camera Electronic for helping to spread the luv.

This afternoon Peter and I installed our exhibition ‘Changing Places’ into the Barracuda Studio Gallery in Pakenham St Fremantle.  Barracuda is open 10am to 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday. The exhibition runs for two weeks only, 17th March until 31st March, as part of the Foto Freo Festival. We are only a short walk from the cafe strip, so come down, catch our exhibition and enjoy a coffee. Don’t forget you are invited to our special evening viewing on March 24th from 6.30 to 8pm, where Peter and I will be available to discuss our work.

Our exhibition Changing Places at Barracuda Studio Gallery, Fremantle is only about a week away and final preparations are well underway. This morning I fired up my old Seal Commercial press to dry mount my gelatin silver fibre based prints onto museum board ready for framing. If you haven’t received an invitation yet, then please consider this quick note as your invitation to drop by between the 17th and 31st March, Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, as  part of the FotoFreo 2012 Open Exhibition Programme. Or if you would like to catch up with Peter and myself  you can come along to a special evening viewing on March 24th. Look forward to seeing you there.

Ok, I have been a little slow in getting onto facebook but I have finally got around to creating an account. I must admit I have found it to be a little perplexing, especially its navigation and instructions which just don’t appear to match up. That aside, I know a lot of people prefer to keep in touch and receive announcements via their facebook page these days, so please excuse any stuff ups as I gingerly dip my big toe into the facebook pool.  I am not sure why but my facebook page doesn’t seem to be coming up in google search, perhaps it’s too early but if you have any hints please let me know, the link to my page is here.

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.

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.

Pemberton Wine Region is emerging as one of Western Australia’s premium cool climate wine regions. Since completing my book ‘Pemberton Wine Region, Western Australia‘ I have had numerous requests for wine making related images from Western Australia. I am pleased to say that I now have a range of images available on my stock photography web site www.stormlightpublishing.com.au , available for editorial use. Stormlight Publishing provides high quality stock images of Western Australian landscapes for editorial use in books, magazines, corporate reports, brochures and calendars. Rights can be purchased from anywhere in the world and images are immediately downloadable upon payment through a fully integrated online delivery system. Use the web site’s search facilities to assist your image research and then create, edit and email image collections to your design team as well as download position pics for page layouts.

If you have specific image or licensing requirements please feel free to contact me.

In time I will be adding more images to the library, both from the 20,000 plus film based images plus new digital images. Fine art prints are still available from my web site www.alexbond.com.au.

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.

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.