naol ti na photo- graphic portrait prize 2009effect is seamless and subtle. some of the photographs...

portraits that present individuals and groups in interior rooms. In these images the objects in the room – furniture, ornaments, and works of art on the walls – seem to act as clues about the sitter. One photographer has made direct reference to the historic tradition of the vanitas painting: a still-life genre where items such as the human skull symbolise the transience of life and the folly of vanity. The interior is portrayed as the site of quiet reflection or surprise: a fleeting reflection of a young boy in an ornate but empty room.In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to regional venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography. With the generous support of VISA, the National Portrait Gallery is offering a prize of $25 000 for the most outstanding photographic portrait.

The judging processFor the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 we received almost 1 200 individual entries from 700 entrants. The terms of the 2009 prize allowed each photographer to submit up to three entries, although only one could be selected for exhibition. The subject of the portrait could be anyone as long as the entry was a portrait in the broadest sense – that is an image of an individual person or persons, the photograph taken from life. Group portraits and self portraits were accepted. Photographers must be over 18 years of age and be resident in Australia and the photographs must have been taken during the year before the closing date.All entries were submitted as digital images, and then a panel of three judges spent two days reviewing the entries. We discussed each entry as we viewed it, and placed it into one of three categories: yes, no and maybe. By the end of the first day we had developed a short list, and we reviewed these short-listed entries again the following day. The exhibition space dictates a maximum number of 65 short-listed photographic portraits. In 2009 we made a final selection for exhibition of 56 photographs.

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, previewed the 2009 Prize and later described the judging process.Over two days in November 2008 the Director of the National Portrait Gallery Andrew Sayers, the Head of the School of Music and Drama at the University of Wollongong Sarah Miller and I selected a short list of 56 portrait photographs from 1 200 entries. Each entry was judged solely on its merits as a compelling portrait photograph. As judges we had no predetermined ideas about particular themes, or preferences for styles or subjects. At the time of writing the winner is yet to be named, and each of the 56 short-listed portrait photographs are worthy. The winning photograph will be one that is gripping. It will possess qualities not reducible to formula.The portrait photographs selected for the National Photograph Portrait Prize 2009 exhibition are characterised by a heightened sense of drama. Several of the photographs of individuals have an introspective tone. Brooding or contemplative, photographers’ subjects appear against a dense black background. Isolated, pensive or thoughtful, these portraits capture something of the sitters’ intensity. When they meet our own gaze, their look is unwavering, even defiant.A group of images place their subjects in the landscape, but it is at twilight or evening. Nature is stilled; the human presence within the landscape is not antagonistic. It is concentrated by the drama of the natural environment.There is a sense of heightened naturalism to many of the portraits. Some photographers have used technology to enhance their images, or to add a surrealist edge, but the effect is seamless and subtle. Some of the photographs have a cinematic atmosphere. They convey a sense of enveloping space, and also suggest that the image might form part of a larger narrative. Where many of the head-shot portraits suggest intensity, the cinematic portraits seem to contain arrested energy, and are suspenseful.This year there are a group of photographic

What is the National Photographic Portrait Prize?The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual exhibition intended to promote the best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers.

Why does the National Portrait Gallery hold the National Photographic Portrait Prize?Photography is one of the most pervasive and popular mediums for contemporary portraiture. Through its diverse exhibition, online and outreach programs, the National Portrait Gallery seeks to foster understanding of the Australian people – their identity, history, creativity and culture – through portraiture. The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 was held at the National Portrait Gallery during autumn 2009. The exhibition is touring to five regional venues: Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Redland Art Gallery, Noosa Regional Gallery, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum, and the Queensland University of Technology Art Museum. Since its inception the National Portrait Gallery has displayed a dedication and enthusiasm for both Australian and International photography. The Gallery has staged many exhibitions by renowned photographers and the Gallery’s permanent collection holds an impressive body of photographic works created by some of Australia’s most talented photographers. With the generous support of VISA, the National Portrait Gallery offers a prize of $25 000 for the most outstanding photographic portrait. The judges choose the winner from the finalists displayed in the exhibition. Seven hundred photographers entered 1 200 photographs in 2009. The exhibition catalogue has been produced for the national exhibition of the 2009 Prize, comprising the short-listed entries accompanied by the photographer’s artist statement.

NaTioNal PhoTo- GraPhiC PorTraiT Prize 2009

National Portrait Gallery Learning resource

Do you think colour makes a more compelling portrait? A number of viewer responses to the portraits are included in this resource. Select a portrait and write a response.In what ways do you think this exhibition contributes to your appreciation of photography as a contemporary medium for portraiture?Try to create a portrait in the style of one of the portraits. Consider the lighting, pose, composition, use of colour and expression.

education e-newsSubscribe to the National Portrait Gallery Education e-news bulletin for educators at portrait.gov.au/site/subscribe.php

BlogThe education section of the National Portrait Gallery website includes a blog where you can post your thoughts about the National Photographic Portrait Prize or respond to any of the questions in this learning resource. Visit portrait.gov.au/site/blog.php

Tell us what you thinkNational Portrait Gallery is committed to providing opportunities for all audiences to access exhibitions and the collection and we welcome any comments or suggestions about this learning resource. Please contact Amanda Andlee Poland, Education Manager 02 6102 7062 [email protected]

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 exhibition venues National Portrait Gallery 20 March – 17 May 2009Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery 3 July – 16 August 2009Redland Art Gallery 15 September – 18 October 2009Noosa Regional Gallery 6 November – 6 December 2009Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum 18 December 2009 – 24 February 2010QUT Art Museum 4 March – 25 April 2010

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 The call for entries for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 will commence in August 2009. Check the website for details www.portrait.gov.au. The exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery from 19 February to 26 April 2010 and tour regional galleries.

King Edward Terrace Canberra act 2600 portrait.gov.au/site/education.php

We felt that the group of short-listed portraits was of a high standard and that they clearly stood apart from all of the other entries.After the 56 short-listed works were delivered to the National Portrait Gallery in February 2009 they were laid out in the exhibition space. The three judges reconvened to select the prize-winning portrait. We agreed on a small group of possible winners and after serious and intense discussion we selected our winner for 2009: Cormac and Callum by Ingvar Kenne. We also felt that a runner-up of very high quality deserved recognition as a highly commended portrait: Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters by Gary Grealy.Each judge brought their own individual expertise to the selection process. It was characterised by lively discussion and debate: a reflection of the diverse nature of the entries, and of the high standard and psychological depth of the short-listed portrait photographs.

Questions for discussionIf you were the only judge, which photograph would you have chosen as the winner? Which is the most compelling portrait?Are there any photographs that you don’t consider a portrait? What do you think defines a photographic portrait?Dr Anne Marsh, in a radio interview on 22 April about National Photographic Portrait Prize, suggested that a photographer is born every nanosecond. Does this mean that photography is losing its power as an art form?A number of portraits include the whole figure of the subject in an environment. How do you think this contributes to our understanding of the subject? Select a portrait that immediately attracts your interest. What are the qualities or features to which you have been drawn? In what way does your appreciation of this photograph change with an extended viewing of the work? 70% of the 56 finalists in the exhibition used digital cameras. Why do you think this is so? How might the use of a digital camera affect the final photograph?Adobe Photoshop was used to manipulate several of the focus works identified in this resource. What impact, if any, do you think this has on the final images?Are there any subjects that you are familiar with or know of in this exhibition? Do you think familiarity of the subject influences your appreciation of the portrait?

all is vanity’. The Dutch in the 17th century where preoccupied with their own mortality – it was a time of plagues sweeping Europe. My version updates that theme with our entire planets mortality through global warming, hence the addition of a globe and thermometer. The dead cockroach symbolises not only our death but the destruction of even the hardiest of animals. By using a traditional style I am trying to point out the universality of the theme.

What type of camera did you use? Canon Eos 5D digital camera.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? This was shot with a single Elinchrom Studio Light in a large Soft box.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? The smoke and bubbles were shot separately and added later in Photoshop.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? It was printed on an Epson Inkjet Printer.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? It is much the same size as the original painting and has been framed in a period style, the frame is handmade using 24 carat gold and a clay called bole which has been burnished with agate and scratched with patterns. Each corner has a symbol from the photograph.

Who are your influences? David Bailly, Pieter Claesz, (both Dutch 17th century painters) and contemporary photographers Harry Callaghan and Irving Penn.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Learn the fundamentals of photography, take lots and lots of photographs of things you love or that interest you and try to develop an individual style. Find a place to get feedback and encouragement. I post all my shots on Flickr, it has given me a worldwide audience for my work, resulting in publication in several magazines and journals and it has helped me stay motivated.

QuestionsThe appropriation of David Bailly’s portrait is full of symbols. Can the symbols in Best’s portrait be interpreted today? Create a list of objects and what you think they symbolise.

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? Still life photographer. Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? You can see my shots on Flickr.com. My Flickr name is Kevsyd

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? It is a very carefully constructed piece based on a painting by David Bailly. The background is painted, the table had to be built, because the perspective in the painting meant a normal table would not work. Many of the items such as the knife, globe, silver pomander and coins had to be made by me. What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? It is a Vanitas Portrait summed up in the quote from Ecclesiastes that hangs over the table. It translates as ‘Vanity of vanities;

Still life with vanitas symbols (after David Bailly) Kevin BestGicleé print

artist’s statementMark Twain said ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme’. The masters of the Dutch Golden Age lived in a time of extreme wealth and fear. They feared: eternal damnation, plagues, religious genocide and the guilt associated with exploitation. Sound familiar? David Bailly (1584–1657) summed it all up in his Self portrait with vanitas symbols. Mine is a rhyme. The references to plague have been replaced with references to global warming and instead of Bailly’s double self portrait, I have left the frame empty, for our future is less certain.



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shows a lot more of me than I ever imagined it would. Or maybe having successfully completed this very challenging piece I have become a little more like David Bailly. To my great surprise, I’m currently planning another self portrait, this time with a false moustache, maybe I haven’t changed that much.

a viewer’s response ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2. There is a lot to see and a lot to read in this image. Kevin Best fills his self portrait with allegorical symbols that reference Flemish Vanitas paintings. Vanitas paintings caution the viewer of the perils of placing too much importance on wealth and the pleasures of life. The symbols refer to death, destruction and guilt. Do these symbols which held such firm relevance in the 17th century ring true in today’s world? Best believes so. Our chaotic world is mirrored in the image of Best’s messy table. The many symbols of potential ruin are assembled carelessly as if they may tumble off at any time. Yet the image remains eerily still. Best delivers a dire warning of imminent decline in our lifetime.

Kevin Best writes about his experience as the artist and the subject in his self portrait I am by nature a very shy person. I hate having my photograph taken. This is one of very few in existence. But I went into this project not thinking of it as a picture of me. I was just another one of the props. No more important than the candlestick. The real me would be hidden under a wig and elaborate costume. It took me months to prepare for this work, the shoot itself took about 7 hours to complete. Four hours to set it all up, an hour to light and shoot the scene without me, another hour to shoot the bubbles and smoke. I had already taken several test shots, so I was comfortable sitting in the set. Once I put on the costume, I felt like someone else, I took on the persona of the character I was playing, David Bailly. I wanted to portray him as a man who was very proud of how clever he was. This is how I read the painting this is based on. As I sat there, a million things were going through my head: Are my hands in the right place? Did I select the right f-stop on the camera? Have I got the empty frame on the right angle? Is the exposure right? Is my wig on straight? Am I smiling too much or not enough? Why on earth am I doing this? Finally I had to drive all those technical thoughts out of my head. I took a moment, closed my eyes and told myself I was a man who had a deeper understanding of the world and was supremely confident of my abilities. Right at that moment I felt I had no understanding of anything and was far from confident. I cleared my head, opened my eyes, looked at the camera, and imagined I was a painter staring at his reflection in a mirror, concentrating intently. Click. As I look at it now I think it

2.2Learning resourceNational Portrait Gallery

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? The central theme behind my image is that of dichotomy/duplicity that I have always found in Barry. He is a painter and an actor. These two distinct personalities are always present with Barry.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph. Technically, this portrait had to be spot on. To merge the two Barry’s into one I used Photoshop cs3 and two separate images of Barry holding another persons hand so that I was able to combine his two hands together seamlessly. The image itself was shot in my studio using an 8ft Roxio light. I also had Barry painted in Kabuki paint to make reference to the chalk drawings of his favourite painter, Sandro Botticelli.

What type of camera did you use? I shot this digitally, using a Hasselblad body and lens with a phase one digital back.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? I work with both in my professional life, however, with this image I use Flash. The system itself is pro-photo studio flash system and the light shaper I used was an 8ft Roxio light with diffuser net. So basically it looks like a huge silver lined parachute in which the flash head sits inside and fires back into the silver dome, producing very soft directional light.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? Yes, I used Photoshop to merge the two images and shot the images digitally.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The final print was made using a high resolution digital file, however, it was then printed using traditional archival C Type colour printing. This is not an edition piece.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? I felt that, for the right impact of this image, it had to be printed as near to life size as possible. I wanted the viewer to be immersed in the dichotomy of Barry and the wonder of this image. I want people to walk up close to it and see every pore on Barry’s skin.

QuestionsWhat do you think the artist intends by the double portrait?What personal qualities of the subject, actor Barry Otto, do you think are conveyed in this portrait?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? I am a photographer who specialises in portraiture and fashion.

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? peterbrew_bevan.com and agent’s website suesoutham.com.au

What is your relationship to the subject? I have been friends with Barry Otto since the first time I worked with him in 1996. He also wrote the forward to my book, Shoot/Studio Sessions.

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? The portrait is a very deliberate conceptual piece, very constructed.

Dichotomia Peter Brew-BevanLED exposed C type print

artist’s statementDrawing visual influence from the chalk drawings of the sitter’s favourite artist, Sandro Botticelli, my conceptual portrait of Barry Otto depicts the creative dichotomy of the man, playfully displaying the ever-present duality I find with Barry, those being the painter and the actor.I am also depicting the two very strong traits that go hand in hand within the artist himself, these being confidence and vulnerability, and the constant questioning that occurs between the two.Accompanying this theme of duality is the addition of symbolic elements that represent the alchemistical symbol for the actor. Neptune (represented by the three pronged paint brushes in Barry’s left hand) and Venus (represented by the Elizabethan ruff found around Barry’s neck). Together they form the Alchemist symbol for Illusionary Reality, or as we know it today, the modern day actor.



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Who are your influences? Since I trained in the area of Fine Arts and trained originally as a painter and many of my influences come from the painting world such as the Dutch Master, Hasselear to the Modernist Lucian Freud. Photographically my influences are Irving Penn, Bloomsfield and Albert Watson. I am also influenced by the French film Director Michel Gondry.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? My advice would be shoot, shoot and shoot more. I find that the only way to develop your themes and technical knowledge is to just shoot all the time, make mistakes, it’s the only way to learn.

a viewer’s response Dichotomia by Peter Brew-Bevan is a carefully constructed and conceptual photograph. The composition is simple and elegant; two men, both Barry Otto, stand side-by-side holding hands to create a balanced mirror-like image. At first glance the image appears almost as a black and white photograph. Body paint has been used to make the skin a light, chalky grey. Only a few hints of pink around the subject’s face and the slightly yellow hue of his draw-string trousers reveal the work to be a colour print. The photograph conveys a sense of theatricality and subtle humour. On the left Otto gazes out at the viewer in a self-assured manner. On the right he is anxious, chewing his fingers while looking towards and gripping the hand of his stronger self for comfort. His whitened skin and the Elizabethan collar he wears on the right allude to the costume and makeup of a performer, a reference to his career as an actor. Another prop, the paint brushes he grips in his hand at the left, allude to Otto’s alternate profession as a painter. In this photograph Brew-Bevan has depicted these facets of Barry Otto as dichotomies; actor/painter, confident/vulnerable.


What is your relationship to the subject? No relationship other than knowing her in her past position as director of the National Gallery of Australia and as a personality in art education and promotion.

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? It was a commission for Good Weekend magazine, which is an insert to the Saturday Herald newspaper. The article was about distinguished women with grey hair. It was an article for the summer-holiday edition hence the weak premise for a story.There was a brief from the pictorial editor, Judith Love but it was meant for loose interpretation as long as both hair and person was evident in the final image.In this situation, it is prudent to be aware that almost 90% of subjects being photographed are reluctant participants extending their courtesy to you as a professional. This is a duty that comes with being a public figure. As a photographer, you either run with the idea that you take everything you can get (befitting the category: paparazzi photographer) or you try to balance your personal vision with respect to the subject’s tolerance and the clients’ brief.This was a case of the subject being very accommodating and kind, yet to a certain extent, going through the motions of being photographed. There seemed nothing more appropriate at the time but to arrange a formal portrait: one that imbues dignity, classical in form and somehow suggestive of art.

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? The image hints at the painting by James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist’s Mother. This wasn’t preconceived but rather arrived at in an impromptu manner. Editorial photography, especially when it demands a portrait, is about degrees of circumstance and chance mixed with any resonance one is able to invoke from the subject and the environment.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? There is not much to speak of – a very standard capture and process scenario. To be precise: there was some arranging of furniture, instructions on where to sit, a light test with a light meter, conversation around general things and then where to look and so forth.

Betty Churcher Dean GoljaInkjet print

artist’s statementI tried to imbue this portrait with art, serenity and strength.

QuestionsHow do you think the pose adds to the personality conveyed in this portrait?To what extent is this a formal portrait?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? More often than not, I try to keep it general and refer to myself as a stills photographer. But my practice extends to video projects with music and live performance (befitting the category: photo media artist), to documentary projects for social welfare situations where image and story combine (befitting the category: photojournalist). Almost every time I look through the viewfinder I feel like it’s my first time (befitting the category: amateur) and 75 % of the images I take are of mortals (befitting the category: portrait photographer).One of the great features of photography- and, perhaps, a never-ending source of distraction – is that it allows you to traverse and intersect with its many faceted inherent categories.

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? DeanGolja.com and Onlyhuman.com



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depths (art photography). If one can begin with a spirit of integrity and purpose then what will unfold will be more than a lifestyle or career and may become one of the few things that give meaning to your life.

a viewer’s responseThis was one of the first portraits I was particularly drawn to. The artist’s brief statement – ‘I tried to imbue the portrait with art, serenity and strength’ reflects the quiet, elegance of this profile portrait. The subdued outline of the chair and body disappear into the dark background while at the same time allowing her face to emerge from this darkness – a face showing finely detailed lines that speak of age and wisdom. The viewer is drawn to her gaze beyond the frame, suggesting a life looking back and looking forward. The portrait is complemented by Golja’s choice of a graceful, antique, silver frame.

and talking with the subject then messing around with knobs and dials. This generally results in a few outtakes and in this case, after scanning my favoured negative, it was found to be slightly blurred. Fortunately, after applying some sharpening to the image (a technique in Photoshop that increases the contrast around the edges of pixels) it took on a slightly painterly effect, which appealed to me.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The final print was made by handing over a digital file to Warren Macris and Ben Ong at High Res Digital imaging in Sydney. The print isn’t part of a series or an edition.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? I felt the image didn’t benefit from being large or boastful but would convey more of an art historical reference by being housed in a relatively small, precious, and ornate frame.

Who are your influences? Photographic images are around us constantly and on a subliminal level it is practically impossible not to be coerced or affected by them. Perhaps that is the reason that I have never consciously sought inspiration from this medium. Before photography, my practice was painting, yet I don’t recall ever being influenced by a single painting or period either– other than recently using and recycling various principles in art history to underpin an idea.Literature, cinema and music is a different thing altogether. Even so, I can count on one hand art or artists that have really made a difference in that sense that great art can not only influence but transform you. Fortunately, I can count my wife amongst these: a composer whose work moves me for its extraordinary power and grace.In the end, ideas that affect your own work come from many diverse places and they are all the better if they don’t have the residue of another artist.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? At the point that you decide to be a photographer, try to analyse yourself. If you were able to pin down some key reasons for wanting to follow this particular calling and match that with your personality type, it would help ascertain the level of commitment that you are willing to undertake. Photography can be like a siren to young people with the allure of: glamour (fashion photography), danger (war photography) or incomprehensible

What type of camera did you use? The camera used was a Plaubel Makina (standard) with a 80mm fixed lens. This is a rangefinder camera in the 6x7cm format with 100asa Fuji Reala film inserted. I also had a heightened 35mm digital camera (Canon Mk2ds) on hand but little was done with that camera. It is important to be receptive to the instrument that will best achieve the desired results. This is as much an aesthetic decision as it is psychologically driven. The digital camera still hasn’t given me results deemed worthy to cross over to my personal work. Sometimes this is a quality issue but more often than not, it is about how a camera looks, sounds and feels. Most digital cameras are ugly objects that are visually and aurally intrusive. They do serve a purpose but not one that contributes to creating a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. Whereas the Plaubel Makina camera used for this image folds out gracefully like an accordion, it makes a dainty little shutter sound due to the fact that it is a rangefinder and therefore doesn’t have a mirror mechanism or motor creating a racket, and one has the opportunity of witnessing the very moment that the image is captured due to the fact that the viewfinder is a parallel representation of what the lens is seeing.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? My lighting system is quite elaborate even for editorial assignments. It consists of battery powered flash units and soft boxes that are as large as a two-person tent. But most of the time that kit doesn’t leave the car. Here the light originated from the sun through a thin layer of white cloud in a northern direction (at about 2pm) through a dusty kitchen window with a bit of reflection from a white card approximately a metre behind the subjects head, bouncing back some light onto the hair. My feeling is that if you bring a lighting style to a portrait it becomes more a statement about yourself than the subject. Of course there are instances where a circumstance or direction lends itself to artificial lighting arrangements but I’m personally drawn to photographs that at least give the illusion they may have come from a ‘real’ moment; closer to a document than advertisement.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? One of my constant failings to the claim of being a professional photographer is that I occasionally forget to fine focus the lens when taking photographs. It seems much more vital and interesting looking at


What is your relationship to the subjects? It is only from the point of going to the Gallery this Watters Gallery to ask about shooting James Gleeson who I had photographed many years earlier, they informed me he was nearing the end of his life, and he died only a matter of weeks after that meeting. I then thought these two men are an important part of the history of Australian art so I asked if they would sit. We had a couple of meetings and then I photographed them over a period of about half an hour and through the process directed their attention to the camera lens. I was looking for a very quiet almost intimate image that had a sense of the 1960s about it. My relationship with them is very new.

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? The image is very much a planned picture. I had a very clear idea of the look with the composition and lighting.

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? It is a simple intimate representation of two gentlemen from the art world with a style flavour of the 1960s simply because this was when they founded Watters Gallery.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? The image was created in the gallery with one light a flash head with a silver umbrella as the source, the subjects we placed at a short distance from the wall so I would get a fall off of light on the wall, so it would render as a dark grey. The image was shot on a digital camera and graded with a subdued colour palate, to almost have a monochromatic feel to it.

What type of camera did you use? A Hasselblad with a Phase One P30 digital back and a 120mm lens.

Do you work with natural or artificial lighting? The image is with flash and using a silver umbrella, positioned at 45 to 50% to the side of the subjects so I could have a highlight side and a catch light on the shadow side of the face

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? Yes. I graded the image as a normal colour image and I used a layer to control contrast and another to de-saturate the image. I find I will end up using many layers in the final production of the work, one of the final steps is to add a small amount of grain to the image to soften the overall appearance.

QuestionsWhat is it about this photograph that impresses you? What can we tell about these men from this photograph? What contributes to this meaning?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? I would refer to myself as a photographer. My day to day work is as an advertising photographer where I create images of people generally acting out a role. My other practice is as a photographer that creates images for my satisfaction and for exhibition. There are a couple of projects that I work on – one being images of artists. These works are simple portraits of artists and people in the art community. The other area of interest is far more conceptual work some of which is in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Some recent work included a series titled Baggage this was reflections of my childhood and the effects that religion has had on my later life. The current project is a series on Ned Kelly.

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? Yes I do have a website, however it is more directed to my commercial work than my art. garygrealy.com

Geoffrey legge and Frank Watters Gary GrealyUltrachrome print

artist’s statementGeoffrey Legge and Frank Watters have been directors of Watters Gallery Sydney since 1967. I wanted my photograph to honour two important members of the art community.



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how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The image was printed on an Epson Printer with Epson Ultrachrome inks. This stage there are only two images the one in the show and a smaller working print.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? The framed work was framed to the maximum size limit. I like images that have room to breath so there was white space around the work which was contained by a thick black frame. I looked at the proportions of the working print as to how the image would be framed. My other reason for working to this scale was with my work in the 2007 show I felt a lot of work lost presence in the gallery because there was a lot of large work in the show.

Who are your influences? There are many artists that I look to, including Lucien Freud, classic photographers like Avendon and Penn and contemporary photographers like Nadav Kander.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Simply to work and work and shoot all the time, if you don’t do this and you don’t think about images everyday don’t bother – you must have a passion.

a viewer’s responseI’m struck by the connectedness of the subjects, physically and mentally. There is a sense of the difference of the personalities conveyed by the pose, facial expression, lighting, and size of the characters within the frame. But there is a sense of collusion between them. If they were viewing a painting one appears to assess from a warmer, artistic perspective while the other views from a slightly acerbic, retail point of view. This balance has probably kept the partnership enduring and successful since 1967. The sense of timelessness is further enhanced by the monochromatic feel of the ultrachrome print. One wearing a brown shirt the other a dark cap and greyish shirt blurs the separateness of their characters. Eyes are usually the way into a portrait for the viewer but in this case the monochromatic print makes both sets of eyes assessing and almost the same colour. In fact the subjects are directly inspecting the viewer, turning the tables on the usual perspective, making the viewer conscious of being studied.

Geoffrey legge and Frank Watters describe the experience of having their photograph taken by Gary Grealy.With any portrait – photograph, painting, drawing – most people, and we are no exception, need to be at ease with the artist and have respect for his/her abilities. Gary Grealy showed us examples of his work which was of a high standard; his general attitude and demeanour put one at ease long before photography started.Gary Grealy, we realised, was a master at catching people in the course of an activity with the utmost naturalness, with the lighting absolutely authentic– nothing arty or atmospheric. But he ensured us he was not going to show us being art gallery directors (looking earnestly at an artwork perhaps) because we would be playing a part and the result would inevitably be phony. Grealy came with every detail of position and lighting worked out. He hardly adjusted his lights once they were set up. And he only suggested the slightest of changes in posture once we were in front of the camera. This meant we never became conscious of our pose; it is almost impossible to conform to all sets of instructions about ones pose without losing naturalness.With a painting one expects a sitting to be of some duration; rightly or wrongly we expect our photograph to be taken quite quickly and, therefore, can easily become impatient. Gary Grealy’s assurance, not trying this and that, by knowing what he wanted and how to get it meant that each shot seemed directed to achieving a specific end and one never became impatient.We are very happy with the result which we feel was entirely the result of Gary Grealy’s perceptive professionalism.


What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? The same as any other portrait I do. The way I do portraits started in the mid 90s, while I was doing a two year plus journey around the world and was devoid of any influences from popular culture. During that time I had the luxury in refining down to the essence of what my portrait work would become then and still is today. I decided early on that for a global series of portraits to work as a unit, I needed strict parameters. Shooting square format, colour film and let all subjects look back at me, while shooting them in the context I met them, without rigging anything. I pay as much attention to what surrounded the subject as the subject itself, sometimes even more. I didn’t want the subjects’ emotion to be strong and start to dominate to such an extent, that all you end up looking at is the face and forget the content and context. I started to believe that a face reveals most when it doesn’t try to tell you anything. If you see a person smile that is all you see. If you see an angry face you can’t see anything else. If there is nothing but eyes calmly looking back at you, you start to see everything. I don’t chase an idea. I deal with the person in the context I meet them or where I am commissioned to shoot them and never add to the set up. Whether it is Baz Luhrmann for London Sunday Telegraph or a tribal person in PNG I have decided to approach each meeting and portrait the same way.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph. It was photographed on medium format negative colour film and later scanned high resolution. Color and grading is done to resemble a type C print, but no Photoshop work. I always use a bit of fill lightening on camera and a little speed flash.

What type of camera did you use? Mamiya 6MF – a camera that has been 15 years out of production. Viewfinder camera, medium format film.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? All existing light with a tiny bit of fill flash on camera.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? No

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The print was done with a Lightjet machine to create the final type C digital print and it is an Edition 1/7

QuestionsHow does the space or the environment contribute to your response to this work?How does the relationship of the photographer to the subject contribute to the portrait?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? photographer

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? I have my own website www.ingvarkenne.com and represented by my two agents websites: vernonjolly.com and thekitchen.com.au. I also have two galleries that show some of my artwork on their websites: rexirwin.com and bearandbreakfast.com.

What is your relationship to the subjects? Cormac and Callum are my sons

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? Both. I came across it the week before, but without camera, swimming in their grandmother’s pool area. Since I could go back and re do the image I did and everything is pretty identical to the memory of what I saw.

Cormac and Callum Ingvar Kennetype C digital print

artist’s statementThis portrait is yet another collaboration with my mates – Cormac and Callum. I regularly take their portrait (as fathers do). This time, as with all others, as much is asked of my negotiation skills as of those as a photographer. The idea needs to go through the process of several pre-warnings about the upcoming session. I discuss time needed, amount of frames and that they need to be still. And that there might be a treat at the other side. Only then am I given enough of their precious time. Fair enough. With all my subjects I give myself strict boundaries of composition, lighting and choice of camera/film. Each individual is painted with the same brush, without help of retouching, regardless of fame or obscurity. My aim is to minimise the subject’s acquired, and inevitable, awareness of self when asked to be photographed. Less is always showing me more.



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Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? I like my images to be reasonably big, since the camera, scanner, printing choice all lends itself to large format since it is high quality capture. The framing and mounting I have done in this fashion for some time. I like the frame to be unobtrusive, yet clearly frame the picture so it is isolated from the wall, hence white on white which creates a nice shadow grey as frame.

Who would you describe as your influences?I like looking at photography and have quite a few books. The people whose work I like often looks nothing like my work at all such as Robert Frank, Chris Verene, Paul Graham and Richard Billingham.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Ultimately it’s all about finding a voice that is you regardless of trends, influences and teachers. However, I think you have to go through the process of looking at other photographers and artists work and attend lessons and receive teachings for a long time, before you can find that dialect that is yours. And don’t ever stop taking photographs – theorising only gets you so far.

a viewer’s response Cormac and Callum, the photographer’s sons, the subjects of this portrait, are centrally placed in an artificially lit interior space - the indoor pool at their Grandmother’s Sydney apartment block. The boys are posed and waiting. They stand as instructed, as they have stood before. The siblings appear to be alone, but they are surveyed, by their father from his distance through the lens, as we observe them. A fraction of a second is captured. The portrait carries youthful experiences; in a way adults don’t easily remember or often value. My extended gaze explores the small details in the frame: the words on the orange bollards, the yellow plastic chain, the grey grot between the tiles, the crudely applied sealant, the bubbles on the face, arm and legs, the TYR logo, the sprinkler system on the ceiling, the slippery tiled floor, the metal coat hook, the two white straws that litter the floor, the domestic style door handle. Who will enter through the door on the right into this silent semi-private space? The threat or treat of the water lies near them, coated in soft white foam. What lies below the surface of this photograph?


(a colour transparency on a Rolleiflex) in a mirror of a room in Paris, where he and his wife went for a belated honeymoon at the end of the 1950s – some years before Morley became internationally famous with his photographs of England in the swinging 60s (including the iconic shot of Christine Keeler nude in a chair) and a couple of decades before he and Pat came to work and live in Australia. It occurred to me that the tender portrait was exactly 50 years old and with no thoughts of competitions, exhibitions or whatever, I thought it would be nice to duplicate the shot as a gift to Lewis and Pat who lived not too far from me in Sydney’s inner-west and who, in recent years had become treasured and admired friends.

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? As the producer and presenter of a number of documentary TV series including This Fabulous Century, The Australians, Where Are They Now? and half a dozen books about Australian history I have always been fascinated by the ‘time passes’ notion and juxtapositions of then and now.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? The original self-portrait was totally constructed (shot in a mirror) and, yet, because photography is Lewis’s livelihood, does not feel forced in any way. He only ever took the one frame, a colour transparency, and only re-discovered the original in recent years. The colour had faded and he made a black and white copy neg. I wanted to achieve the same effect with a contemporary duplicate. Clearly, it is not a spontaneous portrait but it seems relaxed, even languid. The biggest problem was matching the texture of the original (and, indeed, wondering whether I should try to match it all … why not, for example, juxtapose the old with state-of-the-art – even black and white with colour?). As I’ve said, Lewis’s original had initially been a Rollei two-and-a-quarter square (6cmX6cm) colour trannie turned into a black and white with a nice natural softness that can be hard to duplicate digitally. I shot the new portrait with three different cameras – a Canon EOS-5 with (35-350mm) zoom loaded with seven-year-old Ilford HP-5 stock (ASA 400) which I knew would be soft and grainy, a Canon Powershot 710-IS digital camera and a brand new Sony DSC-R1 of Lewis’s which I suspected might be too sharp and brittle to match the original. It produced a beautiful image but perhaps a little too good.

QuestionsWhat do you consider to be the major strength of this photograph? Luck went to great lengths to match the photograph taken by Morley 50 years earlier. What effect does this have in the appreciation of the photograph? How different would our appreciation be if he juxtaposed a coloured state-of- the -art digital photograph with the 5o-year-old image?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? Journalist and photographer

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? peterluck.com.au

What is your relationship to the subjects? Friend

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? One day I was looking at one of my books of photographs by the renowned photographer, Lewis Morley, and in particular at the endpaper shot, which is a lovely black and white self portrait of Lewis and his wife, Pat. Lewis took the shot

Pat and lewis Morley 50 years on Peter Luckdigital black and white photograph

artist’s statementLewis Morley, one of the world’s most renowned photographers, is now in his 80s. Among his thousands of images is a self portrait with his wife and muse, Pat. Fifty years later I have recreated this tender scene.



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Describe your consideration of scale mounting and framing The size of the final print was limited by the quality of the image. Because I started with a low quality image – it was in fact a flatbed scan of a print from a colour transparency turned into black and white and perhaps some generations removed – there was a limit to how large I could go. The contemporary portrait had to be degraded a little to match the original and printing on canvas added to the graininess. The proportions of the final composite print were restricted, too, by the size of the canvas stretcher frame. Taking all these things into account I was left with a composite image that sat uncomfortably on the canvas. I decided to compensate for the unusual aspect ratio by sitting the whole canvas in a ‘box’ - a bit like a castle in a moat. This allowed me to subtly adjust the dimensions of the three elements: print, canvas and box.

Who would you nominate as your influences? Lewis Morley has been one of my great influences. I think he is one of the world’s superior photographers and that’s indeed how we met. I had chance of meeting him through a friend of a friend and I jumped at the chance to go and pay homage to him. Subsequently I discovered that Lewis and I share the same favourite photographer – Jacques Henri Lartigue. In fact, Lewis’s own work is often compared with that of another French photographer, the legendary Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cartier-Bresson, a founding member of Magnum, was the supreme professional. Lartigue has similar very Gallic observational powers but he is all about energy and movement and, something still rare in the sombre world of photography, joy and laughter – dare I say it, joie de vivre.

What type of camera did you use? Of the three cameras I settled on the images from the Canon EOS with the old HP-5 stock. It seemed to be closer to the mood of the original.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? As a photographer I hate being photographed myself and I’m very impatient. Lewis and Pat are much more serene but, nevertheless, I didn’t want to make the whole process feel like a ‘shoot’. Lewis is in his 80s and has better things to do than sit for portraits, so I moved as quickly and unobtrusively as I could. We had a cup of tea in the Morley kitchen then Pat assumed her position alongside Lewis and I started taking a few shots with the Canon point-and-shoot to see how close we’d be to a matching shot from scratch. In fact, the setting in natural light was pretty close. Lewis dragged out one of his own lights for a bit of fill. We fiddled with it a bit until I thought I had an image which I could manipulate later on the computer to get a match. I covered each setup with the three cameras. The only complication came from some indecision on my part. I was not, at that stage, sure whether I should make the two separate images of the diptych in parallel or diametrically opposite. In other words, would it be more effective to have the new image facing the old or looking away? I vacillated and took the coward’s way out and shot both positions. This made the sitting longer than it should have been but the whole process still only took about 45 minutes.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? I scanned the neg into Adobe Photoshop using a Polaroid SprintScan35Plus. I still had to blur the new picture slightly and I did a lot of dodging and burning to make the two images simpatico with each other.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? I learnt a sobering lesson during this photographic episode. Inquiries at a number of labs revealed that it is now not possible to have an actual black and white print made in Sydney unless the original image is analogue i.e., not digital. Digital black and whites, even de-saturated and set in gray-scale mode, produce a slightly blue-greenish caste from the colour in the photographic paper. I discovered that the only way to achieve a true black and white was to print on canvas, which I did.


What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? Isolation and immortality.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? A wide angled lens was used to include as much detail of the room as possible and to force me to remain in close proximity to the subject. It seemed important to be on the verge of crossing George’s preferred social distance.

What type of camera did you use? The image was captured on a digital camera.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? Two studio lights were used. They were set up in front of the windows to mimic the natural lighting conditions and to also allow a fast shutter speed and small aperture.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? The final image is a straight rendition of the scene in the room.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The final print was made on a large-format inkjet printer. The personal nature of the photograph means that it will probably be the only copy made.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? The framing was kept simple and clinical, a white mat board and frame, I felt that the frame needed to contrast with the framed images within the image. The print seems more interesting when the scale approaches life-size, I wanted George to have presence and to confront the viewer.

Who are your influences? The series ‘In the American West’ by Richard Avedon had a pronounced influence on my approach to portraiture.

anything further to add? Donny (the Bull Terrier) was very comfortable in his cage for the short duration of the portrait session. He often retires to this cage when George has a visitor or when he is taken to the vet. He is a very well cared for dog who is normally roaming freely.

QuestionsWhat do we know about George from this portrait? What do we know about Donny? What does this portrait tell us about the relationships between the two?In what ways might George be like Donny?What do you think the relationship of the subject is to the photographer? What are the clues in the portrait?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? Photographer

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? Another series of portraits can be seen at petphotobooth.com

What is your relationship to the subjects? George has been my neighbour in Perth for many years.

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? The photograph was a reasonably candid encounter. It is taken in George’s living-room, nothing was changed for the photograph.

George and Donny Justin SpiersArchival inkjet print

artist’s statementGeorge hasn’t been himself of late but he is still a wonderful man and always a friend. He has been my neighbour for eight years.



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a viewer’s response I see the old man leaning forward as if aware that he only just fits in the frame of the photograph, his skull a breath away from being cropped. I see the large lump protruding from his forehead, conspicuous, improbable, mortal and perfectly round. His unit is tidy, ordered, his appearance neat. He wants me to say something. He sees me. Of course it isn’t me that he sees it is the photographer. But I still feel he is expecting something from me. I see the dog, like a nugget, strong and hard, small eyes and jaws that lock tight. I see the cage, it unsettles me. It suggests that the dog cannot be trusted, that something violent and bloody could happen. Perhaps something has in the past. I would like to ask but that would be impolite. He loves the dog. I think the dog is in the cage because the old man has a visitor, the photographer. Clearly the old man and his dog were expecting us.


Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? I set up my camera on a tripod and took multiple images of my subject in all four roles. I was careful to place her in different positions so that I could later combine them on Photoshop. Apart from different clothing and grooming, I asked her to adopt different poses and facial expressions. Being mindful of the title that I wanted to use, I made sure that one of the identities involved her serving the others.

What type of camera did you use? Nikon D3 with a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? Lighting used a combination of natural light and bounce flash off the ceiling. I used an Expodisk to get a custom white balance setting.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? I used Photoshop to combine the four images.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The final print is a lightjet print, which is a photographic process for printing digital images on photographic paper. It is not part of an edition.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? I printed the image to fit a frame that I already had from the National Portrait Gallery exhibition last year. It is large enough to have impact in a large gallery room.

Who are your influences? Alfred Eisenstaedt, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, David Seymour (Chim), Henri Cartier-Bresson, André Kertész, Harold Cazneaux, Carol Jerrems.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Follow your passion in what you photograph. Get as much experience as you can, even if you aren’t being paid for it. Opportunity knocks in strange places. Never give up.

QuestionsOn a quick glance this might described as a typical Australian family. In what ways has Tedeschi challenged this view? How has the use of stereotypes contributed to the artist’s exploration of gender?How does the constructed aspects of this portrait reveal itself?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? Photographer

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? marktedeschi.com

What is your relationship to the subject? Life-long friend

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? The photograph was the result of combining four images which were taken during the one sitting which was arranged in advance.

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? Blending of gender roles and identities and the evolution of the family in 21st century Australia.

Shall i be mother? Mark Tedeschidigital photograph

artist’s statementThis apparently conservative, traditional family unit is in fact all one person, my lifelong friend, Josie McSkimming. I used Josie as my model, as I felt that she could transcend the gender and age differences. This is probably because Josie is a social worker and counsellor who has worked for more than 20 years with families and couples. Many of her clients are dissatisfied with the defined roles in their lives and want her help in breaking out of them. During the shoot, she was more concerned about bridging the age gap than the gender gap, which I thought said something about her. She was flattered when I said that she made a very handsome man. The image also refers to the trend in modern western societies towards families of one, in which an individual has more freedom of choice over gender and age related identity issues. The question ‘Shall I be mother?’ is a wordplay on the phrase used when one person (often a male) is offering to serve tea to a group. This mocking distortion of the traditional English tea ceremony epitomises the modern day battleground over gender identity and roles.



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Mark Tedeschi’s subject, a life long friend, Josie McSkimming, explains her experience of role playing numerous subjects in the group portrait. Initially I thought ‘why me?’ as I am not exactly in the first flush of youth and I was concerned that I could look foolish or even grotesque. As a counsellor and psychotherapist, I was also concerned about my clients perhaps seeing me ‘out of role’ and being perplexed by that. I was then very apprehensive when, while trying on clothes, Mark plopped a scary grey wig on my head to be worn in the ‘father’ role! But eventually as we both muddled along together trying to form the characters and unite them in some plausible way, it became a unique challenge and we had a lot of laughs. I was more comfortable cross-dressing than trying to create the ‘young’ characters, as I feared the ‘the boy and girl’ just seemed too big a visual stretch for the potential audience of the photo to make.When my 19-year-old daughter saw the enlarged photo in the exhibition, she laughed and laughed hysterically and that seemed to say it all. Someone my age and stage of life can appear in diverse, unexpected roles creating fun and intrigue for both me and the viewer.


What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? The main idea or theme of the image is the attempt to elicit a mirrored response to the one I often experience during my first encounter with the subject. There is a point in all of us where we mentally disengage from our situation or surroundings to be our true selves at that point in our maturity.As many of us mature, and gain confidence we become practiced in resisting the urge to almost zone out or disengage from a situation. This can come from self-belief or a need to feel part of the group. As we mature, we almost become practiced at fitting in.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph?My subject Daniel was the focus of my image. I felt that there was no need to reveal any clue to the surroundings, as I wanted the viewer to engage with Daniel at the point he became himself. My interest in painting and cinematography lends itself to the way I see an image before I create it.

What type of camera did you use? I use a film camera. It is a medium format Pentax 6x7. I love this camera as it looks and feels like an oversized SLR camera. I can put it up to my eye an feel as if I am seeing the image the way that the viewer will see it, framed and at a distance. It is heavy, therefore I need a tripod in low lighting conditions.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? I asked Daniel to sit in front of a window and used the natural daylight. I prefer the lighting that may have been used by a painter. I have used artificial lighting set ups in the past, but feel it distracts the sitter in the context of this project.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? When I started out as a photographer I loved to develop and print all of my own work, but I no longer have that luxury. I have my transparency film (Provia 400) scanned to a 100MB file size. I take the scan and open it in Photoshop. I do not like to retouch the image too much, but balance the colour (as the scan is not always perfect) and remove any bad blemishes. The colour and skin tones remain true to the sitting, as I want Daniel to look like himself.

QuestionsWhat is information is given to you by the photographer to read this portrait?How could you change the ‘feel’ of this portrait?How has the artist created the intimacy within the portrait?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? I would call myself a photographer, as I am not only interested in portraiture, but find it is the clearest form of self expression I have.

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? My website is nikkitoole.com

What is your relationship to the subject? Many of the subjects are strangers to begin with, but often become good friends.

Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? The photograph of Daniel was constructed in the sense that I chose the subject, the location and the lighting, but within that environment an unobserved candid encounter takes place as the subject loses the awareness of being photographed.

DanielNikki Toolephotograph 120 colour transparency filmdigital print

artist’s statementThis work is part of a series exploring intimacy.



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you more aware as digital photographer if that is your choice. Lastly I would say have fun, because when the thrill is gone, find something else.

anything further to add?showstudio.com is a great resource for photographers.

a viewer’s response Made in 2008, the portrait of Daniel by Nikki Toole almost looks like it could have been made in 1908. The photograph unabashedly revels in beauty, picturing the subject with a dreamy soft focus that is redolent of late 19th century pictorialism. Using the conventions of European renaissance art to shape the lighting and pose of the model within the frame of the composition, the Pictorialist photographers conjured up painting rather than photography. Toole’s use of chiaroscuro – the face emerging from smoky darkness – evokes old master museum culture rather than the output of a 21st century 12 megapixel digital camera. She has ignored the uncanny ability of a modern camera to record detail, preferring to subdue visual incident to promote mood, sensation and feeling. Toole favours an old fashioned ideal of beauty in her portrait but not the contemporary expectation of perfect bone structure or immaculate make up in clean, clear studio lighting. Her view is romantic, mysterious and ephemeral, built from a palette of Persian indigo deepening into Prussian blues and charcoal retreating to velvety blacks from which the features of the sitter emerge with a transcendent luminosity. This is beauty derived from high culture rather than Hollywood, a poem rather than a Madison Avenue jingle. Toole’s portrait frames Daniel’s fey, androgynous beauty: He is no longer child, not yet a man, forever fixed between innocence and experience.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The image is resized in Photoshop to 90cm x 100cm at 300dpi and a white canvas is added in Photoshop to bring the image to 100cm x 120cm. The disc with the TIFF file goes to the printers and they print and mount the image for me.The print is an edition of 8 with an AP (artists print, which I keep for myself ).

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? My frame is white as it blends with the space. The scale is important as Daniel’s gaze meets with yours and you can stare for as long as you wish, as it’s larger than life size.

Who are your influences? I would not say I am influenced as such, but there are artists who have played their part in the way I see the world. Richard Avedon has inspired me in that I do not feel a sense of urgency to complete a series quickly, as his mid-west series took him 6 years. I see him as a photographer who had a sympathetic eye.In terms of the formation of my ideas, which I think is more important to me, I would say Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Sirk, David Lynch and Fritz Lang.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? If I had to give advice to a young photographer starting out, I would say look at painters and filmmakers. An understanding of composition is important, no matter how simplistic your end result.Many students try to recreate an image that they see in a fashion magazine, and are disappointed by their results. Professional photographers have highly paid retouchers, therefore work through your ideas first and work with what you have. You will never feel happy as a photographer if you merely copy someone else’s work. By all means look at their techniques, but use the camera to show others how you see the world. If you want to be happy as a photographer make the work for yourself. You may not have the confidence to become a documentary photographer, but there is still a place for you as a photographer in an environment that you feel confident in.Do not become a photographer for fame or money, you have to do it because you love it. Try to be open to using film. Digital is an obvious option for many, and it is great, but you will take care and give greater thought before you press the shutter on a film camera. Learning about film and the other photographic processes will make


Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? This photo was taken on my first visit to the Bangalow Sunday markets, with three other camera club members, so it was a candid encounter. But once I saw them, I asked the band leader, Bob, if it was okay. I then took heaps of shots from all angles while they went about their business. I work on the theory it’s a numbers game, take heaps and you’re bound to end up with one good one, but unfortunately that theory doesn’t always work.

What are the themes or ideas underpinning your portrait? I felt the portrait scene was very Australian.Firstly, the Sunday markets, and secondly, Bob Hodgkins, the father on guitar, made me think, ‘the swagman from the billabong has left the swag and billabong for the day to play at the Sunday Markets’. I thought he looked very Australian.

Describe the technical aspects of the photograph. I must admit it was only when I got home and saw the photos on the computer, that I realised the young fellow right in front of me had an artificial leg, that there was a toy crocodile, that the guy on wash board had a funny hat and he had different coloured shoe laces and heaps of other things It made me realise that I’m not that observant when taking Photos, I think I must look at the big picture.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? Shutter priority, 1/125, F4, 17mm with a 17-55m F2.8 lens.

What type of camera did you use? Canon 20D.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? Natural light with built in flash, it was difficult lighting under the trees, as there were shafts of straight sunlight and dark shade.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image? I am still learning Photoshop, have never done a course, I’m picking it up from Camera Club members and I always buy Better Photoshop Techniques magazine, but that is sometimes a bit heavy for me. When I first joined the Camera Club two years ago, I felt that photo shopping a photo was a bit like cheating. I still feel a bit that way, when I hear someone in the Club has cloned something into their photo. But I must admit that if I saw a red car and a great landscape, I would clone it out and I would

QuestionsWhat do you immediately notice about this portrait? Why do you think the photographer chose The Perch Creek Family Jugband as the subject for the portrait?This is a group portrait. How does your eye look at the individual members? Consider your looking? Why does one person attract your eye more than the others?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow would you define your practice? I’m an amateur photographer, have had a camera most of my life, and I used to develop my own black and white photos. Now I can’t even give my Pentax film camera away. I have had a Digital camera now for about four years and love it.

Do you have a website? I am a member of our local camera club, which has a website, photoartsclub.org, on which some of our photos are displayed. I am usually under the name of Vandy, easier than using Van-Den-Broeke.

What is your relationship with your subjects? No relationship to the subjects in my photo.

The Perch Creek Family Jugband John Van-Den-BroekeFlex digital print

artist’s statementThis great family band was playing at the Bangalow Sunday Markets. It was only at home, when looking at the photo on the computer, that I realised the young fellow, Chrisi, had an artificial leg and that there were many other things I had missed in this photo. This makes me wonder just how observant, as a photographer, I am.



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The Perch Creek Family Jug Band has played at the Tamworth music festival and can be seen wooing locals at the weekend markets.

justify this to myself by saying the car would have driven away anyway.I did clone some branches and leaves across a very bright patch in the sky, which I thought would distract the viewer from my subjects. I used the history brush on screen and multiply to lighten and darken selected areas of the photo. I am now always shooting in raw, and use Photoshop Bridge to tweak exposure, contrast, saturation etc, if necessary. I then open in Photoshop to do final adjustments. I am reluctant to do too much as I believe the photo should not be tampered with too much.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The print is a Flex print which I had printed at a photo shop.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait I feel the bigger the photo the better, but due to the cost of framing, I settled on this size.

Who are your influences? Fellow club members and visiting judges we have for our competitions. I also enjoy looking at all photographic magazines, where I find lots of ideas.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Join a camera club, if it doesn’t suit you, join a different one. Always take your camera with you, take heaps of photos and you’re bound to get a good one.

anything further to add? I am well know in our Camera Club for taking bird photos, in particular, osprey, sea eagle, and rainbow bee eater photos. I am currently entering photos in the Anzang nature competition. Some time back, the local Tweed Daily News did a three page spread on some of my Osprey photos.The Perch Creek Family Jug Band had an article in the paper which said, ‘The jug band thing started from poor black musicians in the early part of the 20th century who picked up liquor jugs and started blowing them, to achieve similar sounds to a tuba’, Mr. Hodgkins said. ‘They were such good musicians; they were able to forge a new style of music. This was married with the hillbilly sounds of harmonica and banjo, and more complex jazz rhythms, which brought country and jazz together in a real beautiful way.’ Mr. Hodgkins said this music style was responsible for the skiffle movement that formed the basis of the original Beatles, the Quarrymen, who played washboards and tea-chests bass through to the Lovin’Spoonful and Grateful Dead.


Was the photograph a result of a constructed or candid encounter? It was a candid encounter. While I was out going about daily tasks – I always have a camera with me – I noticed the puddle, in particular its head-like shape. As I moved around the puddle my own inverted figure appeared within the shape and the broken line of the street lamp. I was immediately interested in the smaller and darker shape, its mysterious and uncertain path ahead spoke to me of the uncertainties we often face, how we can often feel like we are on the precipice of something greater.

What are the ideas or themes underpinning your portrait? I was interested in the idea that a portrait is only about a particular moment; circumstances and moods change frequently. This image is about the points in life where direction is uncertain, impending change challenges and yet there is strength in character to overcome hurdles, whatever they may be.

Describe the technical aspects of your photograph? When I discovered the image it was a matter of exacting the composition. I made white balance adjustments in camera moving around to puddle to get the perfect angle. The ambient lighting was perfect.

What type of camera did you use? I used a small point and shoot digital camera. I take it with me everywhere as is easily fits in my pocket allowing me to capture ephemeral moments that may never again be seen.

Did you work with natural or artificial lighting? I worked completely with ambient light for this image. When I discovered the image the light was perfect, it was twilight. The puddle had a mirror-like finish in this light, which I did not want to lose. The colour of the overhead lamp was integral to the image, it offered warmth in the bleak landscape and allowed the reflected figure to be obscured.

Did you employ any digital imaging processes to create your final image?There were minimal adjustments made to the image. Adjustment layers in Photoshop were used to balance colour and contrast. I made several work prints to ascertain the correct tone of the image and to ensure any cast was removed. Several paper types were tried before a final decision was made to use a cotton rag paper.

QuestionsThe scale of this self portrait is smaller than many photographs in the exhibition. Would the image be read differently if it was larger in scale? How does the title of the works effect your reading of the portrait?What feelings do you think the photographer wished to convey in this portrait? What pictorial devices are used to express the feelings?

The photographer and the portrait – an interviewhow do you define your practice? I would describe myself as an artist working with photomedia –mostly digital – and installation practice.

Do you have a website or are you represented on a website? My website is an ongoing photographic project comprising thousands of images categorised in sets using keywords to present ever-changing arrays allowing viewers to construct their own path. The following link gives more insight into the project:http://www.turnstile.net.au/index.php?where=article&show=all&id=54

Puddled state David WillsInkjet print

artist’s statementThe photographic image tries to represent our essence as best it can. But it is always doomed to fail for one instant in a trillion instants cannot represent it all. We age, we change and what remains the same can never be seen. Behind flickering eyes and beaming smiles our essence lays dormant. At 42 I’m still pondering what might be, could be and what is. Obscured and directionless I face away, extracted from my daily life is where I’m happiest.



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his camera in the reflection. You can hardly see him. Francesco one day set himself to take his own portrait, he set himself with great art to copy all that he saw in the glass, chiefly his reflection, of which the portrait is the reflection once removed. The glass chose to reflect only what he saw, which was enough for his purpose: his image.Wills one day set his camera over a piece of ground where he could see himself. The water chose to reflect only what it could, which was enough for the camera and the film to make his image.

how was the final print made? is it part of an edition? The final image was printed on an Epson 9880 inkjet printer. It was printed on a fine cotton rag paper and is the first of 5 in an edition.

Describe your consideration of scale, mounting and framing in the presentation of your portrait? Puddled State is a small-scale image to enhance the sense that instants are ephemeral, which they are transient and can pass without any fanfare.I wanted the viewers to be able to put themselves in the picture. While it is a self portrait, it may also be a portrait for many others.

Who are your influences? There are many: August Sander and his Citizens of the Twentieth Century is a standout. Other artists include Hans Peter Feldmann, Sophie Calle, Gillian Wearing, Pipilotti Rist, Tracey Moffat’s Fourth series, John Baldessari, Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, Stephen Shore, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Shirin Neshat.

Do you have any advice for young photographers? Act on your instinct and intuitive response. If you see it capture it then and there, it may not be there later. Passion and a love for what you do is key, and you must never give up. Believe in what you see and do.

anything further to add?I have recently returned to Sydney after completing my PhD at the Australian National University. I am undertaking an artist residency at Fraser Street Studios in Chippendale where I will develop an archive project that considers mass-market magazines and the imagery contained within while building on my website Turnstile with photographic studies of the Chippendale area.

a viewer’s responseLooking down into a mirror in 1524 Francesco Parmigianino did it with paint, a round canvas to his left in a room with one window letting in light over his right shoulder. He studied the way he looked and forgot to pose for his painting. His right hand rested uncomfortably hiding paints and brushes. Looking down into a puddle in 2008 Wills did it with a camera outside on a concrete footpath with a street lamp coming on/fading out over his right shoulder. He concentrated on framing himself in the puddle so you couldn’t see


naol ti na photo- graphic portrait prize 2009effect is seamless and subtle. some of the photographs...

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