Photography

The face is in deep contemplation, hands in a prayer gesture. Simon Dow describes this self-portrait as “silent”; and has named it ‘No Self’ ... shortlisted along with 19 other photographic portraits for the prestigious Martin Kantor Prize.

All About Care’s "Brushstrokes of Harmony" Art Exhibition was officially opened on Friday afternoon at Nhill Gallery Central. The exhibition signifies that all creative minds and art forms belong and have a place. Nhill Gallery Central has become more aware of the broader community art world.

The streets of Ganmain came alive for the weekend for the second ever Ganmain Arts Festival. The festival featured art in different forms such as sculpting, painting, photography and even an ecofabric creator.

The winners of the fourth annual Rural Aid Spirit of the Bush photography competition have been announced. Five of the twelve winners were captured in Queensland, four in Western Australia and three in New South Wales ... "A powerful love of livestock and the land really shines through in this year’s pictures": Rural Aid CEO John Warlters.

Words, pictures and voices bring to life the stories of the 2019-2020 bushfires ... The stories and photos have been turned into a book that was launched at the Roxy Gallery on Friday, May 19.

As a young theatre director and teacher Peter Derrett travelled to the 1973 Aquarius Festival ... He took his camera with him and the resulting collection of images  provides a comprehensive documentary account of this landmark event in Australian cultural history ... offer valuable insights into what happened at the Festival and sum up many of the ideologies that surrounded it.  

Gerrit Fokkema. Wesley Stacey died recently in Bermagui, where he had lived since the mid 1970’s. Between 1968 and 1972, Wes made pictures in Wilcannia of buildings and street scenes that were used in a book, ‘Historic Towns of Australia’.

Sadly anthropologist Jeremy Beckett passed away in the last months of 2022. A Celebration of his Life was held on 19 February 2023 at Chai Chak Wing Museum, Sydney University ... I would like to share memories of my association with Jeremy when I worked at Wilcannia River Radio in 2012-13.

Honor Auchinleck. Timing and circumstances ensure some wartime tragedies are more defining than others and so it was with Malcolm Chisholm. He was the first Australian to die and the first of some 60,000 Australians who lost their lives on the First World War battlefields. His death has resonated through more than a century and well beyond the Upper Murray.

Narrandera-based artist Vic McEwan, who is also the National Museum’s 2015 artist-in-residence, created the large-scale still photography and video works in ‘Haunting’, in collaboration with curator George Main ... Haunting honours the Murrumbidgee River and its communities of people and other living beings.

Kristin Murdock. An image capturing a dog and dairy cows enjoying a dip and a drink has been awarded first prize in the 2022 National Agriculture Day photo and video competition ... “Dog in the Water Trough” was taken by David Williams from NSW.

Matt Blakers sees the seasons through a photographer's lens and each season has a unique signature that it scribes across the sea. Spring is playful, even flirtatious, and writes with a light hand.   The waves are smaller with a soft and inviting luminescence. Summer, by contrast, writes with a pen packed full of colour, casting hues from a palette of blues and golds. The falling lips of the waves are lighter, the sunsets are brighter and the water is warmer ... But it’s big waves that excite Matt the most ...

Equestrian photographer Felicity Clay is passionate about saving the Australian Brumby and fans of her work can contribute to the cause through the purchase of her annual Brumby calendar. “I've been photographing the Brumbies in the Barmah National Park since 2018,” Felicity said.

Researcher Jacqui Kennedy knows how to save photos and history. She helped Coraki Museum, Ballina Library and Ballina Naval Museum digitise their photos collections … a visit to Ray Hunt’s home at Tuckurimba two years ago led Jacqui to some astounding photos.

Nic Duncan’s photography work is not the glamorous kind. Far from it. Nic travels to the back of beyond to capture her subjects within their natural habitat. There’s no fictitious backdrops, no wardrobe assistant and certainly no makeup artist. It’s all about reflecting a person’s natural state. Raw and real, regional and rural she seeks the opposite of city and suburban.

The Gomaren & Doctors Creek Catchment Landcare Group’s 6th Focus on Farms Photographic Competition attracted more than 400 entries this year ... Among the winners was the shot taken by Andrea Davis at East Greenmount. The eye-catching picture, entitled “A Boy and His Dog”, won the Open award for Best Photo of the Competition.

Winners of the annual Gomaren & Doctor’s Creek Focus on Farms photography competition will be announced at the Jacaranda Day festival in Goombungee this Saturday, 5 November. “No matter where you live, the connection to farming is an important part of our identity as Australians”: competition coordinator Jean Gundry ... the primary school category within the competition has a focus on insects.

These amazing images were taken by Allora’s Photography Group when visiting Girraween National Park. Members of the Group joined other Wildflower Walkers and were led by knowledgeable guides from the Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium.

Time traveller  provides a glimpse into Murray Walker’s vast output of collage and assemblage sculpture over the past 40 years. Born in Ballarat in 1937, Walker has worked in diverse media including painting, printmaking, ceramics and tapestry design. ...with limited access to a studio, he began creating collages to diarise his travels.

Year 7 student Francis Walls was thrilled when his photograph of the family dog (known simply as ‘Pup’) won second prize at last week’s Royal Melbourne Show. The action shot - of Pup springing into action to fetch a stick - is a ripper. Believe it or not, it was taken on his Mum’s phone, not on an expensive camera. Now that’s talent!    

This amazing photo was taken by Corie Ross of Long Neck Farm in Goomburra. “Two red bellied black snakes fighting for mating rights. A pretty rare sight but we got to enjoy it for nearly 20 minutes.” Corie said.