Archive for the ‘Awards’ Category
JUDGING: ALLORA SHOW PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
Most photographers and commentators of photography discuss endlessly the biggest and the ‘best’ photo competitions around the country. It would appear that competitions are considered a most important aspect of the genre. But photo competitions come in many forms, some of which come in under the radar. Recently I judged the Allora Show Society’s Section “P” Photography, and the experience connected me with the grass roots of the world of photo competitions.
At the Allora Show photography stands alongside a diverse collection of arts, crafts and skills from needlework, baking, woodworking and scrapbooking, to painting, big pumpkin growing and cut flowers. My task was to work through the submitted entries in the 27 categories and select the winners. But first, on Vicky’s and my arrival we took a moment to take tea with the stewards, Kate Gordon, Judy Acason and Margaret Phelan. The tea was made from hot water brought in a thermos by Judy and was accompanied by home-baked fruit slice and butter and mini-lamingtons. Conversations over tea discussed the pros and cons of organising and presenting photographic competitions. Whether we were talking about the event we were about to participate in, or the big capital city extravaganzas of the AIPP Professional Photography Awards, the concerns and issues are the same.
We began the judging of class 1 – First and Second prizes were awarded as well as appropriate Highly Commendeds. Then the next, and the next category – working our way through the adult sections to the Junior sections. I was taken by the nature of the community document that the photographs represented. The ‘quality’, if you can call it that, was uneven at times, but the purpose and the honesty of each image as an authentic representation of an experience encountered and recorded is no different to those of the major national competitions.
Allora Show Photography judging - Landscape Section
Subject matter included; flowers, pets, family portraits, bugs, birds, frogs, lots of sunsets, people doing stuff, pictorial landscapes, sporting moments and vignettes of rural life. And the number of categories enabled specialist areas a chance to have comparisons between similar works. An interesting category was one in which a set of images were required to tell a story.
In the end a Champion Photograph of the show was chosen and for me the task was at an end. Vicky and I wandered off to view equestrian events, other displays of competitive work and lunch. When we returned the volunteer steward team was hard at it hand annotating the 80 or so award cards that had been made. I felt that maybe I should have held back on some of the Highly Commendeds. Participating in this event was just as important to me as any other I have had the honour to judge.
Stewards; Judy, Margaret, Kate and judge Doug
Words: Doug Photos: Vicky + Doug
12 November: Sandy Barrie Presentation & Ruby’s 83rd Birthday
Earlier posts describe the plight of Ipswich flood survivor Sandy Barrie. Today we reinstated his AIPP Honorary Life Membership Certificate and Ribbon both of which were lost in the flood. The occasion was shared with Ruby Spowart who celebrated her 83rd Birthday party with family.
Sandy Barrie with Ruby Spowart
Sandy was appreciative of the efforts made to get the award reissued by Queensland Divisional President Jan Ramsay. The event was witnessed by a deputation consisting of three AIPP Honorary Fellows.
Ruby + Annie about to blow out the candles
Best wishes to both Ruby and Sandy.
Cheers Doug and Vicky
19 Sept Shutterbug Photo Comp – Carnival of Flowers
To coincide with he annual Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba a competition called ShutterBug Tales takes place. This year I participated as a judge for the comp alongside photographers John Elliott and Maurice Alamos. The judging was held in the theatre of the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE and was an unusual event. The audience, consisting of entrants and interested members of the public, watched on and asked questions of the judges about their selection of the finalists – the winners were determined later ‘in camera’.
Maurice, Doug, Peter, Heather (organiser)+John
A presentation to the winners was made on September 19 and was attended by around 40 interested persons. The Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council Peter Taylor even got into the spirit of things by making an image or two on the night.
The winners were:
SEE this link for further details and the Carnival of Flowers
http://www.tcof.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=97&Itemid=1092
June 24 – Visiting the 2011 OLIVE COTTON
Tamara Dean's First Prize Image "Damien Skipper"
The Tweed River Art Gallery @ Murwillumbah is once again hosting the Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture – The exhibition will be on show until July 31, 2011.
This year the Judge was Naomi Cass from CCP in Melbourne and as usual the selected works present a comprehensive review of contemporary Australian photo portraiture from the best photographers in the country as well as the latest crop of emerging image-makers. The portrait remains one of the most fascinating genres of photography – there is something about the face that connects with the viewer.
Some observations
In this year’s Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture there was something for everyone. This exhibition always provides a broad overview of contemporary photographic practice as 2D wall presented images.
The process and media by which the works were made were described by didactic panels placed around the gallery —everything from cyanotypes to gliclee printing and from Type C to inkjet. Those looking for historical processes found large format (whole plate?) ambrotypes paying tribute to the soft romantic feel of 19th century photography. Sizes of the works ranged from the larger than life images of the famous and infamous to the small personal and the everyday through which we can all find some empathy and connection.
In this mix there seemed to be a trend towards the selection of the reinvented holiday or family album snapshot—mostly in black and white. Some of these images showed the poser/s as acting out or ‘hamming up’ personal moments which when placed on the gallery walls transformed these images into arcane representations of everyday life. Others, whether staged or seen images, were illustrations of current political and cultural issues reframed by utilizing the informality and familiarity of the snap shot and then presented as austere gallery-crafted images for the consideration of thoughtful viewers.
For me, the most successful portraits are the ones that draw upon a deep understanding of photographic quality (tone, colour, detail, time etc.) and aesthetics. Alongside this there needs to be a flexible and experimental approach to style embedded in the psyche of the photographer that is combined with an empathy and curiosity for the subject. For me the portrait is developed through time spent by the photographer in collaboration with the subject and created in a moment of synergy and intensity that distils the portrait concept. The strength, depth and intensity of this collaboration, if handled skilfully, can visually transfer an afterimage onto the viewer’s imagination and memory that transcends the gallery experience. For me all of these decisive factors came together in not only the winning image of Tamara Dean, Damien Skipper, but they were also very strong in Russell Shakespeare’s, Michael Zavros and Samantha Everton’s, Illusion.
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Victoria Cooper 25 June 2011
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TO ACCESS a list of the finalists and the winners visit:
http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/ArtGallery/ArtGalleryOliveCotton2011Exhibition.aspx
DOWNLOAD a copy of the catalogue for the 2011 Award here
DOUG’s ‘Borderlines’ Book Wins QAIPP Photographic Book of the Year
On April 9 & 10 the Queensland Division of the AIPP held its 2011 Professional Photography Awards. The photographic book of the year category was won by my BORDERLINES book, my FLIP-Book NARCISSUS MEETS HIMSELF ON THE ROAD TO BUNDANON was the runner-up. Although not a heavily contested category it was a great thrill to have the book receive the award as well as a SILVER WITH DISTINCTION certificate.
The Toowoomba Chronicle ran a quick news story with portrait and story – See text only here CHRONICLE 13 April
MORE TO FOLLOW
http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/04/12/local-photographer-scoops-award
