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WORLD CYANOTYPE DAY 2022: ANZ – Online Exhibition

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ENLIGHTEN Header.

EACH YEAR FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS WE HAVE COORDINATED AN EXHIBITION OF  ARTWORKS BY AUSTRALIAN CYANOTYPE PRINTMAKERS TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL EVENTS LINKED TO WORLD CYANOTYPE DAY.

Unlike most years where the exhibition is in a physical gallery this year the exhibition is an online catalogue. Another aspect of World Cyanotype Day (WCD) events is the connection that works made should respond to a theme which this year was – ENLIGHTEN. This year WCD falls on Saturday September 24th.

Our preparations for the exhibition began back in May with a call for expressions of interest from members of the Facebook Group The Cyanotype in Australia and New Zealand – A group we founded in 2019 to facilitate the first WCD exhibition at the Monash Gallery of Art.

Respondents were presented with the concept of “presenting your cyanotype in a way that shows something about you – It could be positioned in your studio, home setting, in the garden or somewhere in your locality”.

Twenty-five cyanotype makers sent in their submissions. These artworks were collated and prepared for the design stage of the project by us. Here are their cyanotypes and a link to download the catalogue. ALSO at the end of the post is the story and links to the previous year”s catalogues.

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Here the submissions:

“CLICK” on the thumbnail to enlarge the image and see the author’s name and title

 

WCD 2022-CAT COVER-v2-2000pxl Angled

THE ONLINE CATALOGUE IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD –

Here is the file: CYANOTYPE CATALOGUE 2022v3

 

 

Here is the backstory the 5 Cyanotype in Australia and New Zealand WORLD CYANOTYPE DAY exhibitions & catalogues

 

CinAust Catalogue 2018-coverDownload: WCD_CinA-Catalogue-2018

Event 1 – 2018

In September 2018 The Cyanotype in Australia Facebook group was founded and held its first collective exhibition and illustrated catalogue as part as the global event World Cyanotype Day (WCD). Entitled In Anna’s Garden the exhibition referenced Anna Atkins’ pioneering role in the development of the cyanotype.

The exhibition was held in the Atrium Space at Monash Gallery of Art, Wheeler’s Hill, Melbourne and was opened by Gael E Phillips.  Gallery staff members Stephanie Richter and Gillian Jones joined with Victoria Cooper and Doug Spowart to prepare and hang the diverse representation of Australian contemporary cyanotype work. The Gallery Director Anouska Phizacklea attended the event along with many of the exhibitors.

 

CinAust Catalogue 2019-coverDownload: WCD_CinA-catalogue-2019

Event 2 – 2019

A world-wide call out from the A. Smith Gallery in Texas, USA, invited artists to participate in an exhibition by sending a cyanotype made on a 30cm square of fabric – referred to as ‘Flags’. The work was a personal response to the WCD theme for that year, Land / Sea / Sky.

The Cyanotype in Australia (CinA) co-ordinators decided to organize a collaborative show of cyanotype flags connecting with the WCD. Coordinated at the Maud Street Photo Gallery in Brisbane, the exhibition was called Under the Southern Sun. Again, the coordinators were supported by Gail Neumann, David Symons and Keiko Goto in the unpacking and hanging the flags in the gallery. However this was only the first part of a long and exciting journey for these cyanotype prints.

After the show came down, the working party packed up the show and the Flags were sent off to Texas where they were shown with all the other works from across the world at the A. Smith Gallery. Subsequently the exhibition was also shown at PhotoNOLA in New Orleans.

 

CinAust Catalogue 2020-cover Download: ____WCD 2020 CATALOGUE-FINALv3

Event 3 – 2020

Due to the pandemic 2020 was a difficult year to show work in a physical gallery space so the CinA co-ordinators created an online presence and an illustrated catalogue referencing the WCD theme of Interconnected. After a call out to all members of our Facebook group, artists from across Australia and around the world responded by contributing to the collection of a creative work that showcased the diverse practice of the cyanotype in Australia and elsewhere.

 

CinAust Catalogue 2021-coverDownload: WCD 2021 Exhibition-SCREEN_Res-Sept27

Event 4 – 2021

Despite the challenges of Covid, 2021 saw the return of a physical exhibition. Gail Neumann curated the show at KEPK Gallery in Brisbane, supported by other members of the CinA team. The WCD theme this year was REJUVENATION. Local art identity and cyanotyper LeAnne Vincent opened the exhibition and an illustrated catalogue was made available to participants.

 

Event 5 – 2022

For many surviving Covid, floods and fire and rebuilding their arts practice has been challenging over the last 2-3 years, so the return to an online format seemed a good option. Also at this time, the organisers felt that it was important to recognize our friends and colleagues from across “the ditch” in New Zealand, so our group name was changed to The Cyanotype in Australia and New Zealand.

The call for expressions of interest was made in May and those who responded were asked to submit work on the WCD theme – ENLIGHTEN. They were also requested to consider making an in-situ representation of their cyanotype image in their studio space or where they live, to add a personal and physical dimension to the virtual online space. The 2022 catalogue includes the artists who responded to the in-situ request, and also those who only sent through a photograph of their cyanotype.

Once again, the catalogue presents a survey of the practice of cyanotype within our region. We wish to thank the contributors for making work available for this catalogue as well as providing commentaries about their work.

 

ENJOY and be ENLIGHTENED about the work by the members of the Cyanotype in Australia and New Zealand.

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ABOUT THE CYANOTYPE IN AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND

The Cyanotype in Australia + New Zealand Facebook group has actively supported a vibrant community of practice of not only local, but also international cyanotypers for 5 yearsFF.

The Facebook page is a closed group though we welcome ‘Requests to join’ from cyanotype practitioners of this region.

The Cyanotype in Australia+New Zealand Team are Doug Spowart, Gail Neumann, David Symons and Victoria Cooper.

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 ©2022 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

MGA POSTCARDS EXHIBITION – Our images

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WE RECENTLY RESPONDED TO A ‘CALL OUT’ FROM THE MONASH GALLERY OF ART to make and send in a POSTCARD representing ‘Our back yard’.

It is an interesting Mail Art Project so we selected images and sent them in. Recently we are in Melbourne and managed to go out to MCA to see their exhibitions and the post card show in the Atrium Gallery.

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If you are interested in participating – The details and link are at the end of this post.

 

 

VICTORIA’s CARD: Image from the book VISUAL FIELD NOTES

Victoria Cooper MGA POST CARD

Victoria Cooper MGA POSTCARD

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ABOUT VICKY’S POST CARD IMAGE: DAY DREAMING

We arrived in Benalla during one of the long Covid 19 lockdowns of Victoria. We found ourselves under a state wide travel restriction of only 5kms from our home. So walking became my way of exploring my new locality.

On these walks, and later on longer journeys,
I was captivated by the remnants of natural environment at the edge of the suburban spaces, roadsides and bushland. Here in the North East the trees tower like epic monuments to a pre-colonial history …

 

DOUG’s CARD:

An image from the book WALKING URBAN GROUND

Doug Spowart's MGA POSTCARD SHOW

Doug Spowart’s MGA POSTCARD SHOW

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ABOUT DOUG’S POST CARD IMAGE:

This photo is about walking in the place where I live. While my walks with Vicky are for exercise, they are also an exploration of the streets, homes and spaces of my suburb.

During these walks I witness the seasons, varied architectural forms, garden features and the idiosyncratic things that homeowners create in their suburban environments.

In this work, from the book “Walking Urban Ground”, I explore through visual play, the creation of a joyful representation of the place where I live.

year I wandered as a free-ranging spirit on a bright sunny day through my local botanic garden. Spontaneously I responded to the subjects that emerged into my line of sight…

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A POSTCARD FROM GLEN O’MALLEY is also in the show…

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Screen Shot 2022-08-29 at 9.45.43 am

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HERE’S THE SUBMISSION DETAILS

MGA-BIG Backyard call out

 

Postcards from our big backyard
“CLICK” URL HERE

3 August 2022 to 2 October 2022

MGA Atrium Gallery
Tuesday – Sunday

Postcards from our big backyard | Submissions now open

Viva Gibb took this photograph of the landscape she grew up on during a trip back to the area in the 1980s. The work is on display as part of MGA’s exhibition Return to nature, which journeys through the Australian landscape in photographs from the 1870s to today.

To coincide with this exhibition, we want you to send us a postcard of your big backyard!

Wherever you are in Australia, we want to see your landscape. So take a photograph of your corner of this great continent, print it at postcard size, write your name on the back, along with the title, date and a short note if you wish, then affix a stamp and send it by mail addressed to:

Monash Gallery of Art
860 Ferntree Gully Road
WHEELERS HILL
VIC 3150

 

We will then display your postcard in a growing exhibition in MGA’s Atrium gallery from 3 August to 2 October.

 

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 ©2022 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

2022 WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY – Our images

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ON THE LAST SUNDAY IN APRIL pinhole photographers across the world gather together as individuals or groups to celebrate pinhole photography in all its forms.

This year for the first time in many years we find ourselves in a place that we call home. On this warm sunny April morning we connected with fellow Benalla artist, Maggie Hollins, and found joy in pinhole play on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. 

We met in the Benalla Botanic Gardens renown for its rose garden, cricket field, the lake and the Benalla Art Gallery. The Gardens and surrounds are a popular place for locals to picnic, exercise, canoe or just hang out.

 

This is the 16th year we have supported the WPPD project!

SEE LINKS to our other submissions at the end of this Post.

 

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WHAT IS WORLDWIDE PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY DAY ALL ABOUT?

 

From the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day website introduction:

All the photographs in this extraordinary collection share two common characteristics: (1) they are lensless photographs (2) they were all made on April 24, 2022.

They also share an additional and less formal characteristic: the sincere enthusiasm of their creators who, by participating in this collective event, shared individual visions and techniques. Hence the amazing diversity of subjects, cameras, techniques and photographic materials combined in this exhibit!

The process is that photographs are made on April 24 > they are processed / optimised by the photographer > uploaded and captioned on the WPPD website. The 2022 Gallery of images can be searched to see what photographers from around the world did on that day…

 

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VICTORIA’s PINHOLE IMAGE: DAY DREAMING

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ABOUT VICKY’S PINHOLE IMAGE: DAY DREAMING

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A beautiful Autumn day beside the Benalla Art Gallery and lake.

 

 

OTHER IMAGES BY VICKY:

 

 

 

VICKY’s DIGI-PINHOLE CAMERA

Vicky's Pinhole Olympus Pen

Vicky’s Pinhole Olympus Pen

Camera Olympus Pen: 1/90 @2500 ISO the pinhole is made with a camera body cap and a handmade pinhole in pie tin foil.

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DOUG’s PINHOLE IMAGE: WALKING THE DOGS

ABOUT DOUG’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

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This year I wandered as a free-ranging spirit on a bright sunny day through my local botanic garden. Spontaneously I responded to the subjects that emerged into my line of sight…

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SOME OF DOUG’s OTHER IMAGES

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DOUG’s DIGI-PINHOLE CAMERA

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Doug-Pinhole+CAMERA-1200

My pinhole was a readymade found in our pinhole workshop toolbox – capture device a digital Canon 6D operated around ISO 6000 with a S/S of 60th part of a second. 

 

 

Visit the WWPD Site for details of other submissions:  http://pinholeday.org/

 

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VIEW 16 YEARS OF PAST WPPD iMAGES:

2021 Doug+Vicky https://wordpress.com/post/wotwedid.com/12227

2020 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2020/05/13/2020-worldwide-pinhole-day-26-april-our-images/

2019 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2019/04/29/2019-worldwide-pinhole-day-28-april-our-images/

2018 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2018/04/29/2018-worldwide-pinhole-day-29-april-our-images/

2016 Doug: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1235

2016 Vicky: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1540

2015  https://wotwedid.com/2015/05/04/april-26-worldwide-pinhole-day-our-contributions-for-2015/

2014  Vicky’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1810&City=Toowoomba

2014  Doug’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1811&City=Toowoomba

2013   https://wotwedid.com/2013/04/29/world-pinhole-photography-day-our-contribution/

2012   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2012/index.php?id=1937&searchStr=spowart

2011    http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2011/index.php?id=924

HERE IS THE LINK to the 2011 pinhole video   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4vnbzTqOU

2010   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2010/index.php?id=2464&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2006  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=1636&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Vicky  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1553&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Doug  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1552&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2003  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2003/index.php?id=615&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2002  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2002/index.php?id=826&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

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 ©2022 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

2021 WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY – Our images

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WWPD 2021 LOGO

WWPD 2021 LOGO

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Around the [w]hole world on Sunday April 25, 20201pinholers were out having fun – Making their images for the 2021 Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.

This year – still in Toowoomba we’ve been working on projects and supporting family. Once again, far away from the darkroom, we’ve fitted a piece of aluminium with a light admitting pin-prick to the body cap of our Olympus Pen camera and braved the parkland at the end of our street. Recently we uploaded our images with a detailed caption to the WPPD website to add to the contributions from Australian pinholers and many more from around the world.

This is the 17th year we have supported the WPPD project!

SEE LINKS to our other submissions at the end of this Post.

 

WHAT IS WORLDWIDE PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY DAY ALL ABOUT?

From the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day website introduction

All the photographs in this extraordinary collection share two common characteristics: (1) they are lensless photographs (2) they were all made on April 25, 2021.

They also share an additional and less formal characteristic: the sincere enthusiasm of their creators who, by participating in this collective event, shared individual visions and techniques. Hence the amazing diversity of subjects, cameras, techniques and photographic materials combined in this exhibit!

The process is that photographs are made on April 25 > they are processed / optimised by the photographer > uploaded and captioned on the WPPD website. The 2021 Gallery of images can be searched to see what photographers from around the world did on that day…

 

Here’s the website page of the Australian pinhole photographer’s works:

WPPD 2021 Australian submissions @ May 11, 2021

WPPD 2021 Australian submissions @ May 11, 2021

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VICTORIA’s PINHOLE IMAGE: AFTERNOON WALK

Victoria Cooper's evening walk pinhole photo

Victoria Cooper’s Evening walk pinhole photo

 

ABOUT VICKY’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

 

We pass by these trees everyday… I decided to take pinhole photos of our walk as I enjoy the way they transform these everyday places into a kind of poem, not distinct nor descriptive just evocative.

 

 

DOUG’s PINHOLE IMAGE: TREE HOUSE

Tree House a pinhole image by Doug Spowart

Tree House a pinhole image by Doug Spowart

 

ABOUT DOUG’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

 

I chose the late afternoon to go out and make images as the low light angle and the deep shadows add drama and mystery to pinholes made at this time.

Over recent years I have continued to choose a digital camera and aluminium pie dish with a pin prick in it. Wet darkrooms and film, although it suited the zone plates of landscape that I made are beyond my current means – perhaps next year…

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OUR Digi-PINHOLE CAMERA

The Cooper+Spowart digi OLYMPUS PEN with pinhole ...

The Cooper+Spowart digi OLYMPUS PEN with pinhole …

This is a converted digital Olympus Pen, shared with my partner Doug Spowart. The pinhole is a pin pierced hole in aluminium which is inserted into a hole drilled into a body cap. It is a hand held exposure of 1/25th second at ISO 2000.

 

 

Visit the WWPD Site for details of other submissions:  http://pinholeday.org/

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Our Past WPPD images:

2020 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2020/05/13/2020-worldwide-pinhole-day-26-april-our-images/

2019 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2019/04/29/2019-worldwide-pinhole-day-28-april-our-images/

2018 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2018/04/29/2018-worldwide-pinhole-day-29-april-our-images/

2016 Doug: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1235

2016 Vicky: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1540

2015  https://wotwedid.com/2015/05/04/april-26-worldwide-pinhole-day-our-contributions-for-2015/

2014  Vicky’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1810&City=Toowoomba

2014  Doug’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1811&City=Toowoomba

2013   https://wotwedid.com/2013/04/29/world-pinhole-photography-day-our-contribution/

2012   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2012/index.php?id=1937&searchStr=spowart

2011    http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2011/index.php?id=924

HERE IS THE LINK to the 2011 pinhole video   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4vnbzTqOU

2010   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2010/index.php?id=2464&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2006  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=1636&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Vicky  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1553&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Doug  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1552&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2003  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2003/index.php?id=615&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2002  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2002/index.php?id=826&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

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 ©2021 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

WOTWEDID BLOG CELEBRATES 100,000 VIEWS

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100K Header

 

Our www.wotwedid.com blog reached the milestone of 1000,000 views last week. It has had 56,000 visitors who have had the opportunity to view 380 posts and read around 250K words and see the hundreds of photographs that we have made to compliment the stories.

 

Our wotwedid Blog was started nine years ago as an opportunity to connect with our friends and creative communities via social media. The topic cloud for the wotwedid Blog includes ARTISTS’ BOOKS, PHOTBOOKS, CAMERA OBSCURA, EXHIBITIONS, MEETING PEOPLE, THE ART AND PRACTICE OF PHOTOGRAPHY, REGIONAL ARTS, CYANOTYPES, PLACE PROJECTS and POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH.

 

Topic cloud wotwedid

 

Usually the content that we post is generated by us and includes the written commentaries, the photographs and illustrations – it can be quite a lengthy time consuming task to get a blog up.

While many posts relate to what we do, have done or will be doing, the Blog represents a chronology of activity in our art practice, our lives and issues that we are concerned about. Due to the contemporary space that the arts and artists occupy today much activity and many events go unnoticed and unrecorded. So a significant driver is to provide a space for commentary on what is happening outside of the popularist ‘art bubble’.

Early this year we were excited to learn that the State Library of Queensland had nominated wotwedid.com for inclusion in the Pandora Archive managed by the National Library of Australia, ‘to ensure the collection and long-term preservation of online publications relating to Australia and Australians. This objective contributes to the Library’s statutory function to comprehensively collect Australia’s documentary heritage.’

Over the years we have found that many views, screen dumps and downloads of resources we make available take place anonymously without comment or feedback. Then again, we understand that this is the same for most online resources. Despite this we find that as we travel and meet friends, fellow artists, academics and curators many say how much they appreciate and enjoy the content that we generate and post.

So, a BIG Thank You to all have visited … And we look forward to your return to help take www.wotwedid.com to the next milestone – 200,000K views.

 

D+V with masks

Vicky+Doug

PORTRAIT PHOTO: Susan Belperio

Here are some images of people met, events documented and our own art activities over recent years …

©2020 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

 

 

 

FOUND: A camera obscura in a storage shed box

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An image is found in a packing box

An image is found in a packing box

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So today we were planning a day of shedding in our storage shed. We donned our dust masks and glasses, and cut through the five years of dust on many boxes and began to move our precious things into protective packing boxes.

Just as we were getting into the rhythm of this challenging chore we found something amazing in one of the empty boxes…

From that moment we stopped all work…

What follows is an impromptu document of performance we made in this remarkable image discovery. Found within an ordinary box ­– in a dusty storage shed – somewhere in the rows of storage sheds where we and others store our forgotten treasures…

 

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A video featuring the performance …

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Here are some images and a video on the refinement of the image by using other boxes and a pair of gloves to mask-out the light admitting aperture to around 3cm square.

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A video revealing the storage shed packing box set-up …

 

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OTHER COOPER+SPOWART CAMERA OBSCURA POSTS:

 

A collection of camera obscura works

https://wotwedid.com/2013/10/26/camera-obscura-2000-2020-in-hotels-and-other-places/

 

A porthole camera obscura on the Spirit of Tasmania

https://wotwedid.com/2019/01/11/2018-field-studies-camera-obscura-spirit-of-tasmania-porthole/

 

A gallery camera obscura

https://wotwedid.com/2016/11/14/maud-gallery-camera-obscura-for-one-day-only/

 

Our Tarago CarCamera Obscura

https://wotwedid.com/2016/05/13/ode-to-tarago-carcamera-obscura/

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Until the next obscura reveals itself …

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2020 WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY 26 April – Our images

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WPPD2020 – LOGO

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Around the [w]hole world on Sunday April 26, 2020 pinholers were out having fun – Making their images for the 2020 Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.

This year we are hunkered down during the Pandemic in Toowoomba, Queensland Australia. Once again, far away from the darkroom, we’ve fitted a piece of aluminium with a light admitting pin-prick to the body cap of our Olympus Pen camera and braved the parkland at the end of our street. The next day we uploaded our images with a detailed caption to the WPPD website to add to the contributions from Australian pinholers and many more from around the world.

This is the 15th year we have supported the WPD project!

 

WHAT IS WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY ALL ABOUT?

From the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day website introduction

All the photographs in this extraordinary collection share two common characteristics: (1) they are lensless photographs (2) they were all made on April 26, 2020.

They also share an additional and less formal characteristic: the sincere enthusiasm of their creators who, by participating in this collective event, shared individual visions and techniques. Hence the amazing diversity of subjects, cameras, techniques and photographic materials combined in this exhibit!

 

Australian WWPD submission @ May3

 

VICTORIA’s PINHOLE IMAGE

Out walking the dog during COVID Isolation PHOTO: Victoria Cooper

ABOUT VICKY’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

Walking in the park as it turns to Autumn … Many people are exercising: walking, running, cycling during our period of isolation for COVID-19. I am grateful that during this terrible time, we are able to slow down and reconnect with what is important in our lives.”

 

 

DOUG’s PINHOLE IMAGE

Doug Spowart’s Stay Home-WPPD-2020

ABOUT DOUG’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

With the world-wide pandemic Covid-19 changing everything signs appear everywhere to remind us to stay vigilant in our resolve to limit community infection. Our local real estate agent has replaced photos of houses for sale with the letters S-T-A-Y H-O-M-E / S-T-A-Y W-E-L-L. Stay healthy everyone…”

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OUR Digi-PINHOLE CAMERA

The Cooper+Spowart digi OLYMPUS PEN with pinhole ...

The Cooper+Spowart digi OLYMPUS PEN with pinhole …

This is a converted digital Olympus Pen, shared with my partner Doug Spowart. The pinhole is a pin pierced hole in aluminium which is inserted into a hole drilled into a body cap. It is a hand held exposure of 1/20th second at ISO 800.”

Our digi-pinhole camera is an OLYMPUS Pen digital. The body cover has been drilled-out and a aluminium foil sheet with pin prick acts as the light emitting ‘hole’. Hand-held exposure 1/20th of a second ISO 800″

 

 

The 2020 WPPD GALLERY DEDICATION:

to Eric Renner who passed away in the USA last month

Self Portrait: Sweatshirt pinhole camera, Arles, 1996, pinhole photograph

Self Portrait: Sweatshirt pinhole camera, Arles, 1996, pinhole photograph, 14″x11″   SOURCE: https://ericrennerphoto.com

 

WPPD 2020 Eric Renner Dedication

WPPD 2020 Eric Renner Dedication

 

VALE ERIC RENNER: Our connection with Eric and partner Nancy Spencer

Eric’s Pinhole Photography book

From early in 1990 Vicky had connected with Eric Renner, partner Nancy Spencer and their Pinhole Resource. We exchanged communications and images showing the work that we were doing in Australia. Eric and Nancy, through their inclusive and generous efforts created a world-wide movement in pinhole photography that continues to grow.

Eric published a body a colour pinhole and zoneplate images from the exhibition Natural Encounter by Vicky in the pinhole journal. Later a collection of Doug’s 4×5 Zoneplate images were also published in the journal.

Over the years we continued to connect and share ideas and some of our work was included in the Focal Press book Pinhole Photography rediscovering a historic technique.  Our work was also included in the Pinhole Resource collection, Poetics of Light exhibition and the accompanying Poetics of Light book at the New Mexico Museum of History.

Pinhole photography is a vibrant and exciting world-wide pinhole community and we are grateful for this legacy that Eric, with Nancy nurtured.

 

There’s a Blog post about the Poetics of Light book and our work in it HERE

 

 

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Other images we made on the day…

 

Visit the WWPD Site for details of other submissions:  http://pinholeday.org/

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Our Past WWPD images:

2019 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2019/04/29/2019-worldwide-pinhole-day-28-april-our-images/

2018 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2018/04/29/2018-worldwide-pinhole-day-29-april-our-images/

2016 Doug: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1235

2016 Vicky: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1540

2015  https://wotwedid.com/2015/05/04/april-26-worldwide-pinhole-day-our-contributions-for-2015/

2014  Vicky’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1810&City=Toowoomba

2014  Doug’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1811&City=Toowoomba

2013   https://wotwedid.com/2013/04/29/world-pinhole-photography-day-our-contribution/

2012   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2012/index.php?id=1937&searchStr=spowart

2011    http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2011/index.php?id=924

HERE IS THE LINK to the 2011 pinhole video   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4vnbzTqOU

2010   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2010/index.php?id=2464&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2006  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=1636&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Vicky  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1553&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Doug  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1552&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2003  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2003/index.php?id=615&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2002  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2002/index.php?id=826&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

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 ©2020 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

2019 WORLDWIDE PINHOLE DAY 28 April – Our images

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WPD-logo

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Round the [w]hole world on Sunday the 28th of April 2019 pinholers were out having fun – Making their images for the 2019 WPD. Far away from the darkroom (again) we’ve once again fitted a pin-prick in a piece of aluminium fitted to a body cap of our Olympus Pen camera and we went on a road trip in Tasmania from the D’Entrecasteaux Channel to the mountains and back again.

This is the 14th year we have supported the WPD project!

 

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ABOUT VICKY’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

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Capturing time and light in the mountains of Tasmania..

The photo was taken by digital capture with hand-made hole on an Olympus Pen using manual setting.

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My friends take a photo with their iPhones

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ABOUT DOUG’S PINHOLE IMAGE:

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Late this afternoon we went walking in the Autumn light down past the bare trunks and branches of deciduous trees – my friends stopped to photograph with their iPhones… Callie walked on…

 

Both pinhole photographs were taken on an Olympus Pen camera

Olympus Pen with hand pierced aluminum foil hole, Aperture exposure mode, ISO 1600.

Camera with pricked pinhole in alfoil, Aperture exposure mode, ISO 800.

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Other images we made on the day…

 

Visit the WPD Site for details of other submissions:  http://pinholeday.org/

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Our Past WPD images:

2018 Doug+Vicky https://wotwedid.com/2018/04/29/2018-worldwide-pinhole-day-29-april-our-images/

2016 Doug: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1235

2016 Vicky: http://www.pinholeday.org/index.php?id=1540

2015  https://wotwedid.com/2015/05/04/april-26-worldwide-pinhole-day-our-contributions-for-2015/

2014  Vicky’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1810&City=Toowoomba

2014  Doug’s http://pinholeday.org/gallery/2014/index.php?id=1811&City=Toowoomba

2013   https://wotwedid.com/2013/04/29/world-pinhole-photography-day-our-contribution/

2012   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2012/index.php?id=1937&searchStr=spowart

2011    http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2011/index.php?id=924

HERE IS THE LINK to the 2011 pinhole video   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4vnbzTqOU

2010   http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2010/index.php?id=2464&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2006  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2006/index.php?id=1636&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Vicky  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1553&Country=Australia&searchStr=cooper

2004 Doug  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2004/index.php?id=1552&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2003  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2003/index.php?id=615&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

2002  http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/2002/index.php?id=826&Country=Australia&searchStr=spowart

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 ©2019 Doug Spowart+Victoria Cooper
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Creative Commons-by-nc-nd.eu.
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Our photographs and words are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/..

2018 FIELD STUDIES: CAMERA OBSCURA FERRY PORTHOLE – Bass Straight waves over the Spirit of Tasmania

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Our 2018 Field Studies submission of 100 artworks

 

As an important end of year ritual, we have once again prepared our submission to the ‘FIELD STUDIES INTERNATIONAL’ collaborative mail art project organised by David Dellafiora. Artists from around the world contribute to this project by mailing to David 100 artworks of any process and printed media made to A5 size. He then works with a team to collate all the submissions and assemble 100 copies of the collaborative book. After each participant receives one of these books, a number are then sold to private and institutional collectors to fund the project. We have contributed to the Field Studies for the last 10 years. Some links to the previous submissions are provided at the end of this post.

 

Here’s the story of our 2018 Field Studies report…

 

In 2000, we began a series of site-specific camera obscura projects that is a continuing body of work… This year we made two attempts to construct a cabin camera obscura. The second attempt proved more successful and so in this blog we present this recent work – Through a porthole in 3-5metre seas on the The Spirit of Tasmania.

 

The Spirit of Tasmania

 

On the morning of the 3rd of November we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania and checked in to our cabin for the nine-hour day crossing. We had booked months earlier and had requested a porthole cabin with the idea of making a camera obscura.

Earlier in 2018 we had tried unsuccessfully to make camera obscura images on an overnight crossing figuring that by the time we boarded the ship we would have a brief period of sunlight – alas, that would not be the case it was dark by the time we had boarded and checked into our cabin. This second time we worked it differently with a day crossing and a porthole cabin… we then prepared for a full day of camera obscura work.

You can imagine our excitement to find that our cabin was in the middle at the front of the boat with a view over the flagpole on the prow of the ferry to the sea beyond. So we set to work with a mini camera obscura tool kit had been prepared for the preparation of the darkroom:

  • A quantity of heavy-duty black garbage bags
  • Gaffa tape
  • Scissors

 

A camera obscura tool kit

 

Vicky documented Doug as he negotiated the space beyond the bunks to tape the black bags over the window. Progressively the room got darker and glimpses of the features outside our little cabin imaged themselves on the walls of the cabin. One problem was the darkening down of the central image area caused by depth of the room and a mirror on the reverse of the door. We decided that to create an observable image we needed re-purposed two white doona covers as a screen by taping them to the ceiling and walls with the gaffa tape. To recreate the theatrical space of the cabin camera obscura, we combined a series of images of the cabin walls and the screen at different stages of the journey. We also found our humble Olympus Pen camera set at ISO25,000 the best option as it fitted the small space and enabled hand-held exposures.

 

 

The Spirit of Tasmania left Devonport port and headed out into Bass Straight. For us this was a challenging crossing as there were strong westerly winds and huge 3-5 metre waves for most of the day. It wasn’t long before we began to experience the ‘bang’ and ‘splash’ of waves over our porthole… we were on one of the upper decks – deck 8!!! Kwells (anti-seasickness pills) were taken and to take our minds off the thump and roll we got active documenting the CO crossing.

Two composite images were constructed from our work that day that we entitled Through a porthole in 3-5 metre seas on the The Spirit of Tasmania. The first is a panorama that shows Vicky on her bunk looking at the projected camera obscura image. On the right-hand side the shadow of the camera held aloft is imaged. The final panorama is made of 4 images.

 

Vicky observing the panorama camera obscura image

 

The second image is a triptych of the projected image on the screen showing a series of three photographs made by Vicky as the boat rocked with the centre image documenting a whiteout as a wave crashes on the window.

 

Camera obscura: a 3-5 metre wave crashes against our porthole (inverted)

Camera obscura: a 3-5 metre wave crashes against our porthole

 

We left the camera obscura setup until we docked. Midway across Bass Straight the images described above we assembled and optimised as the ‘bang’ and ‘whoosh’ of the waves on the boat continued incessantly. At one stage we ventured out to see how those brave souls in the public areas of the ferry were managing… they all looked pretty green–some not well at all, and many finding any horizontal space they could to find some comfort.

When the Spirit docked we dismantled the CO and disembarked, glad to be on terra firma again.

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To see a post about the FIELD STUDIES INTERNATIONAL and other of our Field Studies submissions

About David Dellafiora and  Field Studies International

https://wotwedid.com/2013/01/05/field-study-international-our-contribution/

 

Our 2016 Field Studies International submission

https://wotwedid.com/2017/01/17/field-studies-international-2016-our-contribution/

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BUNDANON Residency 2018 – WHY ARE WE HERE?

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WHY ARE WE – documentation of a page from the Island Book

 

WHY ARE WE … Here at Bundanon?

In 2007 we were successful applicants for a Bundanon residency that enabled is to realize a major component of our individual PhD research. However we still needed to resolve many issues raised by this work and to return our finished works to be documented in the site that they were created. So in 2009 we were granted a second residency to complete this part of our studies.

While we were deep in our research other interesting and unanswered questions arose that have haunted us since this time. Although our itinerant life in the last few years has been exciting and constantly changing, we have missed the opportunity to be in a studio and a place devoted to just working on our practice.

Now this latest residency will give us time to work again at the boundaries of our practice and create the new work that has been gestating in our minds over these few years.

See our COOPER+SPOWART website for further info. (Please note the content of this page are Adobe Flash driven presentations)See relevant aspects of our past Bundanon residencies relating to our PhD research here Victoria COOPER ThesisDoug SPOWART – Thesis.

FOLLOW OUR WORK over the next 3 weeks on our FACEBOOK Page

 

A SELECTION OF IMAGES

From artists’ books, photobooks, experimental projects, artwork documentation and our collaboration made during our 2007 & 2009 residencies.

 

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SINGLE MEN’S QUARTERS CAMERA OBSCURA

 

Documentation of the Camera Obscura image in the Single Men’s Quarters

 

PROJECTIONS

‘CLICK’ to enlarge

 

SOME IMAGES FROM DOUG’S WORK

‘CLICK’ to enlarge

 

SOME IMAGES FROM VICKY’S WORK

‘CLICK’ to enlarge

 

 

TO FOLLOW OUR ACTIVITIES OVER THE NEXT 3 WEEKS “LIKE” our FACEBOOK PAGE and in “Follow” – click “SEE FIRST”

 

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Please join with us in this exciting project…