Camo is Not For Fun:

It is fascinating to see the relationship between early 20th Century fashion - dictated by the late Victorian era - to the introduction and adaptation of the military uniform as fashion wear. Uniforms under-went a massive transformation - from soldiers looking spick and span in impractical, decorative hats and jackets with tassels hanging off them and highly polished knee-high leather boots to a more rugged, unglamorous khaki utilitarian look. This was possibly a reaction to the horror of the First World War’s trenches: war is not glorious or glamorous, it is bloody and it is definitely not a fashion parade.

Social behaviour and social standing for an early 20th century British officer dictated that the man was to be respected and often had a standing in the British aristocracy. Therefore he had to be dressed well and look polished in his military uniform. Society today does not look at the military officer or soldier in the same light. The men who go to war in the name of the government of the day often do so with very little thanks.
Society no longer thinks it grand or adventurous to ran off to foreign lands and kill the evil Hun or Turk.
Nowadays the spick and span still exists in the modern Army, but it is left for the ceremonial occasions of military pomp and parades. The people who design military uniforms and equipment have long since forgotten the traditions of our forefathers who dressed in tall hats, long leather boots, white pants and carried muskets - 10 feet tall when fitted with a bayonet. Instead they’ve adopted a practical approach to combat troops and their equipment.

Camouflage – first introduced to the Australian military in the early 1980s - is now a highly recognisable fashion statement on the world’s ski slopes. The fashion industry has adopted the “camo” approach to all ski and boarding clothing and equipment.

To shoot or not to shoot??????

The concept behind some of the location portraits I have shot was an attempt to reach out to the viewer and get them to feel something towards the photograph.
To tell a story of hardship, loss or devastation, sometimes you have to get up close and in peoples faces. At times this is very difficult as you do not want to interfere with the situation and you do not want to seem like a voyeur. I look forward to your comments...
This image of a soldier cradling a young starving Somali child was not an easy picture to take. It was a single precious moment that this soldier shared with this small child just moments before he died. To take the picture or not take the picture? In most instances all you'll get is a split second to make that decision. If you are indecisive in that crucial moment then you will miss it.



The portrait of this old lady was taken in the small mountain village of Dhani, high up in the Pakistan mountains, six weeks after the devastating earthquake that killed thousands in the region. She had lost everything.
Walking around the township, pictures were everywhere. I like this portrait for a number of reasons: the light, the composition and the expression on her face.




This picture of a 10-day-old baby is an image that provokes imagination. The portrait was also taken in the village of Dhani in Pakistan, six weeks after the earthquake. The little boy was 99% dehydrated and had a long list of other medical conditions. The military medics tried for hours to get him better, but sadly he died soon after this picture was taken.

Thailand Tsunami. Six days after the Tsunami hit the Thailand coast the international forensic teams were still struggling with the scale of the disaster. With shipping containers full to capacity with dead bodies, the overflow was left out in the sun while investigators attempted to identify them. This was not a pleasant assignment to cover.



The death of her only son. This was a tragic story. The young Iranian mother, who was seriously ill, lost her only son when he drowned in an unfenced Auburn park pond. The family granted me access to the Islamic funeral in the hope that their son’s death would not be in vain. I was moved by the family in their attempts to come to grips with their loss and how they kept asking me to take pictures, even when it was emotionally very difficult for them.

These pictures represent some of my favourite elephant pictures taken on a trip last year. I travelled around Botswana taking pictures every day for three weeks. Wildlife photography is one of my great passions in life.
I will load some more wildlife frames from this trip later. Please feel free to comment. G

More Art from NGA

Edmond AMAN-JEAN France 1858 – 1936
Portrait de Mlle. Moreno de la Comedie-Francaise. Ed. 100. (1897) Print
This portrait by Edmond Aman-Jean I found pleasing to the eye. The circular motion of the drawing, forming the image of a portrait of a female looking out of the frame, is very relaxing. I like how the artist has highlighted the woman’s face by the heavier motion to the left and right of the subject thus pulling the viewer into the gaze of the subject. The use of the hands around the face of the subject also frames her nicely, drawing one into the lips, the nose and finally up to the longing gaze of the subject, which made me wonder what was she thinking of at the time of the sketch? To me she looks happy and content and it leaves me with a sensation of happiness.

Chuck Close United States of America 1940 - Bob 1970
This painting of Chuck Close’s friend Robert Israel, a New York based opera designer, I found fascinating - almost a true representation of a large photograph. I actually thought it was a photograph until I read the info on the wall. Maybe that is why I like this piece of art; it tricked me into believing that what I was looking at was a photograph. The painting is very lifelike and again I relate to this in that way. I would say that the expression on Bob’s face is one of bewilderment and no doubt he was very happy with end result, as I know I would be if one of my mates had painted a portrait of me in a true life form.




Visual Culture: NGA Assignment 1
Trent Parke Australia 1921 -
“Today coldwater, George Street” 2005 Sydney Type C Colour- NGA 2006.424
One of Magnum’s young guns. The only Australian to be accepted into the prestigious agency. His interpretation of a Sydney street scene is busy. I like the use of the different lines in the photograph as well as the use of shadow and the harsh sidelight. The eye wanders around this picture, searching out different details. The female on the left of frame stands out strongly against the harsh contrast of the shadows behind her, thus making her a key figure in this picture. The light on the coldwater sign is the second item to leap out at you thus giving a soothing sensation on a hot summers day, to me the viewer. The shadows from the sign lead onto the two darkened figures under the awning walking towards the camera, giving a sense of darkness. Overall I do like this picture.

Art Perspective at NGA

Man Ray
The enigma of Isidore Ducasse
United States of America 1890 – France 1976

The artist hidden within is screaming to be let out... well not quite. The prospect of sitting in the National Galley for hours on end and asking the question “Why?” is daunting to me. However, there is some hope of coming to grips with letting go of everything that I know, to open my mind to the world of what society refers to art. So here goes.
Man Ray's Dada objects were made in New York prior to his trip to Paris in 1921. This particular piece is – apparently – a sewing machine wrapped in a blanket. But how can one be sure of that? When I viewed this piece today, 88 years later, on my journey through the NGA I initially thought, “What was this bloke smoking? This is not art - a blanket wrapped around an inanimate object with string. How can this be in this place?”
After trying to get into this artist’s head at the time of his inspiration, I came to a conclusion. I have no idea what he was trying to do. But even though I will never know exactly what Man Ray was thinking when he created this piece, I think I can at least accept it as piece of art now as defined by the dictionary: “the creation of works of beauty or other special significance”.
It was obviously special to Man Ray back in the 1920s.
If art is designed to make one think, then he has achieved this with me. Even though I do not like or truly dislike this piece, it has made me stop and think and ask the question…Why?

American Photo Magazine

Here is a link to American photo magazine on line.

http://www.popphoto.com/americanphoto/

Gary

Here's a link to some of my domestic and international photographic assignments on Picasa........

Warning.....some people might find some of the imagery distressing. Graphic content.

http://picasaweb.google.com/GolfRomeo1/Porfolio#

Gary

SMH Photographers

Here's a link to the SMH photographers blog.........

http://blogs.smh.com.au/photographers/?

Gary

Practising Loading Pictures

I thought I'd have a go at loading some pictures in the blog.

This is a frame from my Cronulla Riots coverage.

Lightstalkers

Lightstalkers is a good photographic community site that has lots of great info.