Photo: Wilson Street Lock - Newtown (Sun 14 Apr 2002)

Wilson Street Lock - Newtown - Sun 14 Apr 2002 (photo.net)
The above photo was taken at the entrance door of an Anitque Factory called Original Finish (thanks Charlotte) on Wilson Street in Newtown.

I drive past here on days I do outrigger training. Often walk past here on weekends, as the area has unlimited parking and is convenient to the Cafes and Shops of King Street Newtown.

I had seen quite a few photos of this type on photo.net, and for some reason I noticed the lock and decided to photograph it up close using macro mode. It seemed to be more interesting cropped to a square format.

Surprisingly, a few days after uploading it to photo.net, I noticed that it seemed to be getting more views than my typical photo uploads. Normally, I would get the occasional viewer and would be lucky to get 20 to 30 views in the first week and hopefully a couple of comments. Somehow this photo found itself rotating on and off photo.net's home page and this explained the surge in views.

When I looked at this photo tonight after many years [1], I was surprised to see that it had reached almost 63,000 views. This has to be my most viewed photo on photo.net. Not a lot by popular photo.net photographers standards, but good for some one like me.

Some memories follow. I bought a small digital camera in Decmeber 2000 just before we went to the Cook Islands for a Holiday (see picasa). It was an original Canon IXUS. It cost $1,600 duty free and was all of 2 Mega Pixels (1,600 by 1,200 pixels). A small, cheap and out of date mobile phone camera would easily surpase this IXUS's pixel capabilities.

It was a great little camera and I used it to capture our memories.

I did not know anything about photography. When I overheard someone at Lunch talking about a web site called photo.net, I quickly found it and after I had figured out how the site worked, I joined up as member on Fri 16 Mar 2001. The site was a community that allowed the uploading of photos for comments, rating, and written critiques. There were also forums to discuss all things about photography, cameras, accessories and technique. It was the original photo sharing community. I can recall even the founders of flickr being ordinary members of photo.net just like me. They created flickr to develop a community that photo.net struggled to move to.

I met some great people. Also learnt a lot there and had just as much fun.

[1] I have not been really active on photo.net since late 2004 - ran out of quota to upload photos, but still lurk there.

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)

Bloody Gum - Royal National Park (Sun 28 Jan 2001)
I took this photo 10 years to the minute (Blogger's time is 19 hours behind Sydney time). It was the first photo that I took with my little IXUS that I thought was more than just a record of an event or a place (and BTW there is nothing the matter with that).

It was a Sunday, the last day of a long weekend (Australia Day was Friday). Jenny and I decided to do a Sunday afternoon drive down into the Royal National Park and end up at Stanwell Top to watch the hang gliders and to have an ice cream.

Along the way we stopped to look at various features and land marks, mainly the coast line.

For some reason I randomly pulled up into a small dirt parking area along the road in a forested area of the Park. I was drawn to the large Gum Trees at the edge of the parking area and noticed the sap oozing from the bark.

Looking at the photos I took that day, most were of the trees from a distance. The above photo was the only one I took up close to the trees. I set the camera to macro mode and I am pretty sure I would have held the camera about 15 to 20 cm from the side of the tree. I remember getting back to Sylvania and looking through the photos from that day and this was the one that caught my eye. It was beyond anything I had captured up til then.

Around the same time I found photo.net and this was one of the first photo's I submitted to my portfolio. Amazingly, I received a number of critiques which were very helpful and they helped guide me along my photographic journey, particularly this one:

this is a great piece. My only complaint is it's on digital. It would make a wonderful Ilfochrome if it were on film -- gallery quality.
Matthew Kees (22 Sep 2001).

In many ways the photo and the positive feedback I received help me explore photography in a way I had never expected when I first bought the little camera a few months earlier.

I have tagged many of the photos I have taken with the little IXUS, here. Many have become my Favourite Photo's, which I have randomly rambled about on this blog over the last year or so.

Makes me wonder where the last 10 years have gone.

Finally, if I have added up correctly this should be my 300th post.

Flame Tree - Hyde Park / Sydney (Mon 10 Dec 2002)

Flame Tree - Hyde Park / Sydney (Mon 10 Dec 2002)
The Hyde Park Flame Trees are already in full blossom now. I can see them from my desk at work and I was reminded of this photo, which I have just dug out of the archives.

I remember that I had polarizing filter for my little IXUS. It was for a much larger lens and all I would do is place it over the IXUS lens and rotate it to get the maximum effect - usually that of turning up the contrast, which this photo effectively shows.

Ninita - Canberra (Sun 11 Jan 2004)

Ninita - Canberra (Sun 11 Jan 2004)
The colours seem to work here - one of my favourite photos. The little IXUS 100 had a great colour palette. The modern cameras have many more pixels but they just don't seem to do what the IXUS could with colour rendition.

Flowers - Manuka / Canberra (Nov 2002)

Flowers - Manuka / Canberra (Nov 2002)
Some flower photos from Tim's backyard garden. The light was soft and even, and the mighty IXUS did another great job. The bokeh in macro mode is very nice for such a small and early generation digital camera. A few more photos follow ..

On Photography - A Record of a Moment - Joel Meyerowitz (Tue 11 Aug 2015)

Self Portrait - Canon IXUS on Shen Hao LF Camera - La Perouse (Fri 07 Jan 2005)

Joel Meyerowitz on Photography and a Moment:

It's always fun to turn the tables on someone who is filming you and do it back to them. If nothing else it becomes a record of the moment, and that has value too.

via Turn the Tablle by Joel Meyerowitz.

And so I did and so it was.

Willow Tree Silhouette - Lake Burley Griffin/Canberra (Mon 05 Aug 2002)

Willow Tree Silhouette - Lake Burley Griffin/Canberra - Mon 05 Aug 2002 (photo,net)
One of my Favourite Photos. Really enjoy the layers and in particular the colour palette of my first digital camera, an IXUS 100.

Palm - Green - Kangaroo Valley (Sun 21 Sep 2002)

Palm - Green - Kangaroo Valley (Sun 21 Sep 2002)
The mightly little IXUS did a great job that day.

Geoff Dyer on Trent Parke (2010) - American Suburb X - (Fri 17 Dec 2010)

Geoff Dyer on Trent Parke (2010) - American Suburb X - (Fri 17 Dec 2010)
I have a Google Alert for Trent Parke, an Australian Photographer who is a member of Magnum and in-public (who BTW have just celebrated their 10th birthday).

Trent Parke - Google Blog Search Result - My Google Reader - Fri 17 Dec 2010
Most days I will get one or two alerts come through on my Google Reader. Normally, they don't lead to anything interesting or something I don't already know about him. However, I received an alert that quickly drew my attention. It was titled:

Geoff Dyer on Trent Parke (2010).

As Andrew Bruce posted today on Trent's Facebook Wall:

easily the best piece of writing on Parke to date

Have to agree and it is definitely worth a read.

A bit of a ramble to follow. I have known of Geoff Dyer for sometime. At least since around the time of the publication of his book, the The Ongoing Moment (Guardian Review - 16 Oct 2005). A novel and rather modest approach to writing about photography - he claims that he does not even own a camera:

"I am not a photographer ... I don't even own a camera."

I enjoyed the book and appreciated his knowledge of photography. In particular I enjoyed his writing style and the metaphors he used to get his ideas across - you will see this in his article on Trent.

[on writing about the book, The Seventh Wave] The surface of the sea is a film separating two worlds, that of water and that of air. Though absolute the distinction is perpetually on the brink of dissolving, melting away. People fly through the water as if suspended in a turbulent sky, or float through great clouds of aquatic light. That’s what water is for Parke and Autio – liquid light. Forms dissolve, blur, swim into and out of focus. Quick and silver, the water is a flash-flood of mercury.

Phot from the The Seventh Wave - Narelle Autio and Trent Parke
On to Trent Parke. I have followed his progress since he was photographer with the Sydney Morning Herald back in the early 2000's. He had two photos in the first Sydney Looking Forward Exhibtion back in 2002. I wrote about one of the photos here. Indeed the post is one of the more popular pages residing in my little blog.

In 2003 I bought two copies of the two books he had published at that stage:

• Dream/Life


• The Seventh Wave

Both books appear to be long out of print, by the looks of the Amazon Used Books prices.

Looks like I have done alright with these purchases (they were about $50 each from the Stills Gallery). I could not help myself other than to buy two copies of each. They were just beautiful. I have a soft/weak spot for photography books. I can remember catching the train after work, upto Kings Cross and then walking into Paddington to the Stills Gallery. I took quite a few photos with my litte IXUS. Must drag them out of the archive to find out the exact date of purchase of the books. A job for another day.

I will close with a quote from Geoff Dyer's article on Trent:

Later works will continue but intensify the Dream/Life vision so that, at its most extreme, Sydney becomes a kind of ghost city, in the process of being annihilated by light. A passer-by will be transformed into an accidental super-hero: Solar-man, a bleached absence of pure radiance! (Part of the fascination of this picture is of the photographer-as-magician kind: how did he do that? The difference between magic and photography is that the spell remains unbroken even when the technical explanation - which, in any case, I cannot recall - is forthcoming. [GeoffE: maybe some discussion here will help: How is this done? (Trent Parke) at photo.net - 31 Mar 2004)]

White Man, 2001 - Circular Quay/Sydney (GeoffE: at guess!) - Trent Parke
An article by the Sydney Morning Herald's Tim Clayton giving some background to the working environment that Trent Parke evolved.

Twin Lights - Australian Technology Park / Redfern (Wed 21 Nov 2001)

Twin Lights - Australian Technology Park / Redfern (Wed 21 Nov 2001)
My little 2 MB Canon IXUS captured this scene (*) brilliantly. It was a first generation digital camera, but in many ways my favourite camera.

I saw differently in those days and in some ways feel I was a better photographer back then compared to now. More on this later under Then and Now (*).

Twin Lights #4 - Then and Now - ATP / Redfern (Wed 21 Nov 2012)

Twin Lights #4 - Then and Now - ATP / Redfern (Wed 21 Nov 2012)
The last of many. A softer rendition and more towards the IXUS from 2001.

Grace - Alexandria (Sun 10 Mar 2003)

Grace - Alexandria (Sun 10 Mar 2003)
Natural lighting with Canon IXUS.

Skip - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)

Skip - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Skip and Bob - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
Mona Lisa - Erskineville Road / Newtown (Fri 28 Oct 2004)
The background to these photos ..

I had just flown in that morning from Shanghai (via Singapore) where I had bid farewell to Jenny and Joanne. I was excited about the trip there for the World Dragon Boat Championships at Qingpu just to the west of Shanghai (I was just an excited spectator and photographer in those days - definitely inspired me to get into dragon boating on our return). During the return flight I had already decided that I would go back to meet Jenny and Jo in Shanghai on their return from a group road trip and some traveling by themselves (which included 5 days on the Yangtze River). It would be a surprise for them and we would spend the last 4 days in Suzhou and Shanghai where I would celebrate my 44th Birthday.

Thought I would walk up to Newtown to keep myself awake as I had not slept much on the over night flight from Singapore. Had my tiny IXUS and I was photographing the Mona Lisa and I remember Skip asking me about what I thought of the painting and her smile. I said I liked it and I remember doing some googling later and found a couple of really interesting pages (should have them somewhere - will try to find them).

Following this initial conversation it was easy for me to ask Skip whether I could take some photos of him in front of the painting. He was a more than willing performer. Bob was just there sitting on the step smoking a cigarette and they seemed to know each other.

For the closeup photo at the top of the page I remember being quite taken by his jacket (it was a hot mid-Spring day) and the large ring he had on is finger. So I just asked him to raise his hand to his sunglasses. I was happy with the result. I remember printing some of these photos and leaving an envelope with them (and some Mona Lisa related web pages) at the Church just around the corner in King Street.

This is the closest I have ever come to doing something like what LottieP does everyday at Sydney Spy (definitely one of my favourite blogs).

Should try to do more of this kind of photography. Skip was the one who engaged with me first - not sure that I could initiate the first contact to do this kind of portrait photography on the street. Though I should try to get out of my comfort zone a little.

Favourite Photos: Sydney Life 2002 - Trent Parke - Photo in a Photo

Sydney Life: Trent Parke Photo - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)
Sydney Life (in 2002 and 2003 it was known as Sydney Looking Forward) is one of the Events of the Art and About Festival held now in October each year. Sydney Life is an outdoor exhibition of large scale images featuring the work of established photographers alongside work from some newer photographers (occasionally a no name like myself is selected, but this is very rare).

As the blurb says The real Sydney is revealed in the everyday and everynight, captured by the photograhic artsts who live here. - This truly diverse selection of photographs will intrigue, delight and inspire you as you wander along the leafy central walkway of Hyde Park North, and see Sydney as you haven’t seen it before.

The above photo is a photo of Trent Parke photo from the 2002 Sydney Life Exhibition (might have been the first Sydney Life, definitely the first one I viewed anyway). The large 3x2m canvas printed photos are hung along either side of the northern walkway of Hyde Park, just across from where I work. Took my little IXUS digital camera with me one overcast Monday lunch time. Was aware of the work of Trent Parke - he was recently selected as the first Australian photographer to become a member of the famous Magnum Photographic Cooperative.

In taking this photo I decided to hover a little and wait for someone to be in the photo with their back to me like the backpack guy in Trent's photo. Thought it would raise it above a mere record of this photo. This guy with cap was already looking at the photo and I waited and hoped that a few other onlookers would move on. There was a nice symmetery when the others left and I took my photo. The guy with cap looked around and spoke to me. He said he felt that he was in the photo - the white shirt guy in shorts next to the street sign. He said he often walks past that location (Corner Market and George Streets). I've looked at this photo quite a few times since and I often convince myself that he is actually the guy in the photo.

Funny how things work out with photos. Always liked the little story that goes with this photo. I would see him again a few months later one Saturday morning in King Street Newtown at a bus stop barely 5 metres out of image and to the right of this previously discussed Favourite Photo. I actually had a copy of the above photo in my backpack, but was too shy to give it to him. Have not seen him since.

The following year I considered entering this photo in the 2003 Sydney Life exhibition and Leigh Perry (Leigh: thanks for the comment below) photoshopped a great Black and White version for me as well as printing a couple of beautiful prints. Thought it would be funny to look at a photo of photo from the previous years exhibition like some kind of infinite loop. I have played around with the photo and converted it to black and white. Also did a collage of some of the photos from the exhibition.

Sydney Life: Trent Parke Photo (BW) - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)
Sydney Life: Picasa Collage - Hyde Park/Sydney - Mon 22 Sep 2002 (picasa)

Stormwater Drain (1 of 2) - Telopea Park / Kingston / Canberra (Wed 21 Apr 2002)

Stormwater Drain (1 of 2) - Telopea Park / Kingston / Canberra (Wed 21 Apr 2002)
Stumbled across this yesterday, nearly 10 years since I took it. Never really noticed back then, but it jumped out at me yesterday. A nice surprise from my tiny 1600x1200 pixel IXUS.

On Going Back - The Passage of Time - Joel Meyerowitz (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

200 Year Timeline (photo.net) - Circular Quay / Sydney (Wed 16 Jul 2003) Sunset in the Sails - Circular Quay / Sydney (Sun 09 Aug 2015)

Joel Meyerowitz on Photography:

it's the going back that counts.

via Ordinary Places by Joel Meyerowitz.

I would have to say Circular Quay is not an ordinary place, based on the throng of tourists and locals down at the Quay yesterday.

It was a magnificent sun soaked winters day afternoon, with thousands of people enjoying the light, space and atmosphere of the nautical gateway to the City, at the footsteps of the Sydney Opera House.

We were in town for a Birthday Lunch for Janice who we lost in April . The lunch at Customs House was spectacular, not only for the view and food, but the company of Janice's immediate family. Janice would have loved it. And that we were all there together, remembering her.

Afterwards, we strolled around the Quay, through The Rocks, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and back. As we strolled past the Bounty, I was reminded of my 2003 photo above (along with my photo.net post made back then) and made a similar photo as the sunset.

Looking at the scene yesterday and the photos now, what surprised me was that after 12 years, how similar the two scenes were. At the macro level, the Bounty and the Opera House, appear identical, but I am sure when I look closely, there will be micro changes representing maintenance and technological progress that 12 years brings.

With these two photos, also comes the change in my "vision", my cameras (Canon IXUS S100 then and Canon S120 now, and a few in between) and words. As they say, "same same, but different". The difference probably being my experience in photography and life. In many ways, the camara is now an extension of my hand, I know what it sees and it knows what I feel through the resulting photos it exposes and brings to my life and this world. I am constantly and pleasantly surprised by the power of photography and what it reveals to me.

The two photos represent a passage of time in themselves and my implied meaning assigned to the Jul 2003 photo, along with my words at photo.net back then. Together now, the two photos above, represent the passage of 12 years of time in my own life where everything has changed so much.

So pleased we went back and I now have these photos and memories. Without the photos, the motivation to make them and assigning some connection to them, these memories and thoughts would most likley be lost.

As always, thanks Joel Meyerowitz. I never know where a thought and a few well chosen words will take me.

Jo, Patricia, Fabian, David, Pam, Gavin and Geoff - Customs House Forecourt / Circular Quay (Sun 09 Aug 2015)