Jamie Williams Photography

No, I haven’t started a political party with the intent of giving Labour and the Liberals a run for their money this weekend, although if ever there were an election where you might poll quite well with a handful of well-articulated policies and a smattering of charisma, this is probably the one. But while you won’t see my mug on any how-to-vote cards, you do have the opportunity to “make a difference”.

Purveyors of all things better-than-average, GOOD magazine, have put together a collection of images about “celebration”, showing the diversity of ways that we humans like to applaud milestones and achievements, both big and small. Readers of this blog may remember my recent post after Kevin Rudd was ousted as Australian Prime Minister, which included an image showing the reaction from partygoers when he was was elected back in November 2007 (reproduced below).  This was chosen to be part of GOOD’s celebratory slideshow, and now you can vote for it as your favourite image in the series. It’s real easy - no running the gauntlet of party propaganda hander-outer-ers, no queuing at election booths, no numbering every box below the line. Simply go here and leave a comment along the lines of “#5 is my favourite!”, unless of course it isn’t. But the more comments you leave the better my chances are of winning a t-shirt, so I’m counting on your support. You’ve got until August 26.

Last winter a friend and I headed off to the snow to do a piece on Australia’s highest ski resort, Charlotte Pass. I was excited to be going as I’d only been to the Snowy Mountains in summer as a bushwalker. I’d never skied. Not Australia, not anywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I’d experienced snow, my first taste at 5600m hiking the pilgrim circuit around Mt. Kailas in western Tibet (had to throw that in to preserve some macho travel credibility). But never had I had the pleasure of skimming across knee-deep (OK, this is Australia - ankle deep) powder. So our pre-trip checklist included a lesson for me, after which we both assumed I’d be suitably skilled to tackle a half-day backcountry trip and if time permitted we’d try and squeeze in an ascent to the summit of Mt. Kosciuszko.

Federal Hwy. © Jamie Williams Photography 2009

After a frigid night in Canberra we got an early start on a crystal clear morning, heading south across the straw-coloured Monaro Plains, veering west at Cooma before making the gradual ascent to Jindabyne. And as we got higher the sky got darker. And darker. Emerging from the Ski Tube at Perisher we were greeted by gale-force winds and a less-than-picture-perfect view of the slopes.

Carpark, Perisher © Jamie Williams Photography 2009

Doing our best to think positive weather thoughts we climbed aboard the over-snow vehicle for the final leg to Charlotte Pass, leaving groups of wind-buffeted skiers in our wake. Churning through 10 inch deep snow, we snaked our way along the valley before setting sight on the small resort settlement nestled into the base of Mt. Stillwell, the dome-roofed tower of the Zosciuszko Chalet barely visible through the horizontal sleet.

Sadly we were never given a chance to put our ambitious itinerary to the test. There were reasonable snow dumps throughout our stay and I had the hang of the skis after a lesson with Michelle from the ski school (although the kid’s on the travelator may have a different opinion). But with the exception of the final day there wasn’t a sliver of blue sky and the wind strength rarely dipped below mild gale-force. Typically, the instructors told us that a purple weather patch had just ended as we watched video of t-shirt clad skiers shredding the backcountry slopes.

Skidon’t © Jamie Williams Photography 2009

But despite suffering significant meteorological challenges we managed to complete a few sessions down Charlotte’s more gentler curves and I have no hesitation in recommending it as a destination, particularly for those wanting a quieter mountain experience where the runs begin and end virtually at your door and kids are welcome. Click below for more pictures and read Dugald’s story (published last month and that’s not my picture at the top), with thanks to Tourism NSW and the friendly folk at the Kosciuszko Chalet.

Photo Spot, Charlotte Pass © Jamie Williams Photography 2009

The front pages of regional Australian newspapers are not generally known as purveyors of journalistic prowess, often emblazoned with sensational and garish headlines - the more sensational and garish the better. Designed for maximum impact with generally minimum newsworthiness, their job is to grab your attention and sell the paper. So it was with equal parts amusement and relief that all is well in Australian journalism that I read this gem, spotted recently at a NSW North Coast petrol station. Another fine example of editorial decision making. Or so I thought.

I confess to having had a chuckle upon first reading. ”There certainly are worse ways to go” I mused.  Then there is the ambiguity - was it an orgy of colossal proportions or one man’s passionate encounter with creatures from Outer Space? Stepping forward for a closer look (as if that would somehow reveal more sordid detail), I was overcome with guilt at having made fun of the poor man’s passing. Perhaps foul play was involved? Or was it simply an accident? And I was annoyed at how insensitively the paper had chosen to describe this unfortunate set of circumstances.”How awful to have your demise so crudely described for all to see” I thought.

The headline had achieved the first part of it’s raison d’etre and was well on its way to satisfying the second. Now I wanted to know the victim’s story and I was prepared to part with my cash to read it (cut to editor rubbing hands together). But upon even closer inspection I realised that I had been well and truly duped. There had been no drug-fueled tangle of bodies, no pleasures of the flesh with flesh-eating visitors, no post-coital rigor mortis. The only foul play here was the headline itself. It was a fraud, a cleverly constructed cut and paste creation. “Monster”, “Sex” and “Party”, carefully selected in matching typeface and point size, had been glued over the top of the words originally printed below ”Man Dies After”. My remorse soon turned to mild embarrassment at having been sucked hook, line and lubricated sinker into this tale with the “not-so-happy-ending”. So I extend my apologies to The Northern Star for thinking they authored this lurid spray. But when you see the lead story in today’s Northern Territory News, you can hardly blame me.

I finally got around to making the trip to the aforementioned isle to check out some of the 2010 Biennale of Sydney. And I figured it could be a good opportunity to try some new bits of gear as well, namely a fisheye lens (for the tight spaces) and a point ‘n’ shoot (for the “spur of the moments”). But don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a user-generated-review-come-sales-pitch rave in the hope that manufacturer’s will shower me with gear for ever more. Just pics, no f-stops or shutter speeds here folks.

I am yet to see the other Biennale venues (MCA, Pier 2/3, Opera House etc…) so can’t comment on their site-specific “fit”, but Cockatoo Island works a treat. A wonderful combination of space and colonial/industrial architecture provides a great setting to plonk bits of art, be they small and subtle or 1:1 scale replica spacecraft. In fact, I found it almost too stimulating. I wasn’t sure where to look - at the art or the artifacts.

are we at the Biennale already?

bag lady - moment 1

just in case (fyi this and the other square images were shot using the neat 1:1 crop option in the p’n’s. yes, you can crop in post but i’m an “in-camera” kind a guy)

first stop, the turbine hall for cai guo-qiang’s impressive innoportune:stage 1 (2004)

althea thauberger’s la mort e la miseria 2008. love the premise behind this work - the inextricable link between culture and language

we “heart” biennale - moment 2

cheese!

my hubble (the universe turned in on itself) by peter hennessey

chitters: a wheelbarrow for richard, 156 paintings, 156 signs 1999-2000 by robert macpherson - a personal favourite (grew up in the country)

cautious consideration at kader attia’s kasbah 2010

moment 3 at rohan weallean’s he with glands of wasp 2009

couldn’t find details of this video piece in the guide or online - any ideas who it’s by? two men play table tennis using the naked woman as a net (note to self - take better notes)

a pic and a pash at choi jeong hwa’s hubble bubble 2010

will we become a nation of quitters?

a scene from aes+f’s mesmerising the feast of trimalchio 2009

aes+f’s the feast of trimalchio 2009. just before this image was taken the character on screen was flying through the air in a wheelchair. he subsequently crashed. the gentleman in the wheelchair did not see this as the screen he is watching shows a different scene. wonder what he would have thought? moment missed

“…heritage charm. abundant natural light. timber floorboards throughout. a must see!”

retro lotto

a piece from rodney glick’s mythology-meets-the-masses collection everyone series 2009

cheese! v2.0

the gfc/g8-inspired summit 2010 by shen shaomin

yvonne todd (image title unknown)

serge spitzer’s molecular (sydney) 2010 transforms the floor of the old guard house

moment 4 - now, which was ours again? (i have had the pleasure of camping on CI and can thoroughly recommend it, but come to think of it we were the only two people out there…)

moment 5 - who’s a pretty boy then? a piece by kiwi artist reuben paterson

ferry time. such an orderly and considerate bunch.

all aboard. after seeing the gents toilet i realised that the last time i was on this particular ferry was at my cousin’s 21st. messy.

moment 6 - nearly home.

Here’s the reaction at a mate’s election party back in December 2007 when Kevin ‘07 swept aside little Johnny Howard. The sense of excitement and relief was palpable. Finally the seemingly immovable Liberal Party had been prized off its perch. And although my (and most of the electorate’s) initial enthusiasm for K. Rudd has waned in recent times I still think he deserved a chance to defend his title. His Party, obviously, did not. Good luck Julia. Here’s hoping my friends and I feel the same way at the outcome of the next Federal Election.

Either i’m getting lazy or too choosy, but these days it takes something a little out of the ordinary in the musical world to shift me from the cosy confines of my inner west abode to the frenzy of the front row. So when an email from a friend recommending a gig in the most eastern of Sydney’s eastern suburbs landed in my inbox I almost deleted it without a second thought. But in a moment of weakness I clicked the included youtube link and was pleasantly surprised by a merry band of youngsters from Geelong going by the decidedly un-merry moniker of The Frowning Clouds. With a sound and aesthetic firmly rooted in circa 60’s Liverpool (UK that is, not Sydney!), the mop-topped quintet’s jangly guitars and melancholy tales of unrequited love had done enough to lure me from my comfort zone. And they didn’t disappoint in the flesh. Joining them on the musical time warp were Sydney groups The Straight Arrows and Royal Headache who added a harder-edged, punk sensibility to Bondi’s Sizzle Festival “Garage Nites”.

Thanks to the bands for the photo opps, and the genius who decided to paint the upstairs corridor at the Beach Road Hotel bright yellow.

dave, ben, zak, nick and jake are the frowning clouds

alex, adam, owen and angie are the straight arrows

joey, law, shortache and shogun are royal headache

Want to see them bigger? Go here

“I’m off to shoot the Dalai Lama” (fingers crossed that I haven’t just sparked an SEO-alerted, keyword-intercepted manhunt). As convenient a term as it is, I’ve never really been that comfortable using “shoot” when describing the act of taking someone’s portrait, particularly when that person has received a Nobel Peace Prize and is a champion of non-violent action (although there have been times when I wish my camera had been loaded with something a little more venomous than celluloid and gelatine or an array of 0’s and 1’s). After all, a portrait photograph is supposed to reveal or illuminate a person’s character, not physically terminate it. So I had a small chuckle to myself when I discovered this image from a recent photo, er, “session”. At the time I didn’t think anything of it - I was testing my lights and under a bit of time pressure. Only when I began to process the images afterward did I realise that I had created a scene that would have the trigger fingers of many a sharp-shooting, bounty-hunting assassin itching with delight. But rest assured SWAT team, the only thing I shoot is pool, and badly at that.

The rule of thirds. It’s one of those rules of composition, apparently dating back as far as 1797, that says placing the point of interest on the intersection of imaginary lines that divide the frame into thirds creates a more pleasing image. It is often true, but it’s certainly not the only way to frame a picture. I am a big fan of placing elements smack bang in the middle too. Here’s an image that blends the two schools of thought. It was taken in between shooting backstage at Fashion Week in Sydney, which brings to mind a lesser known but perhaps more important rule of photography - don’t forget to look behind you.

No Mum, it’s OK. It’s not a nasty traffic accident, but the prize for photographic portraiture. Having been selected as a finalist in ‘09 I was chuffed to learn that an image of mine has been chosen as part of the 2010 Head On Portrait Prize exhibition of 40 prints.

Formerly a stand alone show, Head On is in it’s first year as a full-blown photographic festival, with exhibitions and events running from April through to June at just about every gallery/cafe/venue-with-spare-wall-space across Sydney. Full downloadable program here. While some shows have already opened, including the excellent Terra Australis Incognita from photo agency Oculi at Manly’s Art Gallery and Museum, the actual Head On Portrait Prize doesn’t open until 6pm this Friday April 30 at the Australian Centre for Photography. And there is an artist floor talk on Saturday May 1 from 1-3pm. You should head on over.

Well, there you have it. Sydney Festival 2010 has come to a triumphant end. I hope you managed to get amongst the action in what was a jam-packed 3 weeks in “our city in summer”.

I’ll leave the reviews to those who are eminently more qualified to do that, suffice to say my highlights from the final week included the haunting Ruhe, the magnificent Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms, the fast(ish) and furious(ish) ferrython, (most of) the shambolic Rogue’s Gallery and the cheeky Candide (Paul McDermott was quite good!). Can’t believe I missed the Dirty Three - the image below sums up my reaction to that. Click it to see the final gallery.

Big thanks to all the festival staff for organising (and congratulations to Lindy Hume on an outstanding first festival), the artists for playing, the punters for posing and you for reading. Hope to see you all in festiville next January.