Twelve Months

Inspired by Susannah Conway and some of her blog friends, here is a review of my photographic year.

January

Near Guthega © Andrée Lawrey

A weekend Southside Camera Club excursion to Guthega, Kosciuszko National Park, NSW gave me a chance to test my legs on some easy mountain walks and prove I was fully recovered from past injuries.  I still grin with delight at the memory.

February

Sydney Reflection © Andrée Lawrey

Seen on the way to the Annie Leibovitz exhibition on a busy day trip to Sydney.

March

3 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick, ACT © Andrée Lawrey

Still working hard on the Fyshwick project.

April

Venice © Andrée Lawrey

Italia!  A joy, a delight and a photographic feast, including a wonderful tour with my friend Luiza and an excellent Within the Frame photo workshop with David duChemin and Jeffrey Chapman.  Special thanks to all concerned, old friends and new, for a delightful experience.  It's thanks to you that I'm still dreaming of Italy!

More of the iPhone in Italy series can be seen on my website.

May

Night Tree © Andrée Lawrey

Home again and having fun challenging the iPhone camera in tricky light.

June

40 Kembla Street © Andrée Lawrey

A gift!  Spotted at the very end of shooting for the Fyshwick exhibition.

July

Done at last!

August

Wired © Andrée Lawrey

Taking a break and playing around with the iPhone.

September

Squares, Bibo Café, Ballarat © Andrée Lawrey

I love this Ballarat café, with its retro décor, soft colours and hearty breakfasts.  The 2011 Ballarat International Foto Biennale was also a special treat.

October

Lamp, Benedict House © Andrée Lawrey

Benedict House is always a joy to visit.  We love the food and the photo opportunities in equal measure...

November

Favourite Cactus © Andrée Lawrey

Two splendid potted succulents guard the front door of PhotoAccess.  Sometimes I snatch a photo as I go by.  More often, I remind myself to go back when I have time to make some cactus portraits...

December

Kiln Reflection © Andrée Lawrey

A visit to the ANU School of Art brought some unexpected photo opportunities.  I particularly liked the fragmented reflections in the faceted surface of a kiln (I think it's a kiln) in the courtyard.

Have Cameras, Will Travel – the Art of Being There

Beach Huts Near Portofino © Andrée Lawrey

I had a wonderful time in Italy last April – not least on the Liguria Within the Frame workshop with David Duchemin, Jeffrey Chapman and a small group of committed photographers. I am still absorbing what I learned along the way – more on that and the workshop in future posts and/or articles – but my latest Different Strokes article talks about the core lesson: preparation is important, but being there is essential. You can find it here, in the July 2011 edition of Capital Image (page 25).

An iPhone in Italy (II)

© Andrée Lawrey

More exhibition images from my iPhone in Italy series. The flowers and the church are from Portofino and the others are from a morning excursion to Burano in the Venetian lagoon.

This set is part of Out There 2011, the Canberra Photographic Society's annual exhibition which is now showing at the Watson Arts Centre. More information, including an online catalogue, is available here. The exhibition continues until 10 July.

An iPhone in Italy

Roman Flare and Afternoon Trees © Andrée Lawrey

Many of my favourite images from my visit to Italy last April were taken with my iPhone. The Hipstamatic app I was using just seemed to suit my subjects and the holiday mood I wanted to convey.  

I exhibited this pair in Access all Areas 2011 - The PhotoAccess Members' Show in May. I was trying for silhouettes but the iPhone sensor, the Hipstamatic app's Helga Viking lens and the angle of the sun conspired to deliver some additional special effects. The only post-processing I did was to crop off the white border around each photo, which doesn't look good in prints.

Wheels!

Cool Wheels © Andrée Lawrey – Hipstamatic 201

I'm still catching up with 'normal' life after a delightful few weeks in Italy – more on that when I have finished sorting and processing an embarrassing quantity of photos.  Meanwhile, a Southside Camera Club excursion to Robbo's Motorcycles, a local Harley-Davidson® dealership, provided a totally different subject to help me re-focus on the here and now.

Motorcycles bring out my close-up and abstract, arty side.  Machines as sculpture – all those curvy metal shapes and reflective surfaces.  They are challenging to photograph, especially in the bright,white light of the showroom, but well worth the trouble.  I spent a wonderful morning with these amazing machines – my thanks to Robbo's for giving us the opportunity and making us so welcome.

I love the way the Hipstamatic iPhone app brought out the cool, steely blue of the metal (which must have been reflecting my blue cardigan), while my SLR's sensor responded to the cool, white light with a golden glow I could not bear to 'correct' in post processing.

Warm Wheels © Andrée Lawrey – D700, 105 F/2.8 micro

Highlights @ Floodlight

Highlights © Andrée Lawrey

Here's a favourite from 2007, a lucky find on a PhotoAccess workshop excursion early one frosty morning.  The sun was just melting the frost, turning water drops to jewels and gilding the dead flower heads.  I love the way backlight turns the most commonplace scenes and details to sheer magic.

A print of this image is my contribution to the Floodlight exhibition and auction at PhotoAccess on Saturday, 5 February from 4 to 5.30 pm, which aims to raise funds for victims of the devastating floods in Queensland.  More information and an online catalogue are available here.

 D200, 28-105 f/3.5-4.5