Tree in forest

On Publication

2009-11-12T12:52:00.005+11:00

A little while ago, just after the Newtown by Night exhibition closed, I was discussing what I'd like to do with my photos. One of the things I came up with at that time was that I'd like to see them in a print publication somewhere. I set myself a deadline to work to - I wanted to see something of mine in a magazine before the end of the year.

Opening Night, Newtown by Night

And, thanks to Kay, the co-ordinator of the Contemporary Division of the Australian Photography Society, it's happened. Selected highlights from Newtown by Night are printed in this month's Image magazine, the APS journal. It's only available to APS members, sadly, but that's still almost two and a half thousand people who've been sent my printed work - hooray! Thanks again Kay for suggesting I submit the work!

The next challenge, I think, will be to start entering some photographic competitions. I don't have any great hopes of winning anything - my style is somewhat understated, and I dislike most of the currently fashionable looks for images, but I want to enter some contests regardless. I'd also like another exhibition - I have a body of work called 'Tales from the Tropics' I'd like to see somewhere, and I'm considering putting a book together some time next year. And of course I have several ongoing photographic projects I'd like to do more with.

Tales from the Tropics - Trishaw time out, Penang

And I really, really need to re-design the website so it's better organised.

Of course, I'm also planning on starting a major non-photographic commitment next year as well, so I'm not sure where I'll find time for all of this, but I'll manage somehow. Wish me luck!

In Progress - Japan

2009-11-11T13:48:00.004+11:00

I don't know if I've talked about going through the editing process before. At the moment, I'm just about done editing the Japan photos, and going through them has brought to light a few interesting things - well, I found them interesting, anyway. So to sweeten the deal, here's a few early previews from Tokyo while I muse about subjectivity. Feel free to chip in at the end!

I don't often like my work when I'm editing it. Something about the process of working on the images makes me see all their faults, and none of the art. Every photo I look at suddenly seems boring, flat, and pointless, and I get tempted to dump the whole lot and take up staring at grass or some other non-creative pastime. (Much like my blog posts, really - they always sound so dull when I'm writing them!)

Tokyo - Shinjuku crowds

Even the images for Newtown by Night didn't impress me at first look. They grew on me over time - I suspect I had to let go of how I thought they should look before I could appreciate how they did look. It was a good lesson to try and see things as they are, rather than what I think they are, and something I would like to be better at.

I've learned over the years, though, to let the pictures sit for a while after I've edited them, then come back to see what I have. Another thing I learned from the very dedicated & talented Lisa Hogben is to group the images and watch them through as a slideshow a few times, to get more of a feel for how they look, and how they flow together.

Breakfast in Asakasa

So that's what I'll be doing over the next few weeks - getting comfortable with the images, and working out what to do with them, and where they'll go. I've also arranged to swap some curation with Xole - I'll be looking through a group of her recent work, and in return she's kindly agreed to sort through my Japan photos. I don't think I'm the best person to curate work, as my taste is a little individual, but since she was kind enough to agree to look at my stuff, how could I refuse?

How do you approach your creative projects? Do you like the outcomes? I think most of us are harder on ourselves than anyone else would be - how do you deal with that?

Harajuku Hip

Pain, In Progress

2009-10-11T11:38:00.004+11:00

Yes, I'm still here. Been doing a few new things - learning to sew, so I can indulge my fondness for Victorian-era clothing, and starting to learn to do Chinese/Japanese brush painting (very, very badly - I can barely do a recognisable straight line). I've also discovered that making sourdough bread makes me feel calmer, happier, and more creative. Odd, yes?

But most of the reason I've been so quiet is a mix of stress and pain. Work has been remarkably stressful, and is only now starting to return to a live-able level of stress, and the cold has made the pain in my feet very difficult to deal with. It's hard to realise, even when you're living it, just how much pain drains you, and makes it next to impossible to be creative. When work is draining you past your endurance levels, and pain takes them even lower, life becomes a rather depressing trudge.

I had hoped that Spring warmth would improve things a bit - at least take the cold out of my joints, and let me walk a bit more. But as anyone in Sydney would know, the weather has perversely turned cold, damp, and rainy; just the weather that makes the arthritis worst. Ouch.

So I'm currently typing from bed; the warmest, flattest place available. Occasionally I venture out to do things that can't be accomplished from under a doona, then head back again when my feet start to complain too much.

Since I haven't any shiny new completed projects to share, I thought I might tell you about some of the things I have in progress, instead. I have several series' that are slowly accumulating images, some of them at least five years old. There's one in particular I'd like to talk about today, since I feel very much like a creaky tree myself - Wooden.

Forking trunk

A tree against the sky possesses the same interest, the same character, the same expression as the figure of a human. - Georges Rouault

I started this series back before I owned a digital camera, so all these images are film. I'd like to continue it with film; it seems to suit the images. There's a few ideas I'm slowly getting my head around with the series. Part of it is me coming to terms with my body - it seems odd to feel uncomfortable with my own physical being, after all. And part of it has to do with the way we see ourselves reflected in nature and the things around us; the way we'll look at the shape of a tree and see ourselveds. And when you get down to it, we are all interconnected, which I think may be an underlying idea in a lot of my work, but more explicitly part of this.

Entwining

I need to re-scan these images - my old scanner was pretty crappy, and a lot of the subtlety of the negatives is lost here. And I'd like some more images to round out the set; I want to see breasts and thighs, ankles and hands, as well as privates. It will have to wait for summer, though, until I can feel a little more anchored in my own body, without being overwhelmed.

So, what do you think? Click here to browse the rest of the series, as it currently is, and make sure to post or email an opinion. Would you like to see more of my in progress projects?

Openings

Review - Ichikawadaimon

2009-09-03T12:52:00.003+10:00

I've been reading a little photo book recently, after finding a review of it on The Exposure Project. Called Ichikawadaimon, it's been put together by LA-based photographer Ye Rin Mok, and is gentle, quiet look at the eponymous Japanese town Ichikawadaimon. There are no words, just seemingly straightforward pictures of a Japan I also caught glimpses of when I was there last May.

A lot of the tourist-style photos I see coming out of Japan empahise the noise and glitter of the country, which wasn't an aspect I saw coming through while I was there. Two weeks is not nearly enough to claim to even begin to understand a country, but the country I saw reminded me far more of Ye Rin Mok's ordinary-semming, unfetishised photographs than the hypercoloured hysteria so many other photographers bring back.

Recommended!

The limited edition book is for sale on Etsy. My copy is #51 - I'm not sure how many will still be left.

And yes, my photos from Japan are coming!

Birthdays, People & Photography

2009-08-30T14:34:00.010+10:00

It was my birthday last Saturday, so we went down to the Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour; one of my favourite places (anyone who knows me will tell you how excited I get about birthdays. There may have been bouncing on the spot and excited hand flapping). My favourite photos from that afternoon were portraits, which, along with conversations we had that day, started me thinking about people and portrait photography.

I'm not a big fan of posed portraits. I can always see too clearly the muscle tenstion that comes from an awareness of being watched, and the masks we assume when someone else is making our portraits. There's nothing wrong with posed portraits, mind you - they're just not my style, and they're not what I'm interested in seeing of people. (This may also explain my dislike of advertising and most stock photography - it all seems so artificial.)

For me, I much prefer to see people comfortable being themselves. Not necessarily unaware of the camera - I'm no voyeur, taking pleasure from snatching illicit images, just people feeling naturally comfortable and unguarded.

The images in this post were all made that afternoon while we basked in the early-spring warmth. One of the reasons that was suggested for my ability to have people feling comfortable around a camera was that I'm so frequently waving it around that people quickly grow accustomed to it, and forget it's there, even while I'm overtly using it to photograph them. There's probably some truth in that.

I think there's a bit more to it, though - I've seen plenty of people with a camera always to their eye, and other people still freeze as soon as it turns towards them. I suspect that a large part of it is that when I'm using a camera, I rarely think of it as a separate thing, but as an extension of myself, and photographing is as natural and unselfconscious as smiling, or as seeing.

It also has to do with trust. I'm not interested in making people ridiculous, or capturing some secretive image that strips them bare, revealing my superiority as photographer over the unwiling and passive subject. I like and care about the people I make images with, and would far rather share than snatch - and I'd like to think they'd know that.

So, some portraits from a sunny afternoon. Since I wanted to show more images than usual, they're thumbnail sized; feel free to click through and browse the gallery. And also make sure to comment if you have an opinion on people photography, whether street or portrait, or anything else.

Art for art's sake?

2009-08-17T13:26:00.006+10:00

I've been pondering recently - since the exhibition, at least -what to do with the images I create. Making art is one thing, but if no-one ever sees it, what then? If art falls in a forest, does anybody care?

I photograph because I want to, because I'm driven to, and because there are things I see that I want to comment on or share. I also believe very strongly that art (craft, imagery, call it what you will), is ideally a part of life, not something separate and sacred. There's definitely a place for complicated, self-referential, obscurely-idiomed art that needs a 4-year degree to understand it - but it's not my place. I'm really not into artsclusivity.

What, then, should I do with my work? It looks better in person than onscreen, I've noticed - there's a certain amount of presence and depth that doesn't seem to come out of a monitor as it does a print. I'd like another showing somewhere, although I'm still trying to work out where (and where is likely to take me). I'd also really like to have work published; if anyone knows a good photography/art publication that they think would like my stuff, let me know.

So, two questions that I'd love to hear comments on, please:

1. If you make things, what do you do with the finished product?

2. Is there anywhere you'd like to see my stuff? Or any suggestions for how to get it there?

(Yes, technically that's three questions. I know.)

Comment and post your answers, or email if you'd prefer, and I'll discuss the responses in a later post. Thanks!

Cut up - Mat cutter glory, and a cry for help

2009-07-29T14:49:00.003+10:00

Ok, so I promised pictures of my shiny, new, easy-to-use mat cutter.

Here it is in all its packaged glory. As you can see, it is indeed both shiny AND new. It was recommended by the person at my favourite art supplies place (Art on King) as the one the owner used to do her matting, which I thought was a pretty good testimonial.

Here it is naked on my cutting mat (saucy, yes?). Doesn't it look professional? I had an image to matt up shortly before the exhibition ended, so I pulled it out to give it a trial run.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to work out how it works! I tried multiple methods of putting in the blades; I even read the instructions multiple times, but no luck! I ended up using my old, dodgy cutter to frame the picture; at least I know how to use it.

So if anyone knows how to use a Dexter mat cutter, let me know!

And we're done

2009-07-23T13:54:00.006+10:00

I've just been told that the exhibition is ending tonight - so anyone who wants to have a look, best to get in quickly! I'm sorry about the short notice; I was under the (admittedly rather vague) impression that we were going until the end of the month.

It's been a fascinating experience; and a very positive one. I've loved getting the feedback on the works, and am more grateful than I can say for the support everyone's given me.

An extra thanks to the people who've bought works - Berkelouw will be calling you to finalise payment, and you can pick up your images from tomorrow. Sales-wise, I did much better than I expected, and sold five works, which clears my costs, and pays for a new mat cutter - expect pictures tomorrow.

I didn't quite clear enough for the lighting course, sadly, so I'll be learning how to make pinhole cameras instead.

And now I plan what I want to do next! Suggestions?

Being a Tree in a Forest

2009-07-14T13:34:00.008+10:00

A very lovely lady in the USA has worked out the Chinese characters for Tree in Forest for me; hopefully so we can get a seal made. She kindly made a video for me explaining her ideas; you can see it below.

This got me thinking a little this morning about why I chose Tree in Forest as a name. For me, it has a few layers of meaning and implication - and being me, it implies more questions than it answers.

The first part is the metaphor in the name, of the single person as the tree in a forest of people. All of us seemingly looking alike on the surface, but all unique individuals as we look closer. Every tree looks alike, but every one is still its own self. I also like the idea of being one part of a greater overall organism, the single tree in the larger forest. We're all one in many, after all.

Secondly, of course, is the inevitable Buddhist metaphor. We probably all know the riddle

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

It wasn't until I started looking into its derivation that I found out that it didn't originally come from Buddhism (if Wikipedia is to be believed); but it certainly fits it well. If no-one else perceives us, are we still real? Is reality defined by our existence as part of the forest, or is simply our own perception enough? And is what we see as real actually a 'reality'?

Plus, I really, really like trees.

Still here, and so are the photos

2009-06-30T13:35:00.005+10:00

Whew; it's been a busy few weeks. I have a new lens (see the images below), and a new monitor calibrator, so I can find out just how poorly my monitor has been showing my images.

The exhibition is going well; 5 framed photos have sold, which is a very nice feeling. Four more and I reach my goal - hooray! For anyone who hasn't seen them yet, Newtown by Night will be up for another three weeks; make sure you drop in and have a look. The coffee at Berkelouw is also worth trying!

Pain levels are acting up quite badly, though - I'm working through a daze of pain and medications today, and am currently mildy dreading the upset stomach I'm about to have from the ibuprofen. Cold, damp weather exacerbates both the arthritis and the nerve pain, and I'm tired enough that it's all a bit too hard.

Still, my bad days are better than my good ones used to be. So onwards, upwards, and always twirling towards freedom. Besides, who could be cranky with Harry the kitten around?

The new lens takes beautiful photos of other people's new kittens!

Prints.. and free chocolate!

2009-06-21T11:37:00.009+10:00

When I was originally working out how many pieces I need to sell at the Newtown by Night exhibition, my most important goal was covering my costs, so I don't end up several hundred dollars down. The next goal was to make enough profit from sales to:

a. buy a decent mat cutter, to make it less painful on my wrists for the next time I have a showing (and have less need to practice my Buddhist detachment when I screw up a mat again), and

b. Pay for membership & a course at the Australian Photographic Centre, to improve my lighting skills. At the moment I'm great at making ambient light do what I want, but stuffed if I have to create the light myself - and at least one of the projects I want to make next will need some lighting to turn out as I envision it.

At the moment, it looks like I'll cover my costs, which is a huge relief. And I'll probably have enough left over for a mat cutter (hooray!). I realised this morning, though, that I forgot to account for Berkelouw's commission on the works (they put the money back into covering the costs of the exhibitions - how cool is that!), which makes the last goal even tougher than I originally thought.

So, if you wanted to buy a print, or know someone you think would like one, please make the effort to get it happening; don't just let it fall by the wayside. And to those of you who've already put a deposit on prints, thank you!

Free chocolate!

And as a thank you, if you post a comment here on the photojournal after you put a deposit on a print (or multiple prints!), I'll send you a box of Aardvarque chocolate - yum!

And we're off!

2009-06-21T11:08:00.005+10:00

Opening night went fabulously - thank you so much everyone who made it out on a cold, wet Thursday night to see the works and celebrate.

Obligatory photo of the artist; I'm the one leaning on the distinguished guy at the right.

We had surprisingly few (read: none) hitches - my nightmares of frames falling off the wall overnight, or images sneaking out of their mats didn't eventuate, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Next time I'll take the day of an opening off, and probably the day after as well - I was pretty tired and sore the next day; but I'm so very happy. Thank you, everyone.

The exhibition will run for the next four weeks, so if you couldn't make opening night, make sure you drop in and take a look.

There are more photos from the opening in the main gallery; click through any of the images, or click here to see them. Most of them weren't actually taken by me; we handed the camera around quite a bit.

Just a little further

2009-06-17T11:21:00.003+10:00

One day to go. We managed to get all the works signed and re-framed, and only broke two frames; not bad going, all things considered. Next time I'll know better.

I’m having a small hanging party tonight; four of us are going to hang the images, and then go have dinner somewhere. It should be good! I’m looking forward to seeing how the works look on the wall.

Tomorrow night at 6pm we open, and I try to talk intelligently about my work; hopefully without babbling too much. See you there!

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Equanimity in Action

2009-06-15T20:00:00.005+10:00

I've mentioned being Buddhist before, I'm sure. It has its advantages; for one thing, I no longer swear or have a stompy moment when I accidentally shatter the glass on an image I'm trying to re-frame. Hooray for equanimity!

Now to learn how to not get annoyed at people on public transport.

5 Days and Counting

2009-06-13T12:47:00.003+10:00

So, five days until opening night. Oddly enough, I'm no longer very nervous; just excited. All the images are framed, which is a huge weight off my mind. I realised this morning, though, that I'd forgotten to sign them, so one of tomorrow's jobs will be opening the frames back up and signing the mats. Assuming I can find my pencil sharpener, that is - if anyone sees a pencil sharpener roaming truant-like around the wilds of Stanmore, could they send it back to me, please?

And naturally, now they're done I can see all the tiny bits of dust that somehow managed to creep in unseen while I was framing; it'll be good to clean then up again while I sign them.

Dust motes aside, I'm very much enjoying looking at the collection, now they're all matted, mounted and framed. There's a presence to a properly-framed picture that a loose print just doesn't have, and seeing all of them together gives an impact that I'm proud of, and a little surprised; they seem like seperate pieces of art now, not just my pictures. It's a very good thing.

Next I take a break, then start writing the dreaded Artist's Statement. Fortunately, with this body of work I'm very aware of the concepts I'm working with, so the difficulty is going to be in phrasing myself clearly and concisely, not in fumbling to explain a half-felt idea.

I'll see some of you on Thursday night!

Updating

2009-06-04T10:31:00.007+10:00

Well, exhibition prep is going along. I'm discovering yet again that I really dislike mat cutting and framing - but it's getting steadily easier. My current plan is to use some of the (I hope) proceedings of sales from Newtown by Night and buy a decent mat cutter; I suspect there will be far less swearing that way!

I've been really happy with the way the images have turned out in print, though. I've changed printers, and am now using Pixel Perfect, and I can't say enough good things about them. The depth and subtlety of colour in the series amazes me - I find I keep stopping to stare at the images while I'm framing them. Hooray!

Finally, many thanks to the lovely Michelle who came over last night to patiently keep me company while I waved my cutter around and swore - I really appreciate it. Two weeks to go!

Finally, the exhibition announcement!

2009-06-01T09:19:00.004+10:00

Newtown by Night

An Art Exhibition featuring new photographic works by Arwen O'Connor.

Date: 18 June 2009

Time: 18:00 - 20:00

Location: Berkelouw Books, 6-8 O'Connell Street Newtown, 2042

Berkelouw Books invites you to attend the opening night of the exhibition Newtown by Night. The exhibition will showcase dramatic photographs of the backstreets of Newtown taken by local artist Arwen O'Connor. Come along and support local artists!

It's been a while coming, and I'm nervous (and excited) as all hells. If you're in the area, and available on Thursday the 18th, come along to the opening, and see the new works. All images will be for sale, too, so if you're looking for the perfect subtle, loving, urban commentary, make sure you come and have a browse.

Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

2009-05-20T21:47:00.003+10:00

My apologies for the radio silence; I'd intended to post earlier, but discovered too late that I didn't have a RAW editor on the little netbook I'd brought traveling, so I couldn't post any pictures. I carefully remembered to shoot some shots as RAW and jpg today, so I could post a couple on the run, and here we are.

I hate to boast, but... we're having an AMAZING time. We're staying in Shinjuku at the moment, and were wandering around this morning, ending up in a teahouse while we took the scenic route to the station (it turned out to be the very scenic route, and we missed the station entirely, but oh well!).

The other highlight of the day was finding a cat cafe in Shim-Tanazawa. My long suffering partner, M, let me drag him in for an hour of cat observation and iced coffee. Some of the fluffiest, most contented cats I've seen lounged around decoratively, or killed cat toys while the locals watched or chatted - to the accompaniment of much delighted squealing.

It's all so much fun! I think I now speak about 20 words of Japanese, from my original 10, so I've even doubled my vocabulary. We're definitely coming back.

Japananan!

2009-05-08T19:04:00.003+10:00

I'm flying out tomorrow morning with M to Tokyo, so I'll be away for a fortnight. Stay tuned for more pics!

In other news, still mucking around with flash from Lightroom. Haven't worked out how to embed it yet, but you can view the Fijian photos as a pretty flash set here.

Tropical Paradise

2009-05-08T18:23:00.003+10:00

Back in November 2008, the Houseguest and I went for a week's holiday in Fiji. As you can see, it's taken me a long while to get to the photos from the trip, for a number of reasons, really.

The main one is that I just didn't like most of the images I made there, and it was only this morning that I realised why. Normally, when I photograph, I'm trying to create an image that reflects the place as it is, not just how we mythologise it (and yes, many caveats about subjectivity; we can debate the concept of reality and images some other time). In Fiji, though, everything seemed to me to have been created for tourist consumption. Even the culture of the locals was nearly impossible to get through past the screen of stories and 'Bulas!' and created idylls to get the tourist dollars in. I suspect, from my very limited viewpoint, that even the locals don't have a clear view any more of the aspects of life that are genuinely theirs, and the ones they created for show.

I suspect that has to do with the area we stayed in; we were in a resort-ey area of the most touristy town, so it shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. Still, it made me uncomfortable.

Still, when I came to sort the photos, I found myself able to walk a line between tourist-cliches, and an actual sense of people and place. I'm reasonably happy with these. And I'd like to go back to Fiji some time to see if I can get to know it properly.

I tried to do a fancy flash gallery for this, so I could embed the slideshow. It, uh, didn't work as expected, sadly. Click through if you'd like to browse the gallery for more images, and I'll keep working on it.

Aikido Yuisinki

2009-04-22T13:02:00.003+10:00

As I mentioned yesterday, my partner M did his black belt grading in Aikido about 2 weeks ago, and I went along as semi-official photographer for both the grading and the class beforehand. It was a lot of fun to photograph; I sat myself under the nearest piece of furniture, and waited for everyone to forget I was there. I only had to duck flying people a couple of times, so it went well!

You can see the full gallery of images here, or if you want more information on this really friendly and nice bunch of people, you can go to the Aikido Yuishinkai site here.

Update - Exhibitions and Images

2009-04-21T13:03:00.003+10:00

Well, life continues. The exhibition looks like it's going ahead; the current date for opening night is June 15th, after I get back from Japan, so keep it free! I'llbe sending images off to print tonight, and expect to be spending the next couple of weeks matting and framing frantically; wish me luck and no paper cuts.

I'll post details of venue, times and theme once everything is confirmed and all the details are finalised, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I've been keeping busy on a new series of images - "Serenity". Some of the sample wallpapers I posted a few weeks ago are part of it, so if you liked those, stay tuned for the complete set. And I recently documented my partner's black belt grading in Aikido; I'll be posting shots once his sensei has had a chance to take a look. I'm really happy with the way the images turned out - very dynamic!

Exhibitionist!

2009-04-05T15:50:00.003+10:00

So I met a man about a dog this afternoon - or more accurately, I met two lovely people who said very nice things about my portfolio...

And agreed to put on a solo show of my work in the near future.

Woohoo! More details as soon as we confirm the date - it will most likely be at the end of this month or the beginning of May. It'll be in Newtown, Sydney; I'll let y'all know more details once I stop running around and waving my arms frantically in both glee and terror.

Stay tuned!

Ancient Chinese proverb

2009-03-31T21:57:00.006+11:00

A friend passed this on today. I've no idea if it's actually Chinese or not; and it doesn't really matter. I like it.

"The best time to plant a tree was always 20 years ago. The second best time is always today."

Last Two Wallpapers

2009-03-30T06:51:00.002+11:00

Firstly, one more of the Duck Who Ate My Fingers, since he was obliging enough to pose for this, and everyone seemed to enjoy him the first time around. (Note: all my fingers survived their vicious ducking)

And finally, some more bamboo - my current desktop at work, too.

I hope you're enjoyed wallpaper week. I'm pondering a little where to go from here - if you have any thoughts, opinions or preferences, drop me an email or comment.