So what happened, photographically this year of 2016? I didn’t buy new lenses or a new camera. By mid-year, work and just life, had taken so much of my focus that my camera was not seeing much action. When I looked over my shots, I saw that tail off in memorable photos as well.
Why produce a retrospective?
It’s about showing your photos. I’m a firm believer that if you are serious about photography, you need your peers to know what you are producing and an audience to give you feedback. You need to look at your photos and get a vibe, a feeling, the big picture, instead of just looking at just one frame in isolation. So what do I see of my photos this year? Let’s have a look at the images first.
I like the shot above a lot – lots of red in the background (my favourite colour), animated finger expression (I don’t think she was saying that some people had small ones) and that gift monkey from the Vietnamese community during Chinese New Year.
This man above is, I think, Adam Bandt – he had brought his children to the Chinese New Year presentation in Richmond. I’m mesmerised by that thoughtful look.
This was Australia Day, it’s quite close to Chinese New Year. The flags are iconic, cameras are so evident during the parade. Notice the prayer beads – probably Buddhist.
There is a whole collage of participants in the Australia Day Parade. The forbearance of the children in the parade is exemplary, the parents and guardians pretty much supervising progress.
As one of the curators of #ShoesMonday that gear fascinates me enough to watch the different fashions. Melbourne is a shoe capital – there is a diverse range of shoes, reflecting the fashions of different seasons, cultures and ages.
Of course, shoes are not really useful unless you wear them and, um, dance in them.
The image above shifts to the famous Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. Whenever I visit, I note that newspapers are still bought and read with gusto – the folk are equally adept on web and internet but the newspaper is part and parcel of their daily life. This chap seems to be reading some unwelcome news.
Here’s good friend Robin, above, his favourite street camera, the E-PL5 in his hand. Although Bjorn prefers his full frame Sony.
Kuala Lumpur is hot, humid the sun shines with a glare on the street. A raised hand does wonders.
For that day, Robin had arranged to let me shoot the then new, Olympus PEN-F. I rather like its off centre EVF, that twist and flip LCD screen for selfies and the level of control over tones for the SOOC monochrome JPEG (although Olympus persists in calling it Monotone)
Amir, Robin and I were in Brickfields and there was this vegetarian Indian restaurant – the menu is extensive.
I will have passed this Chinese temple in Brickfields many times in before but didn’t venture in. A little bird whispered in my ear that the wall paintings of allegories and fables were unexpectedly visual and raunchy.
Back in Melbourne, for the White Night event, with friends Paul, Trace, Kelvin and Kim – I rather like the concentration that Adrien Siboule (#SiB) at #speakeasy put into his performance.
Although the selfie is ubiquitous, some people are not ok with it. I guess she’s one of them.
#whitenightmelb is so packed at certain times and certain places, it’s hard to get a photo. Raising the camera high is a valid technique
Look, even Trace holds his camera high up.
Some people have got tired with the weight and bulk of the classic DSLR. There’s still life in that product line regardless of the uptick in mirrorless product.
Sometimes you have to make sure that the customer knows how to bite the skewered meat. Really!
The things that you can do with moving bicycles is only limited by your imagination. I like the fun these guys had
I guess, just another pair of shoes, just because…..
There’s that “come hither” look that Justin Branecki gives in DCW/Photology sessions
I confess I forget her name. Fab sole patterns though.
Melbourne’s Dai Loong (Chinese Dragon) comes out for Chinese New Year and the Australia Day Parade. Many of the volunteers are not Chinese but they all have fun.
This dancing fun happens after the parade ends.
Federation Square is often a great place to come on a Melbourne Summer weekend. Heaps of cultural festivals with fab costumes.
Melbourne is well known for its Street Art. Those at Hosier Lane are in a continuous state of flux.
Hosier's is so well known that tourist and locals visit often and wedding parties come for photo shoots.
If you've ever wondered how the Street Art is painted so high up, tall ladders are used. As well as cherry pickers.
I wanted to get in closer and show the shopping bags at their feet but this pseudo panorama does convey the scene.
Probably the last photo I want to pick as part of this collection. Are we apprehensive of the new year? Should we be?
In Conclusion
What do I see? I like people. I like photos of people. Sometimes that's called Street Photography. I take photos of abstracts, patterns, shapes, buildings maybe even landscapes. But people turn me on.
