Quinninup Snapshots
a sort of blog
Updated May 2012
All photographs on this site are copyright © John Austin or Rae Starr, Quinninup 2011 and may not be used in any way without the prior written permission of John Austin or Rae Starr
Originally this page was about about my 0.1Mpx digital camera purchased at the Quinninup village Fete in south west Western Australia for A$3.00. A camera which proves all the bad things I have said about digital image quality, now it has tranmsmuted to a weblog
16th May 2102
Nude & Naked Portrait
In the Naked Portraits I am working with women who feel strong in the power of their natural beauty. Textural history, like stretch marks, scars etc are part of the story. This makes the project sound serious, in reality I want humour in the mix
New work with the nude is more theatrical and will in many cases involve fairly elaborate sets being built, or preferably found
This work is being photographed with 10x8” and 5x4” large format film cameras. These cameras are used with Voigtlander Heliar lenses. Heliars have been selected as their optical design celebrates tonality and texture while imparting a gentle luminosity to the images
I am now resigned to the fact that women no longer have pubic har, which is a problem for me on three levels. Firstly pubic hair conotes woman as opposed to girl. Secondly pubic hair allows me to avoid coy posing without disclosing personal information and thirdly I grew up in a time of pubic hair. As a landscape photographer I also prefer natural bush to clearfell. However, pubic hair is a thing of the past and as a film based photographer I work with what exists and choose not to become a digtal thaumaturge
Although the two portraits shown on Naked Portrait & Nude are of young women I am looking for women from a broader age range. Women who may wish to take part in these projects are asked to contact me
An exhibition of these two portfolios and large format landscape work was planned for 2014 during FotoFreo2014, but I am no longer planning to hold exhibitions in Australia at my expense, but see the entry for 11th May below. I now plan a book and international exhibitions of this work
Wednesday 11th May 2012
Australian Exhibitions
I am no longer prepared to exhibit my work in Australia, except in Rae's Mountfords Gallery, unless a state or corporate organisation picks up the tab for the venue, framing, presentation, hanging, catalogue and promotion. This is due to the simple fact I no am longer prepared to provide free wine and entertainment for the bored and lazy on a Sunday afternoon. I am, however, continuing my international sales and planning international exhibitions
26th April 2012
Southern Ocean Edge
Work on a continuation of the Australian Beaches (Australian Littoral) has taken a new turn following an un-photographable summer. This new work deals specifically with the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is strong and gives very different images to the soft and inward looking inlets and details of the Australian Beaches littoral photography. The Southern Ocean also eats light meters for lunch, specifically a Gossen Lunasix III, which is how I ended up getting a brand new Gossen Digisix for my 2008 birthday present
max print size 32 x 40 inches
I thought something different was about to happen following this image on Nine Mile Beach, Esperance, WA. This was the only image to come from an otherwise fruitless week spent in Esperance. This it becomes a precursor, by which I mean an image which does not fit within the portfolio it is planned for and indicates a new avenue of work
A new web-page has been started for this work and will be uploaded soon
19th March 2012
UnFairfax copyright cheating
I have just found this link about a current Fairfax Media copyright sting via APUG. It is about a scam by unFairfax Media to scab free photographs for a book etc and a denial of professionalism within photography, but with the mass of DSLR owning amateurs this was to be expected. It is an insult to professionalism within photography
I am not so ignorant as to imagine a Mudrake newpaper could hold any kind of moral high gound, but in their zeal to throw mud en every direction the Australian Newspaper seems to have hit a deserving target for once, but don't exepect any more this year
For information from the source visit Year of The Farmer competition
20th October 2011
Black & White Print Sales Update
Black & white prints are available for sale as limited edition archivally processed selenium toned silver gelatine prints from the original black & white negative. Images will not be cropped, however, some subjects will now be photographed in both horizontal and vertical format where this can make visual sense, so please enquire. Maximum print sizes are being added to new images on this website, these size limits have been added as I am now offering some images as silver gelatine prints to 32 x 40 inches. The size limits are based on what I believe is the maximum size that older negatives will enlarge to consistent with good print image quality. In the case of 35mm Infra Red there is no limit as the image is already grainy and not particularly sharp
30th July 2011
Threnody Returned
I am re-loading old Logging page, “Threnody”, against my decision to disengage with environmental or political issues. However, the Threnody logging page has been cleaned up and returned under the Australian work as it is landscape. Images of active forest logging coupes and protests have been removed. These may be re-loaded, depending on how pissed off I get with the continuing logging of the karri forest
I have no plans at this stage to return the other environmental pages
25th April 2011
Quinninup Kids Club WPPD pinhole gallery
The Quinninup WPPD celebration went really well, like really well and the results are here on the WPPD Gallery 2011
10th September 2010
Tools and trades
Every so often I still hear the mouldy old phrase "The camera makes no difference. . ." etc. Try selling this idea to a concert pianist, or a cabinet maker, or painter, or car mechanic. The properties of tools do affect the the nature of a work, so a pianist might choose a broken piano for specific effects or a photographer use a pinhole camera because of its particular properties. The point of this is that cameras chosen do affect the work produced and must be chosen with as much mindfulness as a violinist would choose between a Stradivarius or Guarneri