Tony Ryan Empowering Beauty Photography Workshop December 2011

If you’re a photographer and can be in the Sydney area on the 10^th or 11^th December 2011, then you may be interested to hear that Tony Ryan still has a couple of spots available in his upcoming workshops. These workshops are intimate and concentrate on the importance of building a rapport with your model in order to obtain beautiful and empowering portraits and fine art nude photographs. Don’t panic if you don’t know how to “drive” your camera, as Tony is more than happy to offer tips. The emphasis of the workshop, however, is the human aspect of portrait photography rather than getting the most from your camera.  Sure, anyone can replicate a pose or leave it up to the model to pose, these sorts of portraits tend to look vacant and shallow and perhaps even a little awkward. Tony explains, and shows examples, where richer and more poised portraits can be obtained through dialogue between photographer and model. Priced at $150.00, I feel the information you learn and the confidence you gain from this workshop is certainly great value for money. And it's a fun day to boot! For more information, visit Tony’s website here.

When Life is but a Blur

Photo: Adriana Glackin

It was a last minute decision that found me at the 52 Suburbs exhibition at the Museum of Sydney late yesterday afternoon.  I was aware of this project thanks to twitter and was following the progress with interest. If I thought the Project365 was a challenge, then surely a challenge such as documenting 52 suburbs in 52 weeks is the ultimate. Phew! My head spins just thinking about it. I'm pleased to say the exhibition didn't disappoint, and even though it was late there were quite a few people enjoying the display.

The exhibition runs until October 2011, and allow yourself plenty of time, as there's another exhibition well worth visiting - The Enemy at Home. Recently discovered photographs taken by a German internee are being exhibited and they show life in the intern camps during WWI. The two exhibitions work well side by side and show just how much Australia has changed within the last century.

Getting back to the 52 Suburbs, there are limited edition prints available for sale as well as the book which showcases the project. For the photographers amongst us, there's also a competition you can enter that encourages you to get to know your suburb!

A brisk walk over to Allens Music to pick up some music supplies, then over to Chinatown for a quick meal before heading home and the whirlwind trip to town was over.  Of course no trip to the city is complete without a photo or two... the photo above was taken with my iPhone using the Slow Shutter App and edited using the Film Noir App.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to cosy up in bed and enjoy my copy of the 52 suburbs book.