Meanwhile in Melbourne: the Autumn edition

Coming at you straight from the backstreets of North Melbourne,

Amelia's afternoon manifesto, or 'On Making the Most of a Sunny Afternoon'
 

1. Look up

2. And of course, look down too

3. Look for shapes

4. And colours

5. And textures

6. A bit of contrast is always good too

7. And above all, remember that there is ALWAYS time to kick Autumn leaves

gadgetry + jealousy: iPhoneography

I have been for a while now flitting back and forth between an overwhelming desire to get myself an iPhone, and the more logical realisation that I. Will. Break. It. Bad. Bad. Bad. Idea. Clumsy people and combined technology just do not go well together, says I. And whilst I knew that iPhones could use the Hipstamatic ap to make digital snaps look all retro-Polaroid-delicious, I still thought that the resulting image was a bit...'off.' Well, that was all before I stumbled upon the photography....ahem, iphoneography of Michael Baranovic. Based in Melbourne, Michael uses his iPhone to document the places and people of the city. His skillful use of composition and light particularly appeal to me, because they are precisely the things I am striving for in my own photography. It sounds a bit dry, but I find the unexpected shapes and congruities formed by otherwise unremarkable aspects of day to day life really fascinating, even beautiful, and it is these brief glimpses of beauty and interest in the mundane that Michael captures so well.

Looking through the images, two questions in particular popped into my mind. Luckily for me, I was able to get answers to both questions form Michael himself:

-- Do you use any cameras other than the iPhone? What about the iPhone makes you chose it over other modes of photography?
I do own a Canon 7D but have been using the iPhone since I moved to Melbourne in February this year. It is always on me and lets me quietly explore the city. Because the iPhone allows me to be spontaneous, I now take many more photos than before. 

--What are you looking for when you take a photo?
The search for new images is taking me all over Melbourne, the city centre, old suburbia, the sea. I guess I am searching for in-between places - urban decay, new gentrification. Trying to find visual interactions between people and place.

I had an extensive list of favourite images from his tumblr that I wanted to post here but the sensible side of me (the one telling me not to get an iPhone. Clearly I need to learn to ignore it a bit more often) told me to whittle it down somewhat. And of course, by somewhat, I mean not at all. Enjoy.

 

All images from Misho Barannovic Photography. Many thanks to Michael for his answers.
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Meanwhile in May...

...I am exploring my new suburb at sunset instead of studying like I should be (toungue twister, much?)...

 ...and revelling in the return of iTunes (it wasn't working on my old computer). On the playlist for May:

winning the prize for Best Line in a Music Video, "But he smells like ranch dressing!"


The Black Keys, Tighten Up


and, from an old favourite with the most amazingly gravelly wonderful voice,


The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (official video) from The National on Vimeo.

The National, Bloodbuzz Ohio

Back in the world of the living

Or rather, back in the world of the web. You really don't realise how much of your life is tied to the internet until circumstances take it away. Finally the net is up and running at my new house, and I can start to feel like I'm connected to the outside world again.

It's good to be back. Expect more arty/photographic goodness soon.

do the words lovely and hairy ever appear together?

Only when they are being used to describe the work of Evaline Tarunadjaja!

 Yet again this is a post-show-post. Evaline's deliciously light and airy pen and watercolour illustrations were on show at No Vacancy gallery last month. Evaline's work is full of long limbed, mermaid-like girls with hair mere mortals can only dream of. The level of detail and the intricacy of her line work, not to mention the delicacy and sensitivity with which she uses colour, are just astounding. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

All images from Evaline's website, here. She also has a blog and online store.Moreover, if you want to read a more indepth article with her, go here.

Because art is good for you

Dear reader,

Are you there, or am I talking to myself? If you are, is your 'there' Melbourne? If so, get yourself to Lamington Drive gallery, pronto. Opened last Thursday, their current exhibition, Risographica! features over thirty bright and beautful two-colour risographic prints. The artists all come from the stable of the Jacky Winter Group, a Melbourne-based agency set up to represent and promote Australian illustration. As JW states it on their website, their aim is to "...connect a diverse range of Australia's finest contemporary illustrators with a broad international and local client base." With prints running to an edition of only ten, and selling for the super cheap price of $50, to say the show is sure to sell out is the understatement of the month. I particularly like that Lamington Drive is making art assessible to a wider audience rather than just trying to profit of high end pieces. It is art, done democratically, with many a good vibe to boot -- part of the proceeds from the sales of the prints go to Medecins Sans Frontiers. As if I needed any further encouragement to buy one! The difficulties on the night were a) navigating the clinging Mebourne humidity through the heaving opening night crowd, and b) trying to whittle down the "I-want" list. I managed to finally get it down to one (though I was sorely tempted by Matt Huynh's Matador): Stolon by Dylan Martorell, as seen above. Technically, it's my first ever real-art purchase, and all I can say is its making me wicked excited for the collecting journey ahead.

My shortlist can be seen below:

1. Matt Huynh, Matador

2. Beco Orpin, Follows Night

3. Clements Habicht, Hens

4. Rik Lee, Whoop Arse

All images from Lamington Drive's Risographica! catalogue, which is available for download here.

belated//beloved

This is far from a recent Holga - it dates from early November 2009 when I braved the running lane alongside the Yarra, armed with not just one but two cameras. I'm sure all the fit and sweaty types thought I was an absolute nutter, but it was worth it all for this, which I think may just be my all time favourite Holga photo:

Trash and treasure

 

Snaps from a hot and hectic morning at the Rotary Markets, Camberwell. I think my favourite is the one of the Incredible Hulk, furious to have been left in such un-Hulk-like surroundings, yet powerless to escape.

Paul Barbera // Nicholas Jones

Featured on Melbourne favourite The Design Files this week was the photography of Paul Barbera, specifically a set of images from the studios of 3 Deep Design. The images come from a series entitled 'Where they Create,' which documents the working spaces of artists and creative businesses in Australia and internationally. As is to be expected of a design firm, 3 Deep work in a truly inspirational space (complete with a custom mural on the ceilng, hello!), but what really caught my eye was a link to a set of photos Paul had taken at the studios of Melbourne based sculptor, Nicholas Jones.

Nicholas works with books, and produces the most amazing, intricate objects, both by folding the pages to create new shapes, and by cutting and contouring back entire tops and sides of books to create new shapes. I first saw his work at the This is Not a Design Market which was run as part of Melbourne's Design Festival mid last year. Still being a poor student at the time, I had quite deliberately rocked up to the market with an empty wallet, and was left quite sad that I couldn't take one of Nicholas' creations home with me. Ever since then, his name keeps popping up - on blogs, in the paper, at Craft Victoria - as if the universe is trying to remind me of my foolishness. One day, I will have to make on of his book-sculptures mine, but until then, Paul Barbera's photos of his studio will have to do.

All images, Paul Barbera