free radical notes

free radical notes #93

credential for sea # 93 14/2/08

Haiku stuff

Once I noticed you
and tried to tell you so, but
you changed the subject.

website stuff

fire up your blackberrys, palm pilots and Apple Newtons. Free radical has a new email address [more in beam me up Scotty stuff] replaces the bigpond address. Our techno propellor-head webmeister whizzkid Cameron Stephen [fr#688] has configured things so that your free radical requests will wend their way from your purple television to my purple television via a circuitous international journey in the space of time that it takes for the Filipino telemarketer to say "good morning Jeff. How are you today?" And of course, if you are one of the 3749 visitors to www.freeradicaloz.com [as of 10:46:23 on 14/02/08] you will know that you can have a link to your www on our links page for absolutely no charge. Cam is the man to send you URL to artpunk@gmail.com I have just finished loading 517 free radical email addresses to gmail, including around 15 or so that have been languishing in my fr duds folder coz they just keep bouncing back. So some of you who changed your address and didn't tell me, you may just well be back in the fold. Did you miss us?

editorial stuff

I was going to write a really long piece here but I just couldn't be bothered!! What is it with photographers? I have never understood the apathy that surrounds our profession. Entries for the $2000 Chillout Photography Prize have just closed. It attracted just 47 entries from 30 photographers – and only one of them a free radical! Too busy working on those big dollar accounts I suppose, or up-selling those bridal couples to get as much as possible before the mortgagee forecloses, or rushing from seminar to seminar to find the secret of how to make it to the top without any of that nasty effort? Yes I know that prizes and competitions, and seminars, by every man and his dog, on any topic that could conceivably be considered to illuminate the fast track to success, have become real growth industries, But really - just 47 entries for a $2K prize - it ain't bad odds for those that did enter. If we, as photographers don't support photography, why should we expect anyone else to?

I also hear on the grapevine that there are mutterings in some circles regarding there being just a single judge for the Moran Prize. You pays your money and you takes your chances. If you don't like the fact that there is only one judge – don't enter! Boycott! Make a stand based on principle! Personally I am all in favour of the single judge concept. Looking at the results of some competitions I have both observed and participated in over the years, where the choice of winner came from consensus, have been really disappointing. I long agitated for a single judge to make the selection for the ACMP Collection. Had it been adopted then we may well have seen a distinct and different flavour with each successive outing. Of course the single judge event can go on the nose very quickly without careful consideration of the integrity and knowledge of the medium by the selected person invited to judge. When it's all said and done, it comes down to subjective opinion. We all have the ability to sort the dross from the quality, but as we refine the choices, we reach a stage, in most cases, where there are multiple photographs that we love equally as much, perhaps for different reasons, but the only way we can say which is 'the best' is to toss a coin.
By the way, in case you didn't know, judge for the Moran Photography prize is free radical #547, and sole judge for the Chillout Photography Prize is free radical #143. [you'll just have to go to the members page at the website to confirm who those judges may be!] head on prize 2007 stuff

It's dragged on for a long time, and seeing as how the call for entry for Head On 2008 has just gone out [see call for entry stuff], I think I am flogging a dead horse to attempt to get any more votes in, so it's time to see if, those who did make the effort, agreed with the judges decision on the winners of Head On 2007.
Just to refresh your memory, the 3 winners of HO 2007 were Matthew Duchesne [fr#68? – and if Matthew can email me with the errant number on his badge I can update the database and members listing on the website!] with his portrait of Ahmad, Stephen Dupont with Axe Mi Biggie [Mr take my picture] and Thuy Vy with Ancestors 1.
I have been away and counted the votes – all 43 of them! and we have a 3 way tie [each with 3 votes] between Stephen Dupont [we agree with the judges] Chris Gleisner [fr# 318] and Olivia Martin- Maguire. So there you have it – the tribe has spoken! We also had 3 votes each for Luke Hardy and Wendy McDougall, but they were from Head On 2006 – I can show you where the water cooler is, but I can't make you reach for the polystyrene cup!!

beam me up scotty stuff

It's ta ta Telstra and welcome satellite broadband at free radical World HQ. And didn't I have the utmost satisfaction calling them at large puddle and telling them where to shove their shitty service. "Can I ask you why?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. And would you believe, that after a good twenty minutes of me telling him just a small part of my dissatisfaction in my dealings with Telstra over the past 20 years, he still had the audacity to ask me if there was anything he could do to make me change my mind! New 4 foot dish on the roofline is not the most pleasing aesthetic, but installer tech turns up 45 minutes early, and system is up and running before the afternoon is out.
Tech support sorts out email issues over the phone before it's time for dinner. How wonderful it is to be able to be online and have a phone conversation at the same time. What a spin out to call a telco and have an actual live person answer! Maybe I'm just a lover on the rebound, but so far, 3 days into the relationship, it's been great. Harboursat may be based in Mudgee, but they certainly seem to have an idea about what the term 'customer service' means. Mind you it hasn't been all beer and skittles. Change of ISP means a new email address. And how to let everyone know of the change. I check my address book and I find I have over 2300 email addresses in there - how does one possibly accumulate that many entries in the less than 7 years that I have been online? I guess with free radical, and the Vic Student Awards and the Homeless Gallery they just accumulated [and of course that doesn't include the 1000+ addresses in a separate DFB database]

new members stuff

No new members since edition #92. in fact free radical numbers grew by just 22 in 2007. If we were listed on the stock-market our share price would be going out backwards. No new members, no meetings equals no income. No income means no support for worthy photographic ventures. So how about we make 2008 the year where every free radical encourages just one non free radical to make one of the cheapest photographic investments ever – a free radical lifetime membership for a paltry ten bucks. You know the details!!

other stuff

Foto Freo is just around the corner. FF 2008 kicks off on Friday April 4th for a month of photographic overload. If you can spare the time, it's a trip well worth making. For all the info, exhibition listings, seminars, workshops etc. check out the website fotofreo.com and get on their mailing list to keep in touch with FF 2008 events.

For those of you interested in an improvement on sliced bread, Sun Studios are launching the newest medium format offering from Sinar and Leaf. If you are in Sydney, its too late because it happened on Feb 12th, but there's still time to reserve a pew for Melbourne bods for Tues Feb 19th, 6.30 pm for a 7pm start at 100 Cubbit st Richmond. RSVP to kate [at] sunstudiosaustralia.com

And for all of those who passed through RMIT and learned the difference between aspheric aberration and barrel distortion [and it's surely been the making of us as photographers!] Gary Rook, the tech who was the glue that held the department together has retired. Plans are underway for a celebration to mark the occasion. If you would like to be informed of the what where and when, contact Alex Syndikas [fr#34] alex.syndikas [at] rmit.edu.au

call for entry stuff

Head On Portrait Prize 2008 call for entries is now open. The deadline for submission is Friday 11pm, 28 March 2008. Head on Foundation invites photographers to submit works to the 2008 photographic portrait competition. Prizes will be awarded for the best 3 images. The selection of images will be based on the power of the photograph rather than the celebrity of the subject or photographer. Further prizes will be awarded to images selected by 'The Critic' and for 'People's Choice'. Total value of prizes is approximately $32,000. Head On finalists will be exhibited at the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney 1 May - 7 June 2008 and then at the M16 Artspace, Canberra 9 - 22 July 2008 as part of Vivid National Photography Festival. Head On, now in its fifth year, has established itself as one of Australia's major photographic portrait exhibitions. It is committed to advancing photography as a popular art form and to support photographers from all genres through its exhibition and the newly established fund supported by Orient Capital. Further information can be found at www.headon.com.au

The F 2.8 Group is calling for entries for its Aug/Sept 2008 group photography exhibition. Theme is 'The Textured Environment.' Entries can be Analogue or Digital Photography. Venue is Upstairs, Flinders Lane Gallery. Application forms on the web site at http://www.twopointeight.com.au or enquiries to Melissa Morey [fr#516] mmorey [at] twopointeight.com.au

Kerala Gallery is hosting its second annual toy camera/pinhole camera and black & white (nude) exhibitions. Entries are now open for consideration.
Light Leaks 2008 - Exhibition dates: March 7 - 22 Opening night March 6th 6:30 - 8:30
Black & White (nude) 2008 Exhibition dates: June 14 - 28 Opening night June 13th 6:30 - 8:30 For entry details visit keralagallery.com.au

miscellaneous stuff

Tobias Titz's right to be counted project will have its first screening in Victoria.
The project celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. It will be exhibited as part of the Sustainable Living Festival 2008: www.slf.org.au/festival on the outdoor screen at Federation Square Melbourne 15th – 17th of February 2008.

exhibition stuff

I can't list it if I don't know about it - free radicals are scattered all over the country, so am happy to list your show be it in Melbourne, Darwin, Hobart or wherever. Send the details to free radicaloz [at] gmail.com Include details of opening and closing dates, gallery address, opening hours, and if you like, a brief synopsis of the show.
Send information as text only, preferably pasted into the body of an email and not as an attachment. Sometimes it's 4 - 6 weeks between editions of the notes, so if you want to be sure of getting a listing, get your details in early.
The Ballroom by Yenny Huber [fr#636] and Geraud Boursin, explores both the history and myth as well as the current state of decay and neglect of one of Melbourne's most historic icons, At the Flinders Street Station Ballroom. Exhibition dates , show is current to March 1st.

Lloyd Godman's installation exhibition Enlighten is at the Burrinja Gallery, 351 Glenfern Rd Upwey until March 30th. Over almost three decades Lloyd Godman's art has widened out from relatively traditional landscape photography to include elements of performance, audience participation and multi media installation to explore the tensions between electronic consumer society and the ecosystem. See Burrinja Gallery Website for information about workshop and exhibition programs with Lloyd. Gallery hours are Tues to Sun 10.30 - 5

Interval by Bryan Dawe. Show current to Feb 24th 2008...
plus Photographs from Everest to Africa by Alfred Gregory, exhibition current to Feb 24th 2008
At the Monash Gallery of Art Corner Jells & Ferntree Gully Roads, Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150 Tel: 03 9562 1569 mga (at) monash.vic.gov.au Web: www.mga.org.au Open: Tue-Fri: 10-5pm, Sat-Sun: 12-5pm, Mon & public holidays: closed. Gallery, gift shop, licensed cafe and sculpture park FREE ADMISSION

Places I've Been by Richard White [fr#99] Black and white photographs from the High Country, Nepal, NZ, USA and Australia is at the Muse Gallery of Milawa, at the Cheese Factory, Factory Rd Milawa. Show opens Sat April 5th to Monday April 28th. Gallery hours 10 -5 thurs to Monday and Public Holidays

Sweet Taste of Paradise by Bronwyn Thompson show current to 29 February 2008.
In her first show at Uber Gallery, Bronwyn Thompson uses photography, video, sound and installation to explore the forming of identity and ideals that perpetuate the social structures we are defined by. Thompson investigates the complex dynamics that exists within the intimate and familial domain questioning the power of culture and language and the enforced process that contributes to the forming of an identity. Sweet Taste of Paradise alludes to desire, consumption and satisfaction. It draws the private and safe domain of the family and home into the wider territory of culture and power. Uber Gallery, 52 Fitzroy Street St Kilda www.ubergallery.com 8598 9915 Gallery Opening hours: Tue-Fri 10am - 6pm Sat-Sun 12 - 6pm

Udhagamandalam by Brian Potts [fr#279] is at Kerala Gallery until Feb 16th. Details from keralagallery.com.au

Miscellanea Photogenica, salted paper prints by Ellie Young [fr#67] runs Feb 27 to March 22 at Photospace, 34 Dight St Collingwood. Official opening March 1st 4 – 7pm. Gallery hours Weds to Sat 12 – 5

Manicured Visions by Jacqui Henshaw [fr#52] is at Kozminsky Level 1, 421 Bourke St Melbourne from Feb 20 to March 15. Opening reception Weds Feb 20 from 6 – 8. RSVP to Danielle Draudt danielle [at] kozminsky.com.au

Gateways To The Soul: Expressions Of Iran (Persia) by Kristin Diemer & Mitra Malekzadeh.
Show runs 5 March - 29 March. Opening: Wednesday 5 March 6.00pm 2008 at Manningham Gallery, Manningham City Council, 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster Vic 3108, Mel Ref: 33 F12 Gallery hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am - 5pm, Saturday 2 - 5pm

classified stuff

AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G lens $880
Nikon D2x digital SLR camera body $3080
Nikon SB-50DX Speedlight/Flash Unit $55
Nikon SB-30 Speedlight/Flash Unit $55
Contact: Darren Henderson [fr# 14] - Melbourne - 0419 391 261 - info [at] imageaspects.com

Our resident propellor-head Cameron Stephen [fr#688] sends out a plea:
I would like to venture into large format photography, but really can't afford the equipment, so was wondering if any freeradical members could provide any 2nd hand parts/bellows/glass or whatever that they may have spare or are not using any more for me to cobble together a 4x5 format camera? As I am a R.N. with a love of photography, but limited funds (as many of us have, I do understand) and do all this website stuff voluntarily, any donations (and or suggestions/proposals) would be gratefully received and put to good use. I can be contacted at artpunk [at] gmail.com

end stuff

Feeling neglected because of lack of information on events happening in your neck of the woods? I can't include it if i don't know about it!! Any editorial content, exhibition notices, classifieds etc. to free radicaloz [at] gmail.com

Lost your badge and forgotten your number? Check out the members page at freeradicaloz.com and if you would like a link to your website from our links page, send me the details - obviously we wouldn't say no to a reciprocal link!

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