List of Australian large format colour and bw landscape galleries/books/websites?

l2oBiN · Jul 12, 2014

Hi guys,

I am looking to find Australian LF landscape inspirations in colour and BW. Does anyone have any recommendations of galleries/books/websites?

Thank you in advance!

Joachim_I · Jul 18, 2014

You might want to check out the book "Simply" by Peter Dombrovskis (West Wind Press, 2006). Great shots of the Tasmanian landscape using a Linhof Technika 4x5.

Tony Egan · Jul 18, 2014

Are you in Sydney? Take a trip to Point Light Gallery to see some real life prints! Point Light is a spiritual home for many interested in Large Format and alternative processes.
http://pointlight.com.au/about-us
If you want LARGE format colour you can check this work:
http://www.murrayfredericks.com.au/projects/salt/#18

munz6869 · Jul 18, 2014

There's also our great local forum: http://largeformatphotography.com.au

Marc!

l2oBiN · Jul 18, 2014

Thanks guys.

jamespierce · Jul 18, 2014

B&W - Richard White's work (and recent excellent book) - http://www.richardwhite.com.au - His site doesn't do justice to the quality of the prints

Colour - Mark Humphries - His book "Wilderness - The essence of a wild land" - published a while ago now. Stunning back country large format colour from Tassi. 4x5, stripped down linhof tech camera.

Colour - Chris Bell - His book "Primal Places: Tasmania" - I believe all shot on 4x5 also.

Dr Croubie · Jul 18, 2014

Peter Dobre has photographed pretty much most of SA, he's got a whole bunch of books out. Does 617 count as LF? He's also got an m645 1000s on his gear page no less, not even an AF.

When I was in both Canberra and Fremantle, in their respective 'local markets' there were galleries of landscape photographers, lots of 617 shots in there (even one of them had a shot of the photographer with his Technorama IIIs). Different guy each time, but same concept. Wherever you are, I'm sure you could find your local 617 guy at your local markets...

Tony Egan · Jul 18, 2014

If you're in Victoria:
http://www.goldstreetstudios.com.au/
Lots of good workshops and supplies. Also an annual large format get together called The Gathering.

jamespierce · Jul 18, 2014

Dr Croubie said:
When I was in both Canberra and Fremantle, in their respective 'local markets' there were galleries of landscape photographers, lots of 617 shots in there (even one of them had a shot of the photographer with his Technorama IIIs). Different guy each time, but same concept. Wherever you are, I'm sure you could find your local 617 guy at your local markets...

Ken Duncan and Peter Lik etc have a lot to answer for. 617 is really a pretty accessible and impressive format.

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 18, 2014

Another plug for Peter Dombrovskis his postcards, though dated and many with obvious technical flaws, are still available but thinning out.

There is also Harry Nankin's early work. His coffee-table book, Range Upon Range, published in 1987, has inspired a generation of any format of photographer, but especially those with a love of the high, open spaces and hidden treats of the Alps. Long out of print, your library should have access to one. Even though almost 30 years have past, the beautifully studied images in the book transcend time and moment to transport you to another place. And it's just as well the photography had the right impact on the reader. Unfortunately for Harry, the book was overdue, costs blew out, he lost a battle with the mortgage of his house and a few years later, left LF photography. He has been involved in offbeat and unusual alternative methods of photography using natural light for at least 15 years now.

SMBooth · Jul 18, 2014

Not forgeting David Tatnall http://www.davidtatnall.com/
or Craig Tuffin http://www.craigtuffin.com/ and Gordon Undy http://pointlight.com.au/artists/gordon-undy

Mark Grey has some beautiful 6x17 type work but more digital.

Dr Croubie · Jul 18, 2014

jamespierce said:
Ken Duncan and Peter Lik etc have a lot to answer for. 617 is really a pretty accessible and impressive format.

Just checked out some of Ken Duncan's work. I think he needs to tone-back on that 'saturation' slider a bit (eg this).
But then, if that's what peoples likes, that's what peoples gets, and more power to him if he can cash in on it...

SMBooth · Jul 18, 2014

Don't going looking at Peter Lik's image then if you think KDs work is over saturated.

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 19, 2014

Have a look at the LF work of Rob Blakers and Ted Mead (Tasmanian wilderness photographers). RB by this time has probably moved to digital, ditto TM; last time I spoke with Rob he was very frustrated with the loss of E6 in Hobart and then in Launceston.

Rob Blakers
Dead Link Removed

Ted Mead/The Wilderness Gallery
Dead Link Removed

jamespierce · Jul 21, 2014

Ken's work used to be beautiful when it was wet printed (ciba) and that put some limits on how overdone the images could be. Now with his inkjet printing it's gone way too far - but as others say it's clearly commercially successful.

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 22, 2014

jamespierce said:
Ken's work used to be beautiful when it was wet printed (ciba) and that put some limits on how overdone the images could be. Now with his inkjet printing it's gone way too far - but as others say it's clearly commercially successful.

Yes, it is clearly commercial, but only because he is very business-savvy he could sell ice to an eskimo.
It's not photographers buying his major work, but large corporates and galleries, restaurants, even Parly House in Canberra.

Before he took it upon himself to do his own Ciba printing, KD is known to have made demands to "increase saturation x 50 [%]" [of Ilfochrome prints] at ChromaColour in South Australia about a decade back. I was there when he turned up, barking at two printers. Ilfochrome did not give kindly to being forced to more saturation: it was ugly. If anything, Peter Dobré and Peter Lik did better, and quieter (and neither did pontificate their work with offputting emotive religious overtures).

BTW, an astute, trained observer can see the extensive post- work in KD's (digital) images, especially the fantasy lighting of the headline photo in this thread.

Dr Croubie · Jul 22, 2014

Poisson Du Jour said:
BTW, an astute, trained observer can see the extensive post- work in KD's (digital) images, especially the fantasy lighting of the headline photo in this thread.

I was trying to find the example that I was thinking of (I'm not sure who took it), but I'm sure there's enough out there that you know what I'm talking about. There is a rather distinct trend today of HDRing and ToneMapping the crap out of everything, I've seen so many wide-angle landscapes with a backlit sunset/rise, and there's something in the foreground, usually rocks but sometimes flowers, and the brightness on them has been lightened so much that it looks unnatural and rather ugly and offputting, and especially unrealistic as the light is obviously coming from another angle. Even when the rest of the photo doesn't look half bad, the ultra-lightened shadows make me sick.
I'll be glad when this fad has passed, every time I see such a photo I mentally take off 1/3rd of a stop from the next Velvia I shoot. Shadows are meant to be shadows, dammit.

edit, for a hundred examples, just type "hdr landscape sunset rocks" into a google image search...

List of Australian large format colour and bw landscape galleries/books/websites?

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