The Silly Season Is Here Again…

Our regular customers may have noticed that posts on the blog have slowed down somewhat – this is because we have been busy in store! Our reviews and editorials will continue in the New Year so until then, here is a message from The Printed Image Bookshop Manager, Lucy Brancato.

Thanks are due to all of you for your loyalty and support. We are proud to have such a broad base of satisfied customers and know full well that it is all of you who are the secrets to our success.

2006 has been quite a year for The Printed Image. Those of you who are regular visitors to the shop will have noticed many changes. We now have permanent sale tables for bargain hunters. We have started hosting small displays of photographic prints for local photographers and camera clubs.

We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

Cowboy Kate Keeps On Riding…

 Exhibition Listing

What :  Sam Haskins – Portraits and Other Stories

Where :  National Portrait Gallery Canberra

When :  until April 2007

The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra is hosting a major retrospective of Sam Haskins’ work. Coinciding with the release of the Cowboy Kate and Other Stories – The Director’s Cut, the exhibition – Portraits and Other Stories features images printed specifically for the show. Haskins even framed the photographs himself.

Portait subjects include Arthur Koestler, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts. Haskins originally created the images for magazine publication. The viewing flow of the double page spread characteristic to print has been replicated in the hanging of the show.

Haskins recently relocated to Australia and is living in Bowral. At the age of 80, he is continuing to photograph and is enjoying the resurgence of interest in his career and achievements. Cowboy Kate proved successful beyond all imagining with first editions selling for up to $A3800.

Multimillion Dollar 99 Cents…

A print by Andreas Gursky, “99 Cent II Diptychon” (2001), has set a new austion record for work by a living photographer. It was bought  by an anonymous bidder for $2.48 million on November 16 at Phillips de Pury & Company in New York. The highest price ever paid for a photograph was $2 928 000 for a 1904 Edward Steichen print.

Gursky’s large format photographs are digitally altered to oversaturate the colour and flatten perspective. This technique creates an overwhelming sensation of alienation and superfluity when applied to subject matter such as supermarkets, stock exchanges and apartment buildings. While the work can be viewed as documenting everyday environments in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it is also a savage indictment of the ways in which the tools we choose to ease our lives can end up determining how we live. 

Christmas Camera Shopping…

For those of you shopping for digital camera this Christmas, here are some things to consider:

• optical zoom vs digital zoom: is it the lens that moves or does the camera merely crop into a standard size image in order to make the subject appear bigger?
• memory card size – does the camera come with one and will it be big enough for your needs?
• are the batteries rechargeable and if so does a power unit come with the camera?
• how long is the lag between when you press the shutter and when the camera actually records the image?
• likewise, how long is the lag between individual shots?
• do you really need massive megapixels if you rarely print or enlarge your images?
• is it compatible with your computer?

We would be interested to know what kinds of problems and successes TPI members have with digital cameras. Do you have a favourite model?