Photographic Idea takes a step forward

Having decided to invest in a new camera I've done the whole compact v interchangeable lenses v 3/4 camera exploration and with a hat tip to Justin I have decided to start with a Canon Powershot SX230 HS [a good competitor for the Panasonic Lumix TZ20] and maybe next year if I'm still exploring projects and need lenses and effects I might go the Panasonic G3 for those specific ideas [if I'm employed that is].

For now we are talking 12MP, big zoom wide angle lens and good for low light but it'll still fit in a pocket for family snaps and my NZ trip in October. Best part is they started at $490, were in the US as low as $309 [but not posting to Oz] so the best I could do was $366 in Sydney next week. At JB it was $449 last week, $396 this week and they matched and did it for $360 for me today!! The Panasonic would have cost me $450-500!!

Sure if money were no object I've have bought this and a Canon EOS or probably the G3 and used them for specific tasks with extra zooms but... and it'd be set on auto for some time to come until I had headspace to do some learning!!

Anyhow stay tuned for some snaps and my 'Where is God?' project unfolding on a weekend before years end somewhere near you!! I like the vivid, super vivid and fish eye menu for a small digital it just may do the trick!!

'52 Suburbs'

Louise Hawson spent 52 weeks photographing and blogging about a different Sydney suburb every week and this has led to a 'simple but brilliant' display at the Museum of Sydney [cnr of Phillip and Bridge Sts in the city]. It's $10 entry with several other exhibitions onsite at Sydney's original Government House.

I finally got there today [and resisted the $40 coffee table book version at least so far] and it fits my measure of creative ideas that really work as 'simple things done well!'

The photos are collaged with a simple white backboard, numbered and named as their suburb around a large room with a few on back to back boards in the centre to create an intimate space.

As well as appreciating it for it's own sake I always enjoy thinking about how/what I'd do along similar lines and in missional frame of mind for any local Uniting Church e.g. photo essays, exposes of local characters [ala Trinity Church Wall St in New York which I visited to check out their 'our neighbours' series], iconic spaces and buildings, promoted to the local neighbourhood and either displayed in a community space or if you think people would come then at your property. Staffed by congregational volunteers with the only agenda being one of celebrating community and story where you are...

Imagine a local Newcastle suburb, for arguments sake Hamilton, chose to do something like this... iconic Beaumont St buildings, the local Barber, a character who still frequents the Kent Hotel all these years after the earthquake, Gregson Park, the boys at the Gallipoli Club, the Italian Centre and so on.... [especially including a couple of the UC's older congregants and their story of the suburb] blow up the collage of images around different themes on matt photo paper A3 sized with very simple labels.

Affix them to homemade mdf display boards painted white on each side and set up in the hall or in the worship space beyond 'Bill's Place Fairtrade Cafe' and suddenly a whole new group of people are exposed to the space, the people, the vibe and the creativity and celebration of Hamilton's multi-cultural life.

Expand it further to include all the suburbs of Newcastle and advertise accordingly, maybe using a space from 'Renew Newcastle' in the city or the University OR TRANSLATE THESE TO YOUR OWN LOCATION!!

It would even be worth buying someone a Canon EOS camera to go out and use and encouraging their development... money well spent!! Wallsend's coal history, Adamstown's mix of anglo, sudanese and Macedonian citizens, The Junction/Merewether or the beaches and suburbs...

52 suburbs blog is here

Lent 4a Postscript Pictures

How they worked once you put the lid back on...

Shoebox lightboxes with peep holes

The Story with comments and highlights for reading

A handout with exegesis and commentary plus a response opportunity

Bowl of Lament with burnt paper and muddy paper with words and an invitation to reflect

'Gurrumul History [I Was Born Blind]' lyrics and questions

Here are some dodgy low res pictures from Sunday relating to Dark>Light Blind>Seeing Faith>Unfaith...

Wordle or Word Clouds

I notice this week that the mainstream media have just discovered 'Wordle' or equivalent Word Cloud software!! Wordle is an online site where you can plug in a whole lot of text and produce a groovy word picture where weighting is given to words mentioned most often. It's an 'at a glance' way of checking your emphasis. The weekend papers used it to compare a narrative about Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott and their key messages. Today they followed up with more on Julia [our new Oz PM, our first female PM]!! To illustrate here's a news story about the new PM in Wordle form!!

'Vivid Festival' Sydney

Curator Brian Eno has overseen a walk of lights and the illumination of the iconic Sydney Opera House! The Festival runs until June 14th and now the rain has gone away the 'House' looks brilliant.
The lights include white and pink cubes outside Customs House, various effects on the Museum of Contemporary Art wall, a coloured space and the blue light rings around some trees which are powered by exercise bikes and passers-by!

Check it out here.

Check out the 'Lighting the Sails' webcam of the Opera House here.

I'm hoping to see the 77 million images free display in the Studio tomorrow at lunchtime!!

These things don't always cause me to think 'church property' but on this ocassion my thoughts are how it wouldn't be hard to make some of our least accessible buildings quite noticeable by asking how we might curate spaces in a way that makes them welcoming, creative and engaging?

From the simplicity of Trinity Wall Sts 'Neighbours' life sized photo display to projecting images on a prominent wall... what if for every Lent, Advent, Pentecost etc you simply lit the building with colour, images, looped audio... opened a hall with refreshments, a labyrinth, some contemplative stations and ways people could express questions, feelings, intercessions... throw in some fairwear topical t-shirts and fair trade products stall, Uniting World project audio-visuals and suddenly your a community space adding value to your local area with no agenda other than just that...

My folks congregation serves food each week to about 80 people in their 'Munch' program... they also have a small nativity scene with handouts and family decorated Christmas Trees in their inner city church. I have suggested a looped dramatic reading of the Chritmas narrative and maybe a 'stories' video with some of the 'Munch' regulars sharing their story and their Christmas reflections on video... I guess I'll have to go and video it to make it happen!!

Newcastle's "Lovett Gallery"

A hidden gem above Newcastle's Regional Library is the Lovett Gallery which hosts a few standout and a few local exhibitions each year which consistently outdraw the actually regional gallery [almost next door]!!

Two upcoming examples include:

REBUILDING AFGHANISTAN is a photographic display sourced from government, defence and aid agency sources. The pictures show the 'ray of light or hope' represented by Australian and Canadian joint efforts in the rebuilding and include: soldiers socialising; children at school; and community members and politicians meeting.
The show runs until early March before heading to Perth!!

NIKON WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPH AWARDS
This exhibition opens March 13

Monday-Wednesday: 9.30am-8.00pm
Thursday & Friday: 9.30am-5.00pm
Saturday: 9.30am-2.00pm