This week on Friday Round Up new exhibitions for Melbourne and Launceston, John G. Morris’ Get the Picture documentary, American photographer Michael Ast’s new book, and Your Daily Photograph. Plus this week’s Picture of the Week.
Picture of the Week:
(C) Mahmud Hams - Gaza August 5, 2014
Documentary Film:
Get the Picture - John G. Morris 
(C) Peter Turnley 2014
If you haven’t seen this fantastic documentary on John G. Morris by Cathy Pearson check it out via the link below. Morris is such an entertaining and erudite man and his thoughts on photojournalism really should be required “hearing” for anyone interested in the medium. He’s also a really nice guy, and I was lucky enough to meet him last year at Visa pour l’Image.
For those of you who don’t know Morris, he was picture editor for Life and for the New York Times, amongst other titles, and a close friend of Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Eugene Smith. He was also the picture editor who was first to run with Eddie Adams now iconic image from the Vietnam War (see below), on the front page of the New York Times, which he talks about in the film. He’s also worked with a great many contemporary photographers including Peter Turnley who took this intimate portrait of Morris in Paris this year, Morris’ favourite city. Turnley also features in the film along with Paolo Pellegrin and Don McCullin amongst others. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen. Period.
(C) Eddie Adams
To view Get the Picture click here
Exhibition: Tasmania
Another Country 
(C) Matthew Newton
On Friday night the exhibition “Another Country” by photographers Matthew Newton and Sarah Rhodes opens at Sawtooth Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania. It’s not often that we hear from the Apple Isle and it is thanks to Newton’s marketing savvy that Photojournalism Now received the information. That might sound trite, but you would be surprised how many photographers don’t promote their work.
“Another Country” explores the remote communities of Tasmania in large format photographic portraits, landscapes, and still life compositions. Many people still live in pockets of Tasmania that are quite isolated and in some ways have been forgotten by the modern world. These hidden folds are captured by Newton and Rhodes in very different, yet complementary styles.
(C) Sarah Rhodes
“Inspired by historical accounts and contemporary political dialogue we aim to hint at narratives and relay the experiences of strangers met in settings that spur our own emotions. Ultimately, this body of work is a meditation on small town life and the landscape,” says Newton.
Newton is a seasoned photographer and cinematographer, and notably has been awarded for his work documenting the vulnerability of Tasmania’s forest for the past decade. For this work he’s been a finalist in the Australian of the Year awards and the Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism. Newton has also been a finalist in the National Portrait Prize, the Moran Prize for Contemporary Photography and the Bowness Photographic Prize on a number of occasions.
Above images (C) Matthew Newton
Rhodes is an emerging contemporary photographic artist. She uses portraiture as a means of exploring themes around identity. Rhodes has exhibited at Photoville in New York, and she is also a finalist in this year’s Bowness Award. Her work is held in public and private collections including the National Library of Australia and the Charles Blackman Trust.
Above images (C) Sarah Rhodes
Guerilla Event
Inspired by the Elizabeth Street Gallery in Sydney, the pair will also undertake a “guerilla event” adorning an abandoned building in Launceston’s CBD with a series of A0 sized prints from the exhibition.
Until 30 August
Sawtooth Gallery
2/160 Cimitiere St
Launceston
To view more of Newton's work please click here
To view more of Rhodes work please click here
Exhibition: Melbourne
NotFair Art Fair
NotFair, Australia's independent art fair opens in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood next week. NotFair began in response to the lack of opportunities for artists without gallery representation, to show their work. NotFair's "principal role is to conduct a biennial art exhibition to launch the careers of emerging, undervalued and lesser-known mid-generational artists". This year Melbourne-based photographer Hari Ho is the only photographer included in the selection. Ho is showing three images from his series "Monuments and Ruins".
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All images (C) Hari Ho
NotFair Art Fair
12 Peel Street
Collingwood
Opening 14 August 6-8pm
NotFair exhibition
15-17 August
Book Review:
Michael Ast - Trying to Find the Ocean
(C) Michael Ast
The first thing I noticed about American photographer Michael Ast’s debut book is how these images carry the tempo of a city, in this case Baltimore, Maryland. It is almost as if Ast’s camera is a barometer for the mood of this town seen in its human and animal inhabitants, its concrete structures, cracked roads, dilapidated buildings and steaming vents.
In “Trying to Find the Ocean” Ast creates a seamless narrative that gains momentum as the pages unfold and there is definitely a sense that as you move through this book you are part of a journey that is both physical and allegorical...(to read the review in full and see more photographs please click on the Book Reviews tab at the top of this blog).
Your Daily Photograph
August Guest Curator – Alison Stieven-Taylor
(C) Brian Cassey - one of Alison's selections
For the month of August Alison Stieven-Taylor is guest curator for Your Daily Photograph, which is an initiative of the Duncan Miller Gallery in Los Angeles. Each day subscribers receive an email – Your Daily Photograph – that features curated photographs that are available for sale (click here to view). This daily email is sent to the Gallery's subscriber-base of around 3800 dedicated photographic art collectors. “In the recent past images from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andreas Gursky, Richard Misrach, Andre Kertesz, Edward Burtynsky and other photography legends have appeared in Your Daily Photograph”.
Gallery director Daniel Miller says the idea began in 2012 when a collector who wanted to sell a large and diverse collection of photographs approached the gallery. “We started emailing one picture everyday to a small list of our collectors, and the "Daily" was born,” says Miller. “The list grew by word of mouth among collectors, and we began to accept subscribers. After some time, we added a few categories to each email, to present more kinds of photographs to our subscribers, which now stand at around 3800”.
As the subscriber list has grown so have sales, but there’s no formula to what sells and Miller says, “different collectors have very different tastes and each one has unique interests that is influenced by a range of things such as age, education, habits and even geographic regions. We are constantly surprised by which images have the highest demand”.
In the digital world where we are inundated with images Miller says the average collector can be overwhelmed. As a result Your Daily Photograph’s curated selections have found a niche for “serious collectors”. And it has also helped photographers to find new markets as well as representation and exhibitions. Check out the website to see comments from photographers who have participated in Your Daily Photograph.
If you haven’t signed up yet, you can subscribe here. Alison’s curated collection continues until the end of August.
