LightVision

We’ve been very privileged to participate in a new book compiled by filmmaker and photographer, John Ogden. With a working title Portraits from a Land Without People, it’s sure to stir the pot. Oggy has researched hundreds of thousands of images of aboriginal Australians dating back to 1847. The book comprises 300 powerful images which describe a pictorial history of Aboriginal Australians. Wildlight is proud to have contributed seven images to the book by David Moore, Penny Tweedie and Carolyn Johns. The book is scheduled to be released in February 2009, with proceeds flowing to the Jimmy Little Foundation, to help improve kidney health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. To see a multimedia slideshow and interview with Oggy by the Sydney Morning Herald, then click here. I’ve been trying to get John Ogden to join the Wildlight library for a year now, but he seems to be distracted by this book…good luck Oggy!

Here’s a cute exhibition by photographer Mayu Kanamori called The Island of the Ancients. It’s an exploration of the largest percentage of centenarians in the world, on the tiny and seldom talked bout Mediterranean island of Sardinia. How do these people manage to live up to three times longer than the rest of us? Find out the secrets in the accompanying book, published by Murdock Books. Mayu’s sensitive portraits can be seen at Customs House Library, Sydney until the 28th September.  The exhibition has been put together by Sandy Edwards, herself an accomplished photojournalist, through her new photography project venture, ARTHERE.

New light source

G’day lightseeker, it’s been a while and there’s plenty happening at Wildlight. I’m excited to say that this is the first edition of LightVision–a must see news feed from the editor’s desk at Wildlight. It’s a terrific news source to learn more about Wildlight’s great Australian content, find out more about the people at Wildlight, our talented photographers, read our opinions and find out where to see Australian visual art. We’ll also have discussions on copyright and licencing, and hilarious promotions, interviews and updates on the whereabouts of our photographers. Because its dynamic, you can keep coming back to LightVision by subscribing to an RSS feed. Just click here to stay focused.

Featured collection

We know you’re always looking for new stuff, so we’re giving you an instant replay of some of the most recent additions to our library. There’s a big mix because our photographers have been active around Australia, committed to providing up-to-date content of Australian people and places. Here’s a mid-year sample covering the Gold Coast, RF and RM images of Melbourne and a great spread from the still warm North Coast of NSW. And just in today, amazing shots of the Illawarra, including the spectacular cliff hugging bridge along the coastline above Woolongong. Click here to see the collection now

Meet the team

There are actually real people behind the brand, Andrew, Jean-Marc and Ernst, the pug. Yes we really are ‘two and a dog’. Young fathers, except Ernst, who’s had the chop! We work in Redfern - the Paris end of course. Jean-Marc, he’s the Frenchman writing lines of code to make the whole show work, he has been busy virtualising our business so we can spend more time on the road meeting you. Meet the team now.

Exhibitions and new books

Wildlight photographer, Richard Woldendorp, has just released another quality hardcover book, Abstract Earth: a view from above, coinciding with a new exhibition at the S.H Ervin Gallery at Observatory Hill, Sydney. I went to the opening and the images were breathtaking. The unique abstract perspective afforded from the air caused many observers to guess several times before understanding the subject of the images. The exhibition runs until 3 August. Next month you’ll find out how you can win a complimentary signed copy of Richard’s book, which sells for $49.95.

Burning question
Does licence duration really matter for brochures and annual reports? I received a call from a corporate graphic designer here in Sydney who had this burning question which has been unanswered for so long. The question came at a good time as we are soon to begin the process of simplifying our licence calculator; do I hear a collective sigh of relief? He felt that the total print run was more important, and that the duration was an unrealistic component in the licence. We had recently licenced a package of nine Richard Woldendorp aerials for a corporate brochure. He felt that after the initial mailout, the finished product sat in the client foyer for an indefinite time or in a box under Wendy’s desk, slowly collecting stiletto heel damage. I have to agree with him, it’s unrealistic and unenforceable to track the licence beyond a one or two-year period. Is the end-user going to pulp the brochures just because the magic time period has expired? Are we all that organised that we send a Google calendar reminder to ourselves? Then what happens when a person leaves the company? You can see, and most probably agree that having a fixed time period for brochures and DM in general is unrealistic and should be removed from the licence.
Have you got a questions about licencing which has been bugging you? Email me.

Get in step with our Walk on the Wildside promo.

To take advantage of this once in a lifetime offer, just purchase a licence worth more than $7 before the 17th of July and you could walk down Oxford Street–darlo or paddo end, no matter–with ERNST the Pug. As you’ve undoubtedly read in Our Team, he’s a ‘deal clincher’, but out of the office he’s a chick magnet and man puller. He’ll make sure you’re the center of attention, he pulls old and young, guys and girls. Act now and we’ll even wash him before the big day! You’ll be striking up a conversation with the person of your dreams before Ernst sniffs his first pole! He’s deaf as a post and completely motivated by food, so carry a dried pig’s ear in your pocket for his undivded attention.

I’ve been receiving email newsletters ( I don’t remember subscribing) from DooneyStudio, it’s the site of successful young Australian painter and photographer Hazel Dooney. She’s been receiving quite a bit of press lately, due to the boldness and confrontational subject of her artworks. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed receiving her communications, check out here recent work here - it’s punk, meets feminist, meets graphic psychological self-discovery. She has a photography exhibition opening at MARS Gallery in Port Melbourne on the 29th July to 24th August, coinciding with the Melbourne Art Fair. Innocents And Demons will extrapolate on her paintings, with studies of young women in her first photographic exhibition.

What’s interesting to us, is some news that she has licenced six of her images to a niche Australian condom manufacturer, Legends Rubbers, to be printed onto tin packaging. Each tin package will have an image of Hazel’s, containing six rubbers. That’s a pretty unique image usage, which has prompted me to probe into our records to see what the most intriguing usage for a Wildlight image is. I’ll post it soon…