Newsletter Editor: Ian Brown PH 0403 036 119 E: ian@bforbrown.com.au
Page 3 From your Secretary Elaine Herbert ARPS Page 4 Welcome from the Editor – Ian Brown
Page 6
Convenor’s Corner – Rob Morgan ARPS
Page 20 RPS Australia – Mentor program
Page 8 Dreams of young girls –Pondering Pollard 22
Page 22 Members’ Gallery
Page 5 DIG Group Special offer
Page 18 Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2025
Page 24 What’s on in September?
From your Secretary
Elaine Herbert ARPS
Hon Secretary, Australian Chapter
Chapter Activities
We have some new events being organised for our Chapter members.
• First, the RPS Digital Imaging Group is making a special offer of free entry to all Australian RPS members to join its September webinar. The presenter is an Australian photographer, Mieke Boynton, which will be especially interesting for us. Her topic is The Art of Abstracts – it sounds fascinating. Note that you must register beforehand and the Zoom link will be sent to you, then you can view the webinar at a time most convenient for you. Full details are on page 5 of this Newsletter. Our warm thanks to Janet Haines ARPS, DIG Chair, for this great offer.
• Next, the Chapter is initiating a Mentoring Program for our members. It’s to be a six-month program linking members who are more experienced photographers with those seeking to improve their technical and creative skills. See page 20 for details.
• And we’re delighted to give advance notice that in November Gigi Williams ASIS FRPS and Robin Williams ASIS FRPS will be giving us an
online presentation which they’ve titled ‘Fifty Shades of Grey – the sordid secrets of the darkroom’. It will be all about working in Black-andWhite, including Infrared. Make a note for 7.30pm, Wed 12 November in your diaries now!
RPS AGM
We have received email notice of the RPS AGM to be held online on Saturday 20 September, at 10.00am UK time – which is 7.00pm AEST so it’s a very manageable time for us too. You must register by 18 September in order to attend this virtual AGM. See the recent email of 26 August reminding us of the meeting and giving a link for registering. That email also gives links to the agenda and papers for the AGM. As well as the usual business part of the AGM, the RPS Members Awards will be announced, and the meeting will conclude with the President’s Annual Address.
New Member
We have another new RPS member in Australia, Bernard Oliver of Carters Ridge, Queensland. Welcome on board, Bernard, and we hope you will get much pleasure and stimulation from your RPS membership and our local Chapter activities.
Acting Honorary Secretary
I’m planning a trip to the UK (and places beyond) in October, and I’m most grateful that one of our Chapter Committee, Jacky Lee (email sklphotography@gmail.com), has agreed to step in as Acting Hon Sec while I’m away. Thank you, Jacky. That’s really appreciated.
Welcome from the Editor
Ian Brown
Editor, Australian Chapter
Later in the newsletter, we will introduce our new mentor program. I highly recommend becoming a mentor. I’ve been part of the Australian Graphic Design Association mentor program before, and it’s fulfilling to help develop others. If you have extensive knowledge to share, please consider becoming a mentor. It doesn’t require much time, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy passing on your wisdom.
We also have an online presentation scheduled for November. Robin and Gigi Williams have kindly agreed to lead the talk. To the right is a teaser. Keep an eye out for more information soon.
Save the date: on-line live presentation 12 November 19:30 AEST
Fifty shades of grey – the sordid secrets of the darkroom
Gigi & Robin Williams
Against the ever-present background of millions of hypersaturated, colourful images, real and imagined, there has been a curious resurgence of interest in black-and-white photography, both analogue and digital. In what promises to be another of
Specifications for contributors
When sending images for the Newsletter, the only requirement is that they are jpeg or png. Images can be 300 ppi and up to A4. Don’t forget you can also add captions for your images. If you don’t include a caption, we’ll assume you don’t need one.
Email images to ian@bforbrown.com.au and keep those pixels and captions coming in! For non-image files (e.g. PDFs), under 5 MB is preferred and never 10 MB or more. If your images are too big to email, I have created a Dropbox folder you can upload
their highly informative and entertaining presentations, Gigi and Robin (both Fellows of the Society) will talk to us about everything monochrome including infra-red. Why is the black-and-white image so engaging? How to go about making great monochrome images? This presentation will address these and many other questions about black-andwhite photography. Save the date in your diary for this ‘not-to-be-missed’ evening!
your images to. Email me for permission, and I’ll grant access to the folder. I will need to delete your images once I have downloaded them.
Deadline for contributions to the next issue is 23 September 2025.
DIG Offer to Australian members
Janet Haines ARPS Chair Digital Imaging Group
We often wonder why more international members do not take advantage of the Digital Imaging Group’s high quality webinars to everyone, no matter their time zone. Once a month the Group holds a Saturday afternoon (16.00 London time) webinar. We book the very best international presenters and aim to inspire photographers everywhere. To make this available to everyone we record the sessions and for those who register we send out a follow up email which contains the link to the recording. So you can watch at whatever time suits you.
Usually, these webinars are free for Digital Imaging Group
members; a small charge is made for RPS members.
In September our presenter is Australian photographer Mieke Boynton (see below). To celebrate having an Australian speaker we are inviting all members of the Australian Chapter to join us for FREE. To obtain your free ticket, simply register as a DI Member and send a short email to our volunteer who monitors bookings – Click here to email and just tell us you are an Australian Chapter member. If you fail to email then you will get a personalised email asking you to amend your booking. If you receive that again just remind us that you are an Australian Chapter member.
To read more about Mieke’s talk and to register please click here
We hope you can join us in September for what we’re sure will be a really interesting talk.
Convenor’s Corner
Rob Morgan ARPS
A View from the Train
I was reminded recently of the lyrics from that old (1936) film with Fred Astaire, ‘Follow the Fleet’ in which he and the crew sang “We joined the navy to see the world. And what did we see? We saw the sea.”
My experience was quite the opposite, though I wasn’t at sea. I was crossing Australia from north to south on The
Ghan train from Darwin to Adelaide with Lucy, at the end of July. In that direction it’s a three day journey, with stops at Katherine, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. So what did we see? We saw no sea (of sand), saw Katherine, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy! For some odd reason (perhaps it was the photographs in the ads for the
Ghan, designed to get people to book the journey) we expected to ‘see the sea’: to actually see some of the vast central Australia landscape we were travelling through. But most of the time when the train was moving, it was night time. So unless we got up early for breakfast (when the train hadn’t had enough time to sneak into
Todd River Gum Trees
The Breakaways
the siding at Alice Springs or Coober Pedy) most of what we saw from the train in daylight was static and unexciting.
We did get off the train at the three stops and travel to various interesting places in daylight, but that was by coach. I guess they would get no one to book the train trip if they said “Book The Ghan and see central Australia from the comfort of your very own seat on a coach”.
That said, there were some memorable highlights.
Katherine Gorge is spectacular and the late afternoon light was good for photography. The part of Alice Springs we saw was
more low key, but the parkland around the dry Todd River, with its old gum trees was interesting for the patterns and shades of light (Note, if you go there: Alice Springs reportedly has more snakes per square inch than anywhere else in Australia, so don’t go wandering off amongst the rocks or grass without wearing trousers. I stayed on the paths).
The opal mining town of Coober Pedy is unique, with its underground residences and underground Serbian Orthodox Church. Nearby is a scenic area called ‘The Breakaways’. Having seen quite a few photos of this
area by others at camera club competition nights over the years, I had low expectations. But it was spectacular, with its eroded cliffs and patterns of clay. It was a real highlight of the trip.
All of which prompts me to ask: is there anywhere you have recently been to, and by chance you took a camera? If so, our Editor Ian – and other members, I am sure – would love you to send through a few images (or maybe just your favourite one) for us to enjoy in the pages of the Newsletter.
Katherine Gorge
Australian photographer John Pollard FRPS died in 2018, leaving behind not just a grieving family and a substantial legacy of photographic work in public and private collections but also an eclectic collection of books representing his varied interests over his life. In this ongoing column, I hope to stimulate interest and reflection on various aspects of photography based on the perusal of John’s collection of books. In the process, I also aim to periodically shine a light on John’s career and practice.
Dr Robin Williams ASIS FRPS
Fig. 1 main image: ‘The Replica’ ‘The mirror has made a replica of the girl who gazes too long. Here is the loved one unattainable, separate, identical. Born of solitude, dreams and the hand that gropes towards. Have I dreamed this double mouth with doubled pairs of lips?’
Fig. 2 above: David Hamilton, Self-Portrait with models, 1971.
Pondering Pollard 22: Dreams of young girls by David Hamilton
David Hamilton could be said to be one of the most successful photographers of all time. Successes included dozens of best-selling photo books with combined sales well into the millions, five feature films, countless magazine articles, and museum and gallery exhibitions. His work was exhibited in every one of the first three years of The Photographers' Gallery, London. He gained celebrity status and was accepted by the
establishment; his Tokyo Exhibition, for example, was opened by the British Ambassador. Hamilton’s work was phenomenally successful during the 1970s, capturing the aesthetic Zeitgeist of the period. His work influenced contemporary fashion, advertising and commercial photography. From his home near St Tropez in the south of France, he developed a distinctive, highly recognizable, style that became iconic of that
era: soft focus, grainy, backlit images of young women in diaphanous outfits, relaxing within an Edwardian-style interior; or wearing floppy hats and floral print dresses amongst the flowers of the Provençal countryside in summer. His images of naked pubescent girls blurred the line between art and pornography, and subsequently, in a different cultural climate, his work fell out of public favour; he was labelled a predatory paedophile, and he is now rarely mentioned in the history of photography. The Hamilton ‘look’ briefly came back into fashion at Vogue, Elle, and other fashion magazines around 2003.
We already know that John Pollard greatly appreciated the naked female form, and it comes as no surprise then that he had three of David Hamilton’s books in his collection, and rather than take them as separate items in the collection, it makes more sense to deal with all three together, representative of Hamilton’s output. For obvious reasons, only Hamilton’s less explicit images have been chosen for reproduction here. Often his images were accompanied by text, either written by Hamilton himself or other collaborating artists.
Hamilton was born in 1933 and grew up in London. His schooling was interrupted by
Fig. 3 above: ‘Waiting’ ‘For what imagined fault is this too youthful captive held, self-vowed to what? Prisoner of summer overripe and blown of afternoons too long.’
World War II. As an evacuee, he spent some time in the countryside of Dorset, which inspired some of his work. After the war, Hamilton returned to London and finished his schooling. His artistic skills began to emerge during a job at an architect's office. At the age of twenty, he went to Paris, where he worked as a graphic designer for Peter Knapp of Elle magazine. After becoming successful in this role, he was hired away from Elle by Queen magazine in London as an art director. Hamilton soon realised he missed Paris, and after returning there, he became the art director of Printemps, the city's largest department store. While Hamilton was still employed at Printemps, he began doing commercial photography, and the dreamy, grainy style of his images quickly brought him success. His photographs were in demand by many magazines such as Réalitiés, Twen, Oui, Playboy and Photo. Hamilton was originally in a relationship with Mona Kristensen, a model in many of his early photobooks, who made her screen debut in Bilitis; later, he married Gertrude Versyp, who co-designed The Age of Innocence, but they divorced. In December 1977, Images Gallery – a studio owned by Bob Persky in Manhattan –showed Hamilton’s photographs
Fig. 4 above: ‘Innocence’ ‘My name is Suzanne. I am naked, yet virginal. I am innocent and hard. My eyes are blank – you are the one who runs a troubled gaze over my body.’
at the same time that his first film – Bilitis – was released. At that time, art critic Gene Thornton wrote in The New York Times that they reveal ‘the kind of ideal that regularly was expressed in the great paintings of the past’. Hamilton has said that his work looks for ‘the candour of a lost paradise.’ In his book, Contemporary
Photographers, curator Christian Caujolle wrote that Hamilton worked only with two fixed devices: ‘a clear pictorial intention and a latent eroticism, ostensibly romantic, but asking for trouble.’
Hamilton shared his time between Paris and St. Tropez. On the Mediterranean beaches of Cap d’Agde, where nudity
was common, Hamilton was a familiar figure looking for young girls to model for his pictures.
‘Shopping’ was the word he used and he knew what he was seeking: young, early teens, preferably blonde, blue-eyed and with pale, almost translucent skin; the epitome of the ‘age of innocence’, the title of one of his best-selling books.
Fig.5: Nude in the landscape.
Apparently, parents rarely refused when he asked if the youngsters could come to his studio to pose, honoured that a world-famous artist had spotted their child. But Hamilton’s motives, it has since been claimed, were far from innocent.
Hamilton's photographs have long been at the forefront of the 'is it art or pornography?'
debate. Much of his work depicted pre-pubescent girls, often nude, sometimes clearly showing genitalia, and he was the subject of some controversy, including child pornography allegations. Hamilton's books were banned in several countries. In the late 1990s, conservative Christian groups in America unsuccessfully
Fig. 5 left: ‘The Schoolgirl’ ‘I’m a good little girl. I go to school every day and there’s no one waiting for me when I come home.’
Fig. 6 centre: ‘Children to the Dance’ ‘Where does it all begin? With the Body. What motivation? The desire for fuller expression. In the fantasy world of the rehearsal room these creatures it seems are all the substance of dreams.’
Fig. 7 right: ‘Pose’ ‘Reflective now, the young girl stays her gesture, observed as if by herself without benefit of mirror or window.’
protested against bookstores selling Hamilton's photography books. In 1995, Hamilton said that people ‘have made contradictions of nudity and purity, sensuality and innocence, grace and spontaneity. I try to harmonise them, and that’s my secret and the reason for my success.’ Most of his work gives the impression of timelessness because of the absence of cars, modern buildings, advertisements and fashion. In 1976, Denise Couttès explained what she thought was behind Hamilton's success: ‘Hamilton expresses escapism; people can only escape from the violence and cruelty of the modern world through dreams and nostalgia.’ In 2005, a man in the UK was convicted of being in possession of images of children, including photos by Hamilton. The images were found to have the lowest indecency rating. In response, Glenn Holland, Hamilton's spokesman, said: ‘We are deeply saddened and
Fig. 8 left: ‘Abandon’ ‘Weary at last of this unfathomable eye which spies on her she lets the watcher have his will of her’
Fig. 9 left: ‘Sleep’ ‘This mechanical eye pursues the sleeper even in dream. The repeated click of the shutter mingles now with the sound of the waves.’
Fig. 10 above: ‘The Doll’ ‘A young girl, so young that she still resembles the dolls she so recently played with. A pretty doll, a favourite toy.’
Fig. 11 above right: David Hamilton by Bernd Weissbrod, 2016 – the year of his suicide.
disappointed by this, as David is one of the most successful art photographers the world has ever known.’ In 2010, a man was convicted of level 1 child pornography for owning Hamilton's The Age of Innocence , which he had purchased from a bookstore in Walthamstow, London. His conviction was overturned on appeal in 2011, with the judge calling his conviction ‘very unfair’ and criticising the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecuting him. The judge concluded that ‘the right way to deal with the matter is by way of prosecuting the publisher or retailer – not the individual purchaser.’
In October 2016, French television presenter Flavie
Flament accused Hamilton of raping her in 1987, when she was just 13 years old. In November 2016, French magazine L’Obs published accounts from three other former models who also claimed to have been raped by Hamilton. Hamilton issued a statement threatening legal action against his accusers and claimed that he did not do anything wrong. On 25 November 2016, he was found dead in his Paris apartment; the cause of death was recorded as suicide.
Lifeforce in Focus:
Ballarat International Foto Biennale
Ian Brown
As the crisp air settles over the gold rush city of Ballarat, its grand 19th-century streetscapes and quiet blue stone laneways begin to transform. Shop fronts turn into miniature galleries, historic halls hum with openings, and for eight weeks, the city comes alive with images. This is the Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB), an event that has, since its inception in 2005, developed into one of Australia’s most ambitious celebrations of photography.
Founded by photographer Jeff Moorfoot and originally held in Daylesford, the festival
moved to Ballarat in 2009 and has flourished. What was once a small regional gathering is now a festival of international stature, attracting artists and audiences from around the globe. For many, the Biennale is more than just an exhibition; it’s a pilgrimage – an opportunity to immerse oneself in photography’s power to shape stories and challenge perceptions.
The 2025 Biennale, running from 23 August to 19 October, takes its theme from a single resonant word: “Lifeforce.” It’s a concept suggesting both vitality and resilience – the unseen
energy that connects people and sustains communities.
That idea pulses through the festival’s roster of over 360 artists, whose works spill across galleries, laneways, and unexpected corners of the city.
At the heart of this year’s program is Campbell Addy, the British – Ghanaian artist who has shaken up the worlds of fashion and portraiture. His exhibition I Love Campbell, staged inside the Ballarat Mining Exchange, is a blend of self-portrait and cultural statement. Combining vivid photography with original paintings and a short film shot
in Ghana, Addy invites viewers into an intimate dialogue with his heritage, identity, and the multiple selves he inhabits.
Commissioned especially for Ballarat, the show is immersive, deeply personal, and as stylishly executed as his celebrated editorial work for magazines like Dazed and i-D.
Addy’s presence in Ballarat feels more than just headlineworthy. His keynote address and screening of his film Feeling Seen are expected to spark discussions about representation and visibility in photography, themes central to his work.
“Photography isn’t just about the image,” Addy has said elsewhere, “it’s about what it can hold for the person being seen.”
The Biennale isn’t just about
one artist. Work from Brian O'Dwyer, Leicolhn McKellar, Annelìse Seréna Belladonna, and Jesse Marlow to name a few animate Ballarat’s streets, while international talents such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Catherine Leroy, Lê Nguyên Ph‘o‘ng, Maria Fernanda Cardoso and Hiromi Tango push the program beyond Australia’s borders. Their works adorn walls, project onto buildings, or hide in the corners of shopfronts and bars.
The festival’s spirit of experimentation is also evident in its embrace of new technology. The Prompted Peculiar International AI Prize invites audiences to explore the challenges and provocations of AI-generated imagery, a
reminder that photography has always involved balancing truth, artifice, and imagination.
Workshops and masterclasses ensure the Biennale remains a participatory event. From street photography lessons using just a flashgun to intimate portrait sessions, the Biennale functions as both school and showcase –a place to learn, experiment, and discover.
Walking through Ballarat during the Biennale, you feel the city itself becoming part of the exhibition. The National Centre for Photography, housed in the elegant former Union Bank, anchors the festival’s program. But equally impactful are the chance encounters: a striking portrait seen while grabbing a coffee, a surreal digital landscape pasted across a laneway, a family sharing a moment in front of a flickering projection on an old wall.
Two decades since it first began, the Biennale continues to show why photography matters. It captures beauty and weirdness, documents resilience and change, gives nascent talent a chance to shine on the public stage and brings people together across cultures and generations.
In 2025, under the banner “Lifeforce,” it reminds us that photography does more than record life, it brings it to life.
To find out more, check out the Biennale’s website.
Royal Photographic Society Australian Chapter – mentoring program
In our Chapter survey at the start of the year, we found that less experienced members wanted to learn from their peers. We also found that more experienced members are happy to share what they know.
How the program works
We are excited to announce the launch of a photography mentoring program, designed to connect experienced photographers with those who are eager to learn, grow, and develop their creative practice.
For mentors
This program will run for a maximum of six months and provide a structured but flexible framework for technical skills, creative development, and networking.
• Each mentoring relationship will include six meetings, each lasting around an hour.
• Meetings can be online or face-to-face if members are in the same city.
• Mentors and mentees will be matched based on their interests, goals, and areas of expertise.
• Both mentors and mentees will have the opportunity to shape their sessions to focus on the areas most important to them.
• Once members are paired, you will set the objectives for your sessions. You will work together to decide a suitable outcome for the mentee.
• Broaden your knowledge of each other’s work and their chosen areas of interest.
• Ideas for your time together could be to set practical exercises, critique existing work, or delve deep into a particular genre of photography.
• Meeting times and frequency will be set by the two of you to suit whatever works best.
We are seeking photographers who are willing to share their knowledge, insights, and experience. This is your chance to give back to the community by guiding emerging photographers, helping them avoid common pitfalls, and inspiring them to take their craft to the next level. You can help keep your mentees on track and check their progress. You can share inspiration and networking ideas and help keep your mentee motivated.
For mentees
Whether you are just starting out or looking to refine specific skills, this is an opportunity to gain personalised guidance from someone with experience. You’ll benefit from practical advice, experienced insight, and creative encouragement tailored to your goals. This program isn’t a training or planning program for RPS distinctions. If you are looking to start your Licentiate journey click here for the official RPS process.
How to get involved
If you would like to participate as a mentor or a mentee, please contact the editor with a short outline about yourself, including:
• What you can offer (if you would like to be a mentor).
• What would you like to gain from the program (if you would like to be a mentee)?
We’ll then work to connect mentors and mentees in the best possible way.
Why take part?
• Build stronger connections within the photography community.
• Share and develop valuable skills and knowledge.
• Gain fresh perspectives, creative energy, and new opportunities.
Be part of shaping the next generation of photographers If you’re interested in being a mentor or mentee, please contact the editor via email ian@bforbrown.com.au to register your interest.
Members’ Gallery
Palli Gajree OAM HonFRPS
Fig 1: Unknown
Fig: 2 Door bell
Fig 3: Rock Art
Members’ Gallery
Gigi Williams ASIS FRPS
Fig 1: Transient beauty
What’s on in September?
Festivals & exhibitions
Ballarat International Foto Biennale
Held in Ballarat, Victoria, this major festival runs from 23 August to 19 October with the 2025 theme “LIFEFORCE”, exploring powerful forces shaping life—from personal to political.
World Press Photo Exhibition 2025
Showing at the State Library of New South Wales (Sydney), this internationally touring showcase brings the winning photojournalism and documentary work of the past year.
“Turrangka… in the shadows”
by James Tylor
“Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency”
Two compelling photographic exhibitions currently on at the John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University, Perth – running from 4 July to 14 September.
Man Ray and Max Dupain
A landmark exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art (Melbourne), running 6 August to 9 November 2025. Featuring more than 120 vintage prints, it explores the surrealist photography of Man Ray alongside Max Dupain’s modernist vision.
Competitions to enter
1. People First Bank Photographic Awards
Location: Australia-wide
Details: Open theme ("Open category"). Over $50,000 in prizes including cash and accolades Closing Date: 12 September
2. The Capture Awards
Location: Australia & New Zealand
Details: Celebrates top work across six categories (Portrait & People; Landscape & Environment; Wedding & Event; Advertising & Fashion; Documentary & Street; Art & Conceptual). Prizes exceed $25,000, and winning images appear in Capture magazine. Closing Date: 14 September
3. Nature in Focus Photography Competition
Organiser: Conservation Volunteers Australia Details: Open divisions include children, teens, smartphone users, and professionals. Themes focus on biodiversity, sustainability, and local species/habitats. People’s Choice and other awards available. Closing Date: 26 September
4. Terra Australis International Photography Exhibition (APS Salon)
Organiser: Australian Photographic Society (APS), also recognized by FIAP & GPU. Details: International open competition (amateurs and professionals welcome). Conducted via MyPhotoClub platform. Closing Date: 13 September
