Imitation and flattery…Sony MD resigns…’New wowserism’ targets photos…1 Nikon close-up adapter…
Imitation and flattery
After attracting 16,000 consumers in May this year, the PMA’s inaugural Big Photo Show event will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2014, on May 17-18.
The event featured manufacturer and retailer exhibits, two education theaters and live model shooting zones. It borrows not a little from Australia’s annual photo equipment show, such as the educational component and free entrance for pre-registering. So that was why there have been so many PMA people out from Jackson over the last few years – they were here to learn!
Relatively speaking, Los Angeles is several times the population of Sydney or Melbourne, where the Australian photo industry is able to draw over 10,000 consumers to its show. Perhaps we should ditch the bland Digital Show moniker and all our local event The Biggest Photo Show!
Sony MD to pursue other opportunities
After 26 years with Sony, Carl Rose has resigned from his role as managing director for Sony Australia & New Zealand, which he held for six years.
‘It feels that this is the right time for me to conclude my tenure with Sony,’ he said. He will leave in mid-July to ‘pursue new opportunities.’
Sony Electronics Head, Yasuhide Yokota will concurrently assume MD responsibility from mid-July ‘and review replacement options’.
New wowserism targets photos
Two separate photographic exhibitions at The Vivid Sydney Festival were subject to on-the-fly censorship from organisers Destinations NSW (formerly The NSW Tourist Board).
The Reportage exhibition, showcasing outstanding international and local photojournalism, had 18 of 35 images pulled from an exhibition projected onto two large screens near the Museum of Contemporary Art.
‘What we don’t want is children walking around the corner and seeing pictures of dead children… We just don’t want violence, dead people or anything that could distress people. In that public domain area it’s about entertainment and engagement,’ explained Sandra Chipchase, CEO, Destinations NSW.
That Destinations Australia made the mistaken assumption that photojournalism is about entertainment reflects a breathtaking naivety.
At least two photographers withdrew their work in protest.
The other exhibition from the highly-regarded Oculi group, was not in an outdoor public space but in a building in The Rocks area. Two photos which featured naked subjects suffered the temporary indignity of having tape placed over the subjects’ genitalia, apparently on request of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. These were in no way sexy or perverted or lascivious images. Perhaps that’s what was so offensive to the banning bureaucrats – there’s nothing more unsettling in the modern world than an old codger’s todger!
After discussions between curator Stephen Dupont and the Oculi group the tape was removed.
1 Nikon close-up adapter
Nikon has announced a N1-CL1 close-up lens adapter for 1 Nikkor lenses.
The adaptor can be attached to the front of any 1 Nikkor lens with a diameter of 40.5mm to reduce the minimum focus distance of the lens while at the same time enabling the photographer to move closer to the subject. When the N1-CL1 is attached to the 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f3.8-5.6, you can approach the subject as close as 24cm and the maximum reproduction ratio of the prime lens is increased, making the image of the subject larger by approx. 3.8x.
For the 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm f3.5-5.6, minimum focus distance is shortened to 9cm. Local release details are yet to be supplied.
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