Seeing Sydney a little differently - Redleaf Boulevardier

I sometimes walk along a street I know well and try to imagine myself walking down that street as if I had never walked down it before, as if seeing it for the very first time. It's an interesting exercise in observation and one that I try to apply every now and again. So I don't take my environment for granted. After all, as Heraclitus stated back in 500 BCE “No man ever steps in the same river twice. For it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” Things are always changing, in the outside world and our inner world too.

I've put together an exhibition of images of the place that I been swimming for the past 10 years. It is a protected harbour pool in Double Bay, Sydney. A pool on the harbour 80 meters by 30 with two pontoons and a D shaped boardwalk out over the water, above the iron bars that serve to protect swimmers from the sharks that also swim in the harbour. Although this is a place that on the surface at least, I know what it looks like. The pictures I've created are a mediation on the beauty of Redleaf, and a visual expression of the idea above, about how things change while remaining the same. The pictures are available as archival, fine art prints - that will remain the same - as a limited edition.  Sizes and pricing details on my website with all 11 images Click Here. 

Silhouette swimmers

These are photographs of the actual exhibition prints.  Click image to view uncropped & larger.

Bougainvillea against the sky

Swimming in the afterglow

Pontoon after dark (still life)

The dive

Redleaf Boulevardier - Impressions of Redleaf an exhibition of photographs by Kent Johnson.

Coral Coffee (Fable Cafe), 128 Darlinghurst Road Darlinghurst. From the 18th of January - Extended from the 8th to the 18th of February 2025

To order prints contact Kent on 61 (0) 433 796 863 - kent@artcommunication.com.au

View all 11 pictures from Redleaf Boulevardier online here - https://www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au/Exhibitions/Redleaf.htm

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Australia + Fashion Photography - Group Show for Head On 2023

 This year I decided I would like to put together an exhibition of fashion photography that would do a couple of things - at least! The first was to show that fashion photography, at it's best is a true art form, a fine art. As I pitched the idea to photographers, sometimes via their agents, I started saying I wanted to show that fashion photography was, 'not just for magazines and then the bin'. I wanted to show that fashion photography was not disposable imagery and that great creative photography was visual art worth collecting, well worth space on your wall. One of the main prompts for this idea - especially the role of Australia, was Brett Hilder's image that he has often referred to as 'Legs Over Ayres Rock'  (Uluru 1976 - then known as Ayres Rock) which is one of my favourite fashion pictures and virtually unknown as I don't think it is part of any of the major gallery collections - god knows why, it really should be! So I certainly wanted to exhibit that picture - if Brett would let me? Thank you Brett. I then began looking around for other fashion photographs that featured something typically Australian - identifiably part of Australia or Australian identity.

Australia + Fashion Photography - Head On 2023

Fashion photography often embraces the generic in how it uses landscapes and location though of course there are exceptions - perhaps laughingly sometimes the only way to identify a location is by the description! 'Shot in pick-a-location' with the model against an unidentifiable  beach/wall/garden or in an international modern hotel suite - the same in every major city. This is not the kind of picture I was looking for. I had recently connected with Tony Potts who had some stellar B&W fashion from the mid 1980s, and he was happy to come onboard. I followed up with an approach to Grant Matthews, Ditto. Australia, Beach, Bondi, these two had me covered. Liz Ham; who could forget her Newtown Punks series which took that very English Punk ideal and yet somehow transformed them into emo-esque Aussie larrikins, though here we have some young women with chickens. Juli Balla bringing a European sensibility to the Australian light and dare I say, an approach to colour and modulating her landscape in a way not dissimilar to the approach of the early European painters when representing the Australian countryside, well mannered, and never too wild. And I have some pictures in the show, from two stories set in Costal and Bush landscapes, both places a deep part of the Australian psyche. Michele Aboud brings a famous Australian to the Australia theme and the saturation of the blue Australian sky as a feature of the land down-under. The exhibition is Co-curated with Head On Director Moshe Rosenzveig OAM.

Fashion Photography by Kent Johnson - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

The pictures are on show now 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach. I also interviewed each of the photographers about their pictures in the exhibition and the information I uncovered about their inspiration and ways of working are, I think absolutely fascinating. The first 30 minute edit of the interviews can be seen or listened too on YouTube here 

Best viewed on Bondi Beach - perhaps while listening to the YouTube interviews above.

Photographs by Michele Aboud - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

Juli Balla (middle 3) - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

Grant Matthews - Liz Ham - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

Brett Hilder & Tony Potts - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

Photographs by Liz Ham - Bondi Beach Promenade - Australia + Fashion Photography

Thanks to Director Moshe Rosenzveig and the Head On Photo Festival Team & to the photographers in the show, Brett Hilder, Grant Matthews, Juli Balla, Kent Johnson, Liz Ham and Michele Aboud - there would be no show without you.
https://headon.org.au/exhibitions/australia-fashion-photography

Liz Ham   / lizhamdotcom   Tony Potts   / tonypottsphotography   Michele Aboud   / micheleaboud   Brett Hilder   / bretthilder   Juli Balla   / juliballaphoto   Grant Matthews Kent Johnson   / iamkentjohnson  

360-Degree Virtual Tour of Australia + Fashion Photography at Bondi Beach - Click the X for fullscreen

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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'Fast Food from the Freeway' & Exhibiting in Good Company!

I am please to announce that I am part of a curated exhibition here in Sydney this Thursday the 3rd of November!  I know this Thursday is a very busy art evening, however do come along and see my work my work 'Fast Food From the Freeway' as part of the Click exhibition at Badger & Fox Gallery. The show is a mix of classic photography and contemporary including my friend and mentor Brett Hilder and friend MikiNobu Komatsu. The three of us cover Cuba, Sydney & Brisbane so lots to see right there, please join us, I look forward to seeing you there. The rest of the show really is a who's who of photography so it's not to be missed even if you cannot make the opening night festivities.

Or to view my image larger Click HERE.
https://badgerandfoxgallery.com/

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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My Biggest Project in 2010 - SNO Artists Portrait Exhibition.

Was I think without a doubt my Solo Show SNAP at SNO in May this year. In a nutshell (my artist statement is below) SNAP was 40 large format Photographic Portraits of local and international artists taken at their openings over the previous four or so years. All the images were reprocessed from the original files for the show to make sure of the consistency of the prints which were done by the wonderful people at Photoking in Randwick.

The show (the first solo at SNO & show of objective work) was also aligned with the Head On Photo Festival and was very well attended. Thanks to everyone at SNO for their assistance with the exhibition & Billy Gruner for the title, Head On; and my parents for their much appreciated support. And of course thanks to everyone who made the trek to SNO for the exhibition, it would not have been such a wonderful time without everyone coming along.

I am not sure as to why it took me so long to blog about the show other than it has been a wonderfully busy year for my photography! I have put up a few shots from the show, the opening and some instillation shots below, all the Portraits from the exhibition can be seen HERE on Flickr.


Sophia Egarchos


Billy Gruner


Lars Breuer


John Adair


P.J. Hickman









Continuing the Artist portraits up to 2015 Here!

SNAP at SNO

Artist Statement

Every artist regardless of their experience has a sense of anticipation surrounding the opening of their exhibition. SNAP the portrait exhibition of artists taken at their openings at SNO reflects this instant, that moment when the artist is with their art, themselves and a photographer looking at both. The portraits which are 'set up' during the openings are typically made in about 60 seconds.

My the earliest shot in the show is the silhouette series of Ruark Lewis in conversation taken at the closing show for the space SNO occupied immediately before moving to the Marrickville Road space in February 2006. The first portraits at the new gallery space at 175 Marrickville Rd were of Jan van der Ploeg and Helen Smith SNO 15, April 1 2006 with the collaborative work 'Magic Black, Baby Blue, Baby Doll 2006'.

Over the past four plus years Kent has managed to photograph more than 40 Artists at their SNO openings. SNAP showcases the best-of-the best of the SNO Portraits.

From THE SNO website
Kent Johnson

SNAP

An exhibition of artist portraits taken at SNO openings since 2005. SNAP is a combined project with SNO and Australian Centre for Photography's Head On Photo Festival at galleries in and around Sydney.

SNO
Head On

Mirrors Art Collaboration with Elodie Silberstein

I had the great pleasure a few weeks ago of working on a collaboration with Elodie Silberstein and Rhiannon Bulley for the 'Mirrors' show opening next week at Morie Gallery.



Concept and Direction was provided by Elodie whom I have known through art circles for a while now & who I also had the pleasure of doing a portrait shoot with back in April of this year.

The shoot took place in Glebe. Elodie came in with her art notes, outfit and of course Rhiannon who modelled as a kind of Japanese Ningyo Doll. It was a great learning experience for me working alongside Elodie and being part of her process for bringing about the final image she was visualising with Rhiannon. It was a bit like a Master Class in Art & Process!

Of course Elodie's final work is much much more than one shot and is part of the Mirrors Art Exhibition curated by Rhiannon; an awareness and fund raising show for The Butterfly Foundation. Its well worth coming along to the opening night if you can make it as there is also a performance aspect to Elodie's work that will only take place on the opening night.

Mirrors Art Exhibition, Mirrors opens next Wednesday, October 14 at 6pm at Mori Gallery 168 Day St Darling Harbour.

For more information about Mirrors click here.

You can keep up to date with Elodie's work here.

And you can read the City Hub article about Mirrors here

See you at the show.

Fashion & Portraits.

Is there a Fashion Photographer worth their salt who does not do a pretty good line in Portrait Photography too? I think not, fashion, people and portraits do have a lot in common even though the purpose of fashion pictures is quite different to portraiture. I think the common denominator is understanding your subject and getting to the core of the matter at hand be it the sitters personality or the form of a gorgeous dress or gown.



I met the artist Elodie Silberstein at an opening a few months ago and then attended the opening of her show ‘Mothers Day’ at Mori Gallery a few weeks later. I had no idea what the show was going to be about or what form it would take so you can imagine my surprise when I found it was an instillation piece; a massive space full of pink light, shoes arranged on shelves along one wall, a beautiful ‘model’ writhing (ever so slowly) in the middle of the floor in ‘mothers shoes’ and in very large type on another wall, a letter to a mother, quite some time deceased! Well it wasn’t Silence of the Lambs but it was a little disturbing and exciting at the same time. And those shoes! Beautiful shoes all lined up, and that pair strapped to the model/hostage, well you get the idea.

Fast forward to Now; Elodie has come to the studio for me to take her portrait before a trip to France & the UK to see Galleries about her work. Elodie was a little nervous about having her portrait done but quite likes my work and had put her trust in me. I wanted the portrait to reflect her use of space and to somehow reflect her artistic interest in shoes; all bundled up into one shot.



We agreed that B&W would be nice and I started shooting with bits of studio equipment in shot, chatting about space and shoes and motivation for making art. After getting the shots out of the camera and looking through them on the computer we both felt we had some pretty good pictures and were pretty happy. But I thought maybe we should take just a few more frames; just to be sure.

I found Elodie a stool and then gave her the copy of Vogue Italia with the beautiful Ferragamo gatefold brochure spilling out of it that we had been admiring before the shoot; “Here, why not just hold this, we love these shoes!”



I think the last shots turned out the best. After looking through the first set we could see that we had some lovely shots and Elodie could see that the portraits were just what she wanted, so now we were much more relaxed and trusting and the final pictures bring out all of that as well.



You can see more of Elodie’s work on her website here, and you can also see more of my portrait photography here. Click the images to see them by themselves.

Haute Couture Design in Sydney

Dressing the Void by Cigdem A ydemir.

An interrogation of the space between body & dress.

“… a core structure with the use of boning, fibreglass and fabric.The form of these garments have also been heavily influenced by current ‘blobitecture’ – a response to rectilinear planes found in traditional architecture and a move towards computer generated design.”

“… ‘Dressing the Void’ is an attempt to create cocoon-like negative spaces that engulf the wearer and simultaneously evoke a sense of containment and refuge.”
Cigdem Aydemir.

With Sunny modelling, Kaori on Hair and Make-Up and the designer styling the shoot; we managed a full set of fashion documentation images for Cigdem’s graduation exhibition.



Although we only shot two garments there was considerable time and effort in the ‘dressing’ of the model on set as well as the time spent on two changes of hair and make-up. I took inspiration from Russian Constructivism in my approach to dressing the set using large foundry technical drawings pinned to the white background. As constructivism was concerned with the formal qualities of architectural space it seemed like a good match with Cigdem’s architecturally inspired Haute Couture.



This was perhaps Sunny’s most demanding modelling job with me so far as she had to spend quite a lot of time being fitted to the garments on set. Seven hours latter we had a great set of images including some lovely high key head shots detailing the garments free form collar. A great days shooting and everyone has been very pleased with the results.



You can see the garments at the COFA Annual 07
Thursday 29 November to Friday 7 December 2007
College of Fine Arts , UNSW
Cnr Oxford St & Greens Rd
Paddington, Sydney , Australia .