APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – July 2020: Retrospective

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PARKS & GARDENS, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, POLITICS, PUBLIC ART, SALA, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ART GALLERY, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, VINEYARDS

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abstracts, Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, ANIMALS, ART, Australia, Australian Art, COVID-19, Fleurieu Peninsular, ISOLATION, LANDSCAPE, MEDITATION, PHOTOGRAPHY, Port Willunga, SEASCAPES, South Australia, SUNSETS, TRAVEL

Crucifixes – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION – JULY 2020

July is mid-Winter in Australia; it also the 7th month that we all having been dealing with the various challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, many of the following photographs are reflections of these times. This July retrospect is divided into number of seperate categories; these include – ‘Abstracts’, ‘Black & White’, ‘Landscapes’, ‘Night’, ‘Seascapes’, and ‘Sunsets’. It also includes selected photographs from on-going series – ‘Pareidolia’ and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. As always, behind each photography is my desire ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’

ABSTRACTS

Walpurgisnacht – Windy Peak, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one wild, windy, and rainy night at Windy Peak in the Adelaide Hills. The photograph is associated with my ‘Pareidolia’ series in that the wooden posts and the trees seemed to become in this cold weather strange spectral creatures, coming together as if to celebrate ‘Walpurgisnacht’.

Reflections – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and is of the reflection of a canopy of leaves from willow trees overhanging one of the ponds in the garden. There is a deliberate ‘impressionism’ influence, particularly Monet, but also a ‘post-impressionism’ feel as one finds in some of the works by Klimt.

Sheet-Metal Wall in a Sunset Light – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This striking ‘detail’ of a section of the sheet-metal wall of the Penny’s Hill Vineyard Cellar-door took on a golden radiance and sheen under a setting winter sun.

Behind the Lines – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Following a theme and subject matter of ‘lines’, this is a detail of a section of glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The reflection in the glass is from the water in front of this sheet of corrugated glass, which in turn reflects the cloud in the sky above. These multiple reflections give and added depth to the image; in the centre there is a kind of ‘pareidolia’ with a figure that seems to be peeping through the curtain of glass.

Through a Window: The Child – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at the same glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It is also part of the on-going series – ‘Through a Window’. These ‘windows’ are portals; when one gazes through these ‘windows’ one can see and imagine a number of imaginative possibilities.

The Rainbow – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

The rainbow is a symbol of Hope, which is what is vitally needed in these challenging times.

Poles Apart – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony LICE-7)

These two poles are part of the old ruined jetty at Rapid Bay. Whilst beautiful in themselves there is a relatively tragic dimension. It is as if these two poles are lovers who yearn to be together but will be forever apart, able to see each other but never to touch.

Modern Times: Sniffing out Leads – Windy Peak, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This ‘abstract’ is a satiric metaphor of modern business. With virtually everything moving to be on-line the relative ‘positivism’ and optimism of modern business from a certain perspective seems to have become rather desperate in sniffing out potential leads and ways to make money, at a time when most people don’t have much money to spare.

BLACK & WHITE

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Dancer – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On one of my walks around Port Willunga, from the cliffs above I glanced down to the beach below and saw this young woman. She was dancing in the surf with the setting sun – an expression of freedom in this time of ‘self-isolation’.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: On the Phone – Port Willunga (Sony ILCE-7)

How many times during these challenging days have we seen this? A person sitting alone on their mobile phone. I saw this young man on his mobile phone and also noticed how his surrounding, particularly the iron fence seemed to box him in, adding to the sense of ‘isolation’.

The Old School House – Littlehampton, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a day trip to the small South Australian rural town of Littlehampton we stopped to visit the old sandstone Schoolhouse, which had been built in the 1860s. At one time this country school had over 60 students all crammed into this tiny school house. It has been beautifully preserved and restored by the local community.

The Winter Tree – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This marvellous old tree sits on a little island in the middle of one of the ponds in the garden. It has a ‘pareidolia’ aspect that is perhaps more noticeable in Winter when all its leaves are gone – a fantastical tree creature.

Murdoch Avenue – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Murdoch Avenue’ is one of the most magical parts of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. I have deliberately put a sepia filter over this photograph to complement the charming nature of this location.

LANDSCAPES

Penny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Penny’s Hill Vineyard’ in the McLaren Vale is about 1hrs drive south of Adelaide. It is one of the oldest vineyards in the region and is very ‘English’. This is exemplified by the old sandstone Georgian main-house, as well as these ‘black-faced’ Suffolk sheep.

NIGHT

Adelaide @ Night – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one cold July at Mt. Observation in the Adelaide Hills, which gives one a wonderful view of the Adelaide Plain and the Adelaide CBD. It is a very ‘romantic’ view of Adelaide, yet also one that has resonance with photos of Los Angeles.

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination in which one sees faces in natural and man-made objects. The following photographs are part of an on-going series devoted to the human phenomena of ‘pareidolia’, which is something we all share in common – a thing that unites us as human beings rather than divides us.

The peeping truck – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

It is as if this truck is peeping at you as it passes over a concrete bridge in Port Adelaide. This photograph has been deliberately manipulated to give it a kind of ‘pop art’ feeling and tone.

Crocodile Logs – Old Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

These two logs sit in the Onkaparinga River near Old Noarlunga, a small rural town about 40 minutes south of Adelaide. Crossing the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Onkaparinga River I noticed these two logs. They looked like two crocodiles lying in the shallow water, which reflected the hills towering above the river.

The grumpy rock – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This is part of a spectacular cliff face at Christies Beach on the Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. It struck me that this particular section looked like a grumpy old man – hence the title – ‘the grumpy rock’.

Elephant Rock – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This rock face at the base of a cliff at the northern end of Port Willunga beach struck as looking a bit like and old elephant.

PEOPLE: In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’

The following photographs are part of an on-going series entitled In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’. This is an attempt to chronicle as well as express the sense of bafflement and isolation that is very much a part of the challenges of these days when confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Meme – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This a photograph of my friend Meme with whom I often go for morning walks along Port Willunga beach and other locations in the region.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

At times the effect of living with the Covid-19 pandemic seems rather surreal. Despite the very real threat and with certain restrictions, nonetheless, here in South Australia we are relatively safe and free to move around – and in such a beautiful place even in mid-Winter.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Searching the Sands – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

I saw this young girl searching the sands on the Port Willunga beach one sunset. I don’t know what she was searching for but she was quite focused if rather frantic. It struck me as rather metaphoric and symbolic of how we are all trying to find answers but finding it all rather baffling – searching for answers in the sand.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Red Hoody and Stormy Seas – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a rather wild and stormy day I went to Rapid Bay, which is about a 90 minutes drive south of Adelaide. At the end of the pier there was this young boy looking out on the rather turbulent sea. This also struck me a rather metaphorical and emblematic of these times. Gazing out to sea may bring some solace sometimes, but it can also express our bafflement and anxiety in these stormy days.

SEASCAPES

The following photographs are part of an on-going series of ‘Seascapes’, primarily from the Onkaparinga region. This includes Aldinga Beach, Port Willunga, Maslin Beach, Port Noarlunga, and Christies Beach – and more.

The Morning Walk – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a Winter’s Day #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a Winter’s Day #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Fishing – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Cormorant and Ruins – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

A Foggy Day – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Rapid Bay – Fleurieu Peninsular, Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

SUNSETS

It somehow seems appropriate with the ending of mid-Winter and also the seeming end of so much that we may have taken for granted due to the Covid-19 pandemic that this July 2020 retrospective fishes with ‘Sunsets’. These are from a number of locations, including Mt Observation, Port Willunga, and Penny’s Hill Vineyard.

The Barrel – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale (Sony ILCE-7)

Sunset (after Rothko #1) – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Sunset – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Sunset (after Rothko #2) – Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

If you have come this far – THANK YOU.

Just one more, which is a bit of a self-portrait. I saw this piece of ‘Street Art’ at Christies Beach where I was picking up some medication for the local chemist for my tinnitus. I wasn’t feeling the best, not just because of the tinnitus, which is just annoying, but for the fact that after applying for numerous jobs I didn’t get any – only one interview and that wasn’t very pleasant. I connected with this torn and damaged piece of ‘street art’. I took a photo of a section and then later played around with it – this is the result.

In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Torn & Twisted Self-Reflection – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Tony Knight – July 2020 (c.)

APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – SALA 2020: Australian Romanticism

02 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 17TH CENTURY ART, 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, FILM, Film Noir, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, USA, VINEYARDS

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Adelaide, ART, Australia, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA 2020, South Australia, SYDNEY, TRAVEL

1. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: At the Drive-In – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic I was unable to hold my annual photographic exhibition for this years South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA). Subsequently I will present my exhibition via my WordPress website as well as other social media; all 18 photographs in this collection are available for sale via my Bluethumb.com site.

The overall theme for this exhibition is Australian Romanticism. The collection includes ‘Landscapes’, ‘Seascapes’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Night’, and ‘Abstracts’, as well as photographs from on-going series, namely ‘Adelaide Noir’, ‘Through a Window’, ‘Pareidolia’, and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. This later series, exemplified by the above photograph, is an attempt to express the surreal nature of these current times in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sources for inspiration behind this collection are numerous. They include the natural extraordinary beauty of the Australian countryside, as well as influences of major artists; this includes early colonial artists John Glover, German ‘romantic’ artist Caspar David Friedrich, and American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko.

As the above photograph also exemplifies there is often a romantic ‘theatrical’ aspect to my work. Behind all my work is my motto and attempt ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’ Hope you enjoy this collection.

LANDSCAPES

2. Through a Window: Ruined House, Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The old mining town of Silverton is about 25kms north of Broken Hill in the north-western corner of New South Wales. It has often been used as a location for Australian films, including George Miller’s Mad Max series. This photograph is part of the on-going series ‘Through a Window; gazing through a window one can see and imagine numerous possibilities.

3. ‘The Sugarloaf’ – Hallet Cove Conservation Park, Hallet Cove, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘The Sugarloaf’ is one of the most distinctive features of the Hallet Cove Conservation Park, about 21kms south of Adelaide on the Gulf St. Vincent. This extraordinary formation is part of the remnants of an old pre-historic glacier; white sand replaced the ice as the glacier slowly melted 15,000 years ago. Early colonial settlers called it ‘The Sugarloaf’ due to its resemblance to a ‘loaf’ of hardened white sugar.

4. Autumn 2020 – Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens, Mt. Lofty, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Autumn in the Adelaide Hills is simply spectacular! The Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens is a terrific place were one can see this colourful spectacle. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed for most of this Autumn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it re-opened for the final week of Autumn 2020 and I drove up immediately and found this tree that seemed ablaze with Autumn colour.

5. Penny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Penny’s Hill Vineyard is one of the most charming and picturesque established vineyards in the McLaren Vale, approximately 35kms south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsular. There is a strong sense of old England at Penny Hill’s Vineyard, with its sandstone Georgian two-storey main house, as well as these Suffolk ‘black-faced’ sheep.

SEASCAPES

6. Maslin Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Maslin Beach is one of the ‘best beaches’ in Australia. It was also the first nudist beach in Australia, which is at the southern end of the beach. You can just see the small sign on the left of this photograph that states that this is the ‘Unclad’ section of the beach. I took this photograph one cold and stormy Winter’s day. I waited for a break in the cloud, a ‘decisive moment’, when the sun burst through the clouds and lit up the cliff face. Extraordinary.

7. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one early Winter morning at Port Willunga, about 35kms south of Adelaide on the the Gulf St. Vincent. It is part of the on-going series ‘In the Time of “Self-Isolation”‘, and can be seen metaphorically as a reflection of these current times. The cliff face can be representative of the almost overwhelming nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the female walker standing tall but alone against this formidable force.

8. The Conference of the Birds – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken from the Port Noarlunga jetty on a cold early Winter’s day. It looked like this flock of seagulls were debating certain issues; such as, in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic – ‘Where have all the humans gone? Where are out chips?’. Subsequently, in order to find food they would need to brave the cold sea and debating, ‘Well – who’s going in first?’

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination that sees faces in natural and man-made objects. The following photograph is part of my on-going series devoted to this wonderful human phenomena, which is something that unites rather than divides us. Nonetheless, the faces and creatures that one may see in these photographs is up to you.

9. Pareidolia: ‘What Lies Beneath?’ – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘What Lies Beneath?’ – some see a serpent, some see a crocodile, some see a turtle, and some see a ram with a golden fleece – what do you see?

ABSTRACTS

10. ‘Brave New World’ – Austinmer, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken in January 2020 during the height of the Australian Summer Bushfires. Whilst it may seem that this photograph has been ‘doctored’ in some way in actual fact I did very little re post-production. The unique and relatively disturbing colours were due to the continual haze that hung over Austinmer, a beach town on the South Coast of New South Wales, for days and days and days.

11. Ripples – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one Winter morning on Christies Beach, which is about 20kms south of Adelaide. The ripples across the sad reminded me of the work of German illustrator H. R. Giger who created the ‘Alien’ for Ridley Scott.

SUNSETS

12. Sunset #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph and the two following were all taken at respective sunsets at Port Willunga. They are all very different in their own ways, inspired by different artists. The one above is influenced, particularly in terms of colour and tone, by the early Australian colonial artist John Glover.

13. Sunset #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken on Autumn 2020 sunset. This photograph and the one following were influenced by the American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko. They are specifically designed and crafted to encourage and support meditation and reflection, particularly during these challenging times.

14. The Bather – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was also taken one Autumn 2020 sunset. The young woman in the photograph swims every day and in every season the considerable distance from the ruined jetty at the southern end of the Port Willunga beach to the northern headland. As with the previous photograph this is specifically created and designed for meditation and reflection.

15. Bowral ‘Bushfires’ Sunset – Bowral, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one January 2020 sunset at a friend’s place in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales. Whilst all may seem relatively calm and peaceful, nonetheless, this was taken during the height of the catastrophic bushfires that dominated the Australian Summer. The orange glow in the distance is not from the setting sun but from a relatively nearby fire. As my friend and I gazed out over this landscape water helicopters continually flew by and over us.

ADELAIDE NOIR

16. The Beacon – Dolphin Sanctuary, Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at Port Adelaide at the end of Summer 2020. It can be seen as a metaphorical expression of ‘Hope’, referencing the old Australian Labor Party and Christian motto of ‘the beacon the hill’ being a light of hope in the surrounding darkness.

NIGHT – TOWN & COUNTRY

The following two photographs may be taken as continuing the ‘noir’ theme from the above section. However, these two photographs are from two radically different locations – one in a modern Australian city and one in a remote Australian country town.

17. Sydney War Memorial – Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The was taken one still and balmy Summer’s night in late December 2019 in Sydney. Whilst the city was surrounded by Bushfires there was a relatively strange peace and quiet in this place of memorial and reflection.

18. ‘Municipal Chambers’ (in a Dust Storm) – Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one night in early December 2019, in Silverton, in the far north-west of New South Wales – during a furious dust storm. The taking of this photograph was a ‘decisive moment’ and more. I was driving very, very slowly through this dust storm when I noticed the way the ‘Municipal Chambers’ appeared under the respective lights from the moon and nearby lamp, both affected by the haze of the dust storm. With the wind, dust, and rocks whirling around me I positioned my car up against a wall on the opposite side of the street, and with my back against a wall to keep me steady and using the open car door for some protection I took this one shot – which in the end came out rather well – like a Russell Drysdale painting.

If you have read and gazed at all the above I hope you have enjoyed it. I feel I have grown considerably in my development and evolution as an artistic photographer. The future? Who knows – but I am more certain about my artistic eye and aesthetics, which is, unashamedly, ‘Romantic’.

Tony Knight – August 2020.

Tony’s ‘Top Australian Films of All Time’ – #1 – THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906)

02 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, MOVIES, PEOPLE, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS OF ALL TIME:

#1 – THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906)

Emboldened by the recent excellent list of ‘Top Aussie Films of All Time’ put out by the Adelaide Film Festival, I am going to present my Top Australian Films of All Time’. This is not to denigrate the AFF’s list, which was based on popular votes. Subsequently, however, it omitted a number of extremely important and influential films. The oldest film on the list is Charles Chauvel’s JEDDA (1955), which scraped in at #100. There is no other Australian film from the previous 50 years. This is my attempt to address this, beginning with Charles Tait’s THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906),

This is not a great film, but it is an extremely important and influential one. At the time of its first screening and release in Melbourne’s Athenaeum Hall on 26 December 1906, with a running time of approximately 60 minutes, it was the longest running film narrative in world cinema. Subsequently, it claims to be the first feature film as we known them today. It paved the way for what followed. Even the French, who regard themselves as the founders of film, acknowledge the importance of THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG.

Its influence can be seen in a number of ways. This includes being the first of what can be called the genre of ‘bushranger’ films, particularly those about Ned Kelly, of which there are numerous films from 1906 to today. Also, with its locations ranging from the Victorian countryside to the streets of Melbourne, it offers an insight into an early era of Australian history and identity.

To be frank, I am a bit ambivalent about Ned Kelly – mainly because he did kill in cold blood. There is a psychopathic element that I find disturbing. Others see him as an Australian patriot. Whatever the case, he is an Australian icon, holding a mythic status of our own making, which makes him important and unique.

A couple of years I was in ‘Kelly country’ and went to Glenrowan where Ned Kelly and his gang met their fate, and where the final sequence of the film was shot. We were the only ‘white’ Australians visiting the respective sites. Others were ‘new Australians’, including a large Indian family, a couple of whom who were instructing their younger members about Ned Kelly. Why? I don’t really know – but the fact remains that Ned Kelly still has this fascination and compelling force, that is also evident in this film – the first Australian film that deservedly should be in the ‘Top Aussie films of all time’.

The National Film and Sound Archive a number of years ago published a beautifully restored print of what remains of THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG, with an accompanying booklet about the making and reception of the film. This is still available.

MT. LOFTY BOTANIC GARDENS

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ART, Australia, Australian Art, FILM, PARKS & GARDENS, PHOTOGRAPHY, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens

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Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales – South Australian Maritime Museum

24 Thursday May 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 19TH CENTURY ART, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, ENGLISH HISTORY, HISTORY, PEOPLE, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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As part of the South Australian History Festival that has been running throughout May, there is a truly fascinating exhibition at the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide – Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales. This a celebration of the compelling majestic power and beauty of whales.

Part of this exhibition is devoted to the history of ‘whaling’, past and present. Hunting whales, despite its current ‘politically incorrect’ status, was and still is part of human history. Why hunt whales? Many people today, including myself, would find such a thing truly repulsive – and it is! Nonetheless, whilst acknowledging the brutality of ‘whaling’, this exhibition captures the fascination, dependence upon and respect for whales by a number of human groups and tribes, some of which continue to hunt whales today. This includes a few modern indigenous tribes in places such as Indonesia and Greenland, as well as past ‘western’ commercial whaling that inspired artists and writers, including Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

I am most certainly not defending the hunting of whales and ‘whaling’, nonetheless, there is a fascinating mystery, a kind of ‘romanticism’ about ‘whaling’ that is part of past and modern human history. Why? Neither I nor this exhibition has an answer, yet it does exist and is a conundrum – which is partly why this exhibition is so fascinating and well worth a visit. Furthermore, it is a part of South Australian history as Port Adelaide once was a trading centre for commercial whaling in the now distant past. This may be uncomfortable for many who think it should be buried beneath the veneer of the niceness of modern ‘political correctness’ – nonetheless, it remains an historical fact. This exhibition challenges as well as informs without being gory and horrific, adding to its overall impressive value.

Furthermore, there are many other reasons why a visit to the South Australian Maritime Museum is worthwhile. There are numerous artefacts from the past that are fascinating. This includes a series of ‘figureheads’ that once stood proudly at the prow of sailing ships – a lost art form in itself.

Tony Knight

Autumn – Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, Crafters, South Australia

10 Thursday May 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, Adelaide, Australia, Australian Art, IMPRESSIONISM, PARKS & GARDENS, PHOTOGRAPHY, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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autumn

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INDIEN – LAKE INLE, MYANMAR

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ART, ASIAN ART, HISTORY, MYANMAR, PHOTOGRAPHY, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, Uncategorized

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In the mountain range high above Lake Inle lies the ancient town of Indien. From a distance, these stupas appear, making it seem you are approaching a magical ‘Shangri-la’ kingdom. This was indeed once a major Burmese city, on the scale of an equivalent to Angkor Wat – and just as old. It’s a bit of a trek but thoroughly worth it.

Tony Knight

TONY’S TOURS: The Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

30 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in Adelaide, ART, ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Australia, BEACHES, HISTORY, PARKS & GARDENS, PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLIC ART, South Australia, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ART GALLERY, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized, VINEYARDS

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Australia, MOVIES, PHOTOGRAPHY, South Australia, TRAVEL

INTRODUCTION

The Fleurieu Peninsular extends to the immediate south-east of Adelaide. It was named in honour of Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu who was French explorer, by Nicholas Baudin when he was exploring the region in 1802. The name ‘Claret’ seems rather prophetic as this region that encompassed ‘The McClaren Vale’, one of the top wine regions in Australia. This is a short photographic record of a recent trip down to the Fleurieu Peninsula, particularly to the spectacular and rugged coastline, and the magnificent pristine beaches.

DAY 1 – GOOLWA to MASLIN BEACH

GOOLWA

P1080403 Goolwa – Paddle-Steamer and Hindmarsh Bridge

First ‘port of call’ was GOOLWA, at the mouth of the Murray River. Goolwa was once considered as the capital of South Australia due to it being a major port. This included the old paddle-steamers that travelled up and down the Murray River. It was also once known as ‘theNew Orleans of South Australia’, which conjures up all kinds of hedonistic possibilities. Now, however, Goolwa is a relatively quiet country town, a popular place for tourists to visit and perhaps catch a glimpse of the by-gone time.

PORT ELIOT – VICTOR HARBOUR – ENCOUNTER BAY

Encounter Bay – South Australia

From GOOLWA we drove west to PORT ELIOT and to the headland, granting a spectacular view of the coastline, including Victor Harbour and Encounter Bay. In the late-nineteenth century, the connection between Goolwa, Port Eliot and Victor Harbour was quite significant. There are remnants of this by-gone ear, old sandstone houses and hotels, and even an old steam train that still runs between the three towns. The rest is very much tourists and retirees townhouses, that are not particularly attractive. The best part is the beaches and coastal walks.

KINGS BEACH

The headland is the remains of an old glacier, thousands of years old, which accounts for the unique rock formation.

Kings Beach

Granite Island – Encounter Bay

Just beyond Victor Harbour, at the western promontory, there is this wonderful coastal walk. The coastline is rugged with some startling, almost pre-historic rock shapes, and there are tales of shipwrecks and drownings that are marked along the path. It kept reminding us of parts of Cornwall in the UK, with one lonely sandstone house set amongst the hillside that runs down the coast.

DEEP CREEK

P1080437 Deep Creek – Walk

We drove further west along the coast and started the walk to Deep Creek Beach, which marks the beginning of the ‘Heysen Trail’ that goes all the way to Cape Jervis. We only did part of this walk, which as you can see was rather steep, uphill and downhill. Nonetheless, the view was fantastic – and as you gazed south all you could think was ‘next stop Antartica’.

MASLIN BEACH

MALSIN BEACH in the Gulf St. Vincent was recently named amongst the ‘Top 10’ beaches in Australia. It easy to see why as it is quite unique with its impressive cliff face. We arrived at sunset and walked along the beach to the ‘Unclad’ section. Maslin Beach was the first official ‘nudist’ beach in Australia – we did not venture into that

Maslin Beach

Maslin Beach – Wedding

Maslin Beach – ‘Unclad’

Onkaparinga River – Maslin Beach

Maslin Beach

DAY 2 – PORT WILLUNGA to ADELAIDE

We started the next part of our journey through the Fleurieu Peninsula by visiting PORT WILLUNGA. This was another old sea-port that serviced Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula. The only remnants left of that ear are the weathered posts of the old jetty and the man-made caves in the cliff-face. There is also the ship-wreck 200m of the coast of the ‘Star of Greece, which went down in 1888.

PORT WILLUNGA

Port Willunga

From Port Willunga, we drove inland to the PRIMO ESTATE VINEYARD.

Primo Estate

And then to PORT NOARLUNGA, which is a beach suburb of the City of Onkaparinga; very popular with families and tourists. We bought a couple of delicious hamburgers from a local (Thai) restaurant and devoured them on the beach.

PORT NOARLUNGA

P1080474 Port Noarlunga

Like anywhere in Australia there are always fantastic and fantastical ‘street art’, which includes advertisements, murals, and shop window displays.

We returned to Adelaide and went to the South Australian Art Gallery, then walked through the Botanic Gardens before returning to the Rose Park apartment for another beautiful sunset.

ADELAIDE

Biennale – Art Gallery of South Australia

Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Rose Park – Adelaide

TONY KNIGHT

JOURNEY THROUGH A WINDOW – The Re-Discovery of Worth

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, Australia, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, HISTORY, MYANMAR, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLIC ART, STATUES, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, Uncategorized

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Journey, Re-Invention, Self, Spiritual

INTRODUCTION

Looking through a window, any window, is to gaze on a number of possibilities – some good, some bad. Stepping through that window, by choice or by force, means engagement – some good, some bad. Either way, it is a journey – from the scourging of a past life to a re-birth, a re-awakening, and a re-discovery of self-worth. This was my journey over the past several years, represented and exemplified by the following photographs.

Through a Window: Inneston, Innes National Park, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

PROLOGUE

Everyone faces, at least at one point in their life, an experience that wipes away a past life. This can be quite painful and devastating, combined with feeling like one is going through a ritualistic cleansing – a scourging of fire and water.

Prologue: The Scourging of Flaming Waters – Fountain, Brisbane, Queensland

ACT 1: RE-BIRTH & RE-AWAKENING

After the scourging comes the re-birth and re-awakening. We greet the new day with a smile in the hope of better life.

Re-Awakening: Sunrise – Maslin Beach, South Australia

We look around our immediate environment and notice the ruination. Feelings of being confined and trapped complement a sense of isolation.

Re-Awakening: Isolation – Port Willunga, South Australia

We rise to face the day. Gazing into what seems vast as well as beautiful there is the juxtaposition of various figures and positions that reflect our current sense of self.

Re-Awakening: Moon, Sky, Sea, Sand, Rock – Maslin Beach, South Australia

ACT 2: SOLACE

We need to accept what was and move forward to what may be. In order to do that we must seek solace; to calm, to nurture and re-nourish, to be inspired and to re-invent. This place of solace can be nature, a place of religious worship, and in art galleries. In all cases, it is a source of spiritual solace as well as slowly but steadily re-connecting with a living world.

Solace: Nature – Dancing Trees – Murdoch Walk, Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia

Solace: Spiritual – St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia

Solace: Art – National Museum of Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

ACT 3: INSPIRATION

In these places of solace, there is always the possibility of being inspired by something – such as a work of art. Emerging from these places, hopefully re-nourished, you are more open to the wonders and beauty that surrounds you on the street.

In Adelaide, there is wonderful ‘Street Art’, which is often breathtaking in beauty as well as scale. This includes the first work of ‘Public (Street) Art’ in Adelaide, which is a statue, a copy of Canova’s ‘Venus’. It was first unveiled in 1892, and caused a minor scandal due to its nudity and conservative tastes and morals of the time. It shows the goddess Venus stepping from a bath and being surprised; by what or by whom is up to the imagination of the gazer.

In the contemporary ‘Street Art’ of Adelaide there are numerous other re-imagings of a modern ‘Venus’, which can be found down laneways, and even in car parks, such as this one by Adelaide Street Artist Jimmy.C.

10. ACT 3 - INSPIRATION - STREET ART - Canova's Venus

11. ACT 3 - INSPIRATION - STREET ART - VENUS

Inspiration: Canova’s ‘Venus’ – North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia; Jimmy.C’s ‘Venus’ – Rundle Street, Kent Town, Adelaide, South Australia

ACT 4: RE-INVENTING

From the nurturing honeyed waters of solace and inspiration, the re-invention of self begins.

Re-Inventing: Honeyed Waters – Fountain, Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales

Re-invention means re-engaging, and the realization that there really is, as Shakespeare’s says, ‘a world elsewhere’. There are multiple worlds, none of them perfect, in which one can find inspiration, hope, and adventure. Looking out, not in, moving forward by accepting the past and the present for what it is…and the next journey begins.

Re-Inventing: Adventure – Temples, Indien, Lake Inle, Myanmar

Re-Inventing: Adventure – Cow & Temples, Bagan, Myanmar

Re-Inventing: Adventure – Fisherman, Lake Inle, Myanmar

Re-Inventing: Adventure – Temple Entrance, Bagan, Myanmar

EPILOGUE: The New Self

Photography was a major source of re-invention for me. After the devastation and sense of isolation and abandonment, I discovered a means to release a dormant creativity. I thank the various people involved in helping me to re-invent my fractured self in a way that I never knew could be possible.

The New Self: Portrait – Sie and I

‘Never Stop Believing’ and continue ‘Making the Ordinary “Extraordinary”

TONY KNIGHT

TONY’S MOVIES: HELL IN THE PACIFIC (1968)

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, AMERICAN DRAMA IN THE 1950S, ART, FILM, HISTORY, MOVIES, PEOPLE, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, Uncategorized

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1968, Hell in the Pacific, John Boorman, Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune

John Boorman’s Hell in the Pacific is a curious WW2 film involving just two actors, Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune, playing respectively marooned soldiers on a deserted island in the Pacific. It is an extremely intense film, heightened by the language barrier that naturally exists between the two characters. Initially antagonistic towards one another the two characters find common ground in their mutual battle for survival. The rather abrupt ending is a bit disconcerting but it does leave one contemplating how it could end other than tragically. It is war that drove these two characters apart, it is the struggle for life that brings them together, and it is the return of war that finally destroys them.

John Boorman made this film in 1968, following his previous film with Lee Marvin, the excellent crime drama, Point Blank (1967), and four years before his masterwork Deliverance (1972). The film was shot in Rock Islands near Paulu, in the Philippine Sea. Unfortunately, the film did not do well at the box-office, but it is a film that I would recommend one to see. I like John Boorman’s films – they are not always absolutely perfect but they are always imaginative, intense and provocative, and invariably involve characters out of their so-called ‘comfort-zones’, in hostile worlds in which the battle for survival is paramount – such is the case with Hell in the Pacific. Furthermore, Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune are absolutely terrific.

Toshiro Mifune is one of my favourite actors of the twentieth century cinema. He did not make many ‘Western’ films, but as has been acknowledged Hell in the Pacific perhaps comes the closest in capturing Toshiro Mifune’s extraordinary screen presence, power and charisma that is so easily seen in the many masterpieces he did in Japan, especially with Akiro Kurosawa. I also recently watched Kurosawa’s film Scandal (1950), which stars Toshiro Mifune – and it is fantastic! I may be sounding like a obsessive fan but that old cliche that ‘he could make reading a telephone book interesting’ is one that I would certainly give to Toshiro Mifune.