portfolio reviews

When

Thurs September 3rd 10am - 4pm

Friday September 4th 10am - 4pm

Portfolio Review Kit

The portfolio review kit is now available for download. Click the menu button on the left.

It’s a kind of speed dating for photographers. Participants get to show their work and gain valuable feedback on their portfolios from career influential reviewers such as Gallery owners, publishers, picture and magazine editors, academics , curators and festival directors drawn from across Australia and the world.

Photographers pay a fee for a number of 20 minute one-on-one sessions with the reviewers of their choice to show their work for feedback and advice.

The fee for BIFB 2009 is $125 per day for four x 20 minute sessions, or $200 for both days or 8 x 20 minute sessions.

Where

Venue St Patricks Community Hall,

Dawson Street South, Ballarat

Reviewers

Laura Beilby Festival manager, Foto Freo, Fremantle WA [Available both days]

Laura Beilby is the Festival Manager for FotoFreo, the international festival of photography based in Fremantle, Western Australia where she is involved with exhibition and event programming. From 2001 to 2004 Laura worked for Magnum Photos in both their London and Paris offices as their Online and Archive Director, editing images for their internal press, publishing, advertising and corporate departments. In 2005 she worked with French photographer Marc Riboud overseeing his fine art print and archive sales as well as managing the touring of his exhibitions both in Europe and internationally. She worked concurrently with renowned American photo editor John G. Morris, preparing his career archive. Since 2006 Laura has also been consulting internationally with a number of photo organizations

interested in reviewing

Photo documentary, editorial, conceptual and fine art, work with a strong personal signature, portraiture

not interested in reviewing

commercial, nudes, mixed media

Anthony Browell. Photographer, Sydney

[Available both days}

I have practiced photography of all illustrative genres since 1970, mainly in Sydney, have been exhibiting since 2000, at Stills, Point Light, Michael Nagy and other Sydney galleries, and since 2005, I have been working with large-format pinhole cameras on all my personal work. Portraiture is my core genre, both professionally and personally, and I find this the most challenging, and the most rewarding, kind of photography.

I was on the Portfolio Review panel at Daylesford 2007, and have also exhibited at Daylesford in 2005. In 2008, I visited the Rencontres d’Arles in France, and was myself a reviewee during the festival.

interested in reviewing

Fine Art, Photo-Documentary, Editorial, work with a strong personal signature, series of photographs making up one work, bodies of personal work, prefer seeing traditionally processed work, landscapes and nudes with a difference, any work with personal ideas, where the imagery is more important than the craft

not interested in reviewing

Commercial, weddings, still-life, fashion, anything too highly crafted or manipulated

Sally Brownbill. Commercial Folio consultant Melbourne [Available both days}

I trained as a commercial photographer at RMIT, worked in the UK and came back to Australia where I began my own agency representing some of Melbourne’s top photographers. I also started working with Designers, Art Directors and Copywriters. Throughout this time I lectured students on the commercial photography industry for 13 years at RMIT.

Now I lecture to a variety of photographers over various courses. I also work on generating new business for a design studio in Prahran and I design folios for photographers who are at varying stages of their careers but are looking for an edgy approach in creating a commercial folio. My work extends to equipping them with marketing strategies which include web design and branding if needed

interested in reviewing

Any folios that are based on Commercial work including personal and editorial.

not interested in reviewing

Fine Art, mixed media

Naomi Cass Director CCP Melbourne [available Thursday only]

In 2005 Naomi oversaw relocation of CCP, a membership organisation, to purpose designed premises. During her period as Director, curatorial projects include Echo: Sounding out Contemporary Photography Deloitte Melbourne (with Rebecca Chew) and Scanned and Drawn Melbourne Art Fair (with Karra Rees), and catalogue essays ‘Playing the scanner’ Chantal Faust Pleasure Machines (VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery),Sixth Leica/CCP Documentary Photography Award (Centre for Contemporary Photography). Awards judged during this period include: Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award 2009; 2007 National Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra; 2005 Leica/CCP Documentary Photography Award; 2005 Albury Regional Art Gallery Photography Awards and 2004 Citibank Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales and is nominator to the Prix Pictet Prize. Naomi Cass regularly gives presentations, contributes to CCP publications, is an external assessor and contributes to public fora on photography and contemporary art.

interested in reviewing

Fine art only

Brian Gilkes. Principle Pharos Editions St Andrews [Available both days}

Fine printer for national and international artists. Master printer at pharos editions. Research interests in human perception and pathways toward print perfection for concept communication, visual language. All techniques including mixed media.. …. Current work includes advising artists on exhibiting and promotional strategies, techniques and suggesting print sales values . Background includes traditional and alternative printmaking practices including silver , iron (eg platinum), bichromate (eg dye transfer), and electro-galvanic (eg intaglio) processes. Currently working in digital inkjet for exhibitions and artist’s books.

interested in reviewing

Fine art prints and artist’s books, all techniques including mixed media

not interested in reviewing

Happy to look at anything

Dianna Gold Director Gallery 101 Collins St

[Available both days}

Dianna Gold is a fine arts consultant with a background in Arts and Education. She has participated as a Board Member of the following Institutions; National Board of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association, the Inaugural Board of Friends and Benefactors Dep. Design and Communication RMIT, the Advisory Board of Deakin University as an Industry consultant to develop the Bachelor degree of Contemporary Art. She has also developed the Public Art collection at 101 Collins Street, has judged many art prizes and has also given lectures on professional development to graduating visual arts students. Dianna has a particular interest Photography and has curated the last exhibition of Mark Strizic and is currently representing seven photographic artists at Gallery 101.

interested in reviewing

Fine Art and Photodocumentary. No preference for Styles

not interested in reviewing

editorial, commercial

Linda Groom. Curator of Pictures, National Library Canberra [Available both days}

Linda Groom is responsible for the purchase of documentary photographs for the National Library’s pictures collection. The library presently acquires photos from dozens of Australian photographers and would like to expand this

interested in reviewing

Documentary, editorial, social commentary, portraits

not interested in reviewing

Happy to look at anything

David Hagger Studio manager, Dickerson Gallery Melbourne [Available both days}

Perth born gallery manager and art curator David Hagger completed a Bachelor of Arts (Design) at Curtin University of Technology in 1998. From 2001, Hagger worked part time for Dickerson Gallery Sydney, assisting in curatorial and exhibition installations before joining them as manager in 2005. He has since then relocated to manage Dickerson Gallery Melbourne, where he curates over 20 exhibitions in a calendar year. He has been closely involved with a number of Australia’s most important art fairs, as a consultant, judge, guide and representative for his own gallery. For two years he presented a monthly arts segment on Declan Kelly’s Against the Arctic radio show, aired on local public radio station 3RRR. Hagger is also a freelance writer, graphic and website designer.

interested in reviewing

A strong preference for fine art. Photo documentary, strong personal signature also of interest.

not interested in reviewing

Happy to look at anything

Adam Harding Director Horsham Regional Art Gallery [Available both days}

Adam Harding has recently been appointed Director, Horsham Regional Art Gallery, where he aims to continue this institutions commitment to the collection and presentation of the best Australian photographic based practice. Harding is a firm believer in the gallery as a place of ideas and has an interest in social commentary; “one of the best ways to survey the state of the nation is to see it through the eyes of its artists”. He is particularly interested where the presentation and production of contemporary photography meets the traditions of printmaking and how the conventions of documenting this process are developing.

interested in reviewing

fine art, photo documentary, editorial

not interested in reviewing

traditional landscapes, nudes, commercial

Merle Hathaway Director Victorian Public Galleries Association [Available both days}

When a child, my piano teacher told me that I was a jack of all trades and master of none, and it’s probably still true! Currently I am Executive Officer of the Public Art Galleries Association of Victoria, based at the NGV, Federation Square. Prior to this I was Director of Horsham Regional Art Gallery and assisted in building the photographic collection. I organised many photographic exhibitions there including curation and touring Cross Section: the Documentary Photography of Charles Page to 9 venues in 3 states and instigated and managed the 13 venue tour of Phiction: lies, illusion and the phantasm in photography.

interested in reviewing

No preference – happy to look at anything

Shaune Lakin Director Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne [available Friday only]

Gallery Director MGA, formerly senior curator of photographs at the Australian War Memorial Canberra and curator of international painting and sculpture at the National Gallery of Victoria

interested in reviewing

most styles of work

not interested in reviewing

commercial

Julie Millowick BIFB Inc President [Available both days}

Julie Millowick is a working photographer, with a long history in corporate and documentary photography

She is Lecturer in Charge of the Photojournalism Unit at La Trobe University, Bendigo.

Julie has work in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, The State Library of Victoria, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

interested in reviewing

fine art, documentary, work with a strong personal signature

not interested in reviewing

nudes, digital manipulations

Simon O’Dwyer Senior Photographer, The Age

[Available both days}

Simon O’Dwyer began his career on The Warrnambool Standard in 1986 before joining The Age Newspaper as staff photographer in 1994. After 12 years on the road covering news and features O'Dwyer took the position of photographic editor for 1 year and photographic editor of The Sunday Age in 2007 - 2008. At present O’Dwyer is back on the road photographing for the Sunday Age Newspaper. “What draws me to pick up a camera each day is the mystery that newspapers provide and the stories you move through. Some are big and public others small and personal, but they both carry the same weight. Time photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, once defined the photojournalist’s task as this: to “find and catch the storytelling moment.” When not shooting for The Sunday Age, O'Dwyer works on personal projects for exhibition.

interested in reviewing

Photojournalism and fine art

not interested in reviewing

Commercial and fashion photography

Thomas Roessler BIFB’09 Core Program artist, Germany [Available both days}

After being trained in the field of advertising photography I studied Graphic-Design and Visualcommunication at School of Applied Arts, Mannheim and Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.Later on I studied Visual Arts at University of Arts, Saarbruecken. Photography is one of my artistic media among others like drawing, environmental installation and performance-art. I am fascinated by photography, because this medium has a very strong connection to reality. My photographic work can be looked upon as “documentary” though I don't like this term. For me, art begins behind the border of speakability, and of safe knowledge. The borderline is very close.It is easy to step across and to start an adventure on the white spots on our mental landscape, which are actually not spots but universes. Being an artist means to live with the risk of failure. If there is no more risk, you won't be able to produce a work of art.

interested in reviewing

Fine art: yes; photo documentary: yes; work with a strong personal signature: yes; editorial and commercial: perhaps. I'd enjoy to see all kind of work and to talk to any colleague, who is confronting himself/herself with the risk, who is trying to find his own path and to explore those white spots. I'm looking forward to discuss your artistic concepts, our different points of view on our medium or various new ways of presenting works and concepts to the public.

not interested in reviewing

happy to look at anything

Madeline Say State Library of Victoria

[Available both days]

I have been the Picture Librarian at the State Library since 2002. I manage a collection of over 1 million items, with an estimated 70% being in photographic formats. Working with this collection I have had to develop some knowledge of photographic formats and photographic history. The collection contains all types of photography, and I am privileged to have access to this material.

The aim of the collection is to document the social history of Victoria. I am in charge of collection development, and as a public institution I must justify the purchase, or donation of material under the collection development policy, that is as social documents, which help build a collection documenting the lives of all Victorians

interested in reviewing

Photo documentary, editorial work. Suitable for public collections

not interested in reviewing

Not qualified to comment on Fine art photography, or printing techniques

Lauren Simonutti BIFB’09 Core Program artist, Baltimore USA [Available both days}

I souped my first roll of film 25 years ago this September. I took my first picture at 3 1/2 (a little fuzzy but not badly composed), did my first photo essay at 12 (not successful) and began formal study at 14. I am a devoted traditional black and white film shooter and darkroom printer. I shoot large format (4x5, 5x7, and 8x10) and contact print as I believe that gives the greatest sharpness and detail one can be afforded. I have developed a series of printing techniques to attain the tonality and mood that best suits the image and I mix my own toners from raw chemistry so I can attain a variety of effects not available with store bought. I have an extensive portfolio relating a variety of tales and a solid publication record. I intend to stay loyal to silver even though it requires chasing down suppliers. It is worth the effort. I was the book buyer at the International Center of Photography in NYC for 7 years and have amassed an extensive visual library which has served me well and taught me to assess and critique.

interested in reviewing

I am adept at comprehending and providing constructive criticism in any genre and would be happy to look at any range of work

Susan Van Wyk Curator photography, National Gallery of Victoria [Available both days}

Susan van Wyk has been a curator in the Department of Photography at the National Gallery of Victoria since 1989. She has curated numerous exhibitions of Australian and international photography, including the recent Rennie Ellis

retrospective. She is the author of No Standing Only Dancing: Photographs by Rennie Ellis, The Paris End: Photography Fashion and Glamour, and co-author of Second Sight: Australian Photography in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. She has also written numerous exhibition catalogues, and contributed to Australian and international journals and publications.

interested in reviewing

Fine art, photo documentary, editorial

not interested in reviewing

happy to look at anything

Michael Wennrich Photography Lecturer RMIT [Available both days]

I have been involved in Photographic Education for the past 38 years and have a strong background in Advertising Illustration and Fashion Photography. My personal involvement with Landscape Photography has also been considerable. I have worked both in Europe and the USA, both as an Educator and a Photographer. I would be happy to review most categories of photographic work – other than mixed media. Having a predominant love of the traditional analogue image for the past 44 years allows me to view the newer technologies with a different eye and critical appreciation occasionally lacking in younger viewers. I still have an abiding love of both the craft and the

creativity of the Medium.

interested in reviewing

fine art, photo documentary, editorial, commercial, work with a strong personal signature

not interested in reviewing

mixed media

new addition to review panel

Elda Harrington Festival Director Argentina [Available both days]

Elda Harrington is the Director of Encuentros Abiertos (Argentine’s Photofestival) since 1989 and the director of the Argentine School of Photography since 1987. She is also the president of Luz Austral Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting photography in Argentina. Ms. Harrington is an international curator and an independent photographer.

She can provide an opportunity for invitations to exhibit and participate at the Encuentros Abiertos-Festival of Light in Argentina.

interested in reviewing

innovative and new media bodies of works, and also classical black and white works.

She is looking forward to see works on “Migration” searching for new material for the Festival 2010 in Argentina. For more info visit:…www.encuentrosabiertos.com.ar

not interested in reviewing

commercial works, photojournalism and nudes

When you have registered and paid for your portfolio reviews you will be issued with a form to book sessions with your preferred reviewers. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. If you require any further info regarding BIFB’09 Portfolio Reviews send an email to kristin[at]ballaratfoto.org