This time I’ll try to bring a piece of hot and bright Australia into your heart (it is especially topical when we all are waiting for the spring to come soon and are so tired of frost and snow). Many people say that it is unnecessary to be a good professional in photography if you have plenty of beautiful landscapes, deeply-tanned bodies on the beach and a good camera. Max Dupain (1911-1992) succeeded in bringing this stereotype into challenge. Max Dupain was the iconic Australian photographer of the 20th century. He was known for his progressive style and innovation in black & white photography. His beach photographs, cityscapes and landscapes evoke a period long gone, but despite the inexorable passage of time, they are still Australian. Finely balanced both in composition and in thought, in aesthetic and artistic value, his pictures seem to be very provocative and by some extent influenced by modernism. Dupain began life, lived and died in Sydney. Throughout his life he traveled overseas rarely and within Australia only when there were commissioned photographs to be taken. Among all the pictures he took in his country, hundreds of negatives shared one and the same theme – they ensured perpetuation of beauty of Australian cities, mainly Sydney. He was fascinated, not only with the streets and the bustling commuters but also with the architecture. The ever-changing Sydney skyline and streetscape of 50 years ago were represented in these negatives. The images here reflect a quieter, smaller city than the present one although one of Dupain's favourite man-made features, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, still occupies the city's centre of attention.
“Without light there is no photography. It is the inspiration and life-giver to the photographic image” (Max Dupain, 1988) Dupain's first motivation in sizing up a photograph was the position of the light, choosing the best part of the day to give the picture the drama for which he became known. The viewpoint - often the 'birds-eye' perspective with low raking light - is also peculiar. What hits the eye most of all is Dupain’s admiration of human body. He made use of shades and light to accentuate flawless contours of his sitters. Sometimes it seems that the bodies themselves emit light and warmth which imbues every picture with softness and produces the effect of slight edge fuzziness. The photographer stressed simplicity and directness in his works, creating images of sharp focus, boldness and graphic composition. In 1982, Dupain was honoured with an Order of the British Empire, and in 1983 he was awarded a life membership with The Royal Australian Institute of Architects. He was both a past master in photography and a very talented person in other spheres of art and life. Shortly before his death, Max Dupain said: “All my working life I have tried to keep the exercise of photography to myself and show the inner meanings of chosen subjects in an abstract way by giving my personal interpretation”. And this interpretation continues to heat the imagination of all his fans and amateurs in photography.
The posted photos really make the onlooker fascinated with the beauty of the scene. These photos make me think of the world as a place of creative human thought, so penetrating and poly-directional, so simple and easy to grasp, so great and valid. Great pictures!
Yes, the world of photography is the world for those who can develop their imagination to such an extent that they can already take pictures in their minds. To produce a photo means to make use of the objects of reality. In this sense, photography is much more complicated than painting where an artist may express things which do not exist in reality. And a photographer must pick out and arrange the real objects so that they produce the desirable artistic effect.
