Monthly Archive for March, 2010

Trainspotting photo competition closes today

Published by Paula Bray on March 31, 2010 1 Comment Tags: Flickr, photo competition, trainspotting.

Today is the last day that you can enter a photograph into our new photography competition Trainspotting. We are delighted with the number of great entries that we have received with nearly 2000 images via our Flickr group. There are 6 categories that you can enter an image into and we will accept up to three images per person for each category.

We are judging the competition on Thursday the 1st of April and the winners will be announced on Saturday the 17th April at the Hunter Valley Steamfest, on Flickr and I will do a special blog post on the winner as well.

Good luck!

The image above shows a section of Steam Locomotive 3265 that was taken at a volunteer’s event at Eveleigh on 10th September 2009

Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

A procession of troops

Published by Paula Bray on March 30, 2010 0 Comments

On 1 January Sydney celebrated Australia becoming a Federation by hosting a grand procession through its streets. In this image of the Australian Federation celebrations we can see a procession of troops marching down George Street. On either side they are flanked by spectators who can also be seen hanging from the windows and lining the top of the shop awnings.

No known copyright restrictions
Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator

Australian buncheong

Published by Kathy Hackett on March 29, 2010 0 Comments Tags: ceramic artists, clay, feet.

To be a true ceramic artist, one must be able to understand the nature of earth, and based on this understanding, one must encounter the clay as if it was his lover… I use Australian clay, which is different from Korean clay…it contains calcium, feldspar and iron, which lower the temperature and impart colour… so my work is uniquely Australian.
Won-Seok Kim

Won-Seok Kim is a Korean Australian ceramic artist who has been making his buncheong wares in Australia for more than 20 years. Buncheong, literally meaning ‘pottery decorated with white slip and covered in a pale bluish-green glaze’, is a type of ceramic developed in Korea during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Won-Seok remains loyal to the traditional concept of being a master potter or jang-in. Jang-in devote most of their time to mastering potter’s skills. Sometimes, the process is more important than the product. In making ceramics, jang-in first learn to understand the nature of the material.

This photograph of Won-Seok kneading clay with his feet was taken at the artist’s Mangrove Mountain studio by Powerhouse Museum photographer Sue Stafford in 2000.

Thanks to Min-Jung Kim, Curator of Asian Decorative Arts & Design, for information on Won-Seok Kim.

Photography by Sue Stafford
© All rights reserved

Modern Times: Flickr group highlight

Published by Paula Bray on March 28, 2010 0 Comments Tags: architecture, Flickr group, HDR, modern times.

This great shot was taken by one of the members in our Modern Times group on Flickr. This curious piece of architecture is actually the exhaust tower of the Clem 7 Tunnel in Brisbane which, according to the Brisbane Times is the “first new crossing of the Brisbane River since 1986 when the Gateway Bridge was opened.”

Our group on Flickr is dedicated to the Flickr community sharing their interpretation of modernism in Australia from a contemporary perspective. This image immediately took my attention through the HDR use that has emphasized the purple components of the exterior. Of course exhaust fume stacks don’t come without their fare share of criticism as has been reported by the Couriermail about the Clem 7 tunnel exhaust .

Photography by Wojtek Gurak
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic

Earth Hour -perfect time for a candlelight dinner

Published by Iwona Hetherington on March 27, 2010 0 Comments Tags: bar, climate change, environment, global action.

Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 and became a global phenomenon a year later with over 50 million people across 35 countries participating in the initiative. In 2009 number of countries that signed up for the idea more than doubled. Most certainly global support for Earth Hour will again increase this year with many special events planned in Australia and globally. I would imagine that the biggest challenge for the WWF, who initiated and organizes the event, is to encourage people to go beyond the symbolism of turning off the lights for one hour a year and commit to more sustainable living all year round.
Without a doubt tonight is one of the best nights to plan a candlelight dinner. The above staged photograph was taken at the Sydney Hilton Bar in 1990 for our previous exhibition Mind and Body.

Photography by the Powerhouse Museum
© All rights reserved

Procession

Published by Iwona Hetherington on March 26, 2010 0 Comments Tags: Catholicism, religion.

This photograph is a part of the Tom Lennon photographic collection. It was taken in the early 1930s, most probably at the St Pius V Catholic Church in Enmore.

The fact that the young girls in the picture are holding baskets and scattering flower petals in front of a priest carrying a Blessed Sacrament would indicate that it might have been a Corpus Christi procession. The Feast of Corpus Christi is a moveable feast celebrated by Catholics annually on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The history of Corpus Christi (Latin for ‘the body of Christ’) goes back to the thirteen century and it was celebrated with a particular festivity in medieval Europe, when elements of liturgy, folklore, drama and music were brought together in a carnival-like spectacle.

Photography by Tom Lennon
No known copyright restrictions

George St, Looking South

Published by Kathy Hackett on March 25, 2010 1 Comment Tags: Kodak, Sydney, Sydney streets, The Strand Arcade.

The beau monde, in Sydney, is seen to advantage in the better part of George Street at four or five o’clock in the afternoon. At that time, numbers of fashionably dressed ladies and smartly attired gentlemen promenade the street, making one forget that business is still in full swing. Before six o’clock, when the omnibuses and tram-cars are crowded with the commercial population bent for home, the gay scene has vanished, and the street is comparatively quiet.
Dougls Gane, New South Wales and Victoria in 1885, London, Sampson Low, Marsten, Searle and Rivington, 1886, p.108.

On the left hand side of this image is the exterior of the Strand Arcade, designed by English architect John Spencer and opened in 1892.

Photography by Kerry & Co., Tyrrell Collection
No known copyright restrictions

One week left to enter Trainspotting photo competition

Published by Paula Bray on March 24, 2010 0 Comments Tags: Flickr, Loco 3830, photography competition, steam, trains, trainspotting.

There is only one week left to enter our new photographic competition Trainspotting that you can enter online via our Powerhouse Museum photo competition group on Flickr or via post, details are on our website. We have had over 900 images added to our group on Flickr from over 300 members and we are enjoying seeing these images come through on a daily basis. We have a number of categories that you can submit images into with a winner being selected from each category plus one overall winner. We are also holding an exhibition of the winning entrants along with a selection of highly commended photographs.

The above image was taken by a former Museum photographer that shows the restoration of Loco 3830 at Eveleigh railway workshop, Redfern, NSW.

Photography by Scott Donkin
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

A camel train: beasts of burden in hot dry areas

Published by Paula Bray on March 23, 2010 2 Comments

Camels were introduced to Australia in 1840. They were a reliable form of transport in dry inland areas of the country. A camel train is shown here carrying goods alond the Wanaaring Road, north-west of Bourke, NSW.

Many camels were released into the wild in the mid 1920s when railways and trucks became widely used for freight transport. Aerial surveys indicate that there are currently more than 600,000 feral camels in arid and semi-arid areas of the country. Australia now exports live camels and camel meat to the world.

Photography by Charles Kerry Studio
No known copyright restrictions
Post by Sandra McEwen, Principal Curator

Bob Lucas archive collection joins the Commons

Published by Paula Bray on March 22, 2010 0 Comments Tags: Bob Lucas, cinema, Flickr Commons, hotel, Singapore.

Cathay Cinema and Hotel by day, Singapore, 1954, originally uploaded by Powerhouse Museum Collection.

We have just loaded another batch to the Commons on Flickr that includes a selection of images from the Bob Lucas archive collection that consists of 56 photos including high quality commercial photographic prints of now demolished cinema interiors such as ‘The Regent’ / ‘Plaza Talkies’ (Melbourne) and this wonderful building of the Cathay Cinema and Hotel in Singapore

Our database states: The Robert James Lucas archive contains documents that illustrate the donor’s life and career in cinema exhibition from the mid 1920s to the late 1980s and offer a highly detailed and personal insight into the activities of a chief technical officer of a premier cinema chain.

Robert Lucas commenced work as a lolly boy at the Haymarket theatre in the mid 1920s and was employed by MGM in the late 1920s. Robert remained an employee of MGM for 45 years until his retirement in 1973 as the chief technical officer.’

The image above was taken in Singapore in 1954 and shows the exterior design with signage for the film being shown, the MGM film “Knights of the Round Table”. The 17-storey art-deco Cathay Building was completed in October 1939 and was, at that time, the tallest building in South-East Asia with a 1,300-seat cinema and a hotel tower block

No known copyright restrictions.

About Photo of the Day

The Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the Day blog features a new image each day, chosen from the Powerhouse Photo Library.

The majority of these images have been taken by Museum photographers for a variety of purposes such as use in exhibitions and publicity, and to record the many aspects and activities of the Museum - from public events, programs and exhibitions to behind-the-scenes and location shots. We also highlight certain photographic objects from our collection.

The licensing of each image varies however we are trying to release as many as possible under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 license.