Figure & Form Issue 004 2015 (+18)

ISSUE NO. 4

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C A M AT T R E E

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W W W. A R T Z I N E S . C O M / F I G U R E

ABANDONED

ABANDONED Photographers in general seem to be fascinated with the abandoned, deserted, forgotten, discarded and decaying. We often spend countless hours searching for and exploring old houses, factories, shopping centers and vehicles etc. which have been left to ruin. As an art nude photographer I’m drawn to the juxtaposition of the human form against the abandoned. Soft and beautiful versus harsh and ugly. Life verses death, growth versus decay. There are a number of themes to explore with this subject matter depending on your view point and it’s certainly one I am keen to explore in more depth. Living in Australia, being such a young country, however; it’s often difficult to find abandoned buildings. With a civilized history spanning only a little over 200 years compared to half a dozen centuries or more in parts of Europe, Australia just doesn’t have that many old buildings and even less that have been deserted. Hopefully sometime I will get the opportunity to explore and photograph in some very old and decayed places around the world.

MEA CULPA

Located in rural New South Wales, this old shearing shed was a beautiful location to shoot some natural light art nude images with Brisbane model Mea Culpa. Mea is quite a tall model with a very athletic build and her ability to pose within her environment is very refined. Equipment: Nikon D3 / AFS Nikon 24 70mm f2.8 / AFS Nikon 70 200mm f2.8 VR II Nikon D300 (Infrared converted) / AFS Nikon 17 55mm f2.8

THE MINER’S WIFE WITH ANOUSH ANOU. This series of images was taken at one of the old buildings at George’s Gold Mine near Moleton NSW in the Coffs Harbor hinterland. As I was photographing Anoush, I asked her to imagine herself as the gold miner’s wife, waiting for him to arrive home after a long day down the mine. All I can say is he would have been one very lucky miner! Equipment: Nikon D4 / AFS Nikkor 70 200mm f2.8 VR II

GHOST TOWN WITH ANNE DUFFY Acland is a virtually deserted (aside from one last resident) coal mining town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, not too far from Toowoomba. The mine at Acland was Queensland’s “oldest and smallest continuously worked coal mine” at the time of its closure in 1984. Only a small number of houses, an old church and school still remain in Acland. These images of Anne were created one afternoon over a couple of hours exploring one of the houses and the church. Equipment: Nikon D4 / AFS Nikkor 24 70mm f2.8 / AFS Nikkor 70 200mm f2.8 VR II

TRAIN TO NOWHERE WITH MELUXINE Located somewhere in the Coffs Harbor hinterland in NSW is this gorgeous old train carriage. Sydney model, Meluxine poses beautifully amongst the weathered decay of the seats and cracked table tops as she peers out the broken windows on her train trip to nowhere. Equipment: Nikon D4 / AFS Nikkor 24 70mm f2.8

WONDERHUSSY AT THE OLD MINE On my 2011 trip to Baja, Mexico I took a side trip for a few days to Las Vegas. I was very keen to shoot some art nudes out in the desert so after some searching for local models, I found the crazy but lovely Wonderhussy. She picked me up in her pickup truck one day and we headed out into the desert to an old mine location she shoots at fairly frequently. Equipment: Nikon D3s / AFS Nikkor 24 70mm f2.8 / AFS Nikkor 70 200mm f2.8 VR II