Shimmer

From Port Noarlunga to the McLaren Vale, the south of the city will be illuminated with photographic exhibitions as part of the third Shimmer Photographic Biennale, which will feature an array of local artists, as well as American nature and adventure sport photographer Tom Bol as its Artist in Residence. The last time Shimmer was held in 2012, nearly 6000 people attended Shimmer events in the City of Onkaparinga including 600 people at its launch event. Aside from Bol, who was named as one of America’s Top 50 Visionaries by National Geographic Adventure, Shimmer will feature local emerging and established photographers including Robert McFarlane, Milton Wordley and Gary Cockburn. City of Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg believes Shimmer, which features more than 40 artists showing in 32 venues, is strong enough to be recognised as a major festival on the state’s arts calendar. “We’re offering all photographers the opportunity to engage in workshops and share ideas with each other,” she explains. “At the same time, we’re providing access to the best local and international professionals, so emerging and hobby photographers can learn from and be inspired by them. We want to make the festival exciting, thought-provoking and engaging for photographers at any level and bring everyone together to celebrate the contribution these artists make to our communities.” This includes initiatives such as PITCHer, a live crowd-funding event where “10 preselected photographers will present concepts for a photographic project, with the audience deciding who wins the substantial cash prize”. “We’re also excited about Hammered, a live auction event hosted at Rosemount Estate, our Gold Sponsor for Shimmer,” says Rosenberg. “A photograph kindly donated by Robert McFarlane will be auctioned to the highest bidder with the proceeds being awarded to the most popular festival exhibition as voted by the general public.” The Major wants to continually grow the festival to attract visitors from outside of its council borders. “We’ve already attracted visitors to our previous Shimmer festivals but we’re conscious of the need to continually grow that sector of the market to raise the festival’s profile and reach the potential we know the event has. This is why we have supported Red Poles to bring international photographer Tom Bol to Australia as Shimmer’s Artist in Residence and why we are continually building and broadening our sponsorship and partner base.” Bol, a Colorado-based photographer, is famed for his nature and adventure sports photographs for magazines as well as his book Adventure Sports Photography: Creating Dramatic Images in Wild Places. He will host two workshops while at Shimmer. “I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, and have met many people on my workshops from there. I started talking with Sam from Red Poles in the spring about coming down and talking about my recent work involving advanced lighting techniques. Things just developed from there into becoming Artist in Residence for Shimmer.” Bol says he became interested in shooting wilderness and adventure sport after becoming an outdoor guide once he graduated from journalism school. “I lived in a tent most of the year, teaching climbing, kayaking and skiing. I couldn’t get enough time in the mountains, and really became obsessed with climbing. Later I started photographing well-known outdoor athletes, and this led to some big breaks early in my career. I’ve been photographing adventure sports for 25 years, and I still can’t contain my excitement when I am going out for a day of shooting.” Away from the technical skills, are there broader lessons that Bol can teach aspiring photographers when hosting his classes Portraits & Location: Lighting the Right Location, The Right Light and Action Photography & Hypersync, Capturing Moments & Motion? “Beside the technical aspects, there are some universal concepts I try teach participants. One concept would be to follow your intuition. When teaching lighting we talk about many rules and guidelines, and sometimes the technical overwhelms the creative. I think it is important for all photographers to follow their intuition, shoot what feels right creatively whether it breaks the rules or not. Another idea would be connecting with your subject. There is real honesty and trust between photographer and subject, and this relationship comes through in the final image. The better you connect with your subject, the better your final images will be.” Shimmer Photographic Biennale Friday, August 29 to Sunday, September 28 For more information phone The Arts Centre, Port Noarlunga 8326 5577 or visit onkaparingacity.com/shimmer