Photography Archives | Page 13 of 41

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life (1990-2005)

2 February 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Deep Thoughts, Photography

Have you ever wondered how you’ve come to like or love a certain photographer?

Being a photography enthusiast, I have always wondered why I’ve come to love my favorite photographers–and there are only a few. And no, it’s not because I’m an enthusiast that I’ve set a high standard. There are no high standards at all. In fact, I realized that when it comes to loving a photographer’s work of art, I only look for one thing. A soul.

There are a lot of great photographers. But there are a few who capture photographs with soul and one of them is Annie Leibovitz.

I’ve come to know her thru her photographs of Queen Elizabeth II, the Obama family, John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Demi Moore when she was pregnant (her nude photo in Vanity Fair that came out in 1991).

I’ve always admired her work because (1) she’s one of the most trusted photographers of well-known people; (2) there’s always something breathtaking about her photographs and (3) her photos have soul.

On our 4th wedding anniversary (20 January 2011), the Husband and I decided to celebrate the day by indulging in our love for photography. We are very lucky that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney is exhibiting Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005. It was an opportunity to get to know Annie Leibovitz and her work. The exhibition showed photographs of her family, her travels, her triumphs and sorrow. Other than showing some of her most unforgettable work with well-known celebrities, the photographs were a record of some of the most personal moments of her life. It was a very engaging and lovely collection.

This is my most (super-duper) favorite photograph of hers. It was a photo of her deceased lover, Susan. The photo was captioned “Susan Sontag at Petra, Jordan 1994“. This photograph spoke volumes to me. When I saw this photograph, I was unable to move my feet and just kept staring at it. It almost moved me to tears. In this photograph, it somehow tells me how big the world is out there. How there are so much more to discover, to feel, to love, to share. After seeing all the photographs in the exhibition, I went back to this photograph one more time and look at it again before we left. One day, I’ll have a copy of this photograph hanging on a wall of our future home. Someday.

There will never be an exhibition without the book. Most of the photos found in the exhibition are in this 3-kilo book (yes, it was that heavy, I weighed it!) which serves as a souvenir to all who have seen her exhibition and a learning tool for enthusiasts like me. It is available at the MCA souvenir shop for AUD$85.00

The exhibition brought together almost 200 photographs and you need about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of viewing her photographs.

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005
Organised by the Brooklyn Museum,
19 November 2010– 27 March 2011

Admission $15, concessions $10
MCA Members free
Children 12 years and under free
Family (2 adults and 3 children aged 13-17) $40

Click HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Cafe: Beach and Bush Gallery Cafe (Kiama, NSW Australia)

18 January 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Food, Photography, Travel

Part of our Grand Pacific Drive trip last year was a visit to Kiama, a place for water lovers as it offers surfing, diving, fishing, canoeing and windsurfing. Kiama is also known for the “Kiama Blowhole“, the town’s major tourist attraction. Under certain sea conditions, the blowhole can spray water up to 25 metres (82 ft) in the air, in quantities that thoroughly drench any bystanders.

We arrived an hour before lunch so we took lots of photos by the lighthouse.

And lots of photos of blue, blue seas!!!!

Lunch was at the Beach and Bush Gallery Cafe. This cafe is a feast to the senses as they serve good food and has photography gallery. The photographs were by internationally-known Australian fine image photographer, Gary Barnes. His work is amazing and breathtaking.

You can find his photographs posted all over the cafe.

I vaguely remember what we ate that day. We had a bowl of Caesar Salad and (based from the photo we took) Grilled Chicken (not sure!). The name of the dishes we ordered escapes me right now but I assure you that they served us a delicious meal.

I love this reminder they have by the counter. Not only do they guarantee that they will serve quality food but they also encourage everyone to appreciate the gallery and views of Kiama–it’s like encouraging us to live in the moment and enjoy being!

Some of Gary Barnes’ photographs are available in postcard format so I bought one as a souvenir. This was the photo I bought….

If ever you are in Kiama, visit the Beach and Bush Gallery.

“A Wife’s Charmed Life” visited Beach and Bush Gallery as an anonymous guest on 21 January 2010.

Beach and Bush Gallery

Blowhole Point Road
Kiama
New South Wales 2533

Ph: 02 4233 1734

Restaurant: Harbour Front Restaurant (Wollongong, NSW Australia)

17 January 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 1 Comments Category: Food, Photography, Travel

After our afternoon tea at lee and me, we went back to the hotel to rest a bit and freshen up. Still had no idea on where we will have dinner, we surfed online and found that there are a few good-looking restaurants near Flagstaff Hill.

We went out to dinner early so we can hang out by the beach and get ourselves a good table before dinner time.

It was nearly sunset when we arrived and this was the view that welcomed us…

Wollongong is known as the only place in the east coast that has two lighthouses. A small, old lighthouse is located at the end of the breakwater.

The big light house is located at Flagstaff Hill.

It was near the small lighthouse where we found a place to have dinner. Harbour Front Restaurant is a lovely and romantic place with a view of the harbour.

Since we were still full from what we had during afternoon tea, we just ordered two mains and shared both dishes with each other.

We had the Crispy Skin Snapper Fillet with white anchovy caper escabeche. It came with sauteed fennel red capsicum and zucchini. Light and flavourful. Perfect for the summer heat.

Dinner won’t be complete without some meat so we had their Prime Rib Eye Fillet Steak

with luscious mushroom sauce. One of the best steaks I’ve ever had. Tender and perfectly cooked.

We enjoyed the relaxed environment as we savoured the dishes we ordered. We hope to dine here again when we visit in the future.

After dinner, we hung out by the harbour and walked a bit, took photos. The photo below is one of the best photos we took on this trip and will always remind us of how beautiful Wollongong is.

Harbour Front Restaurant
2 Endeavour Drive
Wollongong Harbour
Ph 02 4227 2999

“A Wife’s Charmed Life” visited Harbour Front Restaurant as an anonymous guest on 20 January 2010.

michaels Camera Museum (Melbourne, Australia)

15 December 2010 Ibyang Sanchez 9 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Photography, Travel

I almost forgot about this wonderful experience of ours when we visited Melbourne in September but today I remembered to share it with you because what do you know? I haven’t finished sharing our Melbourne stories from our September rendezvous and here we are about to go there again TOMORROW! How crazy wonderful is that?

One of the Husband’s request for his birthday was to spend some time looking at cameras in Melbourne’s camera haven. This area is located in surrounding areas of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets.

We had a good walk along Elizabeth Street and entered one of the little streets near Lonsdale Street and found ourselves in photography gadgets heaven. There are many stores here for your photography needs; whether vintage, new or second hand gadgets, there are lots to choose from.

Our great find that day was the michaels Camera which initially looked like a big store from the outside but turned out to be more on the inside.

We explored the ground floor and looked at everything we can get our hands on. We didn’t have plans of buying anything but we were on the lookout for sales. They had a few containers full of polarizers and that’s where I spent most of my time. Their polarizers were on sale, some for only AUD$10.00. I think I bought one or two. The Husband on the other hand, spent ample time looking at films for our vintage Fujica camera and he was able to buy a few rolls.

We noticed that there was a floor above the store and so up we went to find the most amazing camera collection. It was a Camera Museum!!!!!!

WOW!!!!!! I’ve never been surrounded by so many cameras in my life! 🙂 Finding this place was such a happy accident. Let me share with you a few photos that I took. Some may be blurred because the cameras were inside glass cabinets.

Here’s the Canon exhibit…..

Canon lenses….

and a Canon flash.

Here’s the Nikon exhibit….

They’ve got Olympus.

Here’s how vintage Olympus Pens looked like before.

From Germany…the Voigtlander!

I love Leica! It’s my dream to own one someday.

Once upon a time, Carl Zeiss used to create cameras.

The golden collection.

A golden Nikon.

A golden Leica.

Do you want to see a bigger version of the golden Leica? Here it is!!!

The museum consists of some 8000 pieces (there are approximately 2,000 on display), of which about 3000 are cameras ranging from subminiature to 12×15 inches in size. Many of the cameras date back to the late 1880’s through to recent times, and include early digital cameras.

The museum also features lenses; movie cameras; movie and still projectors; darkroom equipment, including enlargers; flash equipment; films & plates; advertising material; microscopes; a vast library consisting of reference books, instruction books, photographic magazines & brochures.

If ever you are in Melbourne and very much interested in photography, I highly recommend you to visit this place. Entrance to the museum is FREE and open to the public.

michaels Camera is a one-stop photography shop. Their services include film and digital printing, camera repairs and equipment servicing, rental and hire of photography equipment, memory card recovery services, DSLR sensory cleaning and video transfer DVD duplication and file conversion. They also offer photography and camera classes as part of their media school.

michaels Camera
Cnr Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets
Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia

Phone:	(03) 9672 2224
Fax:	(03) 9600 0898

Trading Hours:
Monday:	9am – 6pm
Tuesday:	9am – 6pm
Wednesday:	9am – 6pm
Thursday:	9am – 6pm
Friday:	9am – 9pm
Saturday:	9am – 5pm
Sunday:	11am – 5pm

Spring’s Sunset

24 November 2010 Ibyang Sanchez 6 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Photography

Summer is nearly here and Sydney Weather is becoming warmer by the day. Although one can feel a cool breeze during mornings and night time , it can be pretty hot during midday til late afternoon. Sunny but cool days–how I wish we have days like these all the time. If I can choose one season for a whole year, I’d chose Spring!

What I love about this warm Sydney Weather is that it produces spectacular sunsets in the afternoon. Last week, we were fortunate to come home to a welcoming sunset view. Beautiful hues of pink and yellow as we looked out our balcony.

And as the sunset comes to an end, stronger hues come to life. Pink and yellow turned to different shades of orange.

Some things in life are constant. Although the Sydney Weather Forecast can sometimes be unpredictable, when the sun is out during the day, I know I’ll come home and find a beautiful sunset show outside our balcony.