Please follow the link

I have decided to concentrate all my work and information onto my personal web site that is much nicer. I will not post to this site anymore so please follow the link below:

Indra Exhibition - Now Showing

I am very happy to present my latest exhibition of street/travel images. 'Indra' is a collection of photographs from a trip to India in 2009. Highlighing the wonderful people and presenting a unique vision of the fascinating country.

ilios gallery

The Gallery is located within Wilbur’s Cafe/Bar

Hackett Shops, Canberra, ACT Australia.

Open Tuesday to Saturday
8 am – 9 pm and Sunday 8 am – 4 pm.



An online gallery can be viewed at:
http://www.iliosgallery.com/

or on my site here:
http://www.mjhoodphoto.com

New book 'Indra' is now available

INDRA by Michael John Hood | Make Your Own Book

mjhoodphoto.com

I have finally got a web site together and active! My recent work is now available to view and buy online. There are quite a few galleries representing the different styles of my photography.  Please visit and explore and enjoy!

mjhoodphoto.photoshelter.com

Workers of India

These images (also from my India 2009 collection) focus on local people at work. I like to capture candid moments when people are engrossed in a task, too busy to worry about my presence. The authentic raw reality of the unplanned moment usually makes a much more interesting photograph that a stiff pose. I feel that capturing this spontaneity is the best use of a camera and what makes photography so unique. It is also a lot more surprising and refreshing to never quite know what is going to happen next... 

Mindfulness of Sweeping, Sarnath

Street Butcher, Dharamsala

Needlework, Norbulingka Institute

Track worker, India

Exploring the Streets of Dharamsala

Dharamasala, India. The streets were fascinating, a diverse collection of backgrounds and cultures. Known as Little Lhasa as this is the home of the Tibetan Refugee Community in India. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama resides here, our group was very lucky to hear him teaching. The trek set out from the foothills just outside the town and we returned here (very tired) after the hike. In the spare time we had here I found some really interesting people to photograph. The narrow alleys behind the main streets were great to explore as well.

Early morning activity

Long afternoon shadows

Entrepreneurs

Project 6029

Project 6029 is the restoration of an old locomotive by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT). I was lucky to be able to join the volunteers last weekend to get some pictures of the process. I love these machines and the people involved are fascinating. I hope to cover the project from time to time and document the work. It will be an amazing sight when this monster locomotive gets back in action.

 
Click image to view more pictures

Please support this project and donate today!

For more infromation and news see the offical blog here:

http://project6029.blogspot.com/

Flickr Photostream Online

I have posted a lot of recent images onto a new Flickr photo gallery. The images are a random assortment of my better pictures from last year and recent trips. I will now put most of my images here as I really like the site. There are so many talented photographers on there and I enjoy discovering their work. The sheer volume of photography on here is mind blowing. If you want to know about an obscure lens, camera or film/developer chances are someone has some samples on Flickr to see. It really is a great resource and I am glad to be a part of it. Please feel free to leave comments as I love to hear feedback good or bad!

 

Go to MJH Photography Flickr Site

I am a part of the universe, the universe is a part of me

 

King Protea (Protea cynaroides)

I picked up this amazing Protea from the Old Bus Depot Markets on Sunday. I had been looking for a good subject to use my 21mm extension tube with and this looked perfect. The King Protea is a BIG impressive flower indeed! Close up photography has always interested me and being without a macro lens just did not feel right. I really enjoy seeing what's going on beyond our normal field of view. The details and patterns of nature that become evident when magnified or viewed from space. From macro to microcosm it gives a new perspective to things. There is a saying we learn in Tai Chi training along the same lines "I am a part of the universe, the universe is a part of me". Yin and Yang. I think the aim here is to destroy the belief of a fixed or separate self by gaining a new (and more realistic) view of our place in the world. Hopefully these pictures of nice flowers will give someone a deeper insight into the workings of the universe and reality as a whole :)

 Shot on Fujifilm Provia 100 film with florescent lights and tungsten lamp

New Portfolio of Recent Work Added

I have added a small portfolio of images shot around the NSW South Coast. There is a bit of a sea and ships theme that I am hoping to expand on soon. They are all shop using my Hasselblad on Fuji Acros 100 and developed in Ilford Ilfosol 3. I really like this combination but will keep experimenting...

A long exposure shot at dusk. Click image to see more

Trek for Tibet and India Pilgrimage

Stone Marker, Lower Himalaya Mountains

Charmer, Delhi

Festival Night, Benares

Here are a few samples of my trip to fantastic India. Scanning all the negatives takes a considerable amount of time! It is exciting to look at these results as my memories of all the places and people were fading. This trip was a real adventure, I am very glad to have been a part of the Trek for Tibet. More images to come soon...

Developing the Darkroom

After many long months I now have a working darkroom at last! The old storage area out the back of the garage that was once a home for many spiders and random items has been transformed. It took a long time as I had to fashion some items from scratch and convert or paint others. I had a small room 2m by 4m to work with and a small budget. I wanted a nice clean area that was as dust free as possible (to save time spotting later on). This darkroom is for developing film only so that made things simple.

First thing to be done was to clean it out and give it a coat of paint. After reading some internet forums I painted the walls matt white and not black as I assumed would be the best. This makes it a nice light space to work in and since there is no light getting in there is no problems with the film being fogged. The floor was scrubbed and coated in a clear concrete paint to seal it. I built a small wooden platform over the open drain that also saves the feet from the hard concrete. A well connected friend got me some tables and safe lights for free (thanks Tristan).

All set to get to work!

Next step was to make the room completely light proof. This turned out to be not very difficult to do really. I covered the window with a scratch built box that allows air flow but blocks the light. It looks odd from outside but does let air in without any fans or complications.

This light proof box covers the existing window.

I sealed around the existing door with a rubber weather strip and made a lip to stop light entering from under it. A second door that fits very snugly into the outer edge of the door frame stopped all light leaks.

The second inner door is matt black (chalk board paint) to stop reflections.

To dry the films I visited the ex government furniture outlet and found a steel locker. After removing the shelves and internals it was the perfect size for a drying cabinet. I laced some elastic cord through the top to hang film from and gave it a stylish paint job. I heat the unit with an oil filled heater that sits next to the locker, that does the job well. 

The film dries in 1 hour and holds around 10 35mm films.

 Getting this darkroom working was a bit of work but well worth it. I have processed my Indian trip that has been sitting in the cupboard since I returned in November 2009. That was about 26 rolls of TMAX 400 (35mm). I have also developed about 15 rolls of Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 (120) from two trips to the South Coast. I will post up some examples of this work in the next few days.

The red light is for atmosphere only :)

New look Blog

I have done some cosmetic changes to my site. The work that I have online is now linked and easy to get to. The design has sort of evolved and looks a bit more inviting. The information is now in a more logical space with everything together. Enjoy :)

"Whitewash" Book Complete!

I am very happy to present my new book called "Whitewash". Whitewash is a collection of 65 monochrome photographs of Greece. This is a visual tour or photographic document of the people and places I encountered on my 2009 trip. A journey from the idyllic Cyclades islands to the Metropolis of Athens. Behind the superficial exterior lies the simple beauty of truth. Reality as it is, yet to be covered over with a fresh coat of whitewash. It really is a satisfying feeling to have created this.

To view the preview please click the image below.

Tools of the Trade - 120

Here is my Hasselblad 503 CW in action. This camera produces a very nice image and is so well thought out. I am scanning the images from a recent trip to the edge of Lake George, NSW. The detail it captures is very encouraging and I look forward to getting out into the bush more with it. This is a sample of the image quality showing a native Australian grass tree. Shot with Fuji Acros 100 and scanned using my Nikon Super Coolscan 9000ED.

Entry Submitted !

"An international jury awards the Leica Oskar Barnack Award / Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award to photographers whose unerring powers of observation capture and express the relationship between man and the environment in the most graphic form in a sequence of a minimum of 10 up to a maximum of 12 images. Entry submissions must be a self-contained series of images in which the photographer perceives and documents the interaction between man and the environment with acute vision and contemporary visual style – creative, groundbreaking and unintrusive."

My series of images can be viewed here:
Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2010

Tools of the Trade - 35mm

While in Thailand I scoured every camera shop I came across looking to find something to replace my Canon G9 compact. While the G9 was an excellent travel camera, it was a little hard to use at times. When I wanted more manual control for focus it was a pain. The DSLR cameras available from Nikon, Sony and Canon were hard to pass up, offering every feature I needed and more. The price was good as well making it a simple choice of which manufacturer. That is until I found a shop in Bangkok called Camera Collection.

On entering the shop it was like a treasure trove of metal and polished glass. Hasselblad, Linhof, Leica, Alpa, vintage Canon and Nikon. A place lost in time... a very welcome alternative.
After having a look around and telling myself to think about the convenience of digital, I could not resist a Leica M3 and 50mm f/2.8 Elmar lens.


Built like a tank and a machined to perfection, the M3 has a legendary status. Eddie Siu, the owner was very helpful, understanding and was willing to do a good price. Many Thanks Mr Siu! I have since taken it traveling through Greece and India. A fantastic camera and so nice to use.

"May your wishes prosper like mine have"

Another scanned 35mm slide from India. This was shot near a small village of great importance to Buddhist pilgrims called Sujatagarh. It is said to be the site where the future Buddha received a gift of rice porridge from a local girl named Sujata. She offered it and said "May your wishes prosper like mine have". This meal saved him from starvation and he decided to take food to support his meditation and search for enlightainment. Follow this link for some alternative tellings of the story.

The people here were very kind and showed me around. There was a great school here set up to help local children who got by with very little and relied on donations. I will try to find more information about this so people can help them.

Opening Night

Empty of Everything, Full of Nothingness
at Beowulf Galleries, Sydney.

Many thanks to Melissa Beowulf
for making this exhibition a reality.

Exhibition at Beowulf Galleries

Empty of Everything, Full of Nothingness

An exhibition of monochrome photography

to evoke a meditative frame of mind.

Set in the Beowulf Galleries the photography

hangs among the magnificent bonsai trees and asian art.

Febuary 3 - March 28 2010

Opening Thursday 10 Febuary

6-8 pm

Beowulf Galleries

open Wednesday to Sunday 10am - 5pm

23 Queen St, Woollahra, NSW 2025, Australia

Telephone: +61-2-9362 5583

Facsimile: +61-2-9362 5586

Email: beowulfgalleries@ozemail.com.au

Internet: bonsaiexotique.com.au

Zen Buddhism teaches that the mind can be free only when every previous thought, lesson and concept are put down. Living in the moment the mind relaxes and lets go, concentrated on the object of meditation. Buddha taught that emptiness is the nature of everything. This seems impossible, how can life be other than what it appears? Only when we examine things honestly, with wisdom does this nothingness become evident in everything. The exhibition features Black and White photographs taken by Michael Hood from recent travels through Thailand and New Zealand.