For myself it would be a modernised version of the Nikon S2 (or even a Nikon F) with a built in meter, analogue controls, a minimum of menus and more or less the same dimensions. I don’t mind the idea of a fixed lens for the camera and it could be either a 35mm or 50mm 35mm equivalent with a large maximum aperture. Interchangeable lens capability would be a bonus, but not if it meant a bigger camera nor should it be fitted with a slow fixed zoom. We have enough of those already.

The actual design of viewfinder (so long as it has one, not just rely on those nasty things stuck on the back) is not so important. I happen to like rangefinders, but I also like through the lens capability so the type of viewfinder wouldn’t be a deal breaker, even if it is a hybrid.

This last requirement lets out models like the Leica X1, the Sigma and the Olympus Pen models. The Panasonic G series is a possibility, although I’d like it to be more compact. The Sony NEX 3 and 5 models are interesting, but the lack of a proper viefiwnder cruelled it for me.

The Fuji x100 ticks all of the boxes for me. What seems to be decent quality, allied with small size in a package that also looks good, at what I think is a competitive price (at least in the US … what it will be in Australia worries me a little) deserves a long hard look by any photographer (as opposed to equipment freaks) looking for a “take always” camera.

Now that the camera is available the tone of the posts has changed dramatically, and all because someone has posted some images on the web which show an odd ghost around streetlights and car headlights. I accept that it is odd, but I’d don’t find it all that offensive but for the posters the end of the world is nigh!

I have a simple question — how many people actually take that many pictures at night that an odd flare would be a deciding factor in whether or not to buy a camera?  I take shots at night and sometimes there are odd flares and ghosts, but I’ve never considered them a factor in any way. Much less a deciding factor in whether or not to buy a  camera or a lens.

It is probably just that forums bring all of the nut cases out of the woodwork. I’m still a potential purchaser of the Fuji, because I mostly shoot in situations where the odd odd flare is totally irrelevant.

Now in  real think-out-side-thesquare developmentAlpa have adapted an iPod/iPhone APP that allows photographers to use their iPod or iPhone as a viewfinder. The concept is brilliant,  being a reworking of an alr2ady existing APP for  other cameras including Canon DSLRS, and Mamiya called Viewfinder Pro (there is also a basic version). If I had an iPhone, I’d look at it closely.

Check it out here: http://www.alpa.ch/en/products/tools/alpa-tools/alpa-efinder.html

It has has a large photographic section with hundreds of images on display in 25 different categories split roughly into Junior, Novice, Open and Semi-Professional (no, I don’t know either) classes. This year I was the judge. I shouldn’t have been unprepared as I have none a local show before, but the sheer volume of entries was daunting.

The standard was also daunting. I expected it to be quite low, but in all classes there was some outstanding work. Both technically and creatively. In fact, one of the Junior entries was, creatively, a stand out and had the the photographer’s technical skill matched his, or her, imagination I’d have voted it Best in Show.

Take the current one as an example. Yoshji’s Women is a photographic exhibition featuring the photographs of a number of photographers whose work helped launch Yoshji Yamamoto’s designs in Europe, running in tandem with a retrospective of his fashions at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. It runs from March 12 to May 14 2011.

Curiously the Gallery sent me three images in each of which the model has her mouth open in a not very attractive fashion. The photographer, the stylist or the clients idea? Not all that attractive.

Co-incident with Yoshji’s Women (but running until July 14) is an installation Yoshji Making Waves that features a giant wedding dress, a flooded boiler house, waves, reflections and a boat to reach the unique couture piece in the cavernous space. I told you the Wapping Project was interesting.

Should you be in London over the next few months I suggest that you take a trip to the Southbank for it.

In 1964, Beatles press officer Derek Taylor convinced Beatles manager Brian Epstein that the Beatles should have a professional photographer accompany them on their first US tour in 1964.

Blender Gallery is proud to feature for the first time the premiere exhibition and sale of Curt Gunther Beatles photographs.Curt Gunther, who died in 1991, was an American original. Mr. Gunther captured the private moments when the biggest band in the world arrived in North America and stirred the emotions of a generation. It was the Beatles press officer, Derek Taylor who brought Curt Gunther on-board the American Flyers Airlines charted plane to witness and exclusively capture the intimate moments of the Beatles as they toured cities throughout North America.

In the summer of ’64 hearts and souls across America were captivated by the music, charm and wit of The Beatles whose songs assaulted the US charts as a backlog of records took over the top positions. Beatlemania had touched down in the American heartlands, and it seemed that everyone wanted to touch, or be touched, by this new phenomenon.

More than 45 years after the Beatles first invaded the U.S.; snapshots of their historic 1964 tour by the late Curt Gunther have surfaced. The candid photos capture the young Fab Four in intimate and lighthearted moments, just as Beatlemania was reaching its most fevered pitch.

The snapshots reveal the band in lighthearted situations — riding horses, goofing off with manager Brian Epstein — and capture the passion of young fans during the British Invasion. It’s a candid look at a band on the rise.

But the photos almost didn’t see the light of day.

Steve Gunther was entrusted with his father’s 35mm Tri X negatives over 25 years ago with the lone instructions: “Fix these.”

The task of separating the negatives was an arduous one that took him nearly two months to complete.

The photographs capture the Fab Four from an intimate viewpoint, indicative of the relationship Curt Gunther established with the band while on tour.

“I think there was real, genuine affection between the Beatles and my dad,” says Steve Gunther. “He was there on every plane ride and in every hotel room.” It was a coup of sorts to even photograph the band on tour. Even after joining the group’s entourage, Gunther was unpaid, finding himself scraping by with a band not yet aware of the enormity of their following. “As the folklore goes,” says Gunther, “he made that month’s salary by playing poker every night and beating the Beatles. It wasn’t Meet the Beatles,” he adds with a smile, “it was ‘Beat the Beatles.’ “

Curt Gunther was born in Berlin, Germany and came to the United States in the 1940’s to immediately begin his photography career. Gunther’s images have been seen in numerous publications throughout the world, and his work has left behind a powerful and significant legacy.

With sections for ‘Landscape’, ‘Live Action’, ‘Life on the Water’ and ‘Arthouse’ (for digitally enhanced photographs) the MPP will have prize money of $5,000 in its first year.

The MPP will be judged in 2011 by Sydney Morning Herald photographer Mr Wolter Peeters.

Open to any resident of Australia and any age group, the MPP will have a preselection process where 20 finalists are chosen in each section from the entries to be shown in the exhibition.

Entry forms for 2011 available below

Macquarie Photography Prize Entry Form (304 KB)

New film cameras is this digital age. What are they on?

The Fuji GF670/Bessa III folder is a gem. Light, compact and a big negative, and from the reports that I’ve read, equipped with a very good lens. Certainly the results posted online are very good.

It’s high on my wish list, although the price in Australia for the identical Voigtlander version  is on the high side at $2,895, while B&H in the United States lists the Fuji version at $1,664. Given that the AUD is at parity with the Greenback a difference of $1,231 seems just a trifle excessive. And people wonder why Australians are buying from overseas on line!

That’s an aside, for the real news is that the wide angle version will be released in March. Life the GF670 it will take 6 x 6 or 6 x7 frames on 120 or 200 film. It is fitted with a f4.5 55mm Fujinon lens and has rangefinder focusing, but the lens is fixed making the camera rather more bulky than the folder.

Price is still a moot price. A German web site has suggested that the Voigtlander version will be 2,000 Euros at launch. This is about $AUD2,700 suggesting an Australian launch price of around $3,500. Ouch. However, the local price for the X100 is $1299, about $100 more than the US price. So there may be some hope that the price will be in line with  those in the US and Europe.

The GF670W is a very good looking piece of kit but it is a pity that it is not a folder and therefore a compact, jacketable model.

The photographs by John Coombes were quite lovely in their own way, but I must confess to being a little disappointed because almost all of them were of the ships themselves sailing in idyllic waters. Where were the raging storms going around Cape Horn? Where were the sailors hanging from the yards in raging seas? Where were the white waves crashing over the bowsprit? Where were the people?

In two words – no drama. I suppose for the sailors on these relics of the past, calm seas and quiet weather is preferable to what I had in mind. However, the photographs are beautifully executed; well printed and in the reminiscent of the great ship artists of the past. Ultimately uninvolving.

Fairview Artspace Mudgee until March 20

I don’t know that her work, which is interesting and refreshing, changes anything. There are many photographers who qualify as street photographers whose work is highly regarded. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Joel Meyerowitz, Lee Frielander, David Seymour, David Moore and Diane Arbus spring to mind. Although I think most of these photographers would have perceived themselves to be documentarians rather than “street” photographers.

Some of their work transcends the mere recording of events and can be classed as works of art. Whether that’s true of all of their work is a moot point. Equally my original point that would you want some of their images staring you in the face day in day out above the mantlepiece is valid.

To me the true place for documentary photography, whatever label is put on it, is on the printed page.   Some books by photographers like Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Franks and William Klein contain images that are truly great and I wouldn’t hesitate to describe them as great artworks. But I’m not going to label all of their work, or the work of most street photographs in the same way. Art is about the quality of the work not where and how it was made.