Head On Photo Festival 2014

Overview

The not-for-profit Head On Foundation brings the (wait for it) Head On Photo Festival to town this month. Yep, they’re going to get right up in your face with photos based on that whole ‘merit’ thing rather than just famous peeps (subject or photographer).

Apart from just being a festival of photos in its fifth year, it’s also about all the corners of the land of photography, ranging from commercial to reportage. The stats are: 100 venues with 200 events and goings-on spreading like a spider web in all directions across Sydney. And the events? Most won’t cost you a dime and some are in cafes, pubs or artists' studio. The main event is the Head On Portrait Prize, which is a big deal if clicking is your thing. It aims to showcase the old and the new when it comes to portrait photography,

Some of the exhibitions not to miss are D-Mo Zajac’s, who wants you to “destroy part of the exhibition, whilst you swallow the images into your consciousness”. Nudes on TAP Photographic prize is another one worth checking out. They’re not naked; they’re nude. Take in all the classic and contemporary expressions of the unclothed human form.

Then it’s time to get into the good ol’ Aussie landscape. And we’re not talking gumtrees. We mean the suburban landscape. Celebrate the Hills Hoist and fashion your parents would be proud of with Rhiannon Tully’s exhibition at Queen St Gallery. If they don’t appeal, there’s iPhone Photography with Benjamin Lowy, various workshops, discussions like Putting The Passion Back Into Photography and more.

And if you’re wanting to get into the medium but haven’t quite got everything together, you can get portfolio tips that teach you to treat your portfolio like your ‘baby’. Whether you’re shutterbug or merely a voyeur, there’s something worth checking out.

Image by D-Mo Zajac.