I had a look at the Photo Marketing Associations Exhibition today at Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia. As well as giving the public and professionals a look at all the new toys there was also judging being done on entries for the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers photo awards as well as international exhibits and the top shots of the Australian Camera Clubs...

Three things I thought there were of note..

1. A new carbon fibre range of tripods at VERY cheap prices, with some innovative ideas.. the brand name is BENRO.. from China looked well made with some innovative ideas... ranged from backpacker style to you need a backpack just to carry it..

2. Coffee table books of your images seem like a really good idea... there were several that were offering from hundreds of dollars to under a $100..

3. Photography is no longer photography - it is graphic design. Post Production editing of the image with a tendency towards brightening and altering the colours and tones amongst amateurs and subduing and altering the colours and tones amongst the professionals... I see this pattern on the internet too. Look at the most popular images and they tend to have more "in your face" colouring. The pros tend to go the other way but equally dramatic. I once saw in a photo mag.. a photographer show how he turned a bland landscape into an award winning image though layering to dodge and burn and selective shifting of colours.. Perhaps we will get over the novelty of Photoshop fiddling and get back to the basics of photography. Maybe we all suffer from ADD.. attention deficit disorder.. caused by life offering an overabundance of choice so that we are only attracted by "the bright lights".

What attracted me the most? The World Press Photographers awards. This seemed to be true photography.. capturing the moment. Perhaps that is why I am continually drawn to wilderness photography. We do live on an amazing planet.