And now it's in print

As a serial blooger, my journey to tech-heaven has been as a late-comer to using a computer, let alone an ipad! Yes I succumbed to the slim sexy machine that it is...

Anyway enough salivating for now. Looking back to a time when I didn't have a mobile phone let alone a laptop, my fear of all things high tech was palpable. I felt reassured by books, paper could be held in your hand. It didn't get lost or deleted quite so easily. Writing everything down on paper before typing into a computer seems laborious, but that's how I used to work. It wasn't so much that I was incapable, but that my confidence was low.

I have now learned the only way to find out how to do something is to give it a go! I applaud anyone who has the get-up-and-go to do something for themselves and who invites others to join in. Launched as both an online blog and a paper And now it's in print does just that. The decision to produce a newspaper version as well as an online one is commendable, to draw in a wider audience, spread the word across the mean streets of Melbourne. James Noble headed up the design and production team. As the designer of the gallery website I would recommend him highly.

Having never visited Melbourne, (I will be next year, yippee) this encouraged me to explore the city more as it has come to life through the endeavors of a group of light minded creative individuals- all with great websites of their own - searching their city for others who are doing exiting things too. Curating the site and inviting others to point out great things on their doorstep is an inspiration for us all.

They successfully launched their first edition and it will appear online soon. Why not take a leaf out of their book and point out some great sites to them or do your own....

What's collecting got to do with it?

As Tina Turner once said, "Whaats collecting got to do, got to do with it?". Well quite a lot actually. As many of you know I am an avid collector of photography, but what is often missed is the importance of understanding why people collect photography and how they collect. Some photographers are keen to sell their work, approach galleries, magazines and newspapers to share the wonder of their work to the world at large. Their aim, to achieve world domination and to become as famous and successful as Andreas Gursky, to live the dream before they die in obscurity to justly be found later as a genius of the medium. These dreams of their work fetching huge may I say offensive sums of money at auction, breaking records of previous sales, their net worth ever climbing higher with each subsequent series, admired the world over.... You get the picture.

Well, in order to reach such status you have to realize several things, the most important of which is that most of it is a fallacy and breaking auction records is all well and good but to reach such heights one must work hard and prosper through making great work, promoting and having a great agent and/or gallery behind you. Until then it is worth knowing one thing: the market.

In order to sell photographs it is imperative that you understand the way in which a collector finds, enjoys, buys and displays their collection. This is one of the reasons I felt would not only help budding collectors but photographers too when I wrote my book. The course announced for October 9th at Diemar/Noble Photography is well worth attending if you are a photographer as well as those of you whom are interested in adding to or beginning your own collection. The joy I get from my own collection and searching for new additions to it is a wonderful part of my life. Having sound helpful advice can sometimes feel thin on the ground. Having a trustworthy gallery, fellow collectors and keeping my eyes open for emerging talent allows for this to be a more enjoyable endeavor. As a gallerist it is my reputation that must be upheld in advising our clients well to build their own collections and benefit from the advice we freely give.

The course is a day of seven lectures with plenty of breaks and an hour for lunch, so that everyone has the opportunity to stretch their legs and think about each lecture as the day goes on. If you are curious and would like to attend please go to the website and look at our education page to download the full details and feel free to call if you have any queries. The photograph displays the use of a black light used to test the age of print. We explain and demonstrate this on the course. Places are limited and go fast. We keep the numbers quite small so that everyone has the chance to put forward their questions on a more intimate basis, getting to know both myself, my fellow Co-Director Michael and each other. I look forward to seeing you at the gallery soon.

Remember, if I wasn't passionate about collecting I wouldn't be doing it!

Black light photograph courtesy of Diemar/Noble Photography: Copyright - Colin Coutts
Self portrait of a budding collector!