Jonathan Clifford Photographer - Photojournalist, Social Documentary & Travel Photographer - London, England - Brisbane, Australia

Sydney Part 1.

Sat, 05 May 2012 06:15:38 +0000

I’m down in Sydney at the moment for the ET AL. exhibition at Airport North Gallery for Head On 2012, which launched on Thursday night (good times) and will be up until the 15th May, and then also the David Alan Harvey masterclass which is kicking off on Monday.

These are some quick frames from the last few days of wandering around this great city.

Take Magazine – Issue #2

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 05:45:08 +0000

I’m very pleased and completely honoured to have some images from my ‘Cemeteries of Cebu’ series featured in the recently released second issue of Take Magazine.

I just picked it up and it really is a beautifully produced publication, featuring 26 photographers in all and wrapped up in a hard cover with a superb image by Cedric Arnold.

This is the first time I’ve had this work published so I’m pretty damn excited to actually see the photos on the pages, and amongst the work of some absolutely incredible photographers no less.

Issue 2 is in stores now or you can head on over to Take’s facebook page or website to see if you can get your hands on a copy, it’s a complete steal at only AU$19.99.

ET AL. Photo Collective @ Head On 2012

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:35:39 +0000

We are very pleased to be exhibiting as a collective in the Head On Photo Festival this year.

Head On, now in its third year, is the second largest photographic festival in the world, with over 150 events taking place throughout May and June.

I’m also pretty excited to be taking part in a master-class conducted by Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey. Harvey will be in Australia exhibiting a collection from the Burn 02 book at the Bondi Pavilion, as well as his new book One Night in Rio, photographs from which will be showing at the Australian Centre for Photography.

The ET AL. Photo Collective group show will be running from the 3rd – 15th of May at the Airport North Gallery, Level 1, 597-599 Gardiners Road, Alexandria NSW 2015. We are having our opening night on Thursday, 3rd of May from 6pm and would love to see you there.

The Cliff Hotel

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:51:53 +0000

Pushkar

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:24:12 +0000

I’ve been devouring so much amazing photography lately courtesy of websites like Burn and Verve Photo, and some of what I have seen and read has encouraged me go back to old images to reassess my initial edits.

Pushkar is a small town in Rajasthan, India. I ended up going there twice in my time in India; first, when we went through and spent a night there towards the end of the rickshaw run, and then again once on my own when I had my motorbike.

Both times I was there, the town was abuzz with celebration. During the first visit it was Ganeshotsav (the festival of Ganesha), which we had no prior knowledge of or planning for (a common theme of the entire trip), so we couldn’t believe our luck to be there for the festivities.

Taking photos in these situations is about as thrilling as photography gets for me. There was just so much excitement and energy that it was impossible to not get whipped into a frenzy along with the revellers.

Some of the photos here have been posted before but most have never really seen the light of day. It’s hard to go back to photos that I once decided weren’t quite good enough and now say that ‘I like them’, but it feels like there are at least a few that were worth the second glance.

Goondiwindi

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:30:06 +0000

Brighton, UK

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:52:10 +0000

Penybryn

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:12:21 +0000

Boomi Mud Trials

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:40:07 +0000

In the first weekend of October I went down to Goondiwindi to meet up with a family I met when I was there in July. I’d been staying out at a cattle station about 60kms outside of Gundy working on a separate project and only went into town a handful of times. On one of these trips I saw a group of guys standing around a fairly beaten up old car on the side of the main road leading into the centre of town. The car had no windows, little in the way of an interior and a rough paint job, though the words ‘Hade’s Crew’ were clearly visible in red letters across the door panels. I saw them as I was driving past and foolishly didn’t stop at the time – not doing so really ate away at me for the next few days as it always does when I see something interesting and let it go by without stopping to take a photo. (there’s a wonderful blog about this)

After I’d finished up at the cattle station I found myself back in town, staying at the pub for a few nights to attend the Photographic Society of Queensland’s annual convention. On the last day of the convention I went out during the lunch break to see if I could find the car and it’s owners again. As luck would have it the car was still there, though it had been moved from the side of the road into the driveway. There were half a dozen people standing in the driveway, a couple of the younger guys were working on the car, climbing in and out of the car through the empty space where the windscreen would once have been.

It took me a couple of walk-bys before I actually stopped to talk to the people gathered but I was instantly glad that I had, they have since proven to be some of the kindest, most warm-hearted people I’ve ever met. I briefly explained that I was attending the photography event up the road and asked if they would mind if I took some photos of the car, no problems there. I asked a few questions about the car and what it was for, which they were more than happy to explain to me.

They called it a ‘mud bomb’, and the name pretty much says it all. Long time fans of the sport of Mud Trials, they were getting it ready for the an event in October which was taking place in Boomi, a small town of about 45 people, an hour south-west over the border into NSW. They had been going to the event for years but this was their first time competing so they were understandably excited. It wasn’t long before they invited me into their home to see a video they shot of last year’s event, and soon they asked if I’d like to come back down and come to the event with them. I accepted instantly.

These photos are from a few rolls which I only recently got back. I’m working on what I hope will become a more cohesive project from the other photos I took over the weekend but hopefully this gives a little taste of what the Boomi Mud Trials were about.

ET AL. Photo Collective Launch Exhibition

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:05:47 +0000

We will be having the Launch Exhibition for the ET AL. Photo Collective on Friday 2nd December @ Jugglers Art Space, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. We’ve got lots of photos, free sushi and plenty of beer and wine, which although not free, will be pretty cheap!

More information can be found here, all are welcome so we look forward to seeing you there.