Talk:Peter Dombrovskis

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Having known Peter and met him once in 1994, I have had many times upon which I can reflect on his efforts, particularly in Tasmania, but elsewhere in Australia. This is because Peter's influence was far reaching and taught legions of photographers around Australia how to approach the environment with sensitivity and subjectivity.

I have added a number of clarifying and expanding comments to the base article. Of interest for further reading are two articles: one, authored by Peter Jackson of Elizabeth College, Hobart, introduces the reader to Peter's life work and philosophy, his ability to convey statements through images only (I can remember the remark in the article by Jackson: "...Peter Dombrovskis is not a public person. His views on the environment [and conservation] are shown without polemic and without rhetoric..."), and the interesting revelation that Dombrovskis "...took years to decide what he wanted to do [before large format landscape photography]". This article appeared in 'WILD' magazine, I think, in 1994.

After Peter's death, 'The Age' in Melbourne published a piece, authored by Jane Cadzow and titled, 'A Lasting Image'. I have not been successful in tracking down a copy of this from 'The Age' archives.

Peter's other books, besides the 'Wild Rivers' he co-authored with Bob Brown, are "In the Forest" (with commentary by Prof. Jamie Kirkpatrick, University of Tasmania) and 'On the Mountain', a pictorial homage to his 'home', Mount Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania.

In 2005 [?], Stuart Solman, of the School of Art at the University of Tasmania, authored a document entitled "Alernative Perspectives: Peter Dombrovskis", in which he took the view of Dombrovskis' "...commodification of Tasmanian wilderness",. I have this for reference but do not know how (or if) it should be included in the Wiki reference [?].

Garyh: Silent Street Photography, Geelong, Australia 02:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

The essay "Alernative Perspectives: Peter Dombrovskis" is a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion (for what it's worth!). The stuff about his development from 35mm and Olegas' influence, his "trademark style", technical limitations (long depth of field = long time exposure), and the contribution to conservation are all relevant points. The "commodification" stuff is just artspeak, and is probably not relevant (I mean, what did he want him to do? Live in poverty while making exquisite artworks that only the rich can afford? Maybe then he'd be a "proper" artist, even better if he had a drug habit and a tragic sex life!). I've also heard criticism of Dombrovskis' work as being "no sun, no people, and everything in focus"- I guess you just can't please some people LOLMarkAnthonyBoyle 13:20, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Solman's paper has relevance from an historical perspective. Probably need to contact him for permission to link? It's a pdf item, so link would have to go through the website where his paper resides.

Now, "Commodification" is an interesting term but there is no doubt that a lot of his work made people more aware of the value of protecting vast tracts of wilderness, if only mostly in Tasmania. I don't think it was Dombrovskis' intention to actually "commodify" Tassie; it is the author of the article who put that on him!

The "no sun, no people, everything in focus" bit is highly amusing and shows the profound depth of understanding non-photographer critics have of Dombrovskis work. Firstly, Dombrovskis specialised in photographing the wilderness: no people, tracks or buildings or human interference: they existed where he went (and can even be noted in several photographs), he simply excluded them if that was possible. Secondly, Dombrovskis selected his subjects and lighting carefully, skilfulling blending them to deliver an image with atmosphere; we all do the same thing. The film he used (Fujichrome Velvia) delivers its very best results when used in diffuse light; it is critical to understand that and all professional users of Velvia understand that. Being a very contrasty film, Velvia can look just awful shot in bright sun.

Dombrovskis commonly exposed Velvia 50 at EI40 (+1/3) and as far down as EI32 (+2/3) which accounts for the "long time exposure(s)".

Garyh: Silent Street Photography, Geelong, Australia 00:33, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

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