This years show was an even bigger success than the three that proceeded it, as the exhibition goes from strength to strength. Opening night was massive! With an estimated 350+ people scrolling through the Collingwood Gallery. Rhys Allen was awarded “The Hangers Prize” for UNSENSORED10 with his image and awesome prize are depicted below (sorry bout the digi photos!).

If you couldn’t make opening night, but wondered what is was like – this video from Matthew Joesph is as close as you will get to the real thing:

The exhibition finished with a total of twenty sales; with Roberts Birze individually responsible for ten of them. You can check out his image in the previous blog post.

Thank-you to all of the exhibitors, sitters, hangers, booze purchasers/distributors, helpers, designers, prize makers, musicians, everyone who visited/commented/purchased, collingwood gallery and of last but not least the committee. We very much look forward to doing it all again next year!

The 75 Tram on Flinders Street, by Roberts Birze.

UNSENSORED10 is a unique photography exhibition of over 70 works based on one common element: film.

Presented by Melbourne Silver Mine, a growing organisation of passionate film photographers, the exhibition showcases a range of themes including street photography, portraiture, urban and rural landscapes and still life.

UNSENSORED10
Collingwood Gallery
292 Smith Street Collingwood

Opening Night:
Friday 13th August 2010 from 6pm

Exhibition dates:
Saturday 14th August – Wednesday 25th August 2010

Gallery open
10am – 5pm Saturday & Sunday
Midday – 6:30pm Monday – Friday

More information at: http://unsensored.net/.

This year’s show features the work of:
Rhys Allen, Olga Bennett, Roberts Birze, Sandy Birze, Jock Blakley, Natalie Blom, Richard Buckley, Zaeem Burq, Matthew Carr, Dave Carswell, Lucian Chaffey, Andrew Cosgriff, Sophie Curzon-Siggers, Barbara Fischer, Stacy Gillett, Tim Heraud, Ross Holmberg, Tim Johnson, Matthew Joseph, Mike Le Fevre, Jaye Loring, Suzi Macbeth, Iain Maclachlan, James Mcmanus, Piers Morgan, Jodie Noonan, Vinnie Piatek, Amy Piesse, Ambre Pitt, Richard Plumridge, Mike Reed, Kevin Reeve, Karen Riley, Ahmad Sabra, Jesper Sidhu, Deanne Smith, Cameron Stephen, Paul X. Stoney, Reynandi Susanto, Jesse Swallow, Liam Thomas, Jacqueline van Zetten, Michael Verhoef, Marcus Visic, Christian Were, Dee Whalan, Katherine White, Liam White, Damian Young, Chris Zissiadis

Waiting, by Dave Carswell.

The full UNSENSORED10 terms and conditions can be read here, but briefly the main features of the exhibition are:

• All images must originate from an analogue or traditional photographic technique. From that point on you are welcome to keep it pure analogue or employ digital post processing & printing.
• Due to the popularity of the event, UNSENSORED10 is open to Melbourne Silver Mine Inc financial members only, but don’t panic, you can sign up as a member and take part this year.
• The entry fee for members is $50, this entitles you to a 70cm wide x 100cm high space. This year we are pleased to be able to offer a reduced rate UNSENSORED10 entry fee for full time students and the unemployed of $30!
• All artwork must be at the gallery in a ready to hang state by midday 12th August 2010

Venue: Collingwood Gallery, 292 Smith Street, Collingwood Victoria
Dates: 13th – 25th August 2010

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

Scan-090502-0013, by Andrew Cosgriff.

Saturday May 1st is International Commie Camera day, so get out those old Russian, Chinese and such cameras and get shooting!

These two shots are from ICCD 2009, and were taken with my Kiev 60.

emp-t, by Andrew Cosgriff.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the first installment of this idea. A special thanks to those who chose to join the mine to take part in SAM and for those who shot specifically for the event.

Let’s get together for a drink and the opportunity to watch a digital presentation of the images collected this year.

For a preview of the images in the presentation, head to the flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups/sam2010/

For details on the venue’s panoramic projector craziness head to the Horse Bazaar website – http://www.horsebazaar.com.au

This is a one night only event. So lock it in your diary now.

Everyone is welcome, bring a friend, entry is free, drinks and food available at the bar.

Date: Thursday 6th March 2010

Time: 5:30pm onwards

Location: Horse Bazaar, 397 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (Map)

The Melbourne Silver Mine would like to thanks Light Leaks Magazine for their generous sponsorship of the Low-Fi prize that is part of SAM2010
Magazine – http://www.lightleaks.org/
Shop – http://shop.lightleaks.org/

by Roberts Birze.

This Sunday – April 25 – is World Pinhole Day, so get out your pinhole cameras (or make one) and get shooting!

Some MSM members will be around the city shooting some photos on the day – see the what’s news thread for more details.

barbie gothic, by Cameron Stephen.

SHOOT A MINER

The event that asks our members to get together and shoot each other!

Portraits of and by our members will be gathered together and presented in a gala evening of portraiture on Thursday 6th May 2010 at Horse Bazaar.

A blurb book, and a permanent web based presentation of work will also be prepared.

All Melbourne Silver Mine Members are invited to participate.

For more information head on over to the Shoot a Miner website.

The easiest way to start submitting images is to do so via the Shoot a Miner flickr group

Various prizes are to be awarded. For example we are pleased to have the people of Light Leaks Press sponsoring the SAM 2010 Low-Fi prize for portraits taken with a low end “toy” camera. (more info in the flickr group)

Other prizes will be awarded based on skill, enthusiasm, or random acts of analogue love.

So take this opportunity to get together with your fellow miners and work towards capturing some memorable portraits.

If you are yet to become a member of the MSM, don’t worry, you can join today and take part in this event.

To celebrate the festive season we have decided to hit the lawn for some bowls.

Event details:

Who: The Silverminers and Partners (and supervisored little ones welcome)
When: Sunday 6th December 2009 from 5pm (Bowling starts around 6pm)
Where: Fitzroy Bowling & Sports Club Inc. 578 Brunswick St North Fitzroy 3068 (info)
Cost: $20 for MSM Members and $25 for Non Members (Includes BBQ Dinner and Barefoot Bowls)

Booze can be purchased at the bar .. for crazy cheap prices. (Please note, there is no BYO option for this venue).

Tickets must be prepurchased.

You can pay by direct deposit into our bank account or via paypal.
Please let the MSM Treasurer Jodie Noonan know when you have paid via an email to treasurer@silvermine.org.au.

Melbourne Silver Mine Inc Bank account details for direct deposits
BSB: 633 000
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 133674028

Paypal payments

MSM 2009 Christmas Party

Member $20.00 Non Member $25.00 MSM Membership and Xmas Party $65.00

Please confirm no later than the 2nd December 2009. Hope to see you there!!!

Date: Wednesday 21st October 2009

Time: 7:30pm

Venue: Edinburgh Gardens Community Room
(located within Edinburgh Gardens, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy)
Detailed venue information can be downloaded here.

The main business of the meeting is to receive the fiancial reports for the Association and to elect the 2009/2010 committee of management. Nominations are currently open. Please use this form to send nominations, nominations must be received 7 days prior to the meeting.

If you are unable to attend please let the MSM Secretary know via email.

A form to use to appoint a proxy for voting purposes can be downloaded here.

New members are welcome to join at the meeting, you can start the membership process online.

AGENDA

1. Welcome to members
2. Apologies
3. President’s Report                                      Rhys Allen
4. Treasurer’s Report                                      Jodie Noonan
5. Election of Melbourne Silver Mine Inc. Committee 2009/2010
6. Determination of Annual Membership Subscriptions
   RESOLUTION: That annual membership and joining fees remain at $20 each for the next 12 months.
7. Other Business

Regards

Chris Zissiadis
Secretary
Melbourne Silver Mine Inc.

Unsensored09 by Michael Verhoef.

I may be going out on a limb here, but for me, this year’s Unsensored exhibition at Collingwood Gallery felt like the coming of age for the Melbourne Silver Mine. In 2007, just 12 inspired miners made the journey from film to frame – in 2008, that number had jumped to a very respectable 30. In this, its third year, Unsensored09 saw 42 members put work on the wall at Collingwood Gallery, and in my opinion it was our strongest show yet. This year I was fortunate enough to be able to sit the gallery on a number of days, and as a result, got to know the show quite well. In addition I met some fascinating people, introduced a few digital shooters to the wonders of film and partook in numerous glasses of cheap unlabelled Chardonnay. Bliss.

UNSENSORED09 by Roberts Birze.

Putting together the show is always a heap of work – work which I would normally embrace with gusto as it’s pretty much the only useful thing I’d be doing for the year. Of course this year’s Unsensored planning happened right in the middle of my wife’s pregnancy, the resulting birth and subsequent late night crazies. So, with great rationality, (yet not without some regrets) I sat on the sidelines as others put up their hands to co-ordinate the show. Both new faces and old pitched in to get Unsensored off the ground once more, and I think I speak for all MSM members when I offer my since gratitude to those involved.

This is Unsensored09 by Matthew Joseph – make sure you view the large version!

For me, Unsensored is first and foremost about giving our members the opportunity to showcase their work to the public. Art demands an audience after all, and Unsensored serves to provide that audience. But the second main purpose of Unsensored is to showcase the beauty of film based photography. By keeping film alive in the public mind, by showing them what can be done with that dust gathering relic of a camera at the back of the garage, I hope in some small way we can assist in keeping a demand for film on our shelves. The market right now looks great – true we’ve lost a few good films – most notably Polaroid last year and Kodachrome this year (though nobody had shot it for years really) but on the other hand there are new black and white emulsions coming out, chemistry is still available, and film scanners keep getting developed to ensure that we film shooters may have our share in the digital revolution. It’s a good time to shoot film.

the heavenly queen by Jaye Loring.

But I digress – back to Unsensored09. We seemed to cover all bases this year. The range of films, cameras, styles and subjects was quite remarkable, and for a show which is uncurated and unselected by a central committee, I felt there was a wonderful sense of order about it all. There were a few notable highlights for me. I really loved the way Hamish Innes-Brown’s untitled piece shared the colour pallette of Jaye Loring’s “The Heavenly Queen”, a mere two spaces away and completely different in other respects, but united by simple purples and blues. Well done to the hangers for that move. Jesse Swallow’s “thought crime,” a typical piece of “mugley” irreverance, was a hit. I spent much time trying to convince prospective buyers to part with $1000 to own a picture of a man in kangaroo mask holding a rubber chicken, and I reckon if either I or one particular buyer had had one more Chardy, I might have done it.

Bikes by Jodie Noonan.

Then of course there was Jodie Noonan’s untitled print of a damaged polaroid, those redder than red bikes seeming to throb off that cotton rag paper. It was deservedly a multi seller, and a continually popular shot. Personally I also really loved the gentleness of Roberts Birze’s “When Time Happens: The Rocks,” and found myself continually returning to Cameron Stephen’s “Kantju Gorge” for a blast of outback psychedelia.

Momentarily Sidetracked by Tim Heraud.

But the two most talked about pieces of Unsensored09 without doubt were Tim Heraud’s gob-smacking “Momentarily Sidetracked” – a masterpiece of mosaic mayhem, and of course, Lucian Chaffey’s controversial “Addicted to You, 2″ While Tim’s piece had us talking about method, design, process and materials, Lucian’s powerful work deliberately provoked us into considering the role of art, and the role of the female form in today’s society. It divided the crowd, perhaps as good art always does, and inspired many interesting debates, both on and offline. That both pieces were sold and now part of private collections is no surprise.

US09 once again succeeded in demonstrating to the public that film continues to be a unique and beautiful medium in which to work, and hopefully we inspired a few punters to dust off their old film cameras and rediscover how good it can be. Congratulations not only to those who achieved a sale, but to everyone who participated and made this year’s Unsensored such a wonderful show. I’m already looking forward to next year.

Unsensored Coda by Cameron Stephen.