The photo exhibition at Gallery Unbound opened last Friday with a gathering of the contributing photographers, their friends and the Print 2 Metal team.
Last Friday was an emotional day: publishing the post to let everyone know our beloved Bengie had passed away, going to Anui to not only clean up the boat covered in dirt and bird poop, but also to collect Bengie’s things we had left on board and give them all away. And then there was the launch of the photo exhibition at Gallery Unbound.
Here is the exhibition catalogue, a great preview of what is on display for two weeks and also accessible online.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cab9O-Q0TY06lCpR7sHDQKyeV5yXJV03
There are 74 pieces on display. They were all printed on aluminium by Print 2 Metal who is hosting the show. For those of you not familiar with metal prints, it is a high quality way of presenting your art work. A specialised dye-sublimation process is used. This is how it works:
- Print: The printer lays special dye-based inks onto transfer paper.
- Sublimate: Heat and pressure from a heat press turn the solid ink into a gas, which then permeates the coated aluminium surface, becoming a solid again.
- Result: This process creates prints that are permanent, won’t crack, fade, or wash out, offering exceptional color vibrancy and detail.
Metal prints are incredibly durable, resistant to fading, scratching, and water damage; they are lightweight and easy to clean with a standard glass cleaner. We have used them extensively to display Reef and Seascape photos on Anui for all those reasons.
We were unsure about attending the opening as we were feeling fragile and not really in a mood to celebrate anything, but we forced ourselves to go, spurred along by the few close friends who joined us. We are glad we did. It was Chris’s first ever opportunity to exhibit her work in a gallery and the two images submitted looked stunning. Shame the person standing next to those two photographs had puffy eyes from so much grieving for our girl. The sorrow and tears come in swamping waves.
The 27 photographers who are taking part range from seasoned artists who do this for a living and had multiple images on show, to hobbyists who are exhibiting for the first time, like Chris.
As a novice in the game you can’t help but wonder whether your work will keep its sharpness in a big enlargement. You aren’t sure how your images will stack up against other photographers’ work, whether people will like them, whether the price tag you put on them is in line with other exhibitors…
All these doubts dissipated quickly. The Albatross in particular is very striking, different to anything else in the gallery, and it attracted a lot of commentary and questions. We will see whether either image sells, but even if they don’t, we will be proud to display them at home.
People are always keen to know where the photos were taken, what the conditions were like; they are surprised when you tell them you took the shots from your own boat in the Southern Ocean, off the West coast of Tasmania. They are interested in your background as a photographer, your motivation for taking the shots… We fielded the questions and directed similar queries at other artists. It was an interesting event followed by dinner with our faithful friends.
Thank you to the Print 2 Metal team for the invitation to participate, for the tremendous job of printing the images on a premium metal finish that glows. And of course thank you to Gallery Unbound for providing the art place.
Sv-Anui 
So so sorry to read that Bengie has passed. Sending love and hugs. It is such a hard and difficult time when we have to say goodbye to our beloved pets. Bengie had a unique life compared with most cats. Love how she climbed the ladder to get up onto Anui. Glad that you went to the opening of your exhibition, despite the pain of losing Bengie. Being a first time will always be special. Congratulations on presenting your stunning work.
Thank you Jan for persevering with WordPress! Yes it has been such a mix of emotions these last 10 days. It doesn’t take much for the tears to flow and sadness to overwhelm us.
The exhibition was encouraging and I am glad we went to its opening.
Dear Chris and Wade, Stunning pictures. The albatross will always be my favourite, and the Port Davey sunrise is superb. The print on metal process captures so much depth and detail. You must have so many of amazing images to work with from your years of cruising. Lots to keep you distracted for a while. Love, Chris and Suzanne
Thanks Chris & Suzanne, the albatross has a determined look and thankfully passed closed to Anui. The sunrise at Schooner is special too and Discovery II is in it also!
How wonderful to see Chris’s beautiful photos going out to a wider audience. Both are such stunning shots!!
But a tough day to be out and about too…
Sending more hugs and much love.
Hi Helene, great memories of a big adventure we had with our girl. Sailing won’t be the same without her.
Amazing art from nature!I love it. Congratulations Chris on your inclusion! Another focus for you now! Love, Suzanne🥰
Thank you Suzanne, there are some great images on show. Very pleased to be taking part.
I so thought of you and wondered whether and how you would ‘make it’ and am glad you somehow managed – the tears may have been there, they stayed within you. As you may have noticed from my reposts a beautiful dog I have followed since he was a puppy some 13 years ago, is also travelling towards the Rainbow Bridge – miles away from both Bengie and Dozer, truly I am also crying. The exhibition looks great and I am trying to understand the method of presentation of the photos – interesting. I especially love the size of the photos and how the albatross one is pictured. I trust both will grace new homes . . . the alternative will add beauty to your own home. I do hope this is truly a new facet in your life. love and hugs . . .
I thought of you too, Eha, as I saw Nagi’s post. I well know the sorrow of realising their days are counted. Hope Bengie & Dozer meet up at some stage.
Photography keeps me sane and I feel I have turned a corner into more impressionist territory. I love that shift where feelings and emotions are more important than literal reproductions. We’ll see where this leads!
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy . . . discover more, do more, sometimes turn that proverbial 6 1/2 degrees and find new ways . . . am still looking at your albatross and smiling . . . oh, you don’t look bad either 🙂 !
😊 Trying to and enjoying the slower, more considered pace it requires.
Congratulations, Chris.
The albatross is stunning and the accolade is deserved
Thanks Bill, a soaring bird taken from a moving deck on Anui… a special shot.
Chris ‘N Wade, so sorry to hear about your loss of Bengie, she was an epic part of your voyages.
Otherwise, congrat’s on your exhibition Chris, great choice of pics! You know I’ve often thought you should have an exhibition of your works. You have so many more amazing and probably quite unique pictures, especially the underwater pics from the north. Seriously, at some point every amateur with a passion and time can become highly regarded. We have a friend, Ian Cameron who formerly a policeman, now retired, but for 2 decades developed his passion for landscape photography and turned it into a business. I was able to help one year to sell his prints at the Edinburgh Festival while he talked techo stuff to photography nerds. He now limits himself to taking out on photography tours, ie teaching. You never know? All the best guys while you continue land lubbering!
There’s an idea, sailing and photography tours for the idle rich!?!
Hi Elgar & Claire, it’s been very sad for the last two weeks… such a void and awfully quiet without Bengie.
On the exhibition side, no sale yet, so I guess we will pick the two pictures up on Sunday and display them at home. It is really hard to break into the commercial market. I have been thinking about online galleries but organising the printing and framing gets tricky! Thanks for the feedback though!
Well done for your display. The Albatross reminds me of a guy I used to work with in Wollongong back in the late 80’s & early 90’s Lindsay aka Bush Rat & Albatross Man. His hobby in his spare time was catching Albatrosses & Seagulls measuring recording & tagging. He was a member of SOSSA . Sadly he passed last November . He was a very unique & interesting man.
I’m sure that your prints will sell.
Cheers Mick & Lyn.
Hi Mick, unfortunately my two prints haven’t sold and in fact only one of the 74 images exhibited did, so I don’t feel quite as inadequate as a photographer… the gallery are blaming the quiet time of year… But I tell you what, they look pretty good in our house now! That albatross man sounds like quite a character!