January 13, 2023
of Mode Street Photo Gallery A single print by Erick and Ian Regnard sold for $50,000, ending 2022 on a high note.
Impressive 2.5mx 1.5m large format print floating bita series shot in 2007 by the Mauritian-born twins after years of preparation.
‘It’s unbelievable. From a few photographers who haven’t spent much time here in Brisbane, a small market after Covid. It was very special. Unbelievable,” said Irena Prikir, director of Maude Street Photo Gallery. Inside imaging“I think it’s good for photographers to know that images with high price tags can and will sell. This is a plus for the industry, and photographers charge less than they’re worth.” You shouldn’t.
But how much are fine art photographic prints worth? This is a question many photographers grapple with. Some people follow their intuition, while others carefully weigh the variables before deciding on a number.
There are simple factors such as camera equipment, printing, paper quality, picture frames, and the direct costs of producing a piece. There are also secondary costs such as time spent planning the shoot, travel and lodging costs, payments for models and assistants, processing and editing, to name just a few.
Finally, more abstract factors such as the reputation of the photographer, whether the work is considered ‘collectible’, editions, the secondary market value of the art, concept, story, project execution, and gallery reputation. there is.
Know how much work has been done floating bit We provide some context to justify the steep price tag. Eric and Ian probably still have no money. But the extra work has resulted in a unique collection of photos.There’s obviously a lot going on here besides some underwater model poses, but this is hardly an original concept. .
There is no denying that the $50,000 figure is well above average for contemporary photographic prints from the most respected Australian fine art photographers. A quick look reveals that Bill Henson, Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, and Tamara Dean prints typically rub off on low-five numbers.
However, sometimes the print value is surprisingly simple. All the above information (price, secondary value, collectibility) is irrelevant if the individual is moved and associated with the photo. As in the case of floating bit Sale.
From advertising to art
Ian and Erick Regnard grew up in Mauritius, a paradise off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, where they became interested in surf photography. In his early ’80s, in his early teens, the family moved to Perth, after which Surf established his photography career under the brand Tungsten. This was during the surf fashion boom, with brands and magazines on a tight budget and sending young people to exotic coastal destinations. I was creating some of the most respected surf, portrait and lifestyle photography in the world.” truck.
In 2002, just before the surfing industry collapsed, the twins effortlessly dabbled in commercial and advertising photography, and later videography.
“I think people often have trouble understanding how we work,” Ian said. 50 Ground marketing blog. ‘On set, alternate as an assistant or cameraman during a photo shoot. Eric will come and see something from another angle or vice versa. We give each other feedback all the time. It’s like perfecting each other’s ideas.
“We are seeing more and more companies working directly with us rather than through traditional advertising agencies. Clients still use agencies to develop their visions, but in-house marketers direct shoots, I’m sitting with the photographers and sorting out the shot lists etc. Now I’m asking the client and the agency to submit their ideas early and tell them if it’s a viable photo concept doing.”
Although Regnards is serious about his photography business, he sees considerable value in pursuing personal projects. In addition to stimulating creative motivation, there are added values such as increased name recognition through photo contest prizes and exhibitions of works.
‘PR amount [public relations] years on this project alone [Floating Bits] So great, I always encourage photographers to go out and do personal projects. the streets of your city podcast. “That’s how people notice you, even if it’s a little different. It works for other people.” [in a commercial setting] Great, but you’re always doing what they want you to do.
floating bit
After learning about the tiny island of Niue in the South Pacific, with amazing underwater visibility up to 100 meters and diving with humpback whales, the twins came up with a quirky concept: underwater with whales in a 4×5 large format. It’s about capturing the model as it poses. Polaroid PN55 film.
“We decided to use a Polaroid for this project, specifically a PN55 that offers positives and negatives at the same time,” said Ian. Petapixel 2016.
This project required more than a year of planning. First, they worked with engineers to modify the camera to have enough bellows for a wide focus range. Newcastle-based underwater camera his housing Dave Kelly, his builder, created a cumbersome custom his housing, including his 15kg weight to sink the housing.
After the rig was built, the twins used it for a few test shots to learn how the camera works underwater, especially focus and framing.
“This camera took me about a year to figure out how to shoot underwater. I was uneasy[out testing] that.
“We thought we were going to go to a place in the open ocean where we had never dived before. We really don’t know how to use this camera.” So we decided to go to Tahiti. I used to swim with stingrays. Located in a calm lagoon, the stingrays are very friendly and the water is only 2 meters deep.
This test shoot resulted in three incredible shots, including one that sold for $50,000. “For a test run, it was pretty cool,” he says Erick.
Moviegoers mostly stress that “slowing down the process” is what makes film photography fun. Due to the finite number of exposures, photographers have to devote more time and attention to each shot, and the photos require processing before they can be viewed.
If film photographers love this approach, Regnards’ painstakingly slow process will leave them shivering with excitement. I only shot 8 shots in one day of shooting.
“We can only take one shot at a time, and then we go back to the boat, get the film out, and process the Polaroids,” says Erick. “Ian gave me feedback and direction. Then I loaded the new film, put the camera back in the housing, screwed it on, weighed it, and talked to the model.”
Sometimes Eric missed a frame or wasn’t in the right position in the composition. Other times, the model was posed perfectly but had no stingrays, or was posed incorrectly but had rays. “We were going up and down like yo-yos,” Eric said.
“I’m a commercial photographer and I take between 500 and 1000 photos a day. I was able to take as many as 8 photos in a day and it was really nice to be able to take the time to do the math. Button Just make sure you’re hitting it exactly when you hit it, sometimes it’s the same or even more after 3 seconds, but that’s the nature of beasts, isn’t it? [of the camera rig] – It was a beast.
After a successful test shoot in Tahiti, the twins took the model to Niue for a few weeks. Many days passed and the whale still hadn’t appeared. Instead of waiting for whales and playing with their thumbs, they started taking more test photos in the deep open ocean.
“We started filming, but unfortunately after the second, third, fourth, fifth day, we didn’t see any whales. And at the end of the two weeks I was a little sad and disappointed [we didn’t see whales]but it still took great pictures,” says Erick.
“When we got home, we took a good look at them and said, ‘Wow, there’s something special here.’ IPA (International Photographic Awards) Category Award. Photo shoots sometimes plan things out, but it shows that things don’t always go according to plan. You have to go with the flow and do the best you can with what you have.
mode street exhibition
The end result is a series of large-format prints that must be seen to be believed, Irena said. The prints have an incredible level of detail and depth, thanks to Légnard’s stubborn, inconvenient and painstaking photographic process.
“I wasn’t sure how the exhibition in Brisbane would turn out,” said Irena. “Eric just moved here and no one here knows him. I looked at the stuff and thought, ‘How am I going to do this, this is Brisbane – it’s a small place’.
On the first day, a woman who was unfamiliar with Mr. and Mrs. Reignards and their work came and fell in love. desire‘I asked her if she knew the price.
Other cheaper prints also sold well.
We all know that running a photo gallery is hard work and requires media passion and dedication.Irena describes her own work as ‘little to no labor of love’ [financial] return”, which matches what other photo gallery directors have said. Inside imagingAlthough Maud Street’s has made great contributions to the photography industry.
As well as showcasing photography from local masters such as Jeff Moorfoot and John Gollings to accomplished amateurs such as David Symons, it also houses the new Queensland Center of Photography. This is a valuable volunteer-run community he hub for Queensland photographers and includes regular workshops for professional development, darkrooms, and other events.
The gallery continues to move forward with Maud Street’s winning conclusion for 2022.
– of floating bit The exhibition closed on November 27th, and Irena closed the gallery until February to take a much-needed vacation.