Olga Baldock

Art has always been a passion of mine. Although I obtained excellent results in HSC Art and was offered a scholarship by one of the leading art schools I took up a teaching scholarship to ensure a steady career. It was only some 10 years ago that the opportunity arose for me to become involved in a creative field again. My husband gave me his old camera, a Nikon D70 to see if I would be interested. There was no stopping me. The steep learning curve began – to learn the fundamentals of photography, how to use the camera and the intricacies of Photoshop.

I have been fortunate to win a number of awards which encouraged me to learn more, as well as attending lots of workshops. Some of my most treasured awards are: 2013 Photograph of the Year Better Photography, 2014 The International Landscape Photographer of the Year, 2014 International Loupe Awards and numerous Focus Awards. I have attended workshops in Canada, Japan, Tasmania, the South Coast of New South Wales and Sydney. I look for inspiration and I am very lucky to be surrounded by talented photographers and those who believe in my work. I now shoot with a Nikon D810 and Fujifilm X-T2.

Artist statement

“Landscape, seascape and portrait subjects have been my passion and focus for photography. However I am wrestling with the concept of photography as a ”Look, See, Here it is” (Roland Barthes) genre. It is familiar, safe, beautiful, focused and expected. I am now playing with the notions of “Why abstract?” and “Why it does not have to be in focus.” I want to work my camera to seek something fundamentally different, push my photography and my limits and toy with the idea of creating a tension or confusion between reality and abstraction. A visual language that still, I hope, evokes a response from the viewer.“- Olga Baldock 2019

ARTIST'S SIGNATURE IMAGES

(Available for purchase within Selected/Collected Works sections)

Upper Hunter

Flying in a helicopter in the early morning light over Torryburn in the Upper Hunter, my main focus was to shoot as much as I could. Hills, trees, light and patterns paraded themselves from a different perspective. The light, subject, perspective and colour create a mood that draws the viewer into the scene. Changing the colour from the vibrant greens is the need in me to seek something different. The vibrant greens, I believe, took away from the subject…… the little tree nestled in the hills.

Whale Beach

This incredible morning will always remain in my memory. Climbing down a rock face in the dark and wee hours of the morning we looked for a composition and set up our tripods for long exposures. A storm was brewing and sunlight was trying to break through. I saw this scene in the corner of my eye and my heart skipped a beat. As I was photographing something else I quickly turned my tripod and fired away trying to get the right shutter speed for the wave movement I wanted and capturing the light, as it was fading fast. Colour again plays in creating the atmosphere needed to engage the viewer.

Fleeting

Weather patterns on the coast allow for some wonderful cloud formations. On this particular afternoon there seemed to be two layers of clouds. The higher one did not seem to move very much while the lower layer was moving very quickly allowing for an interplay of patterns and shapes. Using my Fujifilm 50 -140mm lens with a 2x teleconverter I captured the drama created by the clouds and background lighting from the setting sun albeit fleeting.

Storm approaching, Kiama

I find my best images on cloudy and stormy days. As I walked along I saw a flock of birds quietly sitting in the branches of a tree with storm clouds around them. I zoomed my camera and took a number of shots from different angles. To have negative space surrounding the birds adds a sense of drama….. waiting for what might come. I chose the blue toning to add to the atmosphere. Blue suggests stability, loyalty and calmness but it can also suggest loneliness, forlorn and aloofness. Thus colour and subject allow the viewer to bring to the image their own response.

Coogee Pool swim

The position of the pool allowed it to be photographed from the path looking down. This view allowed me to capture a relationship between the three people in the image. The child holding on tightly to the father due to the waves crashing over the side of the pool and the third person walking out of the frame. A slow shutter speed, colour and light invites the viewer to become involved in the mood of this visual story.

Bombo grasses

In this image I was working my camera to find something fundamentally different. The light was hitting the grasses and as I walked along I put my camera on my hip and shot away. This abstract has no expectations but to be drawn in and made sense of as one wishes. To me the light and shadow, colour, texture and movement of this image is emotive.