Life becomes art through Gary’s lens

WARRAGUL’S annual National Photographic Exhibition showcases some of the most stunning photos in the country.
Among the final exhibits chosen to hang at the recent 45th show were works by Korumburra’s Gary Beresford.
His eye for appealing compositions, interesting subject matter and technical expertise combined to earn him several merit awards from among a high quality field.
Mr Beresford received merits in the open monochrome category for his portrait of a female model, entitled Dignity, and his character filled piece The Swaggy, in the portrait/people section.
“I love the textures in his beard and his hair. He looks like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. It’s one of my favourite shots,” Mr Beresford said of The Swaggy, which also won best image at the 2017 Mirboo North Art Show.
The photo was taken in overcast conditions to take advantage of soft light and digitally manipulated to bring out the details in the subject’s face.
Dignity was created at a photography club and Mr Beresford used the Rembrandt lighting technique of placing a triangle of light beneath the subject’s eye.
“I do love the master painters and spend a lot of time trying to emulate them. Photography is just another artistic medium,” he said.
Another image he submitted to the Warragul show, First Light, was taken in the South Australian town of Clare while he and wife Glenda travelled around Australia for a year, looking after farms.
It shows sheep feeding in the early morning sunlight, against a smoke haze background created by the burning of crop stubble nearby.
Mr Beresford waited for a flock of pigeons, circling the scene, to fly into view before opening the shutter.
“I spent that year photographing rural scenes which is still a bit of a passion of mine,” he said.
Perhaps one of his most captivating images is a Korumburra sunrise, featuring a characteristic mist filled valley and solitary cow that encapsulate South Gippsland’s iconic natural beauty.
Mr Beresford knows the value of rising early to make the most of the unique morning light.
“With most photography, if you are not finished photographing by eight o’clock in the morning, then forget it,” he said.
Composition, Mr Beresford believes, is key to quality landscape photography.
“The old elements of foreground, middleground and background, and how they work with each other and how the light falls all build interest,” he said.
While he does not profess to be a professional photographer, Mr Beresford has been taking photos “on and off” throughout his life, and has become more serious about his hobby in the past 10 years.
He won best colour image at the Leongatha Art and Photography Show in 2016 and best black and white in 2017.
Currently president of the Caulfield Photographic Society, he is also a member of South Gippsland Photographic Society and is only too happy to share his expertise and learn from others.
Being comfortable with computers, he finds digital photography to suit his scientific mind. His day job is servicing medical instruments.
“Eighty to 90 percent of photographers would come from the technical side of it. You need that technical knowledge unless you have someone doing the processing side for you,” Mr Beresford said.
He predominantly shoots with a Canon 5D camera that produces a high quality 23 megapixel image.

Through the lens: (left) Gary Beresford of Korumburra has a passion for photographing the world around him, from South Gippsland to broader Australia.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Jun 19 2018. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry