Exhibitions curated by photographer Mike Bowers
I'm open to creating more exhibitions in the future, if you’d like to collaborate, please get in contact with me using the contact page.
Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive
Held at the National Library of Australia: 27 Feb - 20 Jul 2025
Herbert H. Fishwick & Fairfax Corporation, Line of photographers ready to photograph Edward VIII, Prince of Wales, at Government House, Sydney, 1920, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162931011
Fairfax Corporation, Young girl holding a large apple beside her head, New South Wales, ca. 1930s, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-163350126
Fairfax Corporation, Two female students studying in the grounds at Sydney University, Sydney, June 1934, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-163384894
Fairfax Corporation, Men working on the propeller of the H.M.A.S. Australia at Cockatoo Island Dock, Sydney 4 June 1930, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161678472
Fairfax Corporation, Six of Miss Stange's pupils during a dance performance, New South Wales, 30 May 1933, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162055145
Fairfax Corporation, Collier wearing a hat lamp at Lithgow Vale Colliery, New South Wales, 21 December 1932, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-157886388
Fairfax Corporation, Man examining a cello at Smith's of Hunter Street, Sydney, 25 July 1930, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160274733
Fairfax Corporation, Boy and dog in a billycart race past other children on a suburban street, Sydney, ca. 1920s, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162855139
The National Library of Australia invited me to select some of my favourite images from the Fairfax Photo Archive. I carefully looked through more than 18,000 original glass-plate negatives. The exhibition explored how the pioneers of press photography in Australia developed and refined their storytelling skills while also creating a lasting record of Australian society in the opening decades of the twentieth century.
The Fairfax Archive of glass-plate negatives are newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun and The Sydney Mail between 1890 and 1948. These images trace the art of photojournalism from its infancy, through the development of visual storytelling, to the highly illustrated news stories we know so well today.
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Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive selected by me, Mike Bowers
“At its very best, photojournalism can define a moment, a movement, an era or even a whole generation. It can bring down a careless politician or elevate them to a winning position. It can lift a weary spirit. And sometimes it can move opinions and change the way we view the world.”
Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive
At its very best, photojournalism can define a moment, a movement, an era or even a whole generation. It can bring down a careless politician or elevate them to a winning position. It can lift a weary spirit. And sometimes it can move opinions and change the way we view the world.
In Fit to Print, photographer and media commentator Mike Bowers explores the Fairfax Photographic Archive held by the National Library of Australia. This collection comprises over 18,000 glass-plate negatives, photographs of which appeared in Fairfax publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun and Sydney Mail.
In creating photographs for mainstream publications, the early photojournalists familiarised Australians with a new visual language of the news.
Covering the period 1890–1948, the book includes photographs of rural and urban scenes, industry, politicians, celebrities, daily life, special events (such as the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge), sporting and social events, and more.
Product Details:
ISBN: 9781922507907
Published: 1st March 2025
Format: Paperback
Publisher: National Library of Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.0 x 23.0