Over at Head On Photo Festival in Sydney some exhibitions have been extended into January 2022. 

They have also launched their Head On Interactional; “an online magazine dealing with contemporary issues in photography,” for which they have commissioned me for two pieces on photographers I have written about here; one finding kindred spirits in Rennie Ellis and Tracey Moffatt; the other considering Katrin Koenning who a decade ago was the recipient of a Head On award and has since again exhibited in the Festival.

The magazine presents an opportunity.

They want written content on anything to do with photography, folios of photography and fine art portfolios, and short video projects, for inclusion in Head On Interactional future editions.

To give you an idea of the journalistic talent they have already attracted, the following are contributors to the current edition:

Carla Susanne Erdmann who writes regularly for art and photography publications and exhibition catalogues such as Leica Fotografie International magazine, Arte Magazine, EIKON magazine and Halle4. She identifies three European photographers who have caught her eye in 2021; Robin Hinsch, Julia Baier and Anna Ehrenstein and on Alice Springs, “in her own light”. Springs (June Newton) died in April this year.

Stewart Hawkins,financial journalist, editor and media producer is the deputy editor of Head On Interactional, and writes in this edition on Michael Cook, and presents an interview with Mara Sanchez Renero, the first of a three-part series profiling Latin American female photographers.

Alison Stieven-Taylor, an international commentator, journalist and scholar specialising in photography and specifically social documentary. Alison publishes Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up, which she started in 2012, and here writes on Associated Press and New York Times photojournalist Shiho Fukada.

Alasdair Foster, writer, curator and researcher, former editor/managing editor of Photofile magazine Adjunct Professor in the School of Art at RMIT University, Melbourne, and Ambassador to the Asia-Pacific Photoforum writes on Roger Ballen’s exhibition Roger the Rat at Head On Photo Festival 2021 in Paddington Reservoir Gardens.

Jeremy Eccles, a long-term commentator on the art and culture of First Nations of Australia, took his first photos of the Indigenous at the 1985 Groote Eylandt inter-tribal dance festival. He has written extensively on First Nations artists. In 2021, Jeremy was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of New South Wales for his services to the understanding of Australian Indigenous art and culture. His piece is on works by Douglas T Kilburn, Walter Baldwin Spencer and Francis Gillen, Axel Poignant, Juno Gemes, Ricky Maynard, Lance Bennett, Charles Mountford, Donald Thomson, Elaine Pelot-Syron, Mervyn Bishop, Brenda L Croft, Michael Riley, Tracey Moffatt, Brook Andrew, Christian Thompson and Michael Cook

Tony Maniaty, a Sydney and Paris-based photographer, author and journalist, academic and reviewer is the features editor for Head On Interactional and writes on historical French photographers Nicephore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, Jean Baptiste, Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, Louis Alphonse Davanne, Gustave de Beaucorps, and an extraordinary low-light photograph of a ballet dancer by Edgar Degas.

Maxwell Aldred, a communications student at the University of Technology, Sydney and an intern for the first edition of Head On Interactional assembled images from the Head On community hash-tagged #headoninteractional from 5,000 posted, choosing favourites by Chris Bekos, Emanuele Roberto de Carli, Gerry Orkin, Glenn Homann, Gloria Salgado Gispert, llana Rose, Phil Duval, Rowena Meadows, Sigrid Debusschere, Suzanne Phoenix, Vasco Transcoso, Zorica Purlija

Paula Broom, writer and an environmental artist works in sculpture, photography and installation, works for Head On Foundation, writing for and editing Head On Interactional. She contributes a challenging piece on the impact of mobile phone camera photography, and in another essay asks “So you want to join a collective?”

You might submit written pieces may be about upcoming exhibitions, books, events and festivals from around the world;  reviews; tips, tricks, and ‘how to’, guides; and other articles on photography relevant to their audience of photographers, artists, collectors, photography lovers and enthusiasts.

Making a pitch of course doesn’t guarantee inclusion in Head On Interactional. Select articles of a certain length will be remunerated but you have much more to gain by making the effort of putting forward your work; Head On is devoted to promoting photography, so make yourself known to them!

They seek submissions in the form of a single-page summary of the article proposed, including an overview of main argument and key points; introduction or sample paragraph; and sources you wish to interview or approach.

Also include a 120-word biography outlining your writing experience and examples of your writing or links to published work.

You submit on the understanding that your article may be edited by Head On editorial staff and copyright remains with them.

Learn more about making a submission here.