Graham Gall ‘Flora in focus: the Art of Botanic Photography’

Graham, an internationally awarded photographer, will describe his artistic approach to photographing botanic subjects and will give practical insights into producing exhibition quality shots of flora and associated fauna, from the tallest tree to the most detailed macro view of flowers, fungi and associated pollinators.

Abstract
When faced with a botanical subject that requires photographing Graham does a SWOT analysis. This may be very quick if it’s small and involves fauna as well; a bird on a banksia flower requires immediate assessment and quick reaction. However, it will take some time if it’s a very large tree or landscape; and often do a recce first and a shoot another day. If a client is involved, as is the case with Commissions, then consultation on the choices is necessary.

In this presentation Graham will discuss what his SWOT involves and then the artistic choices that emanate from that analysis. From there he needs to choose the appropriate lens to achieve his creative choice. The shoot itself is quite technical and really is mostly of interest to keen photographers. For macro photography different techniques are involved and he will discuss my approaches here as well; including intimate extreme closeups of a flower and how to capture pollinators at work. Graham will briefly touch on the gear he uses and how with all his work he approaches minimalist post-processing.

Biography 
Graham Gall is an internationally awarded photographer based in Canberra. While he shoots a wide variety of genre his passion is Australian flora and fauna. Graham is a Birdlife Photography Australia Gold medallist, is widely published and is regularly commissioned for themed shoots for Exhibitions.

Graham was commissioned in 2021 and 2023 to shoot and produce multiple frames for two Tree Week Solo Exhibitions for the ACT Tree Network. His clients ranged across Federal, State and Local Government Estates and included both native and exotic species. In 2023 the exhibition featured wildlife and trees thereby combining both his passions. When asked ‘why Graham?’ his Tree Network Clients quickly answer not only does Graham bring great artistic photography skills, his background in horticulture, work as a Park Ranger and past Australian Open Garden Scheme participant means he understands the ‘tree tribe’ intimately. Graham has been engaged locally to run nature photography workshops and is in demand as a speaker. He is also a Committee member of the ANBG Photographic Group and lead Judge for the 2024 Schools Photographic Competition.

Graham has a large social media following on Instagram and Facebook - @gallpix. Continuous improvement is his professional goal and continuing to exhibit, teach and sell his work his every day focus.

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CTFXA

Booking
Lunchtime talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development and we thank all those who have donated. 

Unless otherwise indicated, talks are held in the ANBG Theatrette.

It is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; talks may be booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made from about 30 days in advance until the night before the talk or until seating limits are reached. 

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CTFXA

The Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Many summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au.