THE stunning Jim Frazier exhibition, Lepidoptera, which finishes at the Manning Regional Art Gallery this Sunday, has received rave reviews from the hundreds of people who have come through over the past month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Greater Taree mayor Paul Hogan and council's general manager Gerard Jose had a chance to view the exhibition yesterday morning and see what everyone has been talking about.
Mayor Hogan was also charged with drawing the raffle that saw one lucky visitor win an original Jim Frazier artwork titled Lepidoptera, featuring the ulysses butterfly.
The exhibition has been a huge success with visitors from across Australia and international visitors attending over the busy holiday period.
Jim will be in the gallery all weekend to answer questions and talk about his amazing photographic techniques and about moths and butterflies.
He is generating enthusiasm among visitors, young and old, to photograph wildlife.
Jim's award-winning work in wildlife photography and documentary making have made him a leader in his field world-wide.
Mayor Hogan and Mr Jose were given a VIP tour by Jim, who encouraged council to continue its efforts to protect the environment.
The moths featured in the exhibition are all locally caught in Bootawa, while the tropical species of butterflies were sourced from Kuranda, near Cairns.
All but one of the images has not been touched by Photoshop, Jim instead using other techniques to create the stunning and colourful exhibition.
"Everything you look at was taken in one shot straight off the camera cards. There's only one that has been Photoshopped."
One of the many techniques Jim used created a blur behind the butterfly wings on some of the images.
Jim explained that he scratched the edge of one lens and then re-polished it, to created a refraction at the edge of the lens.
When you get the right shot, the refraction causes the blur behind the wings.
He has also bought old telescopes and other "strange optical devices" at army disposal stores, which he has used to create other effects.
For every shot he would create the perfect environment and lighting, before the butterflies were involved.
Another technique included cooling the moths in the fridge for a short time, which helps slows them down (but doesn't hurt them in any way), which meant he could place them how he wanted them.
This is the first release of these images.
Many were taken 30 years ago, long before the digital era, so now Jim has brought these works into the digital world.
Jim developed many techniques over many years filming for David Attenborough and decided to mount this amazing exhibition for everyone to enjoy.
The winner of the canvas print of the ulysses butterfly was Janet Hull.
A second competition asked visitors to guess which once of the images in the exhibition was neither a butterfly or a moth.
Only 17 out of the hundreds of visitors guessed the right answer - the Lacewing.
Those who got the right answer went in the draw to win a copy of the work.
The winner of a canvas lacewing print, Hidden Beauty, was Brooke Ingham.