Photography exhibition opens today

The story of photography in Australia will be beautifully illustrated at the next exhibition for Warwick Art Gallery.
Five generations of the one family who have all explored the creative potential of the art of photography will feature in this remarkable exhibition.
In 1863, a young immigrant from Germany opened a photographic studio in Warwick. The photographer’s name was Christopher Roggenkamp and his studio, Victoria Studio, operated until his death in 1918.
Portraits were very popular and small photograph cards called “Cartes de Visite” became enormously popular as people traded them amongst friend and visitors. Christopher Roggenkamp was well-known throughout his career for his portraits and ‘Cartes de Visite’.
Norman Roggenkamp was born in Warwick in 1893, the youngest of Christopher Roggenkamp’s nine children. As the son of a professional photographer he was exposed to the art of photography from a very early age.
His youth coincided with many developments in photography, including the advent of roll film and lighter, more portable cameras.
This approach is evident in many of the fascinating black and white images that Norman captured over the years. Kevin Doody married Norman Roggenkamp’s daughter Norma and so continued the family’s dedication to the photographic arts.
When colour film appeared on the scene, Kevin took to it with his usual enthusiasm, over the years shooting thousands of colour slides which now form a unique collection of images of the 60s and 70s.
Kevin’s children Kate, John and Paul were strongly influenced by watching their father at work in his darkroom. Each has taken aspects of their family tradition and made it their own.
Kate Colfs, who lives at Wildash on the Southern Downs, seeks to capture the beauty of nature in her photographs, especially the small, un-noticed things.
John Doody’s scientific background drives him to explore the technical aspects of photography.
Paul Doody is a photographer, musician and producer. Paul has brought these diverse, but related creative pursuits together to create a unique multimedia product.
Fifth generation family member Samuel Marshall has travelled with his camera in hand through more than 35 countries.
All that time his camera has been trained on the unique subject matter of the hidden and rarely seen areas of our urban world; underground tunnels and networks, active as well as abandoned infrastructure, rooftops and other structures that silently perform their duty to society.
The result is an original body of work portraying the world around us in a new light.
The exhibition is on display at Warwick Art Gallery from today.