Book Design, Digital Imaging and Photography

Luna Park is a landmark amusement park located on the Harbour shore in Sydney Australia. It was built in 1935. This thesis examines this site through the photographs of E. A. Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins worked at Luna Park from 1935 to 1971. Initially he was an electrical engineer but by 1971 he was a co-owner of the Park. Additionally, during this time he made a systematic and insightful photographic record of the many iterations that the Park experienced over this time. These images are reproduced in the thesis. There are approximately 300 images and 100,000 words of text in the thesis.

This CD ROM is a pdf version of the author’s PhD thesis conducted at the University of Sydney, Department of Architecture, 1997. In addition to the text and images there is also a quick time movie which shows the author photographing the Park in 1991.

Price is $100.00

ABSTRACT

This thesis is about Luna Park, an amusement park in North Sydney, as seen through the medium of photograhy.

Part One, Luna Park, analyses the actuality of Luna Park. It also discusses the effect it imposed on the customers who visited the Park. The discussion is based on the view that Luna Park was not simply a physical space, but also an image, creating in the mind of those who visited, a complex and convoluted series of experiences and memories. Part One also provides a brief historical overview of the development of amusement parks in the U.S.A. and Australia to provide some sense of the development of this form of public entertainment. It discusses the particular combination of circumstances that surround the genesis and successful continuation, of these exotic environments.

Part Two, The Luna Park of E. A. Hopkins, starts with a brief history of Luna Park, North Sydney, concentrating on the role of E. A. Hopkins, who not only helped construct and maintain the Park, but also created a photographic record of the site as it grew and evolved. The discussion of his photographs acknowledges Hopkins’ view that they were to be perceived simply as a record of the physical reality of the Park. However, it also discusses Hopkins’ growth as a photographer, and by implication and argument, proposes that Hopkins was also presenting a personal image of the place, representing an act of authorship and interpretation, even if this was unintentional.

Part Three, The Luna Park of Douglas Holleley, examines the Park from 1981 to 1995, through the medium of photography. These photographs differ in intention to Hopkins’ in the sense that the author accepts the subjective and interpretive qualities of photography. The pictures are clearly intended to comment on the Park and its fate, as well as describe its physical characteristics. By implication and comparison, the subjective aspect of Hopkins’ work is also addressed.

The final chapter, Methodology, discusses the theoretical issues underpinning the use of Hopkins’ photography within the thesis.

Part Two: The Luna Park of E.A. Hopkins
Chapter 3 Hopkins and the Park
Chapter 4 The First Images
Chapter 5 The War Years
Chapter 6 The Post War images

Part Three: The Luna Park of Douglas Holleley
Chapter 7 Holleley and Luna Park

Conclusion

Methodology and Work Process Notes

Bibliography

List of Images

[back to top]

The portfolio contains two essays: one on the nature of this distance and the second addresses the technical issues and principles behind the making of the images. There are 6 images, measuring 11"x14" in the portfolio plus a further four small images reproduced on one sheet which show the appearance of the original negatives.

The sheet size of the images and the two essays is 13"x17.1." The work is housed in a portfolio case hand made by the author.

The portfolio is published on demand with a final edition size limited to 16 copies.

Rochester, N.Y.: Clarellen, 2002.

Price is $1,000.00

           

[back to top]