By Patrick Avenell

SYDNEY, NSW: Panasonic last night officially launched the Lumix Life exhibition at the Global Gallery in Paddington. The exhibition, which is housed in a boutique gallery in the heart of Sydney’s artistic community, features some stunning photography from around the world.

Paul Reid, the director of Panasonic’s consumer electronics, said this event was like no other staged by the supplier, and is intended to showcase the impressive photographic possibilities of the Lumix range.

“This is the first event of its kind for Panasonic worldwide and I’ve been taken by surprise by the creativity and the passion of the global Lumix photographic community,” said Reid.

“The online gallery takes us to locations in Africa, Nepal, Japan and the Ukraine. It shows us streetlife in London and New York, and amazing images of nature in Brazil and Costa Rica. From Switzerland to Slovenia, South Bondi to Snapper Rocks, in the true spirit of Lumix Life, they’ve all shared their unique photographic story with us.”

In attendance at the function were professional photographer Ken Duncan, Lumix aficionado and television journalist Ray Martin, industry media and a number of artistes to add a certain bohemian flair to the proceedings.

“I’ve always loved photography, and how I got involved with Panasonic is, I was over in Africa with a whole bunch of people shooting wildlife,” said Duncan.

“I went over with my film cameras, and if you’ve ever tried to shoot elephants and lions with wide angle lenses with film cameras – I was lucky enough to come back alive, let alone get the photos – yes I got the photos, but I decided shooting lions and elephants on film and big cameras like that, I wasn’t going to live for long. I saw some people with Lumix cameras, back when they were first coming out, and they little cameras with 12 times zooms, and they showed me these photos, and I said ‘that’s ridiculous’. They are incredible cameras.”

In addition to opening the gallery, Panasonic also used the opportunity to reveal the latest addition to the Lumix 4/3 range. The GF-1 is being marketed as a small and lightweight camera for both professionals and amateur happy snappers.