The Good News … but … The Saddest News Of All …

I confess … it’s hard to write this one … (but please read on … )

Two women … one young and vibrant … the other a little older but with an immense strength … two very different stories. 

The link … apart from a little similarity of pose etc … is that both have just been announced as Winners of Bronze Awards in the Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA – Hungary). images ©Brian Cassey

The saddest and must unfair news is that Carol (“The Skin I’m In” – first pic) died last weekend at the end of a far too short life full of tragedy, pain and many triumphs of will  … on the very day these awards were announced. Carol was severely burnt in a house fire as a young mum. Her family was told she would not survive. Following a year of coma, countless skin grafts and care … survive she did. She made the most of it … 

She dedicated the years since the accident to spreading the message to other burns survivors that there is still much to live for and celebrate. Carol’s rationale in allowing me to make personal images of her showing the extent of the burns to her body was part of that ideal. The work … and the positive reaction to the work … gave Carol added confidence to engage in speaking engagements that provided hope to many.

My images of Carol turned up in numerous awards, news articles and TV programs … and there are links to many on my blog pages. Amongst them are … “They Did It … Pics In Space X 3” which tells of Carol’s image (and two others of mine) being sent and projected in ‘Space’ and the resulting feature on the TV program “The Project” .  More on the subject here at “Pics in Space’ … Out of This World with ‘Portrait of Humanity” .  (The projection of Carol’s pic in ‘space’ and transmitted across the Universe … now seems very fitting.) There are many more and Carol’s images have been a regular occurrence on my ‘Awards Page’.

I spent more time talking to Carol than actually photographing her … she was my friend … myself and the community will sorely miss but never forget her.

… and then we have Bonn Marie … young, vibrant and all red hair, freckles and an innate curiosity with the World. She’s fun, deep and intelligent … and a joy to work with. Couldn’t help but name the second image “Bonn – Asking the Question”.

Somewhat strange that these two pics were recognised together with Bronze Awards … Carol’s in People Portrait and Bonn’s in Fine Art Portrait.

Images © Brian Cassey

Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) 2020 - Bronze Award - People Portraits - "The Skin I'm In" by Brian Cassey

Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) 2020 - Bronze Award - Fine Art Portraits - "Bonn - Asking The Question" by Brian Cassey

 

… They Did It ! Pics in Space X 3 …

… PICS IN SPACE! … They did it (and included THREE of my portraits !)
Released overnight as promised by the British Journal of Photography (1854 Media) with the help of ‘Sent Into Space‘ … the film of the ‘Portrait of Humanity’ (2019 & 2020 projects) shortlisted images and their screening twenty four and a half miles ABOVE the planet in the stratosphere with the backdrop of space.

VERY pleased to have three portraits screened … ‘Aurukun – Generations’ (selected in the 2019 POH), ‘The Skin I’m In’ and ‘Ramnami’ (both selected in the 2020 POH) … as planet Earth rotates in the blackness of space. All the photographs were also transmitted out across the Universe and beyond as binary files … just in case there is anyone/anything ‘out there’ wondering about life on our little blue planet .

Here is a short video of my three portraits ‘in space’ with a few introductory pars from ‘Portraits of Humanity’ on broadcasting a message of peace and unity from humankind onto, well … infinity.
You can watch the entire 42 minute film of the exhibition of 400 images as the earth turns below … and how they did it … here … https://access.bjpsubs.com/portrait-of-humanity-sent-into-space/

Images X 3 © Brian Cassey, film © Portrait of Humanity & 1854 Media

TV, Radio … and More … !

An amazing couple of weeks …

It seems that the ‘Portrait of Humanity’ award and projection in ‘space’ of two of my pics hit ‘the spot’ with a variety of media … and I’ve spent some time on interviews with various TV, radio and other media outlets talking about it rather than making new images 🙂

First off the rank was ABC Far North correspondent  Sharnie Kim who did a great job on her ‘Portrait of Humanity’ story for publication on the ABC web site at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/carol-mayer-photograph-shortlisted-in-portrait-of-humanity/12335282 . Sharnie not only went into the back story of my two selected images … ‘The Skin I’m In’ and ‘Ramnami’ … but also sourced several other ‘short listed’ pics from other photographers.

Didn’t take long for radio to get in on the act … Sarah Speller interviewed myself ‘live’ on ABC Breakfast Far North (at not the best time very early on a Saturday morn) … and then followed that with another recorded segment on her ‘Sarah’s Spot’ on Cairns Radio 4CA a few days later. If you fancy … here (below) are Sarah’s two radio interviews (roughly near six minutes each).

ABC Breakfast Far North – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5.50

 

Sarah’s Spot – 4CA – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5:52

 

The biggest buzz, however, was the piece on the top rating Channel Ten news program ‘The Project’. Really pleased that the program centred on the my amazing subject, burns survivor Carol Mayer, her strength and her story following the fire tragedy when she was a young mum. Lisa Wilkinson opened The Project’ with the news of the selection of my pic of Carol in the 2020  ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … and I later made a little cameo telling of how the pic came about and our relationship. Carol was amazing throughout the interview … and the comments at the end of the segment by show host Lisa Wilkinson were worth watching alone. The show featured a total of nine of my images of Carol … including, of course, the one chosen for ‘Portrait of Humanity’.

The show ran for 6:28 and can be watched here …

Carol Mayer on ‘The Project’

 

Whilst all this was going on I was also asked to be involved and interviewed for the State Library of Queensland’s ‘Behind the Lens’ series as part of their current exhibition ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’. Five of the many photographers who have contributed to SLQ’s headline exhibition were each asked to feature in a series of twenty minute interviews over the next few weeks … and mine was first off the rank. Had a nice long chat with SLQ’s Anna Thurgood … the piece of us chatting was also interspersed with my exhibition images made during Cyclones Winifred, Yasi, Larry, Ita and Ului … and the result was broadcast online last Thursday along with a Q&A. However, you can still catch the entire twenty minute interview here below (sadly without the Q&A) …

State Library of Queensland – ‘Behind the Lens’ – ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’

All the above audio and video files may also be played … along with many more from the past … on the ‘Play’ page of my web site at https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/play

Now … back to work making more pictures 🙂

 

‘Portrait of Humanity’ in Space & SLQ ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’

A great couple of weeks of interviews regarding my work on various media … ABC, Radio 4CA, Channel Ten’s ‘The Project’ and a 20 minute online video interview at the State Library of Queensland.

The subject matter in most was the 2020 ‘Portrait of Humanity’ short list and award … and the projection in ‘space’ of two of my selected images. The portrait of Carol Mayer … ‘The Skin I’n In’ … was the centre of attention in many … whilst the other selected pic ‘Ramnami’ also received a mention in some.

First off was ABC Far North correspondent  Sharnie Kim who did a great job on her ‘Portrait of Humanity’ story for publication on the ABC web site at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/carol-mayer-photograph-shortlisted-in-portrait-of-humanity/12335282 .

Radio followed up  … Sarah Speller interviewed myself ‘live’ on ABC Breakfast Far North (at not the best time very early on a Saturday morn) … and then followed that with another recorded segment on her ‘Sarah’s Spot’ on Cairns Radio 4CA a few days later. If you fancy … here (below) are Sarah’s two radio interviews (roughly near six minutes each).

ABC Breakfast Far North – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5.50

 

Sarah’s Spot – 4CA – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5:52

 

Then TV … a piece on the top rating Channel Ten news program ‘The Project’,  thankfully centred on the my amazing subject burns survivor Carol Mayer. Lisa Wilkinson opened ‘The Project’ with the news of the selection of my pic of Carol in the 2020  ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … and I later had a cameo in the program as Carol otherwise enthralled the presenters and audience . The show featured a total of nine of my Carol images … including, of course, the one chosen for ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … and Carol herself was, without doubt, the star of the show.

The show ran for 6:28 and can be watched here …

Carol Mayer on ‘The Project’

 

At the same time I was also asked to be involved and interviewed for the State Library of Queensland’s ‘Behind the Lens’ series as part of their current exhibition ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’. Five of the many photographers who have contributed to SLQ’s headline exhibition were each asked to feature in a series of twenty minute interviews over the next few weeks … and mine was first off the rank. The piece of SLQ’s Anna Thurgood chatting was interspersed with my exhibition images made during Cyclones Winifred, Yasi, Larry, Ita and Ului.

State Library of Queensland – ‘Behind the Lens’ – ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’

More info on these recordings, ‘Portrait of Humanity’ and ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’ may be found on my  blog post at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog

 

 

‘Pics in Space’ … Out of This World with ‘Portrait of Humanity’ …

I mentioned a few weeks ago in a Facebook post that I had some exciting news that I couldn’t at the time reveal … I can now !

Announced last eve … the ‘Shortlisted’ images in the second edition of ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … a planet wide selection of the best photographic portraiture co-hosted by 1854 media (publisher of the British Journal of Photography) and Magnum. This project aims to create one of the most ‘far-reaching’ … literally in more ways than one … portrait photography exhibitions in history.

The two hundred ‘Shortlisted’ portraits will be exhibited in outer space … and then transmitted as code through the Universe for (possibly) eternity !

Portrait of Humanity organisers elaborate … “In the ultimate celebration of humankind and the home we share, Portrait of Humanity 2020 will be exhibited in Space. In a feat never before achieved with a photographic exhibition, 200 shortlisted images will be used to broadcast a message of peace and unity from humankind to infinity. Our partner, ‘Sent Into Space’, will launch a screen into the stratosphere with a 360° camera, so photographers can see their images displayed against the extraordinary backdrop of Space. The images will then be beamed onwards in binary code, travelling unimpeded through the solar system at the speed of light. These messages could continue on an infinite journey — or until another civilisation receives and decodes them.”

May seem like bit of a ‘stunt’ but it seems like pretty damn cool stunt to me.

The best bit is that they have selected TWO of my images to make the journey into the stratosphere and beyond … “Ramnami” (a portrait of tattooed Maherttar Ram Tandon in Chhattisgarh, India) … .. and … “The Skin I’m In” (a portrait of the wonderful Cairns burns survivor Carol Anne Mayer). The portrait of Carol has attracted lost of ‘interest’ previously, whilst it’s very rewarding to see the portrait of Maherttar receive it’s first recognition.

All the ‘shortlisted’ images have also been collected into a ‘Portrait of Humanity Volume 2’ book. If you are interested in this wonderful volume of the best photographic portraiture from around our planet you can order a copy from the British Journal of Photography book shop herehttps://www.thebjpshop.com/product/portrait-of-humanity-vol-2/ . (Carol … I have one on order for you !).

Great to be part of this exciting ‘out of this World’ initiative by 1854 Media and the British Journal of Photography … as was being selected in the shortlist of the inaugural ‘Portrait of Humanity’ collection back in 2019.

Images © Brian Cassey (@BJPhoto)

 

portrait of Humanity 2020 - Shortlist - Ramnami by Brian Cassey . Chhattisgarh, India

 

Portrait of Humanity - 'The Skin I'm In' - shortlisted - by Brian Cassey

 

 

Canberra, Carol and the NPPP …

Despite the best efforts of devastating Cyclone Debbie, massive floods and Qantas I still managed to make it to Canberra on Friday eve for the official opening bit of the 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery … but with literally just seconds to spare.

Getting to Canberra at all was a massive drama. I spent a near week covering the Cyclone Debbie story in Bowen for Fairfax news. There was a tiny window late on Wednesday – after ‘Debbie’ battered the Whitsundays and before the ensuing massive storms – for myself and three AAP and Fairfax colleagues to attempt to get out of Bowen. Roads north had supposedly been blocked by flood waters in the cyclone aftermath – so when officers left a road block we made a move. In the little car convoy we forded flooded roads and into an almost apocalyptic thunder storm and insanely torrential rains. We eventually came out the other side with the highway surely now impassable behind us and arrived saturated and relieved back in Townsville late that night.

Then Qantas combined with the remnants of ‘Debbie’ to almost thwart the trip to Canberra. In quick succession not one but two of my flights Cairns to Canberra were cancelled. Frantic phone calls, rearranged flights and a car booked to whisk me from Canberra airport to the National Portrait Gallery … and I arrived just as the opening speeches ended.

It had been a badly kept secret … thanks to a great NPPP show preview special article in ‘The Australian Weekend Magazine’ a couple of weeks ago … that my work “The Skin I’m In – II” (below) of burns survivor Carol Mayer was in the mix as a Finalist and in the National Portrait Gallery exhibition. Once again I must sincerely thank the wonderful Carol for her patience and decision to let me make the portrait.

NPPP judge George Fetting had this to say about Carol’s image …  “It’s such a terribly powerful and courageous story and for her to let the photo be taken, presenting such beauty and pain in the same image, moves everyone who looks at it.”

Whilst in Canberra it was great to spend time with photographer colleagues … afore mentioned former Courier Mail and SMH photographer George Fetting, co NPPP Finalist Jon Reid, ex Cairns mate Sean Davey and Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the Year 2015 Gary Ramage.

Sean has created a great photo gallery in Canberra – The Photography Room – which is currently showing Gary’s excellent work – “Afghanistan” – made during his 2011 embed with Australian forces. Gary and Sean gave me a private showing before a lunch to chew over all the industry ‘goss’. Both the gallery and the exhibition are well worth a visit …

A massive, rewarding and eventful week …

(Below – “The Skin I’m In – II” at the NPPP © Brian Cassey)

 

The 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize: - Canberra - "The Skin I'm In II) - Carol Meyer - by Brian Cassey

The 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize: - Canberra - "The Skin I'm In II) - Carol Meyer - by Brian Cassey

The 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize: - Canberra - "The Skin I'm In II) - Carol Meyer - by Brian Cassey