One of my favourite images of late … and a nice publication … featured in The Australian Weekend Magazine “Heart Of A Nation” section on the 15th January 11.
© Image – Brian Cassey
“A Paradise Of Sorts“
“Cairns based Photographer Brian Cassey was down at the Gold Coast on a job for the London newspapers – trying to snap celebs who’d been evicted from the British reality TV series I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, being filmed in the nearby Springbrook National Park – when he found himself one day in Surfers Paradise.
It was Schoolies Week. He’s no fan of the institution – “I usually try to stay away… all you’re going to get is trouble,” he says wisely – but after managing to avoid all the boozing and carousing youngsters he stumbled across this strange scene in the Centro Shopping Centre. The girls dressed as angels were going around collecting money for Paradise Kids – a Gold Coast charity that helps children deal with the heartache of losing a loved one.
Cassey couldn’t resist the image of a bunch of angels ascending a stairway – not to heaven, you’ll notice, but to a bowling alley on one side and the Australian Shooting Academy on the other. Despite the name, the “Academy” doesn’t offer educational courses exactly; rather, punters come in and pay money for the thrill of firing weapons – everything from a big-game hunting rifle to a Smith & Wesson 500 magnum, the most powerful production revolver on earth. It’s a strange old world.” Ross Bilton