| Brian Cassey Photographer Cairns Australia

A Few New ‘Award Updates’ …

January 13, 2024July 25, 2023

A few nice recognitions over the past few weeks … 🙂

Firstly … so nice to once again be selected as a Finalist in the Perth Centre for Photography’s ‘IRIS’ portrait awards … a biennial award that my work has now been selected for the third time in a row. The actual finalist works chosen this time are still a necessary secret … but all will be revealed when the exhibition of finalist and winners works opens at PCP’s Perth gallery on September 1st. Fortunately I will be in Perth at that time en route back from the UK.

PCP describes the ‘IRIS’ awards so … “The IRIS Award celebrates excellence in portraiture photography, revealing portraits that are unique, original and conceptually stimulating. IRIS has been running for 18 years, with the inaugural exhibition held back in 2003”.

I missed seeing my last finalist work on the ‘IRIS” exhibition wall in 2021 …“Tears for George Floyd … 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds” … due to the Covid-19 pandemic … so I’m looking forward to being there for this one.

Arguably the one of the nicest surprises was the news that my portrait of the now sadly departed 100 year old Alf ‘Popeye’ Neal OAM entitled “100 Years & 3 Weeks” was selected in the ‘Best 25’ of the Dohdo International photography magazines “Portrait – Best Photographers of 2023” collection. The pic of Alf is now nicely included in the large format hard cover year book “Portrait” (see top image below) and will also be exhibited in an online ‘Best 25’ collection for the next year.

(The same image of Alf was earlier this year also selected as the Winner of the ‘People’ category of the 19th International Pollux Awards.)

In the 16th International Color Awards announced recently my works were selected as ‘Honourable Mentions’ in both the ‘Portrait’ category (with image “Covid Vax & Ice Cream”) and the ‘Children of the World’ category (with image “Veronica – Where Home Brew Kills”) … whilst my image “Scooter” also made the finalist cut in ‘Portrait’. See the trio of images below. All three have been acknowledged in previous awards.

Lastly in ‘new’ award dispatches … “Covid Vax & Ice Cream” again resonated when it was selected as a finalist in the ‘People’ category of the 2023 ‘ReFocus Colour Awards‘.

A pleasant few weeks … 🙂

Images © Brian Cassey

Portrait of Humanity … Covid, Leanne & Ice Cream …

July 10, 2023April 16, 2022

Stoked to once again be selected on the ‘Shortlist’ of the prestigious “Portrait of Humanity”.

The 2022 edition of the “Portrait of Humanity” awards have just been announced … and I’ve been buzzing about this for some time but was sworn to secrecy until Thursdays official ‘announcement’. … so pleased to be ’Shortlisted’ again for the International POH awards with my work “Covid Vax & Ice Cream” .

Now in it’s 4th ‘edition’ and organised by the British Journal of Photography, 1854 and Magnum … “Portrait of Humanity” has fast become one of the most select collections of portrait photography on the planet.

The image of Leanne with her ice cream was made after she received a Covid Pfizer vaccination in her home from a team of roaming ‘door to door’ doctors and medical staff … followed by a pink ice cream van (complete with musical ‘Green Sleeves’ tones) dispensing free ice cream to the newly vaxed and the communities numerous children.

The portrait will be amongst the other short listed works published in the “Portrait of Humanity 2022” hard cover book printed by Hoxton Mini Press.

I was also stoked to be ’short listed’ in the first and second editions of POH a few years back and three of my winning portraits … “Aurukun – Generations”, “Ramnami” and “The Skin I’m In” where exhibited in the stratosphere above the planet and then digitally transmitted through the unending vastness of space, as a result.

My photo of Leanne and her ice cream was published in The Australian newspaper in October 2021 and further images of the home vaccination program were used on their Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/p/CU_0dItvoAX/ .

Thanks to my (almost) unwitting subject Leanne at Yarrabah, who I’m sure will be as pleased as I am when she finds out ;-).

… and all absolutely nothin’ to do with the Easter Bunny 😉

Below – “Covid Vax & Ice Cream” © Image by Brian Cassey

Covid Vax & Ice Cream …

October 20, 2021

Every now and then there comes along a really rewarding story … and every now and then that story throws up a ‘special’ pic.
Last week, for me, this job threw up one of ‘em.

I thoroughly enjoyed being allowed to document the ‘door to door’ Covid-19 vaccination program in the far northern indigenous community of Yarrabah. Orchestrated by the Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service, the operation was startling and well organised … teams of doctors and health workers went from home to home to inform and vaccinate the indigenous population that had been lagging far behind in Covid-19 vaccination numbers.

Following behind the vaccination teams was a pink ice cream van … complete with musical ‘Green Sleeves’ tones … dispensing free ice cream to the newly vaxed and the communities numerous children.
In my favourite image of the day (top below), 67 year old Leanne Bulmer sits in her home with her ‘vaccination ice cream’ after receiving her shot of Pfizer from a doctor on her verandah. I nearly missed it … a health worker spirited Leanne a choc coated soft serve … and I overheard him casually mention it. Leanne was delighted to allow this portrait before her ice cream melted in the tropical heat.

In the second image Dr Peter Roach vaccinates elderly Yarrabah resident Raymond Davidson in his home assisted by health worker Belita Kynuna. The bottom pic shows 19 year old Sherrie Bligh as she is vaccinated by nurse Susie Jarman and enjoys her free ice cream at her Yarrabah home, watched by 2 year old Cleo Costello.

The story and two of my images (including Leanne’s) was published in Thursday’s ‘The Australian’ newspaper under the great head “Jab Blitz Proves As Easy As Pie With Ice Cream”.

The later publication of seven of my images and story link on The Australian’s Instagram account accrued over a thousand ‘likes’ …but, sadly. also led to a stream of readers ‘comments’ (inexplicably to me) highly critical of the vaccination program and the newspapers coverage.

Nevertheless, the ‘door to door’ program proved to be a big success with many residents having their fears allayed and taking the vaccination plunge. All that ice cream just sweetened the deal.

Images © Brian Cassey

'Covid Vax & Ice Cream' - images of the covid vaccine door to door rollout in the indigenous community of Yarrabah, north Queensland - by Brian Cassey ©

Covid Lockdown in Cairns …

July 31, 2023August 14, 2021

… seemed inevitable that it would happen sometime … and will likely happen again … a coronavirus pandemic lockdown in Cairns. Our tropical city has led a charmed life since last years initial lockdown in March and April … and we’ve watched as lockdowns have been instituted regularly around the rest of the country.

It took a mariner who had contracted the virus on an offshore ship before travelling back to Cairns and passing it on to a taxi driver to change all that and spark a (thankfully only) three day total lockdown.

These are just a few of the many images I made for Australian Associated Press (AAP) this week. More of my lockdown pics may be found on the AAP site here. (I also spent time covering the lockdown for News Ltd and you may have seen some of those in the local media.)

From top we have … 9 year old Lexie Barlow is tested by QML staff for covid-19 at a testing centre on the Cairns Esplanade … the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon empty and closed for the lockdown duration … masked indigenous children Isiah Bligh and Jakian Costello play in the rain during the Yarrabah lockdown … with occupancy down to seventeen percent a housekeeper patrols the empty corridors of the Cairns Hilton Hotel … Cairns residents queue for covid-19 testing at a QML test centre on the Esplanade … a girl exercises on the Cairns Esplanade during the lockdown.

Cairns has been fortunate since the pandemic began early in 2020 … and fingers crossed these are the last images of a local lockdown.

Images © Brian Cassey and AAP

Covid-19 Lockdown in Cairns - images by © Brian Cassey, AAP

Aussies Off To Tokyo Olympics …

July 18, 2021

A pleasure to have the opportunity to document … for Australian Associated Press (AAP) … the departure of just on half Australia’s Olympic squad as they left the country for the Tokyo Games at Cairns International Airport on Saturday. Sadly I wasn’t on the flight with them …

The QANTAS charter aircraft was chokers with about 280 face masked athletes and officials from the swimming, rowing, hockey, water polo, beach volleyball, table tennis, weightlifting and badminton teams on board. Amongst the masked throng was Australia’s ‘Madam Butterfly’ Gold medalist Susie O’Neill (fourth image below) … currently Deputy Chefs de Missions for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Disturbingly, shortly after the aircraft lifted off from the Cairns runway the news dropped that an official had tested positive for COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics athletes’ village. A worrying development for the team.

Below are just over a handful of the pics I made of the athletes departure for the (2020 or 2021 ?) Tokyo Olympic Games … the complete set of 45 images may be found on the AAP site HERE.

Images © AAP/Brian Cassey

The Australian Olympic team departs Cairns for the Tokyo 2021 Games - Images by Brian Cassey for AAP

‘International Color Awards’ … X Four …

July 10, 2023April 1, 2021

Great to see four of my images recognised in the 14th Edition of the ‘International Color Awards’ announced recently.

Three times ‘Honorable Mentions’ in … (from top) … ‘Photojournalism’ for “8 Minutes and 46 Seconds” … ‘Children of the World’ for “The Kids Of Ali Curung” … and ‘Portrait’ for “Kate – Waiting For Her New Breasts”. The image “Bonn Marie – Asking The Question” (bottom) had to settle for Finalist Nominee in ‘Fine Art’.

It was the first accolades for the first two pics … “8 Minutes and 46 Seconds” – during a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest in Cairns, US citizen Hermela Bealfan sheds tears as she lies prostrate on the ground for the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that it took police officer Derek Chauvin to kill George Floyd by kneeling on his neck in Minneapolis … and “The Kids of Ali Curung” – a kids welcome to the remote Northern Territory indigenous township of Ali Curung.

The portraits of ‘Kate’ and ‘Bonn’ are better known as they have been mentioned several times in earlier awards … see the ‘Award’ page listings here … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/awards/

Gotta be happy with that …

Images © Brian Cassey

14th International Color Awards - Honorable Mention - Photojournalism - "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds" by Brian Cassey

14th International Color Awards - Honorable Mention - Children of the World - "The Kids of Ali Curung" by Brian Cassey

14th International Color Awards - Honorable Mention - Portrait - "Kate - Waiting For Her New Breasts" by Brian Cassey

14th International Color Awards - Finalist Nominee - Fine Art - "Bonn Marie - Asking the Question" by Brian Cassey

Covid-19 & Cairns … Economy in Freefall …

July 31, 2023March 18, 2021

Reliant for a large part on the regular influx of now non-existent International tourists, the year long pandemic has seen Cairns suffering economically disproportionately compared with other parts of Australia.

As the Australian Government initiated JobKeeper support scheme comes to an end this month, Cairns immediate future looks bleak despite a Federal attempt at assistance via subsidised airfares and loans.

It isn’t a ‘pretty’ story for my long term home town … the current situation is dire … but it did mean a nice gig for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

Many of my images made last week were used to illustrate the effects and hardships of the current desperate financial situation in Cairns and district as a result of the total loss of International tourism.

A pic gallery of thirteen of my images ran online (the SMH link is here … https://www.smh.com.au/…/cairns-tourism-on-the-ropes…) … whilst the main story variously in print and online (by Brisbane Times journalist Matt Dennien) was accompanied by more of my pics … here … https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/trouble-in-paradise-covid-leaves-a-cloud-hanging-over-the-tropics-20210312-p57a3g

It seems it is going to be a long, long time till Cairns recovers from the body blow caused by the loss of International tourists during the current pandemic and Matt’s story is well worth a read.

Below are just a few of my images the former Fairfax (now ‘Nine’) publications used … from top … a lone swimmer at the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon once crowded with International and Australian tourists … owner of Traveller Oasis backpackers Gabriel Thallon cleans his pool as lone International ‘guest’ Rina Yamauchi takes the sun … the locked and deserted Cairns International Terminal at Cairns Airport … crew of Passions of Paradise reef vessel Phoebe and Kirsty wash the boat down after a day on the GBR with few paying customers … and one of numerous closed businesses in Cairns CBD

Images © Brian Cassey

Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey

Urandangi … Twelve Years On …

July 31, 2023October 26, 2020

Way back in 2008 (unbelievable !) myself and journo Peter Michael travelled ‘out west’ to the tiny little outback hamlet of Urandangi on the Queensland / Northern Territory border. It was something of an eye opener.

The Mail Online contacted me recently after seeing my Instagram post of a Urandangi image selected from my archive. Their plan was to feature my 2008 images and update the story on the ‘forgotten’ settlement. It has now been published (25th October 2020) at … https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8821909/

The article leads with my pics of Urandangi local Mark Webb, his wife and seven children, who then were existing in a battered leaky caravan with no power or ‘facilities’. One of the comments Mark made at the time was “We are out of sight, out of mind, and no one cares”. They were not on their own … most residents were living in similar circumstances in dysfunctional caravans or makeshift iron and timber ‘humpies’ with no running water, power or sanitation.

The Mail story and pics then moves to the role of Pam Forster in the community. When I visited twelve years ago Pam had just taken over as publican of the ‘Urandangi Hotel’ … the ‘Dangi Pub’. Fast forward to today and she is still there at the pub (the only substantial building) where she operates all the business in town … watering hole (literally), CentreLink office, store, petrol station, post office, flying doctor agent … and more. Now seventy years old she has become a local legend and mentor to the entire community.

Much has improved since 2008 … some things havn’t … and it is all documented in the Daily Mail article here. (My work was originally published (2008) in the Courier Mail here.)

Below I have posted six of my seventeen images that appear in the new Mail Online article … jump to the link to see more here and read the text. (n.b … six of the images were part of my portfolio that won ‘Best Photo Essay’, Queensland Media Awards 2008. Also, the pic of the small child on the road graces the cover of my book ‘To Be Indigenous’ which can be found here at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/books/

Images © Brian Cassey 2008 … from top … Mark Webb’s family camp, a child at play at Urandangi, Pam Forster just after she took over the ‘Dangi Pub’, the town ‘drunk tank’, Norm and Mavis Wilde at their wrecked van home, local Sonny Mick at his ‘humpy’.

Urandangi Queensland Australia - forgotten indigenous community - pics by Brian Cassey

Urandangi Queensland Australia - forgotten indigenous community - - publican Pam Forster - pics by Brian Cassey

Urandangi Queensland Australia - forgotten indigenous community - the 'Drunk Tank' - pics by Brian Cassey

Urandangi Queensland Australia - forgotten indigenous community - the 'Drunk Tank' - pics by Brian Cassey - local Sonny Mick at his 'humpy'

Covid, Adani, Global Climate Catastrophe … CNN and Me …

September 27, 2020September 26, 2020

… great to be part of a massive Covid-19 story of global importance just published on CNN.

The story entitled ‘The One Chance We Have’ delves into the story of how … during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent confusion and devastation of the global economy … fossil fuel producing countries are injecting taxpayer money into propping up polluting industries that are hastening an earlier climate catastrophe.

The story uses vignettes from four fossil fuel producing countries … Canada, Poland, Australia and India … to substantiate the premise that ‘The pandemic gave the world a golden opportunity to fix the climate crisis. We’re about to waste it.’

My work appears in the ‘India’ segment … and comprises six of the images I made just on a year ago in Chhattisgarh … set amongst a lengthy story (somewhat based on my original words but ‘updated’) on the destruction of the Hasdeo Arand forest and the Gond tribal population by Indian mining giant Adani hand in hand with Modi’s government.

My images and words from Chhattisgarh have previously been published in The Guardian (here and here), in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (here) and elsewhere. Very gratifying to see the work picked up again.

I must stress that this current story on CNN is a great and incredibly important piece of journalism and is well worth a look (at the images) and a good long read. Please do … there is far too much in the story to go into here and the implications for the future of the planet are chilling.

I’m joined pictorially in the piece (in the ‘Australian’ section of the story) by Aussie based colleagues David Maurice Smith and Matthew Abbott. Hi Guys !

Thanks CNN for the important story and for using my work to help illustrate it. Thanks yet again to my fixer/friend Srienivas Akella from Mumbai … brilliant travelling with you.

CNN story 'The One Chance We Have' on Covid-19 pandemic hastening a global climate catastrophe - images by Brian Cassey

Adani and Gond Images in ‘Corriere Della Sera’ Covid-19 story…

July 10, 2023May 25, 2020

Great to see that my images made in Chhattisgarh, India last year have been given another breath of life to illustrate a Covid-19 related story just published in both the print and online editions of the venerable Italian newspaper ‘Corriere Della Sera’.

I originally made the images and wrote the words around mining giant Adani’s destruction of large areas of the Hasdeo Arand forest in the state of Chhattisgarh, India … and ousting the original Gond tribal peoples from their ancient forest homelands. Two articles were originally published in ‘The Guardian’ … here … and here … and on my blog at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/publications/2020/02/adani-and-the-gond/

However, ‘Corriere Della Sera’ updated the story to be more appropriate for the strange Coronavirus times we are now living in. Six months makes a monumental difference. Their story entitled ‘Mines or solar energy: the pandemic accelerates the dilemma of the giant India’ … centres on the premise that the onslaught of Covid-19 in India has began a perceived shift away from traditional coal for power production towards solar power. India’s top twenty ‘think tanks’ have together lobbied Modi’s Indian government to utilise solar panels to power the massive rural areas and populations of the sub-continent in place of coal. The plight of the Gond peoples in the Hasdeo Arand forest and their battle against mining giant Adani (based on my original story) are central to their argument.

Obviously Corriere Della Sera’s story is in Italian … and it may be found here … and in scans of pages 12, 13 and 14 of the paper here below. A Google ‘translation’ into English is a little hard to fathom but makes much more sense to me than the Italian: -) … find it here.

Corriere Della Sera - Adani, Gond Peoples and Hasdeo Arand Forest story - images by Brian Cassey