Cracking Clarion Winning Eve in Brisbane …
Great evening at “The Clarion Awards” 2022 … the night where Queensland wide media gather together in Brisbane to party, generally misbehave … and share a few awards around.
Very pleased to have picked up one of those awards … ‘Best Photographic Essay’ … with my work from the indigenous community of Yarrabah, “Covid Vax & Ice Cream”. The pic essay consisted of twelve images narrating a door to door covid vaccination campaign by doctors and medical professionals organised to increase extremely low inoculation uptake amongst the populace. I covered the door to door program (with an arranged ice cream van following dispensing free treats) for The Australian who used most of the work either in print or in on-line galleries. One of the pics contained in the essay … of 67 year old Leanne Bulmer with her post Pfizer jab ice cream … has also found much success on it’s own, previously winning several awards around the planet (see here, here, here, here and here … and bottom below.)
The second Clarion photography award category … ‘Best News Photograph’ … was also of a covid nature and taken out by the Courier Mail photographer Lachie Millard. His terrific work showed three year old Memphis being reunited with his mother at Archerfield air field following a two month covid border closure separation.
Magic to catch up with many friends and colleagues from around the State. It’s such an enjoyable annual event and get together. Huge thanks to all at The Clarions and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance for their great organisational skills and presentation at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Wonderful …
Below are just four of the twelve images that make up my winning “Covid Vax & Ice Cream” photo essay. To see the complete essay go to my ‘Awards’ page at … www.briancasseyphotographer.com/awards .
Images © Brian Cassey
Mentioned in Dispatches from Budapest …
… Nice … 4 X Honourable Mentions in the 2022 Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) announced yesterday.
You’ve likely seen the work before on this blog, social media or elsewhere … but always nice to receive a little more kudos. So … here they are …
1. “Veronica – Where Home Brew Kills” – People/Children – Five year old Veronica Barnes on Mornington Island in far northern Australia. Her remote indigenous community is suffering the ravages of a dangerous ‘Home Brew’ alcohol epidemic. Veronica is growing up in a community where community members – including children – are dying from alcohol related issues and severe diabetes.
2. “Scooter- Paralympian” – Editorial/Sport – Swim Paralympian Grant “Scooter” Patterson has diastrophic dysplasia, a joint fusion disability connected to dwarfism. He was catapulted to cult hero status around the planet when he won silver and bronze swim medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. His nickname comes from his constant form of transport – a three wheel scooter.
3. “Mother Africa” – People/Culture – As a black Colorado born African American, Aurora Coulter is acutely aware of her heritage, the treatment of her coloured predecessors and forebears in the United States – and also the history of Australia’s indigenous population since supposed ‘settlement’.
4. “Covid Vax & Ice Cream” – People/Portrait – After receiving her first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination in her remote Yarrabah far north Australia home, 67 year old aboriginal Leanne Bulmer sits with her ‘reward’ – a free ice cream from the ice cream van that was arranged to follow the on foot ‘door to door’ doctors and medical teams through the indigenous community.
Taking some of the gloss off the BIFA announcement was the insane decision by both IG and FB to ‘remove’ the tasteful and respectful ‘news’ image of Veronica citing their ‘community standards’ and impose a ‘ban’ … whilst they constantly bombard social media with unsolicited overtly sexually blatant images of females displaying their various ‘bits’. Go figure …
You may check out where all four of these images have previously gained attention on my ‘Awards’ page here.
Also a special mention and a brilliant result for Cairns colleague and friend Emese Gyalog who won a ‘Bronze’ award and also 4 x Honourable Mentions … (and who just happens to be in Budapest right now.)
Big Thanks to my subjects … Veronica, Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson, Aurora Coulter and Leanne Bulmer.
Images © Brian Cassey