Way, WAY back in the late 80’s a handful of disenchanted The Cairns Post staff and contributors changed editorial track and published a new Cairns newspaper specifically catering to the northern beach suburbs communities.
The weekly ‘Northern Beachcomber’ became a reality in 1989 produced by the tiny team of Geoff Cooke (Editor), wife Rhonda Cooke (Admin), journalists Margo Nugent (Zlotkowski) & Cat Lindsay (Atkins) … and myself producing all the photography. (NB … back in those days I was a shy young pup and all my photographs were published under my by-line ‘Sport ‘n’ Life Pictures’ ! )
For three years the ‘Beachcomber’ … Initially printed in Port Douglas … became an integral part of the beaches community and regularly broke stories regarding the colourful residents of the Cairns northern beach suburbs and anything specific to the area.
A thorn in the side of the Cairns Post until in 1992 News Ltd chose to ‘buy’ the ’Northern Beachcomber’ to nullify the opposition. The Post then ran the ‘Northern Beachcomber’ for a short while before closing it.
I must have known something back in those days as I carefully hoarded TWO copies of each edition in boxes under the house ! Coming across them a little while ago I offered a complete set of the newspaper to the Cairns Historical Society, who gladly snapped them up for historical reference and preservation ! They can now be accessed on request (I believe) at the Cairns Museum in the School of Arts building, corner of Lake and Shields Streets.
Just returned from a journey to the UK and Europe where a large part of my time was spent exploring the many brilliant exhibitions of photography by some of the planets most accomplished talents, past and present.
So, it was a no brainer to make a little side trip from a journey to the UK to explore Tallinn’s version of ‘Fotografiska’. Once again … ‘Fotografiska’ got it very right … brilliant displays of top photography. The 50 years of work by ‘Anton Corbijn’ portraying many of the World’s greatest musicians and entertainers across the decades, was truly remarkable.
In contrast to the Corbijn work was a stunning emotional exhibition by Swedish photographer Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez ‘To Be Born and to Give Birth’. The very intimate work (oft graphic) provided a wonderful insight into the birth of humans. You may see what most struck me at ‘Fotografiska’ Tallinn in the top four images below … Nick Cave and the Eurythmics by Corbijn, two works by Bergmark-Jiménez and the gallery in the snow.‘ Fotografiska’ now has galleries in Berlin, Stockholm, Shanghai and Tallinn. If you are in the vicinity of any I urge you to visit.
In London a priority was to visit the exhibition ‘Lee Miller ‘ at the Tate Britain and managed to get a ticket for one of the last sessions on closing day. Magnificent …
Well over two hundred works documenting the life and work of Lee Miller … which Tate accurately described as one of the 20th century’s most urgent artistic voices … adorned the walls of the historic gallery. Legend photographer Man Ray played a part in the exhibit with his stunning early photographs of his muse Miller … whilst you discovered her evolution as a photographer though the genres of fashion, portraiture, eroticism, surrealism, landscape, documentary, magazine and eventually hard hitting war photography. Her images from the German concentration camps are particularly confronting and important. Lee Miller was so much more than a photographer sitting in Hitler’s bathtub !
My images from ‘Lee Miller’ are fifth to eighth below … a metres high portrait of Miller greets visitors at the Tate exhibition entrance, my favourite image of Miller by Man Ray (cropped by Miller herself), Millers image of a Burgermeister’s daughter who committed suicide as allied forces approached Leipzig in 1945 and Millers image of the execution of Prime Minister of Hungary Laszlo Bardossy in Budapest 1946.
Onto another legend … New York born photographer Richard Avedon died in 2004 but his portraiture works are timeless. The Gagosian Gallery in London are hosting an amazing exhibition of his portraits ‘Richard Avedon : Facing West’ until early April. The beautiful contemplative gallery in Grosvenor Hill is displaying (and selling if you have the $s) twenty two of Avedon’s portraits not seen since their debut in 1985, curated by his daughter Caroline Avedon. The highly detailed works were made on large format film in the late 1970’s and early 80’s and are spectacular ! Below in places nine and ten below are two of favourites in the show … ‘James Kimberlin, Drifter, New Mexico, 1980’ and ‘James Story, Coal Miner, Colorado, 1979’. Great chance to visit if you are currently in London.
I was very fortunate to catch up with UK photographer friend/colleague, little pocket rocket Jennifer Forward-Hayter, whilst in London. Jen was recently a winner in the prestigious ‘Portrait of Britain’ award and was soon off to Melbourne on another assignment. However we managed to spend a great day together at the Victoria and Albert Museum rummaging through the museums various photography exhibits and libraries.
Main exhibit of several showing was ‘American Photographs’ … over 100 years of images from ‘Merica by photographers including Walker Evans, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson (how’d he git in there ?) , Cindy Sherman and many more. A very comprehensive collection of Americana. We also scoured the photography library … 20000 books, journals and manuals which members (Jen is one) may access at any time. How good is that ? At image eleven below is a startling self portrait by Cindy Sherman from ‘American Photographs’.
Back to another Gagosian Gallery later in the visit to take in Nan Goldin’s stunning, sometimes confronting, ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’ … all 126 photographs from Goldin’s genre-defining photobook of the same name published forty years ago. The mass of images on the walls makes for a time of study and reflection … very effective. Images below thirteen and fourteen show one of the gallery walls and perhaps my favourite image from the collection.
Now … more Lee Miller ! Strangely the tiny Lyndsey Ingram gallery in London chose to also present an exhibition of Lee Miller’s wonderful work entitled “Lee Miller : Performance of a Lifetime” … thirty four works, which as far as I could see, were also included in the Tate Britain exhibition. However, without the Tate’s crowds the quiet little gallery was much more conducive to the quiet contemplation of Miller’s works. At image fifteen below are two of my favourites on the wall … both made in war damaged locations … ‘Model Elizabeth Cowell 1941’ and ‘Imgard Seefried Opera Singer 1945’.
Phew … sorry this is so long … it would have been longer If I’d had more time!
Images … from top … Nick Cave by Anton Corbijn at Fotografiska Tallinn Estonia, Eurythmics Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart by Anton Corbijn at Fotografiska Tallinn Estonia, two works from “To be Born and to Give Birth” by Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez at Fotografiska Tallinn Estonia, the Fotografiska Gallery in the snow in Tallinn Estonia, two images of Lee Miller from “Lee Miller” at Tate Britain London, two works by Lee Miller from “Lee Miller” at Tate Britain London, two works from Richard Avedon at the Gagosian Gallery, Cindy Sherman self portrait from “American Photographs” at the V&A, two images from Nan Goldin’s “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” at Gagosian and finally, two images from “Lee Miller – Performance of a Lifetime” at the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery.
… really cool to once again be selected as a ’Top 25’ Finalist’ in the International Dodho Photography ‘Fine Art’ Awards … and soon to be published in their wonderful hard cover beautifully produced volume “Fine Art – The Best Photographs”. The work selected in the collection is one I am fond of … “Rain Over Black Mountain” … which I was lucky enough to make a few years back from an aircraft just before landing in Cooktown.
The pic (top) has a little bit of history too …
It was selected as a ‘Finalist’ in the highly prestigious (but now sadly no more) ‘Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize’. It was also a feature of my latest little exhibition “Achromatic” at ‘The Hound’ bar in Edge Hill late last year.
I’m a bit of a fan of Dodho’s support of photographers’ work in their awards and their great books … they seem to attract a really high level of imagery and do a great job of featuring beautiful images from some of the best photographers from around the planet on their website and in their publications. It’s the third time in a row I’ve been fortunate to feature in these ‘Fine Art’ awards and book. The 2024 and 2023 selected images are also here and very different in subject and concept to this years … “Mother Africa – Aurora” (below left) and “Bonn – Asking the Question” (below right).
Currently have nine Dodho volumes containing my images across the variety of Portraiture, Color, Fine Art and Monochrome … and this latest will make it a nice round ‘ten’ 🙂 … Thanks Dodho !
Firstly … the Head On Photo Festival soon arrives in PERTH for the first time. Secondly … one of the featured exhibitions in the new Perth Festival is “Paper Tigers” … the significant exhibition (and book) of the work of Australian based photojournalists co-curated/collected by Head On’s Moshe Rosenvzeig OAM and myself !
Thanks to all our contributing “Paper Tigers” photojournalists … Alex Coppel, Andrew Chapman, Angela Wylie, Ashley Crowther, Barbara McGrady, Ben Bohane, Brendan Beirne, Brian Cassey, Chris Hopkins, Craig Golding, Craig Greenhill, Darrian Traynor, Dave Tacon, David Dare Parker, David Gray, Dean Lewins, Dean Sewell, Delly Carr, Eddie Safarik, Edwina Pickles, Gerrit Fokkema, Glenn Campbell, Glenn Lockitch, Grant Wells, Helga Salwe, Ilana Rose, Jaime Murcia, Jake Nowakowski, Janie Barrett, Jessica Hromas, John Donegan, John French, Justin McManus, Louise Kennerley, Luis Ascui, Mark Crusty Baker, Martine Perret, Max Mason Hubers, Meredith O’Shea, Merv Bishop, Michael Amendolia, Michael Coyne, Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, Nic Walker, Nick Moir, Nicola Bailey, Noel Butcher, Paul Blackmore, Penny Stephens, Peter Solness, Richard Wainwright, Rick Stevens, Rob Maccoll, Robert McFarlane, Simon O’Dwyer, Stephen Dupont, Sylvia Liber, Tim Page, Tobias Titz, Tracey Nearmy.
Then there’s the sad bit 🙁 … I won’t be there ! Have had a trip back to Blighty and Europe planned for some time for the entire month of February !
… lovely to have a couple of images … one new and one old … selected by “Atlas of Humanity” and to be exhibited in Paris later this new year.
“Atlas of Humanity” is an international imaging project based around the UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity and uses quality photographs to document cultural and ethnic diversity around the planet.
My two selected images … “Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman – Dominic” – & – “Gama Warrior Woman – Tsumeriyah” … will feature in the event “ImageNation Paris 2026” at the Galerie Joseph Le Palais, one of the most beautiful galleries in the very heart of the Marais quarter central Paris just a few steps from the iconic Centre Pompidou. The exhibition … scheduled during Paris Photo Week in November … will feature my Dominic portrait framed large on the walls … whilst the Tsumeriyah work will be projected and online.
My portrait of Dominic Ngakyunkwokka as he returned to camp from an Aak Puul Ngantam mustering operation out from Aurukun, Cape York Peninsula, was made some years back and won a Head On Portrait Prize.
… this past week I had the very real privilege and pleasure to meet … and photograph … little twenty month old Tobias and his family.
The story of Tobias is heart breaking and, at the same time, miraculous and inspiring. In August 2024 at age of four months he was struck by the meningococcal disease. Within hours of the onset he had been flown from Cairns to Townsville Paediatric Hospital by helicopter, had lost both arms, both legs and twice, very nearly, his life. Paediatric surgeon Dr Harry Stalewski said he had never seen a meningococcal case so severe.
I learnt of the terrible plight and journey of Tobias from a photographer colleague and family acquaintance. A couple of weeks ago Renee Ping arranged an introduction to little Tobias and his delightful mother Katie to discuss the possibility of documenting the heart-rending story. After conferring with husband Steven the couple came to the decision that ‘it was time’. I put them in touch with health specialist journalist Jackie Sinnerton and arranged to make the images to accompany Jackie’s eventual piece.
The ztory has now been published in today’s print edition of The Sunday Mail and also online accompanied by some of the many images I made of Tobias and his family during our photo sessions.
I was fascinated to watch and interact with Tobias to make those many images … and it was truly inspiring to see how he was developing and learning to adapt without the use of limbs. Tobias can now gently grasp a ball, can burst a bubble, loves splashing in water, can sit upright unaided … and more. Most impressive was seeing his obvious thought processes on how to try and make things work.
To say I have a huge soft spot for Tobias is a great understatement !
Mother Katie, father Steven and Tobias’s siblings Zakoa, Hunter and Baylee form a remarkable team, brilliantly guiding and nurturing their little son and brother along a most difficult path. I am in awe …
The top photo is the image that I am most fond of from the hundreds I made of Tobias. However, the paper preferred to go with the other pic that you may see on the screen grabs below of pages 1, 4 and 5.
Oh Yes … the family have to make frequent road trips from Cairns to Townsville for Tobias’s treatment … but their vehicle is too small for all of them. The FNQ Youth Assistance Fund is organising fund raising to finance a larger vehicle. If you can help please donate at … https://www.fnqyaf.org.au/youth-support/donations/ … by selecting ‘Wheels for Tobias’ under ‘Donation Type*’. Thanks !!
… meet “Bronto” … the NEW ‘Big Boy’ at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, Great Barrier Reef … 4.7 metres of croc attitude !
I made this image … very carefully … of “Bronto”, during a recent days work documenting the family owned croc park and reef tourism venture on Green Island, Great Barrier Reef. “Bronto”, raised by the late croc icon George Craig from a hatchling 55 years ago, has long lived in the shadow of infamous record holding “Cassius”, who lived at the park until his sad death just over a year ago at age estimated over 110. “Cassius” had for many years held the title of the World’s largest captive crocodile at 5 48metres. “Bronto” now steps into the starring role and snappy attraction …
This week also marks the return of “Cassius” (in an inanimate form) to the island park, following a magnificent job of taxidermy. “Cassius” now shares his own brand new room at Marineland Melanesia with memorabilia of his life and achievements … and details of the wonderful relationship that he shared with George over several decades. In a poignant twist both “Cassius” and George passed away within a just a couple of weeks of each other in November 2024. The new exhibit at Marineland pays tribute to both the wonderful characters who shared an incredible connection. Well worth a visit …
A truly brilliant launch eve at the Bondi Pavilion to open this years festival … great large crowd of attendees and some lovely photography, awards and prizes, fat hot dogs and wine … perfect.
Was in Sydney for the festival in my capacity of featured exhibition exhibitor, award finalist, panelist … and more. This year the festival hosted well over a hundred exhibitions of photography … and I was thrilled and fortunate that one of them was my exhibition of work “Up North – Tropical People”. My featured collection … shown in prime position in the tranquil contemplative beautiful surrounds of the Paddington Reservoir Gardens … consisted of images of many of the characters that make Cairns and the tropical north home. Thanks Head On …
Also in the Reservoir Gardens complex was the collected works selected as ‘Finalists’ in the Head On Exposure Awards … and I was again delighted to be selected amongst their number with my image “Crush of Humanity – Dahi Handi – Mumbai”, made on an Indian adventure some years back.
The quality of the work in all this years Head On Awards … Portrait, Landscape and Exposure … was truly very special. Honoured to be amongst the list.
The winner of the Exposure Award was a remarkable, powerful, tragic and thought provoking image entitled “Faith Amidst Genocide”, made in war torn Gaza by Turkish photographer Abdelrahman Alkahlout.
Bondi Pavilion and the Bondi Promenade hosted many awards and exhibition collections for thousands of beach goers and tourists to take in … including a great exhibition of sport images (by many of my friends and colleagues) to celebrate the Walkley Awards 70th year … “Sporting Moments Through the Lens”. Pretty classic, that one …
One of the less obvious highlights was somewhat of a festival coup … the screening (first in the southern hemisphere) of the film “The Stringer”. Somewhat controversial, the film documents the authorship disputation of the iconic Vietnam war photograph “The Terror of War” (more commonly referred to as “Napalm Girl”). The screening also saw a live appearance by one of the films main characters and ‘witness’ … former Associated Press Vietnam pic editor Carl Robinson … who verbalised his account of the proceeding fifty years ago. Fascinating stuff … but far too complicated to go further into it all here. (“The Stringer” launches on Netflix later this month … ).
Now for a shameless bit of name dropping … just some of the co-panelists, photographers, award nominees, festival attendees and thoroughly nice people that I engaged with over my five days at the festival in Sydney … Dave Gray, John Swainston, Kate Geraghty, Glenn Lockitch, Judith Nangala Crispin, Paul Blackmore, Tegan Sadlier, Michele Aboud, Sebastian Giunta, Tim Levy, Jess Prescott, Bronek Kozka, Pia Jessen, Guy Templeton, Fiona Bowring, Grace Costa, Birgit Neiser, Anastasia Trahanas, Dianne Brooks … and many many more … AND … of course … the Head On crew that made it all happen … Moshe, Anita, Stephen, Paula and all the others involved in keeping the wheels turning. Thank You !
When travelling I do make a point to research any photographic exhibitions showing … and outside of Head On in Sydney I found a couple worth visiting at the State Library of New South Wales … “Merv Bishop: Close Up” (Merv made that iconic image of Vincent Lingiari and Gough Whitlam with red dirt running through his fingers) and “PIX: The Magazine that Changed Everything” (brilliant nostalgic exhibition exploring the fantastic photography in the publication that spanned thirty four years of the twentieth century). Both shows an added bonus to the Sydney visit …
… this time last week (Saturday 18th) two young British women were battling gusting twenty knot winds as they rowed their nine metre vessel ‘Velocity’ towards terra firma in Cairns.
The previous day I had taken a little voyage myself … a fifty nautical jaunt on the 12.5 metre Reef Adventures boat ‘Lethal Weapon’ … in the opposite direction. The rationale was to journey out past the edge of the Great Barrier Reef into the Coral Sea to meet Miriam Payne (25) and Jess Rowe (28) on the last stage of their epic 8213 nautical mile row across the Pacific Ocean.
The girls left Lima Peru on the 5th of May. 165 days later they stepped ashore at the Marlin Marina in Cairns after battling storms, massive waves, technical issues that nullified all their electronics … and a lack of chocolate … setting a new record as the first all-female pair to row across the Pacific Ocean nonstop and unsupported.
Following a rather bumpy trip on ‘Lethal Weapon’ through choppy waters last Friday, we found Miriam and Jess rowing steadfastly towards the edge of the Great Barrier Reef … and I made many images (just five of them here below). An hour or so later we shot back to Cairns. The pics were syndicated by Agence France-Presse/Getty around the planet. Very nice to see my work in The Times, The Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Guardian (all UK) … and many more around the World.
( Arguably Miriam and Jess’s feat was more impressive than their Scottish male counterparts when taking into consideration ‘manpower’ or ‘womanpower’. Although the three Maclean brothers were quicker at 139 days … just the two of Miriam and Jess managed the journey only 26 days longer .. do the figures and go girls ! )
I had the pleasure of meeting Jess and Miriam (again) on dry land at a Salt House reception on Wednesday eve. A nicer couple of young ladies you could not imagine … vibrant, down to earth and full of humility. Many Thanks for the opportunity to meet you and your families properly … and thanks also to Cairns PR Pip Miller and Dave Gray from Agence France-Presse for your support.
Good (great) news stories are so good to cover …
You may see more of my images of these two amazing young ladies and their huge adventure on my Instagram here … and my Facebook here .
… honestly didn’t expect this … great evening at the Sofitel in Brisbane Saturday … made even better by the very welcome announcements that I actually won both the major photography prizes in the 30th anniversary “Clarion Awards” (Queensland’s journalism awards).
However, the eve was tinged with sadness too …
My set of pictures of the life of friend and recently sadly passed away subject … “Millionaire Castaway David Glasheen” … was judged the winner of ‘Best Photographic Essay’, whilst my portrait of David recovering from his heart attack earlier this year won ‘Best News Photograph’. The work was published perfectly and respectfully in the Courier Mail with words by gun scribe Michael Madigan … many thanks for that CM !
Here are the ‘judges comments’ on my work …
Best Metropolitan News Photo … “Brian showed dogged determination to track down castaway David Glasheen after he had suffered a heart attack. Using good old fashioned news sense Brian found his friend David recovering in the Red Cross Rehabilitation Centre in Cairns. The photograph is a strong example of using available resources to capture a portrait. A clever use of light, painting a haunting image of the subject in his frail state.”
Best Photographic Essay … “Brian’s photographic essay of David Glasheen, the millionaire castaway, perfectly captures the unique, and dream-like nature of the man’s life. From taking a mannequin down a tropical island in a wheelbarrow, to beautiful portrait shots that show the impacts of time, the series clearly tells the story of how this man lived and the scars he carries. Brian’s exquisite technical skill, and his storytelling ability is clearly on display in this essay.”
I admit to having reservations when seeing my images of ‘Resto Dave’ … is was a terrible shock to talk to him on the phone in early July, just a couple of days before he succumbed in a Brisbane hospital to the effects of that February heart attack and other complications. He was a truly fascinating genuine character armed with humour, compassion and a zest for life. I recommend a read of his best selling book “The Millionaire Castaway”.
However, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the Sofitel … a fitting venue to commemorate thirty years of the media awards that celebrate the best of Queensland journalism. This year the event was organised by the Queensland branch of the MEAA … and everyone did a stellar job. Fantastic to make the pilgrimage again to the ‘big smoke’ of Brisbane and enjoy the company of many journalists, photographers and other media colleagues.
Huge congrats to all the ‘Clarion’ finalists and winners … in particular the photography finalist contingent of Adam Head, Annette Dew, Glenn Hampson, Matt Dennien, Kenji Sato and Cairns based Brendan Radke. Below are the images that comprised my winning entries … and David, you are very very sorely missed.
… some unabashed self indulgent promotions and, well, recent updates regarding my work :-).
Firstly … … can now reveal the image that was selected as a ‘Finalist’ in the prestigious Perth Centre of Photography portrait “IRIS Award” (see top below). My selected work “Unsculpted – Australian Artist Tony Clark” was kept confidential until last Friday eves exhibition opening event.
It’s the fourth time in a row that I have had works selected and exhibited as a prize finalist in this bi-annual award ( see my earlier ‘finalists’ from 2023, 2021 and 2019 ).
PCP describes the portrait prize thus … “Embracing unrestrained approaches to portraiture, the Award celebrates works of nuance, raw emotion, and personal connection — revealing the essence of human relationships and lived experience, whether in love, joy, desire, distance, or disconnection. We are invited into the shifting constellations of human sentiment, a space for reflection and dialogue on intimacy and identity in contemporary life.”
The PCP “IRIS” exhibition of the thirty finalist portraits runs from the 4th to the 18th October at Cheap Tongue Gallery, Walyalup (Fremantle) Tuesday–Friday 10am–3pm. If you are in ‘The West’ I hope you can take it in … 🙂 .
My latest exhibition in Australia’s premier photography festival … “Up North – Tropical People” … has now been confirmed. The work, pictorially portraying the wonderful inhabitants of the northern tropics of Australia, will grace the tranquil rustic walls of the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Sydney from the 8th to the 30th November … and is free for everyone who wanders into the unique venue (second from top).
Lastly … this post is getting a bit long … very happy to receive a ‘finalist’ recognition for a black and white version of my “Millionaire Castaway – David Glasheen” image in the ‘People’ category of Australia’s 2025 “Mono Awards” (bottom image below).
AAP Magazine has published a beautifully produced magazine featuring the “Portrait” award winning works of 25 portrait photographers from around the planet … from the USA, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, China, Israel, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Italy … and two from Australia … myself … and friend Carole Mills Noronha whose work graces the magazine cover.
My winning image … “100 Years and 3 Weeks – Alf Neal OAM” was accompanied in the publication by two other of my portraits “Millionaire Castaway – David Glasheen” and “Neville Henry – Kowanyama”, under the title “Australians” over a two page spread (see top below).
The hard copy publication really feels more like a book than a magazine … stout card cover and ultra heavy weight paper throughout the 96 pages … beautiful simple layout showing the work at it’s finest … and no advertising whatsoever. A pure pleasure to be included …
… delighted to announce my new exhibition of photographic works … “Achromatic” … at the beautiful atmospheric surrounds of “The Hound” bar, Edge Hill from the 17th to the 29th September.
The exhibit is my first ever collection of purely black and white photographic works … blending in with the theme of this gorgeous little whiskey/cocktail bar and celebrating its milestone first anniversary.
The definition of the title “Achromatic” … ‘free from extraneous colours, possessing or involving no hue’ … and the collection demonstrates how reducing a photograph to black and white emphasises contrast, form, and texture, allowing viewers to focus on composition and the interplay of light and shadow without the distraction of colour.
The photographs in the collection are varied and include, landscape, portraiture, photojournalism and more … and also includes three images made at “The Hound” as a tribute to the beautiful Paweł Pawlikowski film “Cold War”.
The exhibition is tailored specifically for the “The Hound” in conjunction with the amazing and motivated bar manager Ana Belen Hernalz … and I also owe a massive vote of thanks to fellow photographer Emese Gyalog and Will Davey who played their parts beautifully in the “Cold War” images.
Sadly I’ll be working in the Torres Strait when the exhibition first opens … but on return the plan is to organise a photographers eve and/or a closing event at the “The Hound” … very likely on Thursday 25th September. Put it in your electronic diary !
Last Saturday 30th August, three Scottish brothers rowed into Cairns in a tiny row boat at the culmination of an incredible 14500 kilometre unsupported voyage from Lima, Peru.
Brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan comprehensively smashed the world record for the fastest human-powered Pacific Ocean crossing, completing the journey in 139 days.
I covered the arrival of the brothers in Cairns at Marlin Marina … where a crowd of family, friends, onlookers and media gathered … for AFP (Agence France-Presse).
The images are being widely published around the planet … and these are just a few of the pages they have ended up gracing … ‘The Scottish Sun’, The Scotsman’, ‘The Edinburgh News’, ‘The Taipei Times’ (Taiwan), France24, ‘The Malay Mail’ (Malaysia), ‘The Omak Chronicle’ (USA), ‘Digital Journal’ (Global), ‘Non Stop Local KHQ’ (Idaho USA), ‘ETV Bharat’ (India), ‘Barron’s’ (USA), AS Sports (Spain) … and arguably the three most prestigious … the UK publications ‘The Times’, The Independent’ and ‘The Daily Mail’.
A nice and positive story to cover … the brothers feat is really incredible as was the support that Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan received from a large and vociferous gathering of family and friends. Here are just four of the many images made on the day and syndicated by AFP.
From top … the brothers arrive at the Cairns Marlin Marina and celebrate with flares and bagpipes … Lachlan, Jamie and Ewan prepare for dry land … Lachlan and Jamie hug their girlfriends Heide and Emily after stepping ashore … Lachlan, Jamie and Ewan celebrate their remarkable success with the Scottish flag.
… Yay ! Great News … selected as one of three Finalists in the “Kennedy Awards” … “Outstanding Portrait Photography” category. The prestigious awards describe themselves as “a truly independent, national celebration of the best Australian journalism … the Australian media’s night of nights”.
The black tie awards presentation dinner is in the very plush surrounds of the Ballroom, Royal Randwick, Sydney on August 15th.
Sounds very flash … and yeah … will be packing the ‘whistle ’n’ flute’ and winging it down to Sydney for a couple of (likely dangerous) days meeting up with many photographer and journalist friends and colleagues.
You’ve likely seen my selected finalist image before in earlier posts ( here, here and here ) … and it’s described below so I won’t bombard you with it again.
… great to have a cover photo (and more pics inside) in the the current edition of The Australian Weekend Magazine … running with a story on former journalist colleague, Walkley Award and Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature winner now author, Nicolas Rothwell and his talented co-author wife Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson.
It’s long been a pleasure to work alongside Nicolas whenever we crossed paths … a supreme journalist when at The Australian for decades covering International news stories, indigenous affairs, arts … and more.
Nicholas and Alison have now co-authored the book “Yilkari – A Desert Suite” … launching July 29th by Text Publishing … a fictional tale centred on Alison’s Western Desert Luritja-Pintupi country in the Northern Territory.
So … it was a great thrill for me to be re-acquainted with Nicolas … and meet Alison … in their remote Great Dividing Range hideaway … and take a few images.
A distinct pleasure and a nice pic run too 🙂 … below is the magazine cover, a portrait of Nicolas which runs over the entirety of page 14 … and a cosy pic of the two of them on page 17.
In February I posted an ‘update’ on World renowned island castaway David Glasheen and his then health issues. I’m so sad to advise that the former millionaire and later decades long island recluse passed away last weekend. His family have told me that he never really recovered over the five months since that hospitalisation for a heart attack.
So … I make no apologies for once again running this ‘last image’ portrait (top) that I made of David in the Red Cross accomodation following his discharge from Cairns Hospital back in February. That portrait was the catalyst for an another lengthy story on David’s island life in the Courier Mail newspaper.
David’s story … of losing a business fortune in the 1987 economic crash and dropping out to live a solitary life for decades on a remote tiny island off the coast of northern Australia … resonated around the planet. His book “Millionaire Castaway” (illustrated on the cover with another of my ‘David’ portraits) was a best seller around the World.
I had the pleasure of visiting David (and his mannequin friend) on remote Restoration Island three times over the years. He was always a gentleman, a fascinating wonderful host … and a great subject. (His island brewed beer was pretty good too.) Below I’ve also posted a few more pics of David when on his island home in healthier times, with his dog Quassi and his ‘friend’ Miranda.
Restoration Island (and the World) has lost a unique resident … they don’t make ’em like ‘Resto Dave’ anymore …
… blimey … FORTY years ago as a young pup I was awarded my first photo prize as the (highly unexpected) winner of the “Australian Sports Photo of the Year” !
Sponsored by Kodak and Adidas in 1985, it was the inaugural edition of the awards celebrating Australia’s best sports images with a very large cash prize, a weeks holiday on the Gold Coast and photo product for the lucky winner … me ! 🙂 .
The announcement and prize presentation was televised from Melbourne as a part of the “Australian Sports Star of the Year” awards. I had to buy a suit and tie (and SHOES) to attend 😉 !
It was a massive shock to win, especially as the other two finalists were staff photographers from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (who weren’t too pleased that a little ‘nobody’ from tiny Cairns had pipped ‘em ).
The winning pic (below) of gun Cairns skier Steve Hook mid slalom on Trinity Inlet Cairns was made on film with a Nikon FM2 and a squeeze focus Novoflex 200mm lens. (I was long a big fan of the squeezey focus Novoflex glass … 200, 280, 400 & 600mm.)
My win was a catalyst for lots of interest from the news media and picture editors … and, in effect, was the precursor to the expansion of my photography into more challenging and rewarding press work and photojournalism.
Many Thanks to Steve Hook, brother Howard and the others of the Cairns waterski fraternity of the time. Big Thanks also to John Croucher of the Cairns Yacht Club who nagged me incessantly to enter into a photo prize for the first time.
(Nb … if you fancy water skiing on Trinity Inlet in this day and age the crocodiles would make short work of you !)
… very happy to be featured nattering to Podcaster and former journalist/photographer Issac McCarthy for … whoa … an hour and twenty odd minutes about photojournalism and my pictorial work over the last several decades. Isaac hosts “How Good Are Humans” podcasts available on Spotify, Buzzsprout and Apple etc … and my little natter with him is his 54th Episode since beginning in 2020.
Isaac entitled this episode “Getting the Shot in Brothels, Refugee Camps and Disaster Zones | Photojournalism | Brian Cassey” … and it can be listened to right here …
Isaac is a terrific talented compere, extremely knowledgable about the media and certainly completes pain staking research on his subjects. In our hour and twenty four minutes and 32 seconds chat Isaac and I touch on the ethics of photojournalism, working and making images in hostile environments, gaining the trust of pictorial subjects, telling stories that inform the planet and ‘keeping the bastards honest’, the stories around several of my favourite images, the future of photojournalism … and much more …
If have you any interest about what I’ve been up to for the last few decades and curious about the ‘realities’ of photojournalism and media photography … pull up a comfy chair (and a couple of glasses of Shiraz or similar) … and relax for near an hour and a half.
… very happy to be featured nattering to Podcaster and former journalist/photographer Issac McCarthy for … whoa … an hour and twenty odd minutes about photojournalism and my pictorial work over the last several decades. Isaac hosts “How Good Are Humans” podcasts available on Spotify, Buzzsprout and Apple etc … and my little natter with him is his 54th Episode since beginning in 2020.
Isaac entitled this episode “Getting the Shot in Brothels, Refugee Camps and Disaster Zones | Photojournalism | Brian Cassey” … and it can be listened to right here …
Isaac is a terrific talented compere, extremely knowledgable about the media and certainly completes pain staking research on his subjects. In our hour and twenty four minutes and 32 seconds chat Isaac and I touch on the ethics of photojournalism, working and making images in hostile environments, gaining the trust of pictorial subjects, telling stories that inform the planet and ‘keeping the bastards honest’, the stories around several of my favourite images, the future of photojournalism … and much more …
If have you any interest about what I’ve been up to for the last few decades and curious about the ‘realities’ of photojournalism and media photography … pull up a comfy chair (and a couple of glasses of Shiraz or similar) … and relax for near an hour and a half.
Very sadly the exhibition of my work “A Photographer’s Life – Part 3 – Portrait” on the walls of the gorgeous new Mulgrave Gallery on the Cairns Esplanade has now come to an end.
An epic opening eve back in late January followed by the six week run of the exhibition saw scores of viewers and fantastic feedback from visitors from around the planet and Australia (including many from the cruise ships that regularly dock in Cairns).
If you were one that couldn’t/didn’t visit the exhibition during it’s ‘showing’ but are still keen to see what it was all about … or just fancy your own tangible memento of the exhibition … you can still get your hands on your personally signed hard cover limited edition volume featuring all the portraits that were on the walls. The book “A Photographer’s Life – Part Three – Portrait” is now available via the ‘Shop’ on my web site at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/shop/category/books/ … where you may also find my other Limited Edition signed books available. (HINT: If you are a Cairns ‘local’ or close by please just send me an email () requesting your personalised copy and I’ll hand deliver it to you without any postage/shipping charges saving you $$$’s 🙂 )
Huge Thanks to curator Chris Stannard and the all the rest of the fabulous dedicated team at Cairns Galleries. To Head On Photo Festival director Moshe Rosenzveig OAM who flew from Sydney to open the exhibitions. Amazing ! Also to Collie Jacobs for the image (top) below of the gallery entrance with me spoiling the pic. Second image below is the cover of the book, followed by a couple of pics of the pages inside.
… very nice run in last weekends edition of the Courier Mail that featured my images … old and brand new … of old friend ‘Ex Millionaire to island Castaway’ David Glasheen. David lost a literal fortune during the 1987 economic crash and then chose to ‘drop out’ and live a solitary secluded life on historic Restoration Island off the coast of far north Queensland.
His story and my photographs of David spread World wide after I visited him three times on his island … (named Restoration Island by Captain Bligh when he landed there during his epic 4000 mile open boat journey following the HMS Bounty mutiny) … back in 2010 and 2011 for News Ltd, the New York Times and Fairfax.
David later published a book about his life entitled “The Millionaire Castaway” which sold a quarter of a million copies around the planet.
Recently I learnt that David (now 81) had suffered a heart attack and had left the island for a bed in Cairns Hospital. At the hospital I was told he had just been discharged and I found him at the nearby Red Cross accomodation. We chatted about old times and I asked if I could make yet another newer portrait … which he readily agreed to.
This portrait (top image) is the result. David has always had a story to tell so I passed on details of his current trauma and story to Courier Mail gun journalist Michael Madigan (who I have worked with on many stories previously) … and passed on David’s new portrait and the earlier 2010/2011 pics of David on his remote inland retreat to the Courier picture desk.
The result … a front page pointer, Davids portrait on page 15 and a spread across pages 36 and 61. Happy with that … huge thanks to Michael for his brilliant words … and, of course, David who is now recovering with his family ‘down south’ (but really hoping to soon get back to his island home.)
Not an extinct flightless bird, Dodho publishes “Dodho Magazine” … in their words “one of the most influential online contemporary photography magazines, committed to discovering and promoting the best photographers around the world”.
So … was excellent to again be selected in the “Dodho Fine Art” awards and see one of my favourite images … “Mother Africa – Aurora” … grace the wonderful Dodho large format hard cover fine art awards book.
This was only the second edition of the fine art awards and pleased to say that another of my images … “Bonn – Asking the Question” … was selected in the inaugural awards last year (see second image below). Dodho now also hosts other awards each year … and I also have had work selected … twice each … in their “Portrait Awards” and “Color Awards”. Getting quite a nice little collection of fine award photo books !
Dodho really do do a fine job of promoting a great variety of International photography. Do look out for them …
… pretty stoked that my image “Aurukun – Generations” has been selected and listed for sale by the prestigious Duncan Miller Gallery in the United States.
The gallery and their web portal Your Daily Photograph (https://www.yourdailyphotograph.com) specialises in the sale of “important classic and contemporary photographic works of art” … and are the owner of the largest collection of vintage photographs on the West Coast of America. They have subscribers and potential purchasers in 75 countries.
You may see the work on their YDP site here … http://eepurl.com/i829Xw My work is apparently in very good company … in the recent past images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andreas Gursky, Richard Misrach, Andre Kertesz, Edward Burtynsky and other photography legends have been offered for sale on YourDailyPhotograph.
The portrait of Aurukun Wik elders Silas and Rebecca Wolmby with their great grand children Shalona and Keola was made outside their house in the Cape York Peninsula indigenous community. It has featured numerous times in awards across the last few years … arguably the most stella being ‘sent into space’ and projected above the planet courtesy of the British Journal of Photography “Portrait of Humanity” awards … and published in the book collection of the same name.
My first sale at Duncan Miller Gallery was back in 2012 with my “Rajasthan Dancers” photograph, made in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India in 2011 (image below).
