Sunshine Coast … & Nikon-Walkley …
Just returned from three days ‘down south ‘at Mooloolaba southern Queensland, courtesy of the Walkley Foundation and the University of the Sunshine Coast.
My (rather pleasant) tasks over the three days were to ‘talk my head of’ on the subject of photojournalism at the ‘Ord Minnett Art & Architecture Lecture’ series, host five classes of University journalism students … and perform as ‘guest speaker’ at the Sunshine Coast opening of the ‘Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition’.
Despite torrential rain and flash flooding (Sunshine Coast ?) all the events were extremely well attended. The ‘Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition’ was hung by the charming USC Gallery curator Dawn Oelrich and the prints were very well presented and lit in the campus Gallery ‘space’. Well over a hundred braved the lousy weather on Thursday eve to attend, view the work selected as Australia’s best press pics of 2013 and listen to myself rabbit on about photojournalism and my and the other finalists work. CEO of the Walkley Foundation and MEAA Federal Secretary – Chris Warren – was also in attendance to address the throng.
On the previous night over thirty five souls were brave enough to withstand over an hour of my ‘Ord Minnett’ lecture. To support my words on the subject of photojournalism I also projected over a hundred images and demonstrated some obscure pieces of camera kit. Some of the pics and some of the kit dated back … well … a few decades.
I also spoke to five classes of journalism students … almost a hundred in total … on the press photography in the gallery (including mine of course) and the fragile future of photojournalism. Several young students were, however, determined to continue along the PJ path.
Still, it made a pleasant change to spend my time talking about pictures rather than making them.
In case you missed it you can find my selected ‘Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the Year’ portfolio here … http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkleyfoundation/sets/72157636407740096/
Below are two quick pics from the exhibition opening eve of guests checking out the wall with my selected ‘Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the Year’ print portfolio.
All images © Brian Cassey
Walkley Storyology …
The first week of December saw the Walkley Foundation’s biggest week of the year – the ‘Storyology’ four day media event and – showcasing the pinnacle of Australian journalism’s in 2014 – the annual ‘Walkley Awards‘ presentation night. I was very pleased to travel to Sydney to be a involved in both – as a speaker (twice) at ‘Storyology’ and as a guest of Nikon at the ‘Walkley’s’.
The ‘Storyology’ event at the Chauvel Cinema Paddington attracted a host of respected and exciting speakers from around the planet and Australia … and I was very humbled to see my name amongst the long list which included such stellar media luminaries as (to name just a few) Laurie Oakes, Quentin Dempster, Wendy Hamer et al.
My involvement at ‘Storyology’ was two fold. On the Wednesday I was tasked with giving a ‘powertalk’ in the ‘Listen Up: Getting Back To The Story’ segment where, at the Walkley Foundation request, I told the story and showed the images from the photographers involved in the ‘Genesis Project’ exhibition that I co-curated with Moshe Rosenzveig for the Head On Photo Festival earlier in 2014.
The real honour for me, however, was being a part of Thursday’s ‘Show and Tell’ panel talk on photojournalism alongside three fellow photographers that each have my utmost respect … John Donegan, David Dare Parker and Andrew Quilty. For an hour in front of a very interested and inquisitive audience we talked about our careers, our lives and our images … and answered some very well put questions from the floor.
Thursday evening saw this years ‘Walkley Awards’ unfold on the water at Darling Harbour. The Nikon crew were once again fine hosts and it was excellent to catch up with many many photographers and journalist friends whilst this years award winners were recognised. My colleague from the ‘Storyology’ panel talk – Andrew Quilty – deservedly added the “Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the Year” prize (presented to him by our fellow panelist David Dare Parker) to his earlier announced “Press Photo of the Year” award. Nice to see … and I certainly enjoyed the evening more than last years (for me) stress filled event. (The ‘after party’ became a bit of a blur and I do believe I did get to bed before sun rise.) Congratulations to all this years winners … and a big ‘Thanks’ to the Walkley Foundation and Nikon for the invitations.
Below is a pic made (by Jenny from the Walkleys) during the ‘Storyology’ ‘Show and Tell’ panel talk with – left to right – John Donegan, myself, David Dare Parker and Andrew Quilty – whilst one of my Hong Kong cage home images is the subject of discussion (above). © Image