Budapest, Dodho & Capture Awards … early Xmas Pressies …

… 3 nice early Chrissie presents … from ‘Budapest International Foto Awards’ (BIFA), Dodho Color Awards’ and Capture Magazines inaugural ‘Capture Awards’ … with four different images featuring.

Most pleasing for me was a first recognition for an image I’m rather fond of … and frankly rather different from my usual ‘stuff’ … entitled “Marilyn Monroe – 60 Years on – By Bonn” (top).

‘Marilyn’ was selected as an Honorable Mention in the Fine Art category of the Budapest International … and I’m very happy with that. I’m pretty sure that my subject Bonn Marie will be happy with that too … she did an admirable job of channeling the 50’s and early 60’s sex goddess … fabulous Bonn ! Thanks … and to Sue Kim too for her great nostalgic make up and hair magic.

I’ll try and keep it concise … but the catalyst for creating the image was the 60th anniversary of Marilyn’s (arguably the planet’s greatest ever sex symbol) untimely death in 1962 at the age of just 36. The idea was to  mirror one of the works of US photographer Tom Kelley who had the enviable task of shooting Marilyn’s infamous ‘red velvet’ set in 1949 before her acting career took off (when she had red hair pre the ‘blond bombshell’ era). Strangely Tom’s image didn’t receive lavish attention until Hugh Hefner selected it for the first centrefold in the first ever edition of Playboy Magazine in 1953!

The original is a truly iconic (in the real sense of the word) photograph and played a key role in shaping 20th century history, spawning a redefinition of female sexuality and a sexual revolution.

I like to think that Bonn and I did the original work justice. (Fine Art or not … it’s a real shame that this work is unacceptable on social media and its use would lead to a ban … go figure!)

“100 Years & 3 Weeks – Alf Neal OAM” also scored an Honourable Mention in the BIFA Portrait category … to add to a growing list of recognitions. Still miss you Alf.

By the way … it would be remiss of me not to mention that Cairns colleague and Hungarian born friend Emese Gyalog also featured in the Budapest awards, winning a Bronze Award and a Honorable Mention for her work. Excellent …

My pic of Green Island croc legend “George Craig – Crocodile Hunter” featured in the second edition Dodho Magazine Color Awards … and was awarded with a whole page (third from top) in a quite beautifully produced collection of photography … the Dodho large format hard cover book of the awards best images entitled ‘Color –  Best Photographers of 2023’ (third and fourth pics). Dodho really know how to produce wonderful polished photography books!

Last but certainly not least … “100 Years & 3 Weeks – Alf Neal OAM” was also selected in the ‘Top Ten Portraits’ of the inaugural Capture Magazine “Capture Awards” … and features amongst the winners in the current Summer 24 print edition of Australia’s premier pro photography magazine. A bit of cream on top was also the selection in the top twenty ‘Portraits’ list of my portrait “Do Not Resuscitate – Peter ‘Potter’ Thompson” of the Kuranda master potter (bottom image).

All have been updated to my ‘Awards’ listings page at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/awards/

A very nice way to finish 2023 … Many Thanks to all involved … and have a great ’24 !

All images © Brian Cassey

Marilyn Monroe, Playboy Magazine … & Bonn …

… VERY much a departure from what I normally do … and for that matter … what I’ve ever done.

I admit … this image I produced may look somewhat ‘familiar’ to many of a certain ‘vintage’. However, I can assure you that it is brand new. The ‘polar opposite’ of photojournalism, documentary, reportage etc, it does, indeed, tell a timely story I wanted to tell.

The year 2022 marked the 60th anniversary of the death of arguably the planet’s greatest ever sex symbol … movie star and blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe. She died at just 36 …

There were many thousands of photographs made of Marilyn (Norma Jeane) during her stellar but far too short career as an actress, model, sometimes singer … and undeniable centre of massive unrelenting attention.

What I aimed to portray in this work was a recreation of ‘Marilyn’ in the vintage style of the days of the mid last century when she captivated audiences around the World … and in Cairns character and model Bonn Marie I knew I had just the person to make that happen. (Bonn had previously featured in one of my works that gained a fair bit of International attention.)

In particular … this image I made of Bonn (below) mirrors one of the works of US photographer Tom Kelley who had the enviable task of shooting Marilyn’s infamous ‘red velvet’ set in 1949 before her acting career took off (when she had red hair pre the ‘blond bombshell’ era). Strangely Tom’s image didn’t receive lavish attention until Hugh Hefner selected it for the first centrefold in the first ever edition of Playboy Magazine in 1953 !

I still can’t get over the fantastic job that Bonn (aided by the mastery of make up artist Sue Kim) did in morphing into Marilyn’s character and look … the resemblance is chilling. Despite the fact that I didn’t attempt to copy the original pose in Tom’s work directly … the similarities in body shape, pose, style, expression and more are obvious. Bonn created a damn fine Marilyn …

A couple of little interesting asides about the original Kelley image. Originally … pre Playboy … Marilyn faced right to left in the frame. Hefner decided to reverse it in the magazine centrefold … and that’s the way I made the ‘tribute’ image with Bonn. As well as making Hefner’s new magazine a massive success, Kelley’s image … an image of tastefulness and sophistication … became truly historic, played a key role in shaping 20th century history, led to a redefinition of female sexuality in America and spawned a sexual revolution.

This is the first time ever I’ve ‘remade’ an earlier image by another photographer … and I’m damn sure it will also be the last … but I do hope you enjoy the resulting work, Bonn’s amazing ‘Marilyn’ portrayal and the rationale behind retelling a pivotal and timely part of the Monroe story.

This “Marilyn” – Bonn large framed work (below) is currently pride of place on the wall in the exhibition “Red Hot” (and available for sale) at the Kite Gallery in Cairns. The exhibition of great works runs until 16th January 2023 and is well worth checking out.

Image © Brian Cassey … with subject Bonn Marie and hair, makeup Sue Kim … (with Thanks and acknowledgement to photographer Tom Kelley)

Tribute to Marilyn Monroe sixty years after her untimely death in 1962 .... Image by Brian Cassey © (with Bonn Marie) based on the 1949 'Red sheet' work by photographer Tom Kelley which became Marilyn's and Playboy Magazines first ever cenrefold. in the magazine's first edition in 1953.