Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻
Join us in celebrating our brilliant photographers who worked on assignments far and wide across our vast country this year.
Hundreds of photos were filed, and on reviewing the images that made it to print I found myself looking at all the work, and the world, with fresh eyes and in new ways.
In this annual round-up I’ve resurrected photos that, for whatever reason, were consigned to the ‘cutting room floor’. Looking and interpreting photos isn’t a static process, and in this curation we circle back to some of the fantastic images that didn’t fit initially.
We select photos that tell stories in new, arresting, and original ways. But the imagery that’s chosen is contingent on the context of the story within the magazine, the visual tone of the pages and content proceeding or following the story. Within the story itself, we consider how the imagery sets the tone or rhythm to the piece.
We purposely match photographers with assignments, understanding their interest, strengths, and connection to certain subjects or proximity to locations.
Matthew Bagley was selected to shoot giant cuttlefish during their annual aggregation in Whyalla, South Australia for our September-October digital cover (AG 176). Matthew was on our radar because his work was showcased to the world as part of Ami Vitale’s powerful global Vital Impacts initiative in 2022 (see my story here). Matthew’s distinctive underwater work has been acknowledged in many photographic competitions, including our own, so we’re familiar with his creative approach of making use of natural light to shoot underwater life
Dean Sewell spent more than 10 years researching, preparing, and developing relationships to realise his story on desert sailing (AG 173). His interest in the Lake Eyre Basin and Australia’s interior stems from his 25-year documentation of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Thomas Wielecki’s immersion in motoring culture made him an obvious choice for a survey of the Old Hume Highway (AG 173).
Trent Mitchell is celebrated for his eye for Australian oddities, and when we started thinking about a feature on Australia’s Big Things (AG 178), I immediately thought of Trent’s past work on Big Things, part of his Australian Lustre project – a 15-year love letter to the curiosities of regional Australia.
We were fortunate that specialist adventure photographer Krystle Wright was passing through the ACT when we needed photos of author Miles Franklin’s old stomping ground, the Brindabellas.
Mark Clinton, known for his extreme sports photography, is at home creating pictures in blizzards on mountain ranges, in ash storms by active volcanos or under huge ocean swells. Being familiar with using weather-sealed lenses in high-risk conditions and unpredictable back-country environments, Mark proved to be the ideal photographer to keep up with the Australian Geographic Society 2023 Young Adventurer of the Year, Lewi Taylor, as he climbed to the top of remote Tasmanian peaks in mid-winter.
Tamati Smith, a Yama(t)ji and Maori man from Geraldton in WA, was assigned to shoot the final instalment of our Listening to the Voices series. He’d been mentored by leading Indigenous photographer Michael Jalaru Torres, the founder of Blak Lens, and Tamati already knew Marcia Langton from shooting the Garma Festival, which made it easier to create the right connection for his portrait shoot with her.
Tajette O’Halloran photographed our accidental activist (AG 172) feature having a close understanding of this kind of life after growing up in an environmentally active ‘hippy’ community in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
Richard Freeman works with the university research sector documenting natural history and environmental science on field trips, such as our featured platypus rewilding project, (AG 177) and has carved out a niche in this kind of ecological documentary photography.
Other photographers such as Annette Ruzicka (AG 174), Don Fuchs (AG 176) and Cathy Finch (AG 176) brought their complete stories to us, generating the idea as well as researching, writing and photographing the feature, which lends those tales a special synergy.
We also featured the photography of our former Editor-in-Chief Chrissie Goldrick, who moved into the position of Chair of the Australian Geographic Society after starting at the magazine as Photo Editor more than 20 years ago. In her final issue this year she paddled down the mighty Murray River. (AG 174).
Eddie Ablett‘s Home of the Kelpies cover shoot (photos below). Eddie proved to be the perfect photographer to shoot our June-July cover. He makes his living shooting for big agricultural companies, spending months at a time on stations in Australia’s Top End, or for similar operations in Canada.
Dean Sewell first heard of sailing in Australia’s arid heartlands back in 2011 when the Lake Eyre Yacht Club held a regatta in an area of the Birdsville Track in South Australia awash with floodwaters from the swollen Cooper Creek. Returning for Australian Geographic, he met up with the sailing club members, some of whom travel up to 2,000km from the Australian coast to race on bodies of water that are likely to not exist within six months.
Dean found himself hauling boats over sand dunes searching for water. Desert sailing, he says, is a very different experience to ocean sailing with wind shadows from the dune creating areas of calm and at other moments the dunes created tremendous wind funnels that forced the boats to take off like jet planes.
“Creating a network of contacts and keeping them alive over years is integral to this sort of documentary work,” Dean says. “Slowly, story by story, I’m furthering my knowledge and understanding of Australia’s river systems.”
Matthew Newton, one of Australia’s foremost documentary photographers working on social and environmental issues (see my story here about the change wrought by his work), brought us the story about the battle to save Tasmania’s most endangered eucalypts, sometimes referred to as Weeping Trees, or Cider Gums, as they weep a sugary sap that makes the surrounding area smell like a brewery.
Matthew had photographed some of the eight small trees remaining, and has also taken breathtaking photos of the bleached skeletons of the dead trees. He has since spent months extending the story of the Weeping Tree into a documentary series that will feature in the New Year on AG channels.
Mark Clinton’s incredible athleticism and agility matched the enthusiasm and energy of young adventurer and guide Lewi Taylor as he glided through the most challenging of landscapes and hazardous peaks in Tasmania’s wild Southwest National Park in the dead of winter. Mark spent a week camping in extreme conditions – high altitude, snow and wind – to make the photos for our cover story on the small group of people who have climbed all 158 mountains known collectively as the Abels.
A giant cuttlefish can be up to a metre long, have three hearts, an enormous brain, blue blood and glow in the dark when aroused. The cuttlefish aggregation off Whyalla in South Australia has drawn repeat visits from the best wildlife photographers from around the world in recent years. With our social feeds flooded with photos of the marine spectacle over winter – their breeding season – we looked for a photographer able to shoot these magnificent animals in a more stylised way.
Matt Bagley pushes nature photography into new realms of possibility using Palx – an image capture and editing process rarely used in wildlife photography. In our photos above he uses this innovative technology to create a 3D map that enables the eye to move around the subject giving a 3D perspective.
Lewis Burnett, known more widely by his handle @huntingforparadise has bagged many accolades for his underwater photography off Australia’s west coast, including our own nature portfolio prize in 2023. Lewis is one of a cohort of well-known freediving photographers (including Brooke Pyke, Alek Kydd and past Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year winner Ashleigh Jenson) who spend seasons on the Ningaloo reef working on tourism boats.
For our Coral Coast story, we needed a photographer who was used to shooting underwater life, but equally strong at photographing wildlife above ground and experienced in capturing vast landscapes from the air. With a degree in applied geology and background as an adventure and wildlife guide, Lewis had an especially finely tuned appreciation for landscapes. Although he’s known for spectacular drone imagery, for our story Lewis captured these landscapes from a fixed-wing aircraft, avoiding the dynamic range restrictions of drone cameras.
Max Mason-Hubers followed the ghosts of the ‘gun packers’, who in previous centuries drove thousands of horses, mules, and bullocks chasing precious metals across the hinterland west of Cairns. These early fortune seekers pushed out the frontiers of settlement from 1872 – and we retraced their tracks on an unusual donkey trek. Max completed the 90km trek along the original packing road past wild swimming holes and now-abandoned ghost towns… all off-grid and with truculent donkeys to handle. He was tasked with documenting a group in a state of constant forward motion where much of the action fell in the middle of the day when light is flat and lifeless.
He recalls the days were long and very physical, starting well before sunrise to have the donkeys cared for and everything packed for mid-morning departures. There were trips and falls, as most of the hiking was on steep and slippery trails, and two of the party were medevaced.
The donkeys themselves presented another set of challenges; they were stubborn, and started to push people around as the week wore on. Max was forced to pack away his camera to take the reigns to give the others a break. He says he “learnt quickly that the donks are spooked by drone, so that had to be used very carefully, as I’d already seen them stampede after being spooked by a sudden movement: I even had issues with spooking them when I would go off trail to take a photo of them passing.”
One reader reflected that Max has a “great feel for the mood of the moment: last light reflected on the water and water gatherer, with the evening campfire as a backstory; Tim Daniel feeding Mr Chips reminds me of paintings from the Streeton school. Thank you, Max – not just pictures but an experience.”
Trent Mitchell has spent years travelling regional Australia and documenting the quirky attractions sprinkled en route. “Indirectly, I ended up creating an archive of roadside oddities along the way, just being curious with my dry sense of humour.” The brief was as simple and fun as it gets: make joyful pictures of our unique roadside inanimate objects. Trent started on the east coast, with the Big Banana first on the list. “After all these years I’d never photographed it. The banana scares me: it’s so iconic and commercial it’s given me creative blocks in the past. Rethinking my approach helped make some successful images of that extra-large old piece of fruit.” Photographing other Big Things were easier. “Within minutes of turning up to the Giant Koala, a Windsor caravan pulled up right in front of it with a big sun-bleached sticker slapped on the back reading, ‘Home among the Gumtrees.’ I couldn’t believe my eyes – road-trip serendipity at its finest.”
Trent finished the assignment with a very unexpected big thing – the big Hills Hoist (washing line) in Adelaide. “I’m not sure how I ever heard about it. It’s on the lawn in front of a steelworks factory that supposedly fabricated the pipe for making the original Hills back in the day. I love a good Hills Hoist and I have a nice archive of them from around Australia. Adding the Big Hills Hoist into my collection as the very last thing to photograph was icing on my big things cake and a very fitting way to end a fun series of Australian iconic things.”
Environmental Activists come from all walks of life. Tajette O’Halloran visited a farmer, surfer and miner for our story, but our favourite photos came out of her meeting with former miner Scott Jordan who now campaigns to save the Tarkine for the Bob Brown Foundation.
We rang Finlay late on a Wednesday, and by Friday he was 800km from home in a swag in the hamlet of Walpole in the South West region of WA. Even though Finlay was on week three of an Efudix treatment with a swollen burnt face and couldn’t venture outdoors without his face completley covered from the sun, he drove five hours through the night to learn about reverse salinity in rivers, First Nations history and to be present at the discovery of rare flora and fauna.
Finlay, a Scot who moved from New York to Perth during the COVID-19 pandemic, was used to photographing sports stars and celebrities. Yet on this job, there was more excitment around a rare sunset frog in the peat bogs of South West Australia than a celebrity on set in NYC. In the photo above, Finlay captures the moment Professor Pierre Horwitz captured a Gondwanan relic, a salamanderfish, the first time it’s been seen in the region for 50 years. He also nailed a holy grail of a photo – the sunset frog, a new species Pierre discovered back in 1994.
Annette Ruzicka launched as a photographer from a career in communications for the charity Bush Heritage, so she’s used to working closely with journalists. She says she “learnt on the job just what it takes to make a story and how to interpret it for a national context and to demonstrate why we should care.”
Image credits: Annette Ruzicka
Annette’s wetlands story was wide-ranging and across multiple states. Using her vast network of contacts she arranged all the logistics and access, cold calling some custodians and building on pre-existing relationships with others such as those at Gayini where she focused on First Nations land management. Although the abundant wildlife, and open landscapes offered great visual material, Annette says her time in Kakadu alarmed her as she found it “disturbing to witness the dramatic impact of rising sea levels on wetland areas.”
Francesco comes from a photojournalism background in Italy, where he worked for la Repubblica. This story of Australia’s Kelpie heritage, from the heritage pastoral property Warrock Station near Casterton was his second assignment for us. (His first, in 2022, covered the conflict between climbers and Traditional Owners in the Grampian National Park.) As part of the climbing community and an experienced hiker in the region we were covering, Francesco was an easy choice for the Grampians assignment. This time, however, he had a two-week old baby, a forecast of relentless rain, and yet was still happy to head out in his 4WD with his tent on a loose itinerary. Once in the field, he photographed far beyond the brief, shooting every possible angle, perspective, hunting out new subjects, and twists in the story.
Broughton Island, located 14 km north-east of Port Stephens off the NSW coast, presents almost as a Mediterranean paradise, but the assignment proved less pleasant. Ocean conditions meant Max’s time was cut short on the island and catching good light at important locations was a matter of strategy and luck. Much of the island is a shearwater nesting ground; these birds create nests in burrows in the sandy soil which would collapse when walked over, and the team would need to dig out burrows to rescue their occupants. Adding to the physical challenge Max found many of the sites significant to the story involved pushing through tangles of vines and vast swathes of invasive prickly pair cactus. “I came home with cactus spines embedded in every single part of me from my face to the palms of my hands to between my toes!”
When preparing to photograph Marcia Langton for our story on why the Voice to Parliament would help close the gap, Tamati recalled the photos of US presidents photographed more candidly in the Oval Office. This reminded us of Look Magazine photographer Stanley Tretick’s intimate portrait of President Kennedy in 1963 with his young son peering out from under her desk. Here in this image, though obscured in the darkness below the desk, plays Marcia’s dog.
Very few platypuses are photographed in the wild. They are timid, nocturnal, move rapidly and are extremely well-camouflaged. Richard was determined to secure a split shot, an over-under water image, of a playpus but underestimated how hard this would be. If he entered the water he’d scare away the platypus before its capture was was complete, but on the last night of the four-day field trip with UNSW researchers Dr Gilad Bino and Dr Tahneal Hawke he managed a split shot in the pouring rain (top right) as the researchers released one of the captured platypus back into the Snowy Mountains region of NSW.
We have worked with Thomas Wielecki more often than any other photographer this year. Thomas is constantly pitching stories; on every assignment he returns from the field bursting with new ideas. He describes himself as shy, but with a camera around his neck Thomas is able to ask people the most personal of questions, and has a special talent for getting under people’s skins.
Even though we often send Thomas to photograph destinations (such as Mildura), epic journeys (the Old Hume Highway) or big events (the Pacific Airshow in the January-February issue) we regard him as a gifted character photographer, and someone who is interested in the private stories and personal lives of everyday people.
The Pacific Airshow assignment, for example, was a story Thomas brought to us. Aside from the visual spectacle of an airshow above crowded beaches and around tall buildings on the Gold Coast instead of the usual airshow setting of an aerodrome, Thomas liked the angle that this was an airshow in which anyone with passion could fly. He tracked down a group of enthusiasts, ‘The Freedom Flyers’ who built their own planes in sheds, backyards and garages to fly in group formation in the show alongside the world’s best stunt pilots and military jets. These characters, ordinary people with an extraordinary goal to fly in Australia’s biggest airshows, were more interesting to Thomas than the planes. Sometimes, he says, “it’s necessary to see the small story in order to understand the bigger picture.”
Giacomo d’Angelo was travelling through the Kimberley region of WA in his camper trailer between assignments for the Mindaroo Foundation, when we were looking for a photographer to document Indigenous driven tourist experiences for a story about the shift away from Broome’s ‘flop and drop hotel travel’.
We kicked off our new Australian Portrait slot, profiles of “ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things”, with the brilliant physicist Matthew Bailes. The writer began her profile recalling Matthew’s memory of being a 6-year-old standing at the edge of Glynburn Road in Adelaide, watching cars and wondering why he can see them.
We wanted to create a visual connection between the brilliant astrophysicist, now based in Melbourne, and the curious child that he was. Photographer Randy Larcombe locked in the scientist as he was transiting through Adelaide, to be able to capture Matthew playfully returning to the very same corner where he stood as a child of six.
Krystle Wright, an adventure photographer who this month was awarded $300,000 in the world’s richest photo competition, lived much of the year travelling Australia in her van. We were were lucky to catch her passing through the ACT for our visit to the childhood home of Australian writer Miles Franklin, author of My Brilliant Career. Franklin was also the author of the very successful and award-winning All That Swagger, a book that mirrors her own family story and childhood spent exploring a mountain holding very much like the Brindabellas. Writer Matthew Higgins says there is a mysticism inherent in the mountain environment in the book, and Krystle captures this beautifully above as the mist lingers of the Goodradigbee River in the Brindabella Valley.
Cathy looks at the successes of an Australian-led conservation project in Lombok, Indonesia, that replaces shark fishing with tourism.
Don Fuchs has a long history with Australian Photographic, photographing and writing stories for us since 1996. During that time he’s covered everything from the gruelling Carnarvon Great Walk, with 30kg on his back, to an overgrown and unformed track to the South Coast Track in Tasmania where he was up to his hips in mud, for our book on Tasmanian hikes. Don has historically received our ‘tough guy assignments’ but this year he turned his attention to the growing popularity of caminos and hiking as a healing journey. In his story A Journey of Faith, Don explores the therapeutic properties of long-distance walking, and how a camino is different from simply going on a trek.
In addition to editing the journal and managing the Australian Geographic Society, Chrissie managed to fit in writing and photographing a kayaking adventure along the mighty Murray, and an expedition to the Galapagos Islands
Nina White was chosen to document the gruelling trek through thick rainforest to the wreckage of the Stinson aircraft in the Lamington National Park because of her legendary toughness and physical resilience. She also lived conveniently close to the location so was willing to return over and over again in different weather conditions to secure the right pictures.
NEW YORK — A list of this year’s top grossing concert tours puts Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band number three on the list behind Taylor Swift, with a take of $1 billion and Beyonce, with more than half a billion.
But those singers were not even born when Springsteen had his first hits, so you have to give The Boss credit for longevity.
A new book and a show at a gallery in New York’s SoHo neighborhood celebrates those early years, before Springsteen and his band became a phenomenon.
I want all of you to join me in a trip back in time to 1978.
I had just graduated from college, was living in New Jersey and listening to a song called “Racin’ in the Streets” over and over again.
It was new music from Springsteen, celebrated then and now, once again, in the photographs of Lynn Goldsmith.
The Boss had met the big man, sax player Clarence Clemons, and announced to the world he was “Born to Run.”
But Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had not yet found the land of hope and dreams that lay just a few years ahead of them.
“They weren’t living the high life,” Lynn Goldsmith told me. “They were still doing their laundry, going to the grocery store, trying to pay their bills, and doing what it is they
love to do.”
They had just finished recording “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” as shown in a 2010 documentary fittingly titled “The Promise.”
“And, I thought that I could in some way make his profile more meaningful,” Goldsmith explained.
So the photographer went on tour with him.
“What we’re looking at is backstage before the show,” said Goldsmith, showing me one of the many photographs she took. “Bruce used to practice certain moves, kind of Elvis moves, to warm him up because he was heading out to perform.”
Goldsmith’s new show at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo, and a big book of photographs out this month, tell the story of a relationship both professional and personal.
“He was my boyfriend, and I wanted him to be successful,” said Goldsmith.
In an introduction to her book, Springsteen writes lovingly of those long ago times when he “played for his life every night.”
“His shows made followers,” said Goldsmith. “His shows made devotees. His show was like going to church.”
“I ain’t a boy,” Springsteen told his true believers. “No, I’m a man. And I believe in a promised land.”
For fans of The Boss, the book is the perfect gift: a book so evocative of a time and place that you can recall Springsteen’s words and music as you turn the pages of this big volume.
Now, I have to admit to being a bit biased about all of this because my long friendship with Lynn Goldsmith has been a wonderful grace note in my life.
It’s in perfect harmony with my love of Bruce Springsteen’s music.
Copyright © 2023 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.
NEW YORK — A list of this year’s top grossing concert tours puts Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band number three on the list behind Taylor Swift, with a take of $1 billion and Beyonce, with more than half a billion.
But those singers were not even born when Springsteen had his first hits, so you have to give The Boss credit for longevity.
A new book and a show at a gallery in New York’s SoHo neighborhood celebrates those early years, before Springsteen and his band became a phenomenon.
I want all of you to join me in a trip back in time to 1978.
I had just graduated from college, was living in New Jersey and listening to a song called “Racin’ in the Streets” over and over again.
It was new music from Springsteen, celebrated then and now, once again, in the photographs of Lynn Goldsmith.
The Boss had met the big man, sax player Clarence Clemons, and announced to the world he was “Born to Run.”
But Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had not yet found the land of hope and dreams that lay just a few years ahead of them.
“They weren’t living the high life,” Lynn Goldsmith told me. “They were still doing their laundry, going to the grocery store, trying to pay their bills, and doing what it is they
love to do.”
They had just finished recording “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” as shown in a 2010 documentary fittingly titled “The Promise.”
“And, I thought that I could in some way make his profile more meaningful,” Goldsmith explained.
So the photographer went on tour with him.
“What we’re looking at is backstage before the show,” said Goldsmith, showing me one of the many photographs she took. “Bruce used to practice certain moves, kind of Elvis moves, to warm him up because he was heading out to perform.”
Goldsmith’s new show at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo, and a big book of photographs out this month, tell the story of a relationship both professional and personal.
“He was my boyfriend, and I wanted him to be successful,” said Goldsmith.
In an introduction to her book, Springsteen writes lovingly of those long ago times when he “played for his life every night.”
“His shows made followers,” said Goldsmith. “His shows made devotees. His show was like going to church.”
“I ain’t a boy,” Springsteen told his true believers. “No, I’m a man. And I believe in a promised land.”
For fans of The Boss, the book is the perfect gift: a book so evocative of a time and place that you can recall Springsteen’s words and music as you turn the pages of this big volume.
Now, I have to admit to being a bit biased about all of this because my long friendship with Lynn Goldsmith has been a wonderful grace note in my life.
It’s in perfect harmony with my love of Bruce Springsteen’s music.
Copyright © 2023 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.
NEW YORK — A list of this year’s top grossing concert tours puts Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band number three on the list behind Taylor Swift, with a take of $1 billion and Beyonce, with more than half a billion.
But those singers were not even born when Springsteen had his first hits, so you have to give The Boss credit for longevity.
A new book and a show at a gallery in New York’s SoHo neighborhood celebrates those early years, before Springsteen and his band became a phenomenon.
I want all of you to join me in a trip back in time to 1978.
I had just graduated from college, was living in New Jersey and listening to a song called “Racin’ in the Streets” over and over again.
It was new music from Springsteen, celebrated then and now, once again, in the photographs of Lynn Goldsmith.
The Boss had met the big man, sax player Clarence Clemons, and announced to the world he was “Born to Run.”
But Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had not yet found the land of hope and dreams that lay just a few years ahead of them.
“They weren’t living the high life,” Lynn Goldsmith told me. “They were still doing their laundry, going to the grocery store, trying to pay their bills, and doing what it is they
love to do.”
They had just finished recording “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” as shown in a 2010 documentary fittingly titled “The Promise.”
“And, I thought that I could in some way make his profile more meaningful,” Goldsmith explained.
So the photographer went on tour with him.
“What we’re looking at is backstage before the show,” said Goldsmith, showing me one of the many photographs she took. “Bruce used to practice certain moves, kind of Elvis moves, to warm him up because he was heading out to perform.”
Goldsmith’s new show at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo, and a big book of photographs out this month, tell the story of a relationship both professional and personal.
“He was my boyfriend, and I wanted him to be successful,” said Goldsmith.
In an introduction to her book, Springsteen writes lovingly of those long ago times when he “played for his life every night.”
“His shows made followers,” said Goldsmith. “His shows made devotees. His show was like going to church.”
“I ain’t a boy,” Springsteen told his true believers. “No, I’m a man. And I believe in a promised land.”
For fans of The Boss, the book is the perfect gift: a book so evocative of a time and place that you can recall Springsteen’s words and music as you turn the pages of this big volume.
Now, I have to admit to being a bit biased about all of this because my long friendship with Lynn Goldsmith has been a wonderful grace note in my life.
It’s in perfect harmony with my love of Bruce Springsteen’s music.
Copyright © 2023 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.
We catch up with photographer Simon Murphy who currently has a major exhibition of his work, having cast his lens on the Govanhill area of Glasgow over the last 20 years. Learn key insights into his methods, how he connected with members of this diverse community, and what advice he would pass on to photographers seeking to embark on long-form documentary projects.
Over the past twenty years, Simon Murphy, an award-winning photographer and lecturer from Glasgow, has photographed members of the community in a small yet diverse pocket of Glasgow. Less than one square mile in size, the area is known for its thriving immigrant communities, and is home to a myriad of independent shops, cafes, and restaurants, adding to the dynamic character of the neighbourhood with its unique blend of heritage and modernity.
Govanhill, once referred to as The Most Demonised Neighbourhood in Scotland serves as the backdrop for some of the most striking and original portraits you are likely to have seen for quite some time. This exhibition of works is a wonderfully positive contrast to the kind of negative stereotypes that often befall working-class neighbourhoods like Govanhill and the people who live there.
As I enter Streetlevel Photoworks; a gallery which I have visited numerous times, the space has been transformed to host the current exhibition. Govanhill is a collection of diverse portraits, all striking for their individuality, but equally tied together by their difference and distinction. Key walls have been adorned with black, as a backdrop that allows these captivating medium format black and white prints to leap out at the viewer. If you are lucky enough to be in travelling distance of Glasgow in Scotland, this exhibition is well worth a visit. If you are further afield, the exhibition can now be viewed virtually.
I asked Simon 10 questions about his wider work as well as the process of shooting the exhibited images. Get comfortable and read on for an interesting insight into this excellent example of long-form documentary storytelling.
Can you tell our readers a little about your wider photographic practice and your background?
I used to be a postman, and sometimes, I would deliver postcards. The photographs of far-flung places made me wonder what it would be like to travel. One day, I delivered a postcard with a picture of the Beatles on it. It was a lightbulb moment when I realised that it wasn’t only the Beatles who were present but they shared that moment with the photographer. You never see the photographer but they are present in every iconic moment in history, experiencing it and sometimes creating and shaping it. That captured moment inspired me to leave my job in the post and pick up a camera. When I began my photographic career I was drawn to the images of Avedon and Bailey, photographs of musicians, actors, and artists. I love shooting similar subject matter but my heart is with the everyday man on the street. My photographic career properly started with a job for the Herald, the National newspaper of Scotland. That job took me around the world. The experiences and stories I heard shaped me.
What was the initial spark which drew you to Govanhill, and prompted the beginnings of this project?
The “Govanhill” project began in 2000 when I was a student and living there. Any college assignments were undertaken there because it was convenient. Around 2010, I changed my job and became a lecturer in Photography. I still shot assignments but I felt I needed a personal project to fulfill my creative needs. I needed a project nearby that I could fit into my half day discretionary time. I realized that all the things I loved about my days travelling were actually right there in my doorstep. Govanhill is a small area in the southside of Glasgow. Less than a mile squared but home to around 80 languages. Around 2016, I threw myself into documenting the people of the area.
Can you elaborate on your methodology during the early stages of the “Govanhill” project and how it evolved over the 20-year duration? Were there specific challenges or discoveries that prompted adjustments in your approach?
When I began the project or rather picked up the project again, I wondered about approach. Would it be captured moments of street photography? Stylised and setup portraits? I tried a few approaches but settled on very informal portraits of chance encounters… people as they are in that moment. The approach goes back to my days as a postman, I wander. The repetition of the postman’s walk got me into a mental state where I was free to dream. That’s when the ideas came and I tuned into another wavelength. I do the same thing with the project, I wander. I walk the same streets repetitively and get myself into a state where I start noticing details. I tune out to tune in.
Most of my images involve opening myself up to people, strangers. It’s a collaborative dance sometimes lasting only a few minutes but one where lasting relationships might be formed. When I travelled and covered human interest stories in far flung countries like Bangladesh and the DR Congo, there was an obligation, responsibility and care taken with the imagery and stories created. I try and bring the ethics of what I learned into my street portraiture.
Your chosen medium for this project was black and white film shot with a medium format camera. Does this specific choice contribute to the storytelling and the overall aesthetic of the project?
I don’t believe film is better than digital, but the approach and process is different. I carry a bulky medium format camera on a tripod that cannot be hidden so I have to be very open about who I am and what I am doing. No sneaky approach. I have to shoot less frames from a cost point of view so perhaps I take a little more care at the shooting stage but this also results in me being less experimental. Being less experimental might make the shots look a little repetitive but also gives them a strong and consistent style. There are positives and negatives, but the negatives literally become positives. Shooting film means that I can’t show the sitter the image right away which gives me the luxury of only showing them the best shot. You can easily make a digital shot look like film but you tend not to get the same nostalgic and intrigued reactions from people with a modern digital camera. The camera itself can open the door.
How did you establish a connection with the people featured in your photographs to capture such intimate and authentic portraits?
When I wander, I am also working on my outlook. It’s a positive project, a celebration of people from all walks of life. When I see someone and there is an internal reaction I take note. What was it I noticed? Why did the person trigger this response in me? I ask myself those questions within milliseconds and also ask myself: what do I love about that individual? I realise that might sound over dramatic but I have seconds to pluck up the courage to approach. When I introduce myself and the person asks me why I want to photograph them? I honestly relate the answers to the internal questions I have just pondered. People read you very quickly so an honest, enthusiastic approach is essential for success.
You have previously described these images as a portrait of a place. Can you explain what you mean by that?
I generally don’t give the back stories of the people I photograph as I am mindful that carelessly chosen words can label a person, sometimes negatively. This is a huge responsibility, especially as the work spreads further. The project isn’t really about individuals in any case, it’s about a place. Govanhill is an intriguing place, a place I love dearly because of its diversity. Collectively the images help form a portrait of the place. In this sense, Govanhill is the character, a multi-faceted, quirky, intriguing, conflicted, contradictory, exciting, cultured, brave and strong individual.
Your first major book ‘Govanhill’ has been described as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. How did the process of curating images for a book differ from preparing for a gallery exhibition?
I relinquished control. I know that sounds risky but I believe in people and I believe in collaboration. When Primal Scream handed over their songs to Andrew Weatherall, something new and exciting, groundbreaking even, was created: Screamadelica. For the exhibition, I created the narrative and curated but the book was in the hands of the publisher. There were certain images that I insisted be included and the raw material was completely mine, but I trusted them to treat my images with care and also bring something new to the table.
What role do you hope your photographs play in sparking conversations about Govanhill, both within the community and in the broader social and cultural context?
I’m a believer that small actions can create big moments. Ripples can become waves. My initial responsibility is to the individual that I make the photograph of. I want to craft the image well and would like them to be proud of it. If something is done well, others will take notice and the wave begins to swell. If something is done well, people then take the craftsmanship for granted because it does it’s job, then they think deeper about the subject. My hope is that the viewer will now look into the eyes of someone, perhaps from a very different background to themselves, and think about that persons life. Maybe they will conclude that as humans, we are not so different. Maybe they will be more open to conversing with someone new themselves and maybe bridges will be built and doors opened. The purpose of art is not to tell people what to think, it’s simply to get them to think. These thoughts can be a catalyst. Govanhill is a microcosm for people all over the world and these portraits I hope will be relatable to all sorts of people no matter where they live or the circumstances they face.
Has the Govanhill project shaped your broader approach as a photographer, and what lessons or insights have you learned?
I don’t think we are ever the “finished article.” The project combined with my own growth as a person has shaped me and my approach. It’s reinforced my belief in the power of art and photography but also is a constant reminder that if you open yourself to others and push yourself out of your comfort zone, amazing things can happen. The project has enriched my life and taught me so much.
Having been on this journey for the past 20 years, what would be one piece of advice that you would give to photographers seeking to begin a long-form documentary project of their own?
Ideas come out of the process. The process begins by putting your shoes on and getting to work. If you repetitively and enthusiastically embrace the chance to go out with the camera then the project will come to you. Allow yourself time to meditate on your motives but don’t think too much in case you allow yourself to talk yourself out of making pictures. The camera can change your life so don’t hide it. Embrace who you are, a photographer. Accept that you are constantly learning. Be enthusiastic and humble. Be excellent to one another.
Many thanks to Simon for sharing his insight into the creation of these captivating images, and for sharing his expertise. The Govanhill exhibition runs until January 27, 2024 in Streetlevel Photoworks and is certainly worth taking the time to visit.
All images used with permission of Simon Murphy.
Proving it’s never too late to live the life you want, Louise Jacquet, 82, has been chipping away at a bucket list she began more than 40 years ago, in the 1980s. “I saw so many of my friends declining mentally, and others who were thinking about retiring and doing nothing,” Jacquet says.
By contrast, for her 60th birthday, she decided to go skydiving. It’s one of many adrenaline-spiking adventures Jacquet, a retired R.N., has embarked on. In the ’90s, she and her then-teenage daughter, Laurie, toured Australia and New Zealand together. “I’d just gotten a divorce,” she says. “I had no money.” Surviving on credit cards, they spent six weeks overseas. They climbed Ayers Rock, or Uluru, a sacred site for the aboriginal Anangu people that’s now closed to the public, and bungee jumped in New Zealand.
After adventures like those, Jacquet knew the typical golf-and-tennis retirement wouldn’t work. “That wasn’t for me,” she says.
Jacquet is my neighbor, and ever since we met, I’ve been in awe of her. In addition to bungee jumping and rock climbing, she’s exhibited her artwork in galleries, and hand-painted shirts she made have been featured in several high-end New York City shops, including Bergdorf Goodman. After retiring the first time, she took on a second career as director of nursing for an assessment and care planning firm, driving up and down the Suncoast, “from Punta Gorda to St. Pete.” Now retired again, she still crafts and paints. And the bucket list still beckons.
Earlier this year, Jacquet decided to have boudoir portraits taken. Laurie, now 53, and local photographer Louise Porvaznik, who offers boudoir photography, are friends, and the bucket-list idea was able to become a reality.
“I’d thought about it over the years, but it never fell into place,” Jacquet says of her session. Beforehand, she fussed over which outfit would work best. Back in 1963, she tells me, she stayed at the original Playboy Mansion in Chicago to recover from a train wreck. In those days, nurses rode on long-distance train rides in case medical issues arose, and Jacquet was one of two on that particular train line, which was en route to Florida. The person she was seeing at the time knew Hugh Hefner and suggested she reach out to him about recuperating from the train accident at the mansion.
Jacquet never met Hefner, but when she traveled back up to Illinois, the Playboy Bunnies were warm and welcoming. “One of the girls gave me a green bunny costume—my favorite color!” she says. For the boudoir session, she tried on a green bustier to recapture that moment, “but I didn’t like it,” she says. Undaunted, she paid a visit to Giggles, the adult shop on South Tamiami Trail, and found a blush-colored baby doll nightgown that was just right.
During the shoot, Jacquet’s confidence shone. “I felt very comfortable and laughed a lot,” she says.
“She was a hoot!” Porvaznik says, adding that it felt like kismet that the two share a first name. “It warmed my heart when Louise said to her daughter, ‘I had an amazing day.'”
Porvaznik took extra care during the session, considering Louise’s mobility and comfort remaining in sustained positions. “I built a guide in my head of which poses would work,” she says. “Louise had also seen my portfolio and knew she wanted a lying-down pose.”
I asked Jacquet what the feedback was like considering the prudishness that often surrounds older women’s sexuality.
“Laurie posted a couple of the pictures on her personal Facebook page. Women commented, ‘You’re so brave! You go, mama!’ and men said, ‘You look amazing!'” Jacquet says. “At 82, that does a lot for my ego. I’m of the generation where to look perfect, you had to be thin.” She tells me that when she looks back on vacation photos from when she was younger, she’s not sure why she didn’t feel sexy. “It’s been a battle,” she says.
“Us women need to love ourselves,” Porvaznik says. “Boudoir isn’t just about a sexy picture, it’s a bit of therapy, too. It transforms women. I love it. I don’t feel there’s an age where any woman should stop feeling sexy.”
“We’ve come a long way,” Jacquet says.
In the ever-evolving world of photography, black and white imagery holds a timeless appeal. For photographers, understanding when and why to choose black and white over color is not just a technical decision but an artistic one, deeply connected to the soul of their work.
Coming to you from Christian Irmler – Landscape Photography, this excellent video tutorial delves into this intriguing aspect of photography, highlighting not every scene or composition is suited for black and white, yet some images are elevated by this choice. Irmler emphasizes that photography is about capturing the soul of a place, not merely replicating reality. In this context, black and white photography becomes a powerful tool to craft a piece of art, where the content of the composition reflects the essence of the scene. By removing color, elements like lines, shapes, and patterns become more defined, focusing the viewer’s attention on the essential parts of the image. This exclusion of color can transform an ordinary scene into something extraordinary, underscoring the mood and emotion inherent in the subject.
Moreover, the video touches upon the technical side of black and white photography, explaining how it revolves around contrasts. In the absence of color, contrasts in luminance become crucial, shaping the elements in the photograph. High contrast and tonality can add dynamism to an image, while a more harmonious tonal range can convey tranquility and subtlety. Irmler provides examples of how color can either enhance or detract from the narrative of an image, illustrating the impact of converting to black and white on the story being told.
Photographers seeking to explore the depths of their creative expression will find Irmler’s expertise enlightening. He not only provides practical tips and insights but also inspires a deeper appreciation for the artistic choices behind black and white photography. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, “Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!”
A new Christmas-themed Toyota commercial focuses less on the company’s automobiles and more on the power of photography.
The new ad, “Present from the Past,” was created by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Lisa Gunning. The ad, which clocks in at 90 seconds in its longest cut, tells the story of a young woman who received a thoughtful gift from her grandmother: a vintage camera and the photos the now-elderly woman had captured many years ago.
“My darling granddaughter. When I was your age, I was given this camera. May it capture your big, beautiful life the way it did mine,” the grandmother’s voice narrates as her granddaughter opens the gift.
The young woman takes her gift on a road trip and recreates her grandmother’s old photos, capturing new versions in all the old haunts. She then puts her recreated photos alongside her grandmother’s originals in a photo album and gifts the album to her grandmother, completing a nostalgic circle of photography.
The commercial is nice enough on its own and does a beautiful job demonstrating the emotional impact that photography can have in real life. However, this is PetaPixel, so the precise camera model used in the ad matters.
PetaPixel Staff Writer Phil Mistry was quick to identify the featured camera. It is an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic (screw mount) camera with a Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens. Mistry adds, “That wooden tripod without a head would never have been used with a Spotmatic!”
The Pentax Spotmatic camera is a perfect choice for the ad, and surely no accident as it was an iconic camera that proved very popular with beginner photographers in the 1960s and 70s.
In a 2018 article, Cody Schultz wrote on PetaPixel that his photography journey started with a gifted Pentax Spotmatic. The camera was “simple to use,” leading to Schultz falling in love with film. Undoubtedly, the Spotmatic had a similar effect on people decades ago.
Alongside the new commercial, Toyota has partnered with the non-profit organization 100Cameras to sponsor photography programs for 10,000 students in the next year.
While it is easy to be jaded regarding commercials, and the commercial’s overall aim is to sell vehicles, the ad also sells photography’s storytelling power. Photography captures lives and connects people across generations. As long as there are cameras and images, history stays alive.
Image credits: Screenshots from Toyota’s new ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi.
Pardon Brenda Gilbert, of Cleveland, Tennessee, and Frank Snyder, of Athens, if they pause a little longer on certain months of the 2024 Tennessee Wildlife Federation calendar. Both have photos featured on the pages.
(READ MORE: How a Tennessee organization is helping manage wildlife while feeding the hungry)
Gilbert, a nurse practitioner in private practice, and Snyder, senior vice president with SouthEast Bank, are among 17 photographers represented in the calendar, which includes wildlife and landscapes from across the state. Theirs are among the featured monthly photos — Gilbert for April and Snyder for October.
Lauren Whitmire, communications coordinator for the federation, said the winning images in the ninth annual contest were selected from more than 2,300 submissions received from 262 photographers in seven states.
