George poses here in his workshop in Milperra, it is filled with a vast array of machinery and tools to work with metal, he used to be very busy. These days much of the work that he used to do has been outsourced to overseas manufacturers for prices he cannot compete with. Now with only the odd job to keep him going, his workshop is slowly transforming around him into a museum.
This photo was taken about three years ago in Tawf’s kitchen, it came about as a collaboration between us as part of a personal project that I have been working on for a while now.
The idea plays on a few things that are connected to Tawf, his love of food and his cultural background. Tawf’s full name is Tawfic Elgazzar, his last name translated into english means butcher which is the nickname that he goes by. The choice of lamb shanks is a reference to his Arabic background, Tawf is from Egypt, the sphinx like pose is actually a coincidence, it worked for the shot and we went with that.The colours were deliberately kept subdued in the background to bring focus to the red colours, linking the lamb with his shirt and stove in the background; creating the link to culture, the person, and cooking.You’ll notice the pressure cooker on the stove, well after the shoot Tawf put those lamb shanks into the cooker and we ate them, the meat was still fresh.
Colyn is a motorcycle enthusiast and has been for years, as you can see by the collection of leathers behind him.
One of the main reasons that I like to take portraits of people in their own spaces is that there’s a lot of their personality in the places where they live and work. This portrait was taken in Mike’s studio which at the time was a mix of a photography studio and a workshop where he tinkered with bicycle parts and made jewellery made from bicycle parts.I haven’t been there in a while but I suspect that knowing Mike a lot would have changed in his workshop/studio by now.
Andy has spent many years in business, he has also for much of his life painted, his vocation and his career not quite coming together in a single pursuit.
Jean Francois Perron takes great care when decorating his petit fours which are his specialty. His petit fours are true miniature creations, I wanted to communicate this by the use of jewelers tools to suggest the kind exacting care he takes in making them. Originally from France he moved to Sydney 18 years ago and now has his own shop where this photo was taken, tucked away in the back streets of Ryde delighting locals with his creations
Kavi Hurrydoss is a Mauritian chef based on the Central Coast of NSW, and the executive chef of L’isle de France restaurant in Terrigal. The restaurant serves mostly French inspired dishes, but Kavi also will prepare traditional Mauritian cuisine from time to time.The vegetable he is holding is a Choko or Chayote, something that is often used in traditional Mauritian food. Kavi’s approach to cooking is to preserve the essential flavour of the main ingredient to let the diner appreciate the food at it’s best, while highlighting it’s different qualities, balancing the flavours with the other ingredients.I decided to show the concept of his approach to cooking by having him serving the Choko raw, conveying the purity of the flavours in his dishes.
Su is a photographer, artist and traveller, she is posing at the front door of her apartment building dressed in Indian pants, a red cape over a Mambo shirt.
Linda
From a series I have been working on featuring people who volunteer in their community. Ben is the founder of Raising Hope Education Foundation, its vision is for a society where all children have the best possible opportunity to learn to believe in themselves, gain confidence and know their worth by the time they finish school.
From a series I have been working on featuring people who volunteer in their community. Phil Sargent is the Coordinator of Hunter Homeless Connect. Hunter Homeless Connect Day aims to provide homeless individuals with a step on the path out of homelessness.
I met Danny when I was shooting the winners of Volunteer of the Year. What struck me was his commitment to providing care. He was a paramedic before an accident left him unable to work. That didn't stop him though. He volunteers for the St John Ambulance Service and the Uniting Church. He provides first aid services and classes to the public as well as being Superintendent of the Singleton Cadet Division where he teaches discipline, parade drill, and first aid, and has been a key person in changing so many young people's lives.This photo was selected for the finals of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2014. I had the pleasure of inviting Danny and his wife to view his portrait on the opening night of the show in the National Portrait Gallery Canberra. Standing next to him watching his reaction looking at his portrait hanging in the gallery was an especially rewarding moment for me personally.
Ben
Avis
Megan
Andrew
Nicknamed “Little” Robert by his family to distinguish him from his older cousin of the same name
Kim
Deborah Knight
Venus
Chanel
From a series I have been working on featuring people who volunteer in their community.
I had been keeping an the jasmine bush in our backyard for a while. During the first week of spring I looked out the window and saw that the bush was in full bloom, I had shot in mind for while and knew just who I wanted as a model, my seventeen year old niece. Her dress, the jasmine and her age all speak of spring.
Wyong has seen many changes from development some of it arguably not for the better. There are many instances where buildings from the town's early establishment have either been lost or hidden behind some alternation.Jackson's family currently owns a site that contains a remnant from Wyongs past, a rail weigh station for measuring train loads of grain which was established over 100 years ago, meaning that Jackson's family would have been in Wyong when the station was in full use. Today there are only 10 meters of track left that lead out from the weigh station shed and some of the machinery. The Jacksons are trying to prevent a planned expansion of a nearby car park that is currently threatening the old weigh station. It would be a such a waste to see the loss of history in this historic town.Jackson’s family have been builders in the Wyong area for about five generations, Jackson himself works in the family business as a carpenter.
Aaron
Sometimes the story is just a moment, with no future, and a past that informs everything.
In playback theater the audience volunteer their own life stories to the players who then interpret their stories and perform them back to the audience, here a playback performer waits to hear a story, a blank waiting to reflect back someones else's life.
Soyuon
Alisha
Mel is training her horse “View” for the steeplechase, during the shoot View would nudge her with his snout as a sign of affection, I hadn’t realised before this shoot how much like any other pet a horse could be like.
Born in Munich in 1941, Ingeborg grew up in Kaufbeuren. In her early twenties she established herself as an artist where she continued for 40 years before moving to Tasmania in 2000. Now living in the Central Coast of NSW where is still paints and draws and keeps an active role in the local art scene. One of the biggest differences Ingeborg noted about Australia was that the landscape is so much wilder than compared to Europe, for one thing flyscreens are very uncommon there.
Opera singer and piano teacher
