I was commissioned to photograph the Australian cricket team for ESPN. The player headshots will be seen on many media platforms all over the world and will form a very important element of the TV graphics that will be shown in India during the upcoming Australia vs India cricket series. With over a billion people living in India and most of them cricket mad these photos are going to be seen by a lot of people!
Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. Australian Cricket Team for ESPN
I have covered the visits to Australia by a few high-profile people lately, most notably Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama. Here are a few of my photos that have made it onto the front pages of Australian newspapers from the last month:
The Australian newspaper front page. President Obama photographed in Darwin, Australia.
The Age newspaper front page. Queen Elizabeth II photographed in Melbourne, Australia
Sydney Morning Herald. Shane Warne
Brisbane-Courier-Mail newspaper fron page. President Obama photographed in Darwin, Australia.
I am a finalist in two categories at this year’s Walkley Awards. The Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism and are the Australian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.
The first one is the main photographic award, the Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year.
This is my portfolio for that award:
AFL_Mark_Of_The_Year
Ashes_England_Victory
Floods_In_Victoria
Maria_Sharapova_Aus_open_Tennis
Melbourne_Cup_Winner
Racegoers
Super_Rugby_Sunset
and the second is Daily Life/ Feature Photography.
Here is the series I entered entitled “A day at the races”
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SB_Racegoers_02
SB_Racegoers_04
SB_Racegoers_07
SB_Racegoers_08
This is a sequence of photos I took at an ‘Aussie Rules’ AFL match in July.
Carlton’s Andrew Walker flies high over Essendon’s Jake Carlisle for what most people think will win AFL Mark of the Year 2011, and may even be one of the best AFL marks of all time.
I have been announced as the winner of the inaugural Wisden and MCC Photograph of the Year award.
The winning photograph was of James Anderson and his English team-mates forming a V for victory shape as they celebrate the wicket of Brad Haddin of Australia in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 07: James Anderson of England celebrates with his team mates after dismissing Brad Haddin of Australia during day five of the Second Ashes Test match between Australia and England at Adelaide Oval on December 7, 2010 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
The photograph was taken by setting off my pocket wizard remotes that fired the shutter on a remote camera that I had fixed to some scaffolding before play started. It’s not very often in cricket photography that you get a good photograph with a large number of players in the same frame, let alone forming such a unique and almost perfect shape.
The winning photograph reminds me of what is probably my favourite cricket photographs of all time. It was taken by Ross Kinnaird of Getty during the 1999 Cricket World Cup. A great picture that has heaps of emotion and has all 11 members of the Australian team in it!
17 Jun 1999: Allan Donald of South Africa is run out and Australia go through to the World Cup final after a dramatic semi-final at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England. The match finished a tie and Australia went through after finishing higher in the SuperSix table. \ Mandatory Credit: Ross Kinnaird /Allsport
Andy_Murray
Last year I was lucky enough to win the 2010 Sony World Photography Awards Sports Photographer of the Year award with a set of images from the Australian Open Tennis.
As part of my prize I received a trip to Cannes in the south of France to accept my award.
Here is a video about the awards:
Yours truely features at 0:33 and 0:59.
Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer
Spring in Melbourne brings the annual Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. Having done a fair bit of horse racing over my time I quite enjoy covering these racing meetings.
A typical day of coverage consists of photographing all things horses and racing.
Winning horse crossing the finish line. Tick.
Horse and jockey celebrating/returning to the parade ring. Tick.
Headshot of winning jockey. Tick.
Trophy presentation. Tick.
After a while it can become a bit mundane. This year I covered a lot of the ‘”celebrities” in their special “celebrity” enclosure. Kelly Osbourne, Spice Girl Mel B, Liam Hemsworth and Carmen Electra were some to grace it with their presence. A very strange environment with lots of glamour, alcohol, people trying to rub shoulders with celebrities but no actual view of the horse racing itself. In fact you can go the whole day there and not even see a horse all day.
So after a full day of photographing this, I have found the best and most personally rewarding images can come at the end of the day. So after the lsat race has run, after I have finished shooting the newsworthy images of the day…the images the next days papers will hopefully be interested in I pack my gear in my car, take a single camera body and go for a wander. The car park is normally full of cars waiting in line all trying to leave at once so I chance my arm and spend an extra hour or two creating images for myself. And as anyone who has attended a race meeting will know, a lot of racegoers arrive looking a million dollars but leave….well, after a full day in the sun of drinking, gambling…..and losing all their money they leave looking not quite a million dollars.
