Sydney Professional, Commercial & Corporate Photography
For this shoot for So French So Chic, we decided to photograph the winter collection of jumpers and knits in a neutral warehouse setting.
With more than 20 years of experience So French So Chic is focused on stylish but casual clothing made from knitwear and all-natural fibres. Designed in France and produced in Italy for the Australian climate, the new range for SFSC features cable knit, bold colours and soft fabric.
Model: Brooke Garvey
Hair and Makeup: Michael Wolff Salon, Potts Point
Callan Park, a large parkland on the Sydney foreshore, borders the suburbs of Rozelle, Lilyfield and Leichhardt. Just across the road from my photography studio, the park stretches down to the water’s edge. I regularly go for walks on the lawns, amidst the centuries old trees and the heritage buildings. It’s both a sanctuary and an oasis.
Over the years I have photographed the interiors of different buildings within Callan Park, especially the abandoned psychiatric wards, which featured as a backdrop for my “Looney Bin” and “Ward 17” series. These sandstone buildings have been shown in my exhibitions in Rome, Ravello, Trieste and Sydney.
The four 40-year-old Freshwater-class ferries churning the waters from Circular Quay to Manly are about to be replaced by a fleet of new 1000-seat, double decker vessels. I have been commissioned to photograph these iconic beasts before they disappear from service.
I have been venturing down to the harbour at different times of the day to capture the MV Freshwater, MV Queenscliff, MV Narrabeen and MV Collaroy as they near their retirement. The Manly Ferries provide one of the world’s most beautiful public transport services, operating since 1855.
The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company that operated the Manly ferries for nearly a century famously coined the expression about Manly being “Seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care”, a phrase that became part of Sydney’s popular culture.
Sydney artist Phil Stallard is know for his spontaneous landscapes of coastal Sydney. Describing himself as an “Emotional Abstractionist”, Phil dedicates himself to creating exuberantly coloured paintings with Sydney harbour and swimming pool iconography. The theme of water has been a prominent reference point for Phil, drawing on his personal memories of the city and the Hawkesbury.
Currently Phil is working on an upcoming solo show at Rochfort Gallery in North Sydney.
“My work has echoes of improvised jazz, where the artist interprets compositional themes through the act of painting. The result is carefully thought out but with spontaneous elements that give the painting vitality and life.”
Following 30 years in the world of fine jewellery and decorative arts both in Europe and Australia, Adrian Dickens from CircaAD specialises in objects of intrinsic beauty and good craftsmanship. This ranges from South Sea pearl pendants and diamond cluster brooches, to reinvigorated family heirlooms.
For the last 8 years, I have been working with Adrian, whose business is based in Melbourne. My work has been photographing his collection of high quality pieces for his annual catalogue and documenting his fine jewellery, created thanks to his specialised approach.
Sometimes archeology is not about ancient history. The public swimming pool in Valletta, one of my favourite informal places in Malta, is for me a site of extraordinary memories. I have spent 20 years meeting up with friends around the deck, swimming laps for exercise underneath the ramparts of the old city. On the right of the pool is baroque architecture and on the left is the Mediterranean. There has always been an endearing atmosphere of mild neglect, which adds to the attraction.
As I write this, I have heard that the pool is being demolished. Sitting here in winter in Sydney I am full of nostalgia for scorching summers by the blue waters of this magical place.
The local children who live in the area have used the pool as their social club. Over the years I saw many of them grow up.
Currently I am revising and editing the various images I have captured of this iconic public meeting point, with the idea of creating a monograph as a tribute to this slice of warm humanity in Valletta.
Logistics of any kind is a big industry on the western periphery of Sydney. CHEP’s new warehouse in Eastern Creek, built by Prime Constructions, is no exception.
CHEP is a company dealing in pallet and container pooling services, serving customers in a range of industrial and retail supply chains. Founded in 1946, it is a subsidiary of Brambles.
Shooting in an industrial landscape at dusk can sometimes be quite surreal. The architecture takes on a futuristic geometry, devoid of the human figure.
I recently photographed the esteemed architect, Mark Butler, at various sites around the CBD, including The Rocks and under the Harbour Bridge. As principal architect of Butler Associates Pty Ltd, his firm required new imagery to use in an up-coming marketing campaign for projects overseas.
Mark is a highly experienced and passionate Australian designer who constantly strives for design excellence through an innovative and imaginative approach. He has extensive international experience working in Australia, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Algeria and the Middle East.
Over the past 20 years Mark has worked collaboratively on a variety of international and award winning projects, with highlights such as, the Watercube for the Beijing 2008 Olympics (2003-2008), the iconic residential project, City Gardens in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (2006- 2012) the design of the Zenith Theatre and Exhibition Centre for the Arab Arts Festival (2015), in Constantine, Algeria. Currently he is working on a number of new projects in Vietnam having completed the Chi Dong Residential Tower, Kingdom 101 Residence and Banciao Residential Tower.
My friend, the Palestinian artist, Emily Jacir has a solo show at her Turin gallery, Galleria Peola Simondi, Italy (until 14 October, 2021). The photo based works, film and texts are her response to the ongoing conflict between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people in and around her ancestral home and artist’s studio in Bethlehem. Jacir’s house is 200 metres from the “Apartheid Wall”, the imposing security barrier which was supposedly designed to protect the Jewish Israeli population but instead serves to isolate and and antagonise Palestinian communities. As Jacir states in the text by Francesca Comisso, “the wall does not separate us from Israel, it separates us from ourselves”.
I have photographed Emily several times over the years and one of these images was used by La Repubblica newspaper in the review of her current show at Galleria Peola Simondi.
At the lofty heights on the 22nd floor of the Multiplex headquarters in King Street in Sydney, I spent the day photographing the diverse and cheerful team of this global construction company.
The idea was to capture how individual personalities can shine through in a standardised corporate pose. My challenge is to portray each person as interesting and engaging in their own unique way. For me it is really cool… not many assignments give me the opportunity to interact with so many different people over the course of a single day.
On a perfect autumn day in Parsley Bay (although admittedly it was a bit cold for the model) we shot next season’s summer range for So French So Chic. Valeria Sizova, originally from Vladisvostok (eastern Russia) was a joy to work with. Sydney is full of these treasures of nature and the sandstone parkland, bridge and wharf provided a stunning backdrop.
So French So Chic says……..
We present our unique blend of A-line silhouettes and soft, falling fabric. This year, our summer range is a mix of bold colours and gentle neutrals. Bright tones of fuschia, coral, turquoise and burnt orange are mixed with fresh pastels, or crisp, maritime white. Be part of our own French identity, adapted to the Australian climate and outdoor lifestyle. This includes loose tops with twin front pockets and large mother-of-pearl buttons, an asymmetrical sundress, a bolero jacket and wide-legged pants reminiscent of French sailor wear.
Trevor Ashley, the Australian musical theatre actor, cabaret and drag artist based in Sydney, is continually inventing new characters and new looks.
Currently he has been working on the Drag Hag podcast and providing re-caps of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under (to see episode 4, click here).
At the studio Trevor posed under the lights showcasing a series of vibrant, extravagant and fun new alter egos with costumes by Frida Las Vegas, under the master touch of Daniel Cater (aka Dallas Dellaforce) who took care of hair, make-up and styling.
As a chameleon and from my experience of working with Trevor since the early 2000s, I never quite know who is going to be channeled on set…..Liza, Shirley, Edna or one of his brand new superstars.
The Lighting Council of Australia commissioned me to document the recent visit of Ed Husic MP to the Signify head office in Mascot. The Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation, Husic is also the first Muslim to be elected to Federal Parliament.
There was a short presentation of the latest innovations and future projects for urban lighting by Signify, formerly Phillips Lighting, as well a general tour of the facility.
During the visit to the manufacturing division of Signify, the Shadow Minister met one of his constituents, a fellow Bosnian, and they happily recognised each other. The two of them are pictured below.
“This work comes from walking through the fire ground after the 2019-20 fires in the Blue Mountains….the textures, the still glowing logs, the xanthorrhoea stumps, the profound and shocking stillness,” says artist Margarita Sampson.
It is great to photograph Margarita’s work and spend a couple of hours with her magnificent and unusual creations. I wonder what’s next….?
See more of Margarita’s work at: Click here
“Jewels of all sorts and sizes continue to cross my path,” says Adrian Dickens from Circa AD. “Whether to re-sell for clients, to re-invent, to retail, to source or just to enjoy. Whether valuable or not, each jewel is given the upmost attention in order to make it sing.”
See: Circa AD website
TV & Radio personality Angie Kent (Gogglebox Australia, I’m a celebrity…get me out of here!, The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars) has recorded a series of podcasts for NOVA Entertainment, Sydney. She presents a whole array of weird and wacky therapies – past life regression, yoga laughter, fear of spiders, BDSM – in a light hearted manner. In her podcast, Angie Tries It, she debunks myths with irreverence.
See: Angie Tries it
As the live music scene begins to re-emerge in Sydney, the boys from the band Goons asked me to stage a series of images for their new social media and PR campaigns. I already know the boys and have photographed them previously in 2013 when James and the brothers Tom and Jack were performing as part of a fresh faced band in a younger pop line-up.
Based in the inner west of Sydney, Goons burst onto the scene in late 2019. They became a staple of the live music circuit in such venues as The Chippendale and Marlborough Hotels, and 2020 saw the release of their debut single, “Home Run”.
Goons are known for infectious, anthemic rock, sustained by raw vocals and high-flying guitar lines. Follow their progress and find out about live gigs from their instagram profile: CretinousGoons
They go by this moniker to distinguish the band from the English comedy troupe of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. However Goons share some of the absurd antics with the British madcap bunch.
Three years ago, when I first photographed the site of the Inner Sydney High School on the corner of Cleveland and Chalmers Streets in Surry Hills, it was a series of traditional brick classrooms built in the late 1800’s. Now thanks to the design by FJMT Studio and the high tech building efforts of Hansen Yuncken, it is a magnificent contemporary campus amid heritage architecture, and an example of a new direction in public education.
Apart from the classrooms, the school features an enviable array of facilities including media rooms, fully-equipped kitchens, science labs, woodworking rooms, a sky-high basketball court, library, lecture halls, assembly areas and loads of cool spaces to hang out and be educated.
I arrived at the 38th floor of Tower III at Barangaroo, the Sydney offices of the international consulting group KPMG. I had been asked to take corporate portraits of the team. These shots are being used as part of an upcoming tender for a project. The look was for an uncomplicated and clear representation of the people involved.
We set up the shoot in one of the many meeting rooms at KPMG offices. We constructed a white paper background and set up two strobe lights to photograph each person, under the competent guidance of Emma (Senior Personal Assistant) who managed the logistics of the shoot. It was hard not to be distracted by the amazing view from the window.
The Mushroom Group has recently updated its Sydney headquarters, a hub for the best musical talent this country has to offer. As Australia’s largest independent music and entertainment group, its history is unrivalled. Although the recent death of legendary founder Michael Gudinski was untimely, he had the opportunity to see the renovations almost complete.
I was commissioned by Prime Projects to plot the initial phase of the refurbishment with the intention to complete a more detailed portfolio of the building when the fit-out is fully operational and the art collection has been installed.
The Mushroom Group continues to be at the forefront of Australian music, producing iconic collaborations which in the past have included “Living in the 70’s” by Skyhooks, “True Colours” by Split Enz, such signings as Hunters & Collectors and Machinations and under Mushroom Records label, the who’s who of Australian rock and pop – The Angels, Jimmy Barnes, Nelly Furtado, Renee Geyer, Kate Ceberano, Kylie Minogue, Yothu Yindi…and the list goes on.
