Author Archives: Brendan Maunder

iAwards Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony – Official National Photographer

First I photographed the State iAwards gala dinner and award ceremony here at the National Art Gallery of Australia which I must say was a fantastic evening and I think I might blog about it when I did it.

The AIIA (Australian information industry Association) who hosted this evening was so happy with my work they are requested that I fly down to Melbourne and cover the national iAwards gala dinner and award ceremony at the Convention Centre. This my friend is going to be a massive evening as it is more than just a gala evening. It is a three-day event that includes judging, exhibitions, a conference and of course the gala dinner with subsequent award ceremony.

They will have speakers giving presentations throughout the Convention Centre to which we have to capture all of them along with being an opportunity for the AIIA board of directors to get together, so we’re going to use that opportunity to capture their portraits photos for their annual reports and publications. 🙂

All the images of the speakers and people getting the awards are being filtered out to the various media outlets as fast as we can after the images are taken with one of the key problems we faced in our planning was being out to tag and name everyone in the images, along with descriptions of what is happening in the photo they these images are in line with photojournalistic rules, all without missing any action on the media walls and the VIP areas.

With maybe about 1000 people attending the gala event itself and having to cover the entertainment along with the various areas throughout the centre it became fairly apparent that this was not a one-man job, so I enlisted various photographers including myself and an assistant to fly, drive, swim down there so make this a truly great success…. ok ok ok maybe no one will be swimming down there but you get the point.. lol

The gala event going till around 11 PM and that day starting around 8 AM is going to make for a very long day, and then you add around four hours of postprocessing straight after the event so we can get the images out to the media outlets so they have time to put them to press its going to be a very very very long day.

I must say having said that I’m so looking forward to it!!

There something about events that I just love, I’m not sure whether it is the excitement and the buzz in the air that goes with them or the pressure to ensure that you get the shot matter the lighting conditions and no matter the location. It’s just a buzz!!

If you know of anyone that is going to the iAwards or if you yourself are please say hello and we will make sure we get some special photos of you. 🙂

National iAwards to be held in the Convention Centre in Melbourne

Coastline Everywhere

Here in Australia we have a selection of places that we can go and photograph, and one of the favorite places which most of us tend to gravitate to because of our proximity to it is the coast. Its diverse, wide and spectacular.

I don’t often get a chance to get down to the coast as most my time is taken up hiding in events, studios and other places which don’t necessarily give me a coastal view so to speak. Some months ago I took the opportunity to sneak down the coast for a weekend some relaxation, to get some photos and also do some location scouting for some up-and-coming shoots once the weather gets warmer.

One of the places I ended out was at Merimbula and what a spectacular place it is. Along one of the main beaches has a rocky area which I think is kinda unique as it looks more like a boat ramp than ocean facing rocks. I snapped this photo and looking at it doesn’t do the place Justice is a details the rocks are hard to see but would you can see is the spectacular view is easily accessible in this location.

I plan to get back down there in the warmer months is a location is ideal for my portable lighting equipment as the ground is hard and even while offering a unique location with rocks that have texture and depth while also facing out to the ocean so I can capture the sunrise with models lit in the foreground using my Elinchrom Ranger Quadra kits.

So if you do get a chance get down that way and have look into forget to take your camera.

Rocky Merimbula coastline
Rocky Merimbula coastline

TheMHS conference 2015 – Official Photographer

We have been busy in the background working with some organisations to make sure we can cover their events and TheHMS Annual Conference for 2015 is one of those events.

It will take part in a few weeks and will be hosting the mental health awards for health professionals from all around Australia.

It will prove to be a fantastic event not only for these health professionals by allowing them to learn and share ideas that will improve metal health throughout Australia, which in turn benefit us all.  🙂

TheMHS Annual Conference
TheMHS Annual Conference – 2015

Benny Wills Gala Night – Official Photographer

Once again this year I’m privileged to be the official photographer for the Benny Wills gala night.

For anyone that doesn’t know about the Benny Wills foundation you should really pop over to their website and have a read http://www.bennywills.org/

Their story is not only incredibly sad it also is tremendously inspiring. To lose a child to a fatal brain tumour would have to be one of the hardest things to go through in your life but to come back and create a foundation dedicated to the research into the very brain tumour that took your son’s life shows tremendous courage and strength.

To stand there and photograph these incredibly tough parents while they discuss the lives and the process of how this hideous disease takes the lives of their children is heartbreaking. To have to live through that and to know that once your child is diagnosed death is only six months away, I cannot imagine what they would go through. 🙁

It is for this reason I donate my time to this event as I believe that with time, money and the advancement of technology they will find a cure or as a minimum extend the life of these poor children so they can enjoy some additional time with their loved ones.

If you like to book a table or buy some tickets you can do that online and I urge you to come along as it is really a fantastic night.

http://www.bennywills.org/gala-dinner.aspx

Benny Wills Offical Photographer
Benny Wills Offical Photographer