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.
On Sunday I had the privilege of going out and photographing I feel will be a moment in Australia’s history.
It was a walk to support marriage equality here in Australia, a walk together like-minded people for a common cause shape and change Australia’s future.
While the walk itself was not too different from many of the other walks I photographed what did made a different was that it was organised by the youth of Canberra. Now I’m a true believer at our future is in the hands of our young, it is them that will grow into adults and into our leaders of both our country and our immediate peers, and if Sunday is collection of young people is anything to go by we are really in good hands.
The weather was atrocious and I must say it was one of the coldest days that I’ve experienced in some time and by far one of the coldest events I’ve photographed. While the actual numbers of the participants in the walk was only a couple of hundred it was a dedication and drive for standing up in something they believe in even if the weather was totally crappy.
Canberra Australia 26th of July 2015 – Walk for marriage equality organised by the use of Canberra. The organisers been a procession across Commonwealth Avenue with the Australian Parliament house in the distance and a rainbow crossing the sky. A diplomatic car is seen passing the procession with the passenger giving the group a thumbs up as a sign of approval.
Looking at the faces that were in the crowd it got me thinking of the times in our history whether youth have shaped our future. One of the most prominent times is back in the 60s, and 70’s with the burning of the bra and the protests against the Vietnam War.
Is a look at this photo below see the young spirits that I feel encapsulated those times of what seems so long ago.
Canberra Australia 26th of July 2015 – Walk for marriage equality organised by the use of Canberra. This was a peaceful walk organised by the Canberra youth to raise awareness for marriage equality held around the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin in what was it cold and windy day. Two young ladies watching over the choir as it sings to the procession of walkers as they exit off the offramp on the north side of the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
It was good to be able to capture these kids and see the joy and determination in what they are trying to achieve.
What I really appreciate and I think everyone can, is that the organisers of this walk are just teenagers. Kids, not too much older than my daughter and they clearly have a vision of Australia’s future, a future that I feel is inevitable which is why I’m glad that I had the opportunity and time to photograph such an event.
Canberra Australia 26th of July 2015 – Walk for marriage equality organised by the use of Canberra. This was a peaceful walk organised by the Canberra youth to raise awareness for marriage equality held around the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin in what was it cold and windy day. The walkers approaching the finishing point.
With love, passion and determination we can all change the world. It just takes us to actually want to make it happen.
Canberra Australia 26th of July 2015 – Walk for marriage equality organised by the use of Canberra. This was a peaceful walk organised by the Canberra youth to raise awareness for marriage equality held around the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin in what was it cold and windy day. Two young girls using one hand of each to create a heart shape is a sign of unity and support for marriage equality at the end of the walk
Same is true within ourselves, we can do great things, things that we never thought possible and things that are beyond comprehension.
Just like these young girls had a vision to create a walk for marriage equality, they are in fact doing much more. Through their actions and determination they are changing the world, they are making a difference, and I for one am incredibly proud of such a feat. Not because it is about marriage equality but more that gives me faith in our children they can actually find the determination and drive within themselves to make this world a better place!!
What can you do today to make this world a better place?
NOTE: You can see the entire collection of photo by clicking on the Events on the menu on the left of this screen. 🙂
There are some days in this job that a fantastic, I get to meet lots of people, go to lots of parties and are generally surrounded by people that just really want to have a good time.
Unfortunately sometimes in this job there are days and events which are incredibly difficult…… When I say incredibly difficult I don’t mean technically, I mean personally and emotionally.
The event I covered today was incredibly sad. It was a celebration and a memorial of a young man that was taken in the prime of his life through a motor vehicle accident, leaving a shattered partner and a two-year-old boy behind. 🙁
I don’t know about other people or other photographers but for me being able to capture emotional images I have two put myself in their position, I try and feel what they are feeling be it sadness or happiness.
So today’s event drained a lot of internal strength and emotion, all of which I knew was going to happen beforehand, so I made a plan that after the event I would jump on my motorbike, take my camera and go to a quiet place to watch the sun go down and reflect about all the wonderful things life has to offer.
I think we will need one of these special places and while I don’t necessarily have a special place as the world is a spectacular place are ready, I do like to be able to see a fantastic sunset or sunrise so that is what I did. I raced against the failing light to get to a location where the sun was reflecting off the water and a place where I could collect my thoughts and regain the inner strength that I’d given up to the event I had just photographed.
As a sun was setting I was wishing it would never end. It was spectacular and beautiful. The calm across the water with the ducks and swans swimming in the shallows gave a nice background to the birds singing in the trees. It was a good way to end a day, a day that was full of emotion so I thought I would share last rays of my day today with you.
Life can be really busy for us all and I know for me I sometimes look back and wonder where the last month or two months has gone.
We have work and family and we all still have to make time for ourselves. A lot of friends that know how busy I am ask me when is it that I make time for me. Time away from work and time to recharge?
My answer is always the same. I get my energy for taking photos, capturing the moments in time that others take for granted. It gives me time to relax and look at the world in a different way and to see the things we all miss in our ever increasing busy lives.
No other time is this true than at your own wedding. The day flies by and before you know it, it’s over and your new life begins and the only memory you have of that special day is the photos of your wedding.
So if you are feeling stressed and need to wind down I can highly suggest you take some time to take some photos. Grab that camera and just walk. Walk to places you have been before and look at it with a different eye, an eye for capturing the small things, the things you see every day and I am sure you will be surprised how relaxing and interesting this will be.
After what was a bit of a long and somewhat cold day we managed to get a couple of shoots completed and with a very happy team… 😉
Glad I took along hot coffee and tea as it went a very very long way in keeping the team happy when it is -6 on location in the middle of civic… Well done guys.
With a good few hundred images to sort through to get the top 10 its going to be a tough call, however to get the ball rolling here is just one of the hundred of images and a bit of a sneak peek in to this mornings antics. Enjoy
Styled bridal shoot at Glebe Park with bride and groom
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