Tag Archives: Convention Centre Melbourne

Put Your Hands Up If You Love Gala Events and Conferences!!!!

I think it goes without saying that my team and I love gala dinners. 🙂

Once again, we had the opportunity to photograph the state iAwards Gala Dinner and also had the pleasure of photographing the national iAwards and Gala Dinner for AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) at the MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre), which included a daytime conference dedicated to innovation.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — One of the great parts about my job is getting to follow leaders in many industries, and on the odd occasion, grab a photo with them.

 

2015 was a great event, and this year did not disappoint. If I’m being honest, I think this year was even better. 🙂

I don’t know about you, but where else do you find industry leaders in ICT taking time out of their busy schedules to talk about innovation? I must add, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the major supporter again this year was the Victorian Government. Too bad the rest of the country doesn’t follow their lead and start developing real plans to expand our ICT capability through innovation.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — The other two members of our team taking people’s photos before the Gala Dinner.

 

My team’s day started at 8 a.m. when we packed our gear and headed over to the MCEC from our hotel room — which, I must admit, wasn’t far. We stayed at the Hilton, which is effectively part of the same building as the MCEC, so it was just a short elevator ride down to level one. 🙂

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

This year we decided to do things a little differently. Instead of processing all the images after the event, one of the team handled post-processing on-site so the iAwards organisers could use images for social media. Meanwhile, my other photographer and I covered different areas of the event. In general, it worked really well — images came from the photographers and flowed smoothly through post with very few issues, which was great.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — Me photographing the handing out of the awards.

 

As the day moved through the conference, VIP lunches, and into the Gala Dinner, my team and I took a moment to reflect on the day so far. I think it’s fair to say we were having a blast, and the information shared with attendees was outstanding. We all walked away with a new appreciation for innovation and some of the amazing things happening in the ICT industry across the nation. Very, very cool.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — Do you think they have enough screens?

 

The break in the event also meant it was time to set up the portable studio against the media wall before the crowds flocked in. We were located in the reception and pre-gala drinks area, which was great because it attracted plenty of people to have their photos taken. 🙂

Last year we had David Huey (“Hueys”) as the MC; this year it was a pleasure photographing Shane Jacobson (www.shanejacobson.com.au) — aka Kenny, *The Dunny Man*. Without sounding biased, I can say he’s a great bloke. Not only did I photograph him on stage, but I also followed him around, chatting and watching how he interacted with guests. He was more than willing and open to make everyone feel at home, and super accommodating to my photographic needs — one of which was taking a selfie with me. 😉

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — Get down low and go, go, go!

 

The night went off without a hitch… oh, except for one thing! When it came to the pointy end of the evening, we discovered that the winner of the $50,000 prize money had already left because she had a 6 a.m. flight. Hahahaha! Someone in the audience had her number, so Shane tried to get her on the phone to let her know… but no answer.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — The team.

 

Talking with Shane afterwards, we were both bummed that the winner didn’t answer — it would’ve been a hoot to get her on the phone and add to what was already a very entertaining night. Oh well! They eventually got in touch with her, and she came back later for her official photos.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

We wrapped up a little after midnight and went back to the hotel room to process the media photos for the 6 a.m. deadline. Thanks to the post-processing we’d done during the day, it only took me until 4 a.m., saving many hours of work.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — Having a bit of fun with Shane Jacobson while a video played in the background.

 

After what turned out to be a 20-hour day, it was finally time to hit the sack and wake up early to pack and head home. My other photographer had a 6 a.m. flight, so I said goodbye to him at 3 a.m. so he could get to the airport. 🙂

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — Packed house and wow, what a room and setup!

 

Let’s bring on the after party… hahahaha!

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

I have to admit, the lighting and the intensity of those lights were fantastic. They added so much atmosphere to the room, and for a space that large, it was a mighty feat to make them so effective without fogging out the entire area.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 — After party band.

 

At the end of all that, it was time for a nap — and that, my friends, is a day in the life of a corporate conference and gala event photographer. 🙂

The Calm Before The Storm

Tonight my team and I sit looking  over the heart of Melbourne and admire the view from our room while we chat about what tomorrow will bring and our plan of attack.

For tomorrow we are going to photograph the national iAwards convention and the following Gala event at the Convention Center in Melbourne where they will hand out the national ICT awards to the Australian finalists .

The day for us will start at 8am when we get on location to start setup for the day where we will erect our portable studio to get media shots throughout the day of the convention. We have a full day ahead as we capture the convention and the different rooms and sponsors along with the VIP areas and networking that is the life blood of such an event.  The day will finish with us capturing the Gala event where they will hand out the iAwards for this year and close at midnight.  We should get back to the hotel room at around 1am where I will have to process the media shots of the day so they are ready for media release by 6am.  🙂

So to say that tomorrow is going to be a big day is kind of an understatement but boy it will be a fantastic and we are all itiching to get into it…. but for now we look out the window and enjoy the quiet before the storm. 🙂

Melbourne iAwards Convention and Gala Event
Melbourne iAwards Convention and Gala Event

Davo!!!

Boy what a week.  Two major events completed in two different states, it took three of my photographers including myself and our assistant but WOW what a awesome week…… It was sooooo worth starting at 8 am and finishing way after midnight for almost the entire week.

Met a lot of really interesting people over the last week with one of them being Dave (Hughesy) Hughes as he was the MC at the iAwards and what a great entertainer he is. The crowd just loved him to bits and he kept the action going to schedule.

Mate!!!!!!! Just hanging with David (Hughesy) Hughes at the iAwards
Mate!!!!!!! Just hanging with Dave (Hughesy) Hughes at the iAwards

I just love event photography as I always get to meet a whole heap of new people but at the iAwards I had the opportunity to also get to meet a heap of CIO’s and managing directors for companies like Microsoft, Intel, Optus, Telstra and Deloitte, along with a heap of small business owners.

With around 6000+ photos to work through from the event which should keep me out of trouble for a little bit – be it a day or so.

If you are looking for an event photographer for a major event drop us a line as we have the team that will ensure you get the shots even under the most difficult situations. It doesn’t matter to us where your event is as we do travel or how large or small it is as my team will size up or down as you need. 🙂

Hey Looked What I Packed!!!

Check out this video that shows some the stuff I am packing for my next little adventure covering the National iAwards conference and gala awards night at the Melbourne Convention Center.

My team comprises of two photographers and an assistant at the iAwards conference and another photographer in my team covering TheMHS conference and awards to be held here in Canberra, so it promises to be a busy week here at Brendan Maunder Photography.

Now I better run as I still have to pack the car and with a 7 hour drive in front of me I think I need a coffee.  🙂

Packing the car to cover an event in Melbourne.

If you a have large event that needs to be covered by a team of experts in the field, drop me a message as I am sure we can help and we do travel. 🙂

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