Selected editorial assignments

Libération: The Brighton Icebergers

2020: Every morning a group of swimmers meet at Brighton Beach, Melbourne to submerge in the waters of Port Phillip Bay. During Melbourne’s long winter lockdown, numbers grew despite the water temperatures dropping to just 8C. I went to photograph swimmers, what I found was a community bonded and buoyed by the daily ritual of cold water therapy. Published in Libération’s annual special edition on Oceans with lovely words by Valentine Sabouraud.

The Washington Post: Australia fires - A town razed by fire dreads a sequel to its darkest hour

2020: KINGLAKE, Australia — Low cloud hugs the hillside as the road curves, revealing a blue-hued forest punctuated with dead silvery-black branches — symbols of a scarred but resilient landscape and a community forever changed. A sign comes into view: “Respect, Remember, 2009.” Forty miles from Melbourne, Kinglake was at the epicenter of one of Australia’s worst disasters, the Black Saturday bush fires. Eleven years ago, an inferno tore through here, killing 120 people in the immediate vicinity and another 53 in the wider area. More than 2,000 homes were destroyed. As Australia confronts renewed tragedy in a wildfire emergency of unprecedented scale, the people who rebuilt their lives in Kinglake after losing everything fear a repeat. Read the full story by Kate Shuttleworth here.

de Volkskrant (NL): Christchurch mosque shootings, six months on

OCTOBER 2019: CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND — On March 15, 2019, two consecutive terrorist shooting attacks occurred at mosques in the city during Friday Prayer, killing 51 people. Six months after the attacks, I spent time with the community for Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, meeting those who survived and those who lost one or more loved ones. This work was published in a special end-of-year edition of de Volkskrant’s weekend magazine on Saturday 21 December, along with a written feature by Jeroen Visser.

The Guardian: Leaving Ambae

2018: Ambae is one of 83 islands comprising the Republic of Vanuatu, located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is home to an active volcano called Monaro Voui which began sending plumes of thick smoke and ash into the air in 2017, prompting a complete evacuation that September. As with many Melanesian countries, connection to land is a very important part of the cultural identity for Ni-Vanuatu. As soon as the volcano activity settled, the residents returned home. Six months later monitoring revealed an increased chance of an eruption so authorities ordered a second mandatory evacuation of Ambae in July 2018, this time requesting the relocation be permanent. On Ambae island for an NGO assignment, I became caught up in the evacuation of close to 11,000 people and decided to document the events as they unfolded around me. This essay plus a written feature was published on The Guardian, see it here.

The New York Times: Global Climate Strike

2019: On 21 September, hundreds of thousands of young Australians joined many more around the world in a global day of action for the environment. The New York Times commissioned eight photographers document the event in each content, see the full story here.

The New York Times: Concussion crisis in Australian Rules Football (AFL)

2019: AFL is one of the world’s most violent sports. Thirty-six players careen across a massive field, where they are exposed to blindside hits and errant elbows, bruising shoulders and airborne knees. Their protection is a mouthpiece and sometimes a padded cap. Collisions can be cringe-inducing. Concussions are common. Retired players have started complaining about memory loss, struggles with paying attention, anger management and other mental health issues. In fact, more than 100 retired players are accusing the league of failing to protect them from the known dangers of repeated collisions and of resisting calls to pay for their health care costs. See images and full story by Ken Belson here.