These are some portraits i took of various people involved with the Griffin Theatre Company over the past 30 years.
I was commissioned by Foxtel who were filming a video piece at the same time.
The shoot coincided with the day Griffin were throwing a street party for the 30th anniversary and kickstarting a fundraising initiative for renovations.
I had a little office set up with a red curtain and would ferry people in to have their picture snapped.
I hired a ring flash for the occasion, the first time i’ve ever used one. It’s a lighting technique i’ve always loved – it reminds me of magazine portraits in the 90’s that photographer Rankin made his signature style.
The people i was photographing were predominantly, writers and directors. Behind-the-scenes types uncomfortable in front of the lens. So i brought along some props – balloons and confetti for the 30th birthday theme.
The other thing i did to try and make people comfortable was asking them to tell me a story – so i could capture them in conversation.
It was particularly memorable to have Bob Ellis impersonating Richard Burton regaling me with a soliloquy from Hamlet.
Here’s the video about Griffin Theatre:
There’s a couple of very brief shots in the video that i shot at a later date on the 5D II.
