I had a blast photographing the dress rehearsal for Barbra: The Greatest Star at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney — and even during rehearsals, prior to it’s opening in January, this show was already dazzling.
Starring Tana Laga’aia, Laura Murphy, Stellar Perry and Brittanie Shipway, this joyous tribute to Barbra Streisand is a high-voltage celebration of one of the great careers in music and performance. Each performer brings their own voice, personality and theatrical flair to this extraordinary songbook.
The staging is gloriously over the top — big gestures, bold design moments and exuberant performances perfectly match the larger-than-life spirit of the production.
And what a repertoire it is: an incredible parade of Streisand’s classics, from soaring ballads to brassy anthems and more intimate musical moments, all delivered with wit, precision and serious vocal firepower.
The energy in the room was electric — as these images show.
PhotographingNaomi Price’s “Christmas Actually”is always a joy — and last year’s performances at the Sydney Opera House were no exception. It was a brilliantly fun, festive, and utterly entertaining variety show, and it’s easy to see why this show has become a beloved holiday tradition.
From her witty storytelling to theenergetic musical numbers, every moment burst with humour, sparkle, and theatrical flair. The audience was swept along for the ride, laughing, singing, and celebrating the season with Naomi and her talented cast.
For a photographer, it’s a joy to work with vibrant costumes, dynamic staging and a performer who’s utterly expressive and captivating on stage. With my imagery, every frame tells a story — a little chaotic and high spirited.
“Christmas Actually” is more than a show; it’s an experience — one that spreads cheer, showcases incredible talent, and reminds you why live theatre adds to cultural expression.
Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of photographing the team at NAPWHA (National Association of Peoplewith HIV Australia) for their end-of-year lunch. This shoot was a mix of individual portraits of staff members, alongside a group shot (I’ve been photographing the NAPWHA team for several years).
We started in the gardens in Surry Hills, aiming for a relaxed, leafy backdrop — but the weather had other ideas. So we wrapped things up, staging the final shots right in front of the restaurant nearby. The change of location gave the images a fresh, urban feel.
The shoot was a success — a combination of friendly faces, professional portraits, and the group camaraderie that makes NAPWHA such a standout organisation.
I travelled to Melbourne to photograph the latest collection for Circa AD Jewels, created by boutique jeweler Adrian Dickens. I’m delighted to share a selection of images from this shoot, chosen for the official catalogue — you can explore the collection via the link above.
The shoot took place in a stunning location overlooking the city skyline and the leafy expanses of Fitzroy Gardens. It was one of those rare days where everything aligns: beautiful light, a calm atmosphere, and a creative team working in sync.
Our model, Carmen, was an absolute delight — professional, warm, and effortlessly elegant in every frame. She wore refined, tailored pieces fromPerri Cutten, which paired perfectly with Adrian’s exquisite jewelry. The combination of craftsmanship, design, and location made for a memorable day behind the camera.
A few highlights from the shoot are displayed here, offering a glimpse into the final catalogue. I’m thrilled with how the imagery for this project has come together.
View of Melbourne CBD from the apartment balcony, looking south-east
Some photography jobs stay with you not because of the lighting, or the composition challenges, or even the scale of the client — but because of the sheer spectacle of what’s unfolding in front of your lens. My recent shoot at the ESR-developed warehouse in Moorebank was very much one of those days.
I was commissioned to photograph a helicopter lift ten very large air-conditioning units, one by one, onto the roof of this enormous new warehouse for final installation and connection. On paper, this sounds impressive enough. In reality, standing there on the ground as it happened was something else entirely.
The helicopter itself was a Black Hawk — a serious piece of machinery. Once part of the US military fleet, it’s now been purchased and is operated here in Australia. There’s something unmistakably purposeful about a machine like this: it doesn’t just arrive, it announces itself. You feel it before you see it. The sound, the downdraft, the absolute presence of it in the sky makes everything else around it seem momentarily small.
What made the day even more remarkable was knowing what it took just to get the aircraft to site. The Black Hawk had flown in that morning from Orange, where it is hangared. The logistics involved in mobilising something like this with absolute precision, plus the speed and efficiency of the entire team was amazing…all ten units were put into place in under two hours.
Adding another layer to the story, the flight required two pilots. One had flown in from the US, because the Australian pilot still needed to log more hours on this particular machine before he’s fully qualified to fly it solo. It was a reminder that even with all this raw power and engineering, the human element — skill, training, experience — remains absolutely central.
From a photographic point of view, it was a dream brief: scale, motion, machinery, and a very real sense of risk and precision all wrapped into one. Watching each unit being carefully lifted, flown, and lowered into place was like witnessing a highly-choreographed aerial ballet — just with a lot more noise and wind.
Days like this are a good reminder of how many extraordinary things happen in the background of construction and infrastructure projects, and how lucky I am to occasionally get a front-row seat to document them.
Sydney-based photographer John McRae is a long-time collaborator with Olympic gold-medal diver Matthew Mitcham. Since before 2008, when Mitcham won gold in the 10-metre platform event in Beijing with what was then the highest-scoring single dive in Olympic history, McRae has been documenting Mitcham’s evolution from an uncertain youth into a self-possessed, globally recognised sportsman and actor.
Several of McRae’s portraits of Matthew have appeared on the covers of international magazines, revealing Mitcham’s role as an accomplished performer — at ease with his physical prowess, his stage presence as a theatrical actor and his emotional candour. One of McRae’s portraits was also reproduced on the cover of Mitcham’s 2012 autobiography “Twists and Turns”.
“Essentially, I am using my camera as a tool for tracking and mapping a personality,” says McRae. “Over the years, our working relationship has developed naturally and easily, alongside a growing friendship. In many ways these images are snapshots of the interaction between photographer and muse. I’m interested in turning the camera toward that exchange.”
This newly made portrait marks the continuation of their ongoing series – their 16th annual image produced together. The previous portrait was taken in 2022; a three-year gap shaped not by intention but by geography, with photographer and subject living half a world apart. Reuniting in 2025 brings an added resonance — a sense of return, of picking up a visual conversation mid-sentence. Time, distance and experience are quietly embedded in the image, contributing to its depth and maturity.
Both McRae and Mitcham have long agreed that this body of work will continue for as long as circumstances allow — a shared commitment to subtle observation, innovation and trust.
John McRae’s portraits have been finalists in many of Australia’s most significant art prizes, including the Olive Cotton Award, the National Photographic Portrait Prize, the Moran Portrait Prize, Head On Portrait Prize, the Blake Prize and the Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Award. His work has been exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally, and he continues to explore intimacy, self-awareness and the evolving nature of identity through long-term photographic relationships.
Matthew has returned to Australia to perform in the cutting edge play “Afterglow”. The Sydney season runs from 26 February – 22 March at the Eternity Playhouse (see this link:) “Afterglow” also has a Melbourne season at Chapel Off Chapel performance space, Prahran, from 30 January – 21 February. (For details click on this link:)
Matthew Mitcham Annual Portraits – full series, starting in 2008 (the year Mitcham won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics for his record-breaking 10-metre platform dive)
Various out-takes from the shoot. As we can see…Matt hasn’t lost his sense of the ridiculous
