Stuart Campbell

Found these stunning photographs flicking through a "Portraits" magazine (National Portrait Gallery, Canberra) in Borders. The last one of Simon Burke was the one that first caught my attention, it is so deeply intense and just wonderful to gaze at; its rather thought provoking.

The first portrait is actually of Mel Gibson; didn't recognise him at all, but also a lovely photo.

The young man in the middle is Richard Tognetti; this was the most surprising of them all and I didn't recognise him either until I read his name. But i can now see the resemblance; he's obviously aged through...

I saw him perform earlier this year with the ACO and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. 

The music was absolutely brilliant! *reminisces* 

A bit about the photographer:

"Stuart Campbell (1951–2009), born in Ballarat Victoria, studied at Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne where his love affair with photography began. In 1972 he moved to Sydney and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. After graduation Campbell played on stage with major theatre companies and appeared in a number of films including Caddie (1976) and Starstruck (1982), and on television in Cop Shop and Patrol Boat among others.

Campbell had modest success as an actor, but excelled as a photographer. In the early 1980s he began taking sensitive portfolio portraits for his friends. These included actors such as Mel Gibson, Colin Friels and Judy Davis, and filmmakers Gillian Armstrong and Peter Weir. Campbell stayed faithful to the sensuous darks and lights of black and white film, valuing the richness and honesty of the medium. Other photographic projects included taking the notorious male centrefolds for Cleo and celebrity portraits for Vogue."

[Taken from http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/exhibition_subsite_stuartcampbell.php]

Funny, I just watched "Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo" on the ABC the other day.