Woodridge local Jono Searle has been selected as a finalist in this year’s Brisbane Portrait Prize contest where 56 finalists were chosen from 600 entries.
An editorial, lifestyle and corporate photographer with more than 18 years of experience, he was a news photographer for over 14 years after working in Singapore for Reuters Asia.
His clients today include news agencies, The Brisbane Bullets and the AFL.
His entry, a photo of Queensland governor Jeannette Young, shows a woman of strength and quiet determination.
Positioned with her face emerging from the darkness in front of a solid stone structure, the image references character traits exhibited throughout Dr Young’s career.
“She had become a prominent fixture in our living rooms over the last few years, during extraordinary times for our city and beyond,” Mr Searle said.
“As an editorial photographer I observed and covered countless press conferences when Dr Young was the chief health officer for Queensland during the peak of the Covid pandemic.
“Over that time I felt compelled to create a portrait of Dr Young beyond that of an editorial image.
“Dr Young kept calm, compassionate and measured during an extremely challenging time and I wanted to capture that in this portrait.
“The image was taken in her last week as chief health officer, before becoming the governor of Queensland.”
Mr Searle has evolved in step with his fast-changing industry.
As well as continuing to cover news and sport and backed by his wide experience he has diversified into lifestyle, food, fashion and corporate photography.
He said his editorial background gives him the edge in those forms of image making, meaning he can get the job done promptly while managing his subjects and meeting client briefs.
Jono won the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishing Association best sport photo of the year in 2008 and a Qld Clarion best sport photo award in 2014.
With this background he hopes to help sporting teams in the future consider generating content for their clubs in-house using his services, rather than relying on an outdated system of local media promoting their team.
He is able to elevate himself from other shooters is his anticipation, vision and attention to detail.
Time and again Jono suggested talent, themes and locations for pictures, long before there were words to go with them.
The results were editorial pictures that leaped off the page and drew eyes towards the story.
