“Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness.”
- W. Eugene Smith
photo © @ladydrewniak
Russell is a Photographer working in digital and analogue, based on the Gold Coast, Australia.
His work has been published in many national magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, Qantas Magazine, Gourmet Traveller, The Deal, Q Weekend, The Good Weekend, Time, Australian Traveller, Financial Review and The Weekend Australian magazine, the Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and in books by, among others, The Magnum Foundation, Australian Geographic, The Museum of Brisbane and The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.
Awards include The Moran Contemporary Photographic prize (four times Finalist, 2007-2014), Black and White Photographer of the Year (Documentary, Finalist, 2015), National Photographic portrait prize (two times Finalist, 2020,2011), Olive Cotton Exhibition (six times Finalist, 2006- 2021) and Walkley Award for Journalism (best news photograph, 1995)
Works in Collections include The Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, Redcliffe Art Gallery, and The National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Russell is an Ambassador for Leica Camera Australia
Exhibitions and Awards
2023 Brisbane Portrait Prize, Powerhouse Gallery (Finalist)
2022 Brisbane Portrait Prize, Powerhouse Gallery (Finalist)
2022 Wollumbin Art Award, Tweed Regional Gallery (Finalist)
2022 Persona, 50 Years of Photography at QCA, Grey Street Galleries, Brisbane
2021 Brisbane Portrait Prize, Powerhouse Gallery (Winner 2021 Digital Award )
2021 Martin Kantor Portrait Prize, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
2021 Olive Cotton Award/Exhibition, Tweed River Art Gallery (Finalist x 2)
2020 National Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery (Finalist)
2019 Brisbane Portrait Prize, Powerhouse Gallery (Finalist)
2019 Olive Cotton Exhibition, Tweed River Art Gallery (Finalist)
2019 QCF Philanthropy in Focus Photo award (Finalist)
2019 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, Sydney (Semi Finalist)
2018 20/20 Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions
National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
2016 Bowness Prize for Photography, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria (Finalist)
2015 Art & About Australian Life, Sydney (Finalist)
2014 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, Sydney (Finalist)
2013 Olive Cotton Exhibition, Tweed River Art Gallery (Directors Choice)
2013 Queensland Small Towns: Photo-documentary Project, Brisbane Powerhouse
2011 Olive Cotton Exhibition, Tweed River Art Gallery
2011 National Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, (Finalist)
2010 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, Sydney (Highly Commended)
2009 Reportage, Photojournalism Festival, Sydney
2008 Olive Cotton Exhibition, Tweed River Art Gallery (Finalist)
2007 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, Sydney (Finalist)
2007 20/20 Exhibition, Museum of Brisbane
2006 Olive Cotton Exhibition, Tweed River (Directors Choice & Judges High Commendation)
2003 Castles in the Sand (A travelling exhibition celebrating beach culture and the Gold Coast)
2002 Contemporary Australian Portraits, Group exhibition, National Portrait Gallery
2001 World Food Media Awards (Finalist)
2000 Reportage Photojournalism Festival, Sydney
1997 Group exhibition, Leica CCP Documentary Prize, Melbourne
1996 Images of India (with Liz Thompson), Stills Gallery, Sydney
1995 Walkley Award for Journalism, ‘Best News Photograph’
1994 McGregor Photography Exhibition, Toowoomba
1994 Nikon Press Photo of the Year (1st prize)
1993 Outside Looking In, Queensland Art Gallery
1992 Felix H Man Memorial Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria
1991 The State of the Art, Kodak Gallery, Brisbane
Works in Collections
The Queensland Art Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery
Museum of Brisbane
Tweed River Art gallery
State Library of Queensland
Selected Published Work (in books)
Focus & Connect, Celebrating 10years of The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation 2018
Laying Foundations for Change: Capital Investments of The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Magnum Foundation, 2014
The River… A History of Brisbane, The Museum of Brisbane, 2013
My Own Private Neon Oasis, The Museum of Brisbane, 2011
Paul Kelly How to make Gravy, Paul Kelly, 2010
Twenty-Five Years of Australian Geographic Photography, ACP Magazines, 2010
Q1 The world’s tallest residential tower, Sunland Group 2005
1.1.2000 24 hours in the life of Australia, A Malcolm McGregor Production. 2000
Selected Published work
Qantas Magazine
Q Weekend Magazine
The Weekend Australian magazine
The Good Weekend Magazine
Time Magazine
Australian Geographic Magazine
The Bulletin
The Financial Review
The Australian Newspaper
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sunday Age Newspaper
The Daily Telegraph
The Independent Newspaper UK
The Times UK
Australian Photography
Commercial Photography
Australian Author Magazine
Australian Traveller Magazine
Readers Digest
Country Style Magazine
Australian Photojournalist
Self-Published books
2019 Warren Clarke Photographs 2015-2017
(a homage to the late photographer Warren Clarke)
2018 Focus & Connect (The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation)
2018 India 2018 (15th February-07th March 2018)
2017 India 2016 (Burning Ghat, Varanasi)
2017 54
2016 53
2016 52+
2016 Jumpers (Series at Currumbin rock pool)
2015 52
2015 India Film
2015 Haridwar
2015 India
2015 Home
2014 Passage
2013 The Commute
Hand-printed Books
1997 Ramji Sonkar
1993 A Journey without Eyes
1992 Kashmir
1990 One More Cup of Coffee (Volume 1 & 2)
1989 To No Avail
1989 Munna Lal, Varanasi
Speaking Engagements
Speaker and Workshop presenter, Nikon AIPP, Hobart, Tasmania July 2013
Hair of the Dog, AIPP Event Brisbane Feb 2010
Photographic Society of Queensland, Mt Gravatt 2001
Sydney Photographic Forum, National Trust Centre, Sydney 2000