WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.280 line:15% 
- [Photographer] It's lovely.
(upbeat music)

2
00:00:02.280 --> 00:00:07.130 line:15% 
Bring the face around, lift.
(camera shutter clicks)

3
00:00:07.130 --> 00:00:09.210
Hold this, hold this.

4
00:00:09.210 --> 00:00:10.043 line:15% 
Yeah.

5
00:00:13.373 --> 00:00:14.990
That looks so good.

6
00:00:14.990 --> 00:00:17.530
- Very much born into a basketball environment.

7
00:00:17.530 --> 00:00:20.410
When I was born, my dad was the general manager

8
00:00:20.410 --> 00:00:23.490
of the Victorian Amateur Basketball Association,

9
00:00:23.490 --> 00:00:26.570 line:15% 
and we lived in Elle Park in Melbourne.

10
00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:29.960 line:15% 
And what they did is back in the late '50s,

11
00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:33.110
there was these old army warehouse storage facilities

12
00:00:33.110 --> 00:00:35.240
that were no longer required,

13
00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.570
and the commonwealth gave it to sport.

14
00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:39.330
And one of them was converted to basketball,

15
00:00:39.330 --> 00:00:41.230
one was to badminton, one was to table tennis,

16
00:00:41.230 --> 00:00:44.160
and in their wisdom, when they were doing this conversion,

17
00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:46.750
basketball built a manager's residence

18
00:00:46.750 --> 00:00:49.350
that was attached to the basketball stadium.

19
00:00:49.350 --> 00:00:52.730
And with my dad's job primarily was running that facility

20
00:00:52.730 --> 00:00:54.210
and trying to grow the game.

21
00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:58.470
So from the time I was born until I was about 13 or 14,

22
00:00:58.470 --> 00:01:02.780
I lived in that facility, so I had a very unique upbringing,

23
00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:06.150
and combined with that environment was the fact

24
00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:09.240
that my dad was an elite player and an elite coach.

25
00:01:09.240 --> 00:01:13.340
So the combination of an incredible environment

26
00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:17.380
with a nine-court basketball stadium really as my backyard

27
00:01:17.380 --> 00:01:22.380
and a dad that clearly had the wisdom to coach and teach

28
00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.306
gave me a bit of an advantage over my peers.

29
00:01:25.306 --> 00:01:27.889
(upbeat music)

30
00:01:28.740 --> 00:01:31.220
Although I was born into a basketball environment,

31
00:01:31.220 --> 00:01:34.270
I never really had basketball athleticism.

32
00:01:34.270 --> 00:01:36.650
I had good size, I was always a little bit taller,

33
00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:40.480
and I grew to be 201, which I think is about 6'7".

34
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.680
So I had an advantage with my size,

35
00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:46.440
but I was never blessed with great quickness or athleticism.

36
00:01:46.440 --> 00:01:50.910
Because I lived with that nine courts in the backyard,

37
00:01:50.910 --> 00:01:53.800
the amount of hours that I spent just shooting the ball.

38
00:01:53.800 --> 00:01:54.700
And a lot of times,

39
00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:56.550
it never really felt like official practise.

40
00:01:56.550 --> 00:01:58.230
You're just there, you've got nothing to do,

41
00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:00.760
and out in the back, your mates come around,

42
00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:01.780
and you want to shoot some hoops,

43
00:02:01.780 --> 00:02:04.220
and well, it wasn't official practise,

44
00:02:04.220 --> 00:02:05.430
so it didn't feel like practise.

45
00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:08.620
It absolutely was practise, and because of that,

46
00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:12.390
I was able to develop a reasonable perimeter game.

47
00:02:12.390 --> 00:02:14.990
For me, I think that the biggest advantage was

48
00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.090
because I played so much throughout those formative years,

49
00:02:18.090 --> 00:02:20.230
was just an understanding of the game.

50
00:02:20.230 --> 00:02:23.240
And I was able to use that knowledge to compensate

51
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.080
for some of my athletic deficiencies.

52
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.370
So it was, all of the stars aligned for me,

53
00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:31.620
and I was fortunate to be in the right place

54
00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:32.960
at the right time in the right environment

55
00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:34.480
with the right parents,

56
00:02:34.480 --> 00:02:37.940
and all those factors came along nicely for me

57
00:02:37.940 --> 00:02:40.680
and enabled me to have a respectable career

58
00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:41.530
playing the game.

59
00:02:45.410 --> 00:02:47.410
The career highlight for me,

60
00:02:47.410 --> 00:02:50.360
it's hard to answer, because I've been blessed

61
00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.350
with so many unbelievable opportunities,

62
00:02:52.350 --> 00:02:54.750
and it's kind of like asking which one of your kids

63
00:02:54.750 --> 00:02:58.100
do you love the most, because they all mean so much.

64
00:02:58.100 --> 00:03:00.730
But I guess if you twisted my arm,

65
00:03:00.730 --> 00:03:02.740
and you said well you had to pick one,

66
00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:05.160
it would be representing Australia

67
00:03:05.160 --> 00:03:06.930
and playing in the Olympic Games.

68
00:03:06.930 --> 00:03:09.620
Because of my dad's involvement in the sport,

69
00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:11.940
I was motivated and inspired as a youngster

70
00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:13.640
to want to replicate that, and I learned,

71
00:03:13.640 --> 00:03:15.670
not just about the basketball,

72
00:03:15.670 --> 00:03:17.880
I learned about spirit of the competition,

73
00:03:17.880 --> 00:03:20.460
and all the other values associated with it

74
00:03:20.460 --> 00:03:23.230
were instilled in me at a very young age.

75
00:03:23.230 --> 00:03:26.050
For me, as a youngster, putting my head on the pillow

76
00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:29.910
and thinking of the most heroic thing I could ever do,

77
00:03:29.910 --> 00:03:32.130
and that was that to hit the winning basket

78
00:03:32.130 --> 00:03:34.710
for Australia to win the gold medal of the Olympic Games.

79
00:03:34.710 --> 00:03:36.860
That was my boyhood dream.

80
00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:39.450
And I suppose because of that,

81
00:03:39.450 --> 00:03:41.920
those opportunities to play for Australia

82
00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:44.350
and experience the Olympics and all the things

83
00:03:44.350 --> 00:03:48.387
that go along with it are the things that I admire the most

84
00:03:48.387 --> 00:03:51.493
and respect the most and feel the most grateful for.

85
00:03:54.870 --> 00:03:56.560
You got to turn whatever the challenge is,

86
00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:58.950
sometimes it can be arduous, where you're out on the floor,

87
00:03:58.950 --> 00:04:00.120
and you're spending a lot of hours,

88
00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:00.953
the coach is barking at you,

89
00:04:00.953 --> 00:04:04.620
and there can be circumstances that can really

90
00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:06.420
take you out of your comfort zone.

91
00:04:06.420 --> 00:04:08.430
But in your own head and in your own imagination,

92
00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:11.550
you've always got to keep it in perspective

93
00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:13.610
and understand it's gotta become fun,

94
00:04:13.610 --> 00:04:16.190
and you've got to sometimes make it fun.

95
00:04:16.190 --> 00:04:17.340
And if you can do that,

96
00:04:17.340 --> 00:04:19.110
and you have a love and a passion for the sport,

97
00:04:19.110 --> 00:04:21.080
you give yourself a chance.

98
00:04:21.080 --> 00:04:23.833
So have fun, enjoy the game,

99
00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.900
put the time in, but keep it in perspective,

100
00:04:27.900 --> 00:04:30.980
and make sure that you don't compromise other areas

101
00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:32.743
of your life in that pursuit.

102
00:04:41.210 --> 00:04:43.160
- I'm a bit seat of the pants.

103
00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:45.503
I know what I want, and sometimes,

104
00:04:45.503 --> 00:04:47.650
with a bit of serendipity, you've got to be a little bit

105
00:04:47.650 --> 00:04:48.650
lucky as a photographer.

106
00:04:48.650 --> 00:04:50.460
Sometimes, you know, the planets align,

107
00:04:50.460 --> 00:04:51.370
and it all comes together.

108
00:04:51.370 --> 00:04:55.160
And you know, you might take 30 pictures,

109
00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:56.280
and there's just one.

110
00:04:56.280 --> 00:04:57.330
That's all you need.

111
00:04:57.330 --> 00:04:58.700
And the face is an amazing thing.

112
00:04:58.700 --> 00:05:01.050
You know, you can shoot a face,

113
00:05:01.050 --> 00:05:04.380
and the slightest nuance, 29 don't work,

114
00:05:04.380 --> 00:05:06.750
and there's one shot, and you go, why does it work?

115
00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:07.860
Who knows.

116
00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:09.683
That's just the luck involved.

117
00:05:10.990 --> 00:05:12.040
I like photographing people.

118
00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.060
It means something to me,

119
00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:17.290
or for whatever reason, it resonates.

120
00:05:17.290 --> 00:05:19.100
You know, you can go with preconceived ideas,

121
00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:20.340
and everybody does.

122
00:05:20.340 --> 00:05:21.890
And then all of a sudden out of left field,

123
00:05:21.890 --> 00:05:23.790
something happens, someone does something.

124
00:05:23.790 --> 00:05:25.287
I'm an old press (mumbles) in another life,

125
00:05:25.287 --> 00:05:27.030
and I work pretty fast,

126
00:05:27.030 --> 00:05:28.630
but I know when I've got it pretty much,

127
00:05:28.630 --> 00:05:30.490
I know when I've got what I want.

128
00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:32.470
So, and sometimes, it's luck involved.

129
00:05:32.470 --> 00:05:33.610
That's just the way it goes, you know.

130
00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:35.030
That's half the fun really.

131
00:05:35.030 --> 00:05:36.090
Get back, and you look at your negs,

132
00:05:36.090 --> 00:05:37.427
oh, your negs (laughs).

133
00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:40.172
You know, you go on your screen, and you go through,

134
00:05:40.172 --> 00:05:42.589
and you go, yes, I've got it.

135
00:05:44.585 --> 00:05:47.270
See the difference right there?

136
00:05:47.270 --> 00:05:49.890
Albert Watson is one of my heroes, an English photographer.

137
00:05:49.890 --> 00:05:51.060
He always said that 80 percent

138
00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:53.810
of a photograph was actually talking to your subject.

139
00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:58.080
I concur completely, because if you can make someone relax,

140
00:05:58.080 --> 00:06:00.960
do a bit of research, drop a bad one-liner, I don't know,

141
00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:02.810
just let them drop their guard,

142
00:06:02.810 --> 00:06:04.270
because I want to get behind that.

143
00:06:04.270 --> 00:06:06.030
I want to get them off guard.

144
00:06:06.030 --> 00:06:07.047
And that's the shot you want.

145
00:06:07.047 --> 00:06:10.340
You don't want that standard sort of stock headshot.

146
00:06:10.340 --> 00:06:12.630
You want to get stuff behind that,

147
00:06:12.630 --> 00:06:15.070
and that's what I'm okay at.

148
00:06:15.070 --> 00:06:16.180
You know, you don't always get it,

149
00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:18.240
but that's what, I enjoy getting that,

150
00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:19.653
going yes, gotcha (laughs).