Gemma-Rose Turnbull
Gemma-Rose Turnbull graduated from QCA in 2005 with First Class Honours in Photography. While at QCA she worked as the editor of the Australian Photojournalist Magazine and traveled to Vietnam to work on two Indochina Media Memorial Foundation workshops with renowned photojournalist Tim Page. After completing her degree, Gemma-Rose has since won numerous awards and grants and has worked with non-profit organisation St Kilda Gatehouse teaching, photographing and interviewing street sex workers for her book Red Light | Dark Room.
What I found most helpful about my studies at QCA, aside from all the technical stuff, had a lot to do with the emphasis on thinking about how to take photos, and looking at photojournalism as a way to tell stories without words. I wanted to clarify why I was photographing what I was photographing and become a more intelligent photographer.
The photography staff are fabulous and come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. In my last two years I worked very closely with two lecturers, one who had a strong background in news photography and the other in social documentary photography. We also had a lot of lectures from industry professionals.
In my work, I like to do storytelling and documentary photography but I’m also able to work in the news environment. You’re never going to know what work is like until you do it but staff played a strong role in preparing us for the realities of the work environment.
Joachim Froese
Joachim Froese is a highly-successful photo-media artist, based between Brisbane and Berlin. He graduated from Griffith University in 2005 with a Master of Visual Arts in Photography, and has since exhibited widely through Australia, Europe and Asia. His monograph, Joachim Froese: Photographs/Fotografien 1999-2008 was published in 2009.Studying at QCA enabled me to work through concepts of photography, as well as art theory, and helped me to establish a network of peers and professional contacts.
The body of work I started during my degree became recognised and built the foundation of my practice since I left the college. Since my time at QCA as a student I have continued to exhibit my work regularly in Australia and overseas, I am represented by commercial galleries in Australia and Germany and my photographs were acquired by a number of public collections.
Today I can sustain myself on the income my practice generates and most importantly I continue to enjoy my work as a professional artist.
Stefan Jannides
Stefan Jannides graduated from Griffith University in 1982. Since his time at Griffith he has enjoyed a successful career within the commercial photographic industry. In 1985 Stefan opened his own studio, which specialises in architecture, advertising and portrait photography. Stefan is also the director of Red Brick Studios, a purpose-built hire studio catering to both the stills and film industries.
QCA was a big stepping stone for me - it not only gave me a good technical grounding but also opened my eyes to many photographic genres that I previously had little exposure to, and in some cases was totally unaware of. I found this, along with the passion of the tutors to be very inspiring. Its work experience programs also gave me an invaluable insight into the industry I was about to enter.
The thing I love about commercial and advertising photography is that you never know what you'll be shooting and where you'll be from week to week - totally suits my personality!