Treasured snapshot of past

STRATHFIELD PHOTOGRAPHER NATHAN KELLY HAS CAUGHT SOME OF OUR MOST RECOGNISED FACES ON FILM

Report NICOLE TRIANTAFILLOU

He got his first break when he met punk and gothic rocker Nick Cave at the age of 16, and now at 25, he’s the youngest photographer to be permanently exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

Despite his youth, strathfield-base photographer Nathan Kelly has captured some of Australia’s best-known faces including Bob Hawke, Peter Garrett, Michael Hutchence, and H.G.Nelson. His portrait of former prime minister Sir John Gorton has just earned him a permanent place in the collection at The National Portrait Gallery in April and a place in History.

The portrait was part of a series of photos of Australians from the fields of politics, music, film, and television that had become the subject of a book, Collective Wisdom, In which Kelly collaborated with his accountant brother.

"I had always mainly done portraits of celebrities and I thought it would be a good idea to capture some of these people," Kelly said.

"It’s amazing how many famous people are actually listed in the White Pages."

I found Sir John Gorton’s phone number there and just decided to call him up and explain what I wanted to do." He was surprised I was interested in photographing him and I said something like ‘I really want to photograph you’, and after listening to me, he said, "come around."

Kelly describes the black and white image of Sir John as a reflective portrait. He said he always looked for something that instantly communicates the uniqueness of his subject.

"When you photograph somebody, so many people take photos where you’re just seeing the face," he said.

"But you have to show something else, to get inside that person."

Kelly admitted he had begun seriously thinking about becoming a photographer after Nick Cave invited the young 16 year-old to take backstage portraits of the band in Canberra" he said "I saw how much he loved what he did and realised that I didn’t have to become a lawyer or a doctor, that I could do what I wanted and enjoy myself."

While his next project remains under wraps, Kelly says he is looking forward to completing his Diploma of Education and becoming a visual arts teacher. The challenge for Kelly will be to raise artists awareness of their possibilities.

"I’ve travelled to 68 countries in the last three years and taken many photographs," he said

"What I want to do now is give people an appreciation of art."