The light fantastic
by
Michele Nardelli
Peter Brew-Bevan may very well be the photographer du jour in
celebrity circles – he even dines with stars – but you would never guess.
There is a mix of pragmatism and passion about his approach that is
inimitably Australian. In Brew-Bevan’s case it stems from years of hard work
and a real connection with photography as art.
The son of school teachers based in SA’s regional centre of Clare, Brew-Bevan’s young dream was to paint – big canvases, big landscapes. This led him to study at UniSA’s School of Art and brought him face to face with art theory, post-modernism and a whole range of new ideas – some that sat more comfortably than others.
“What I realised very quickly was that making a living from painting was probably not where I was going to succeed,” he said.
And it was in that first year at uni that he fell in love with photography.
“I loved its instantness,” he said. “I am of the technology generation so the immediacy of taking pictures just had a stronger appeal than anything else.”
Dabbling in landscapes at first, Brew-Bevan went through a mandatory abstract phase and then discovered light and the notion of manipulating and capturing light, using it in ways similar to Rembrandt and the late Renaissance painters. It wasn’t long before he began taking pictures of people.
After graduating in 1991 he worked for three years in a mini-lab processing other people’s work to support his “habit” – taking hundreds of pictures of people and places every day.
The notion of disciplined practice, including keeping visual diaries, something Brew-Bevan has done now for 15 years, is one of the most valuable skills he says he learned at university.
And while he found some of his study a little too esoteric, Brew-Bevan said he left UniSA understanding that building a career would involve some compromise and acceptance of commercial realities.
“There were no illusions – I knew I would have to go out there and knock on doors to get a job.”
When he was invited to work full-time for Australian Consolidated Press he was on his way.
“I started in fashion which may sound glamorous but I hated it because it lacked creativity,” he said.
Ironically enough, his first real editorial portrait was of the fashion designer Paul Weiss.
Not long after he took the plunge to go freelance and it paid off.
Today with agents managing his career both at home and in the US, he has photographed a cavalcade of famous faces – Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Dawn Fraser, Rachael Griffiths and many others.
“Most people don’t really like having their picture taken and celebrities are no different – they are perhaps slightly more paranoid about the way they look. Sometimes I think you need to bring a fair bit of psychology to the job. Celebrity minds are fascinating because they are so manipulated by public perceptions and they can’t let go of that – some are only actualised through their public persona. I really don’t envy their lives; they are under so much close scrutiny.”
But it is revealing that when asked if there was anyone he could photograph, who would it be, Brew-Bevan chooses possibly the most photographed woman of all time – Princess Diana.
“There is something of a challenge in doing a portrait of a person like Diana – a super famous person. It is finding that unique aspect that becomes important – using all your skills to uncover something that others haven’t, to find another insight and present that in the composition of the photograph.”