He may be internationally recognised for his work, but Cairns photographer Brian Cassey can still remember his first camera and his first photos.

Brian’s latest award-winning exhibition "A Photographer’s Life – Part One" can be seen at Tanks Arts Centre. 

Part One begins when Brian was 11 with his first camera and a photo from his first roll of film – both part of the exhibition. “We were on holiday at the Isle of Wight when I persuaded my parents to buy me my first camera which was really just two pieces of plastic,” Brian laughs.

The plastic 127 film VP Twin was bought from Woolworths for two shillings and sixpence and Brian started taking photos of “boys things” including steam trains and ocean liners. Cunard RMS Queen Elizabeth leaving Southhampton was on that first roll and marks the start of the current exhibition.

Brian’s CV looks more like a Who’s Who of prestigious newspapers, magazines and news agencies from around the planet including The New York Times, Australian Geographic Magazine, The Times UK, CNN World, News Ltd, Fairfax, Australian Associated Press and Associated Press.

Brian has zigzagged around the planet taking photographs for myriad publications - and has shared the stories around his long adopted home of Cairns.
His exhibition contains pictures taken in Cairns and the tropical north, as well as worldwide; many have achieved acclaim in Australia and internationally including numerous Walkley Awards.

There are also two large TV screens continuously showing five of Brian’s video features including the multi-award winning “Eyes – the Soul of a Photograph”.

This will be Brian’s second exhibition at Tank 4 following the “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman” in 2014, and can be seen at Tanks until January 30, 2018.

The work was originally collated as a ‘featured exhibition’ in the 2017 Head On Photo Festival earlier this year and was hosted by the Moran Foundation at the heritage listed Juniper Hall in Paddington, Sydney. The exhibition was selected by eminent photography journalist Alison Stieven-Taylor as one of the top five exhibitions in the festival (from a total of 147).

See more of Brian's work here.