Tag Archives: Convention Centre Melbourne

Put Your Hands Up If You Love Gala Events and Conferences!!!!

I think it goes without saying that my team and I love Gala dinners. 🙂

Once again we had the opportunity to photograph the state iAwards Gala dinners and had the pleasure to photograph the national iAwards and Gala Dinner for AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association) at the MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center) which included the conference during the day dedicated towards innovation.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – One of the great parts about my job is I get to follow leaders in lots of industries and on the odd occasions I get photos with them.

 

2015 was a great event and this year did not disappoint, if I was being honest I think this year was better. 🙂

I don’t know about you but where else do you find the industry leaders in the ICT take time out of their busy days to talk about innovation?    I must add I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the major supporter again for this year was the Victoria government.  Too bad the rest of the country doesn’t follow their lead and start coming up with real plans on expanding our ICT capability through innovation.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – The other two members of our team taking peoples photos before the Gala Dinner.

 

My teams day started at 8am when we started packing our gear and heading over to the MCEC from our hotel room which I must admit wasn’t that far as we stayed at the Hilton which is effectively the same building as the MCEC so it was a short elevator lift down to level one. 🙂

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

This year we decided to do things a little different and instead of processing the images after the event one of the team would post process them on site and have them ready for the iAwards organizers to use for social media, while myself and my other photographer covered the different area of the event.   In general it seemed to work well with images come from the photographers and moving through post with not many issues which was nice.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – Me photographing the handing our of the the awards

 

As the day moved through the conference, VIP lunches and into the Gala dinner my team sat back for a bit to take stock of the day so far and I think it is fair to say that not only were we having a blast but the information that was shared with the people that attended the day was outstanding.  I think we all had a new appreciation for innovation and some of the amazing things that are happening in the ICT industry across the nation. very very cool.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – Do you think they have enough screens?

 

The break in the event also meant that it was time to setup the portable studio against the media wall before all the crowds flocked in as we were setting up in the reception and pre-gala drinks area which is nice as we attract a heap of people to get their photos take. 🙂

Last year we had David Huey “Hueys” as the MC, this year we had the please of photographing Shane Jacobson www.shanejacobson.com.au (aka Kenny – The Dunny man) and without sounding a bit biased I can say he is really a great bloke.   Not only did I get to photograph him on stage but I followed him around chatting and watching him interact with the people that attended the Gala dinner.  He was more than willing an open to make everyone feel at home and was super dooper accommodating to my photographic needs.  One of which is a selfie with me. 😉

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – Get down low and go, go, go

 

The night went off without a hitch…. oh… that was until the got to the pointy end where the person that won the $50,000 prize money had already left for the evening as she had a 6am flight. hahahahahahaha  Someone in the audience had her number so Shane was trying to get her on the phone to let her know….. but no answer.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – The team

 

Talking with Shane after we were both bummed that the winner didn’t answer as that would of a hoot to get her on the phone and add to was already was a very entertaining night.  Oh well.  They did get in touch with her and she did come back for her official photos.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

Well we knocked off a bit after midnight, went back to the hotel room to process the media photos for the 6am deadline which only took me until 4am as the post processing during the day saved many hours.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – Having a bit of fun with Shane Jacobson while a video was running in the background.

 

At the end of what was a 20 hour day it was time to hit the sack and wake up early to pack up and head home.   My other photographer go a flight out at 6am so I said good bye to him at 3am so he could get to the airport. 🙂

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – Packed house and WOW what a room and setup.

 

Lets bring on the after party… hahahaha

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016

 

I have to admit the lighting and the volume that these lights have was fantastic.  The give sooooo much feel to the room and for a room this size it was a mighty feat to get them to be so effective without fogging out the entire room.

 

National iAwards 2016
National iAwards 2016 – After party band

At the end off all that it was time to have a nap and that my friends is the day in the life of a corporate conference and gala event photographer. 🙂

The Calm Before The Storm

Tonight my team and I sit looking  over the heart of Melbourne and admire the view from our room while we chat about what tomorrow will bring and our plan of attack.

For tomorrow we are going to photograph the national iAwards convention and the following Gala event at the Convention Center in Melbourne where they will hand out the national ICT awards to the Australian finalists .

The day for us will start at 8am when we get on location to start setup for the day where we will erect our portable studio to get media shots throughout the day of the convention. We have a full day ahead as we capture the convention and the different rooms and sponsors along with the VIP areas and networking that is the life blood of such an event.  The day will finish with us capturing the Gala event where they will hand out the iAwards for this year and close at midnight.  We should get back to the hotel room at around 1am where I will have to process the media shots of the day so they are ready for media release by 6am.  🙂

So to say that tomorrow is going to be a big day is kind of an understatement but boy it will be a fantastic and we are all itiching to get into it…. but for now we look out the window and enjoy the quiet before the storm. 🙂

Melbourne iAwards Convention and Gala Event
Melbourne iAwards Convention and Gala Event

Davo!!!

Boy what a week.  Two major events completed in two different states, it took three of my photographers including myself and our assistant but WOW what a awesome week…… It was sooooo worth starting at 8 am and finishing way after midnight for almost the entire week.

Met a lot of really interesting people over the last week with one of them being Dave (Hughesy) Hughes as he was the MC at the iAwards and what a great entertainer he is. The crowd just loved him to bits and he kept the action going to schedule.

Mate!!!!!!! Just hanging with David (Hughesy) Hughes at the iAwards
Mate!!!!!!! Just hanging with Dave (Hughesy) Hughes at the iAwards

I just love event photography as I always get to meet a whole heap of new people but at the iAwards I had the opportunity to also get to meet a heap of CIO’s and managing directors for companies like Microsoft, Intel, Optus, Telstra and Deloitte, along with a heap of small business owners.

With around 6000+ photos to work through from the event which should keep me out of trouble for a little bit – be it a day or so.

If you are looking for an event photographer for a major event drop us a line as we have the team that will ensure you get the shots even under the most difficult situations. It doesn’t matter to us where your event is as we do travel or how large or small it is as my team will size up or down as you need. 🙂

Hey Looked What I Packed!!!

Check out this video that shows some the stuff I am packing for my next little adventure covering the National iAwards conference and gala awards night at the Melbourne Convention Center.

My team comprises of two photographers and an assistant at the iAwards conference and another photographer in my team covering TheMHS conference and awards to be held here in Canberra, so it promises to be a busy week here at Brendan Maunder Photography.

Now I better run as I still have to pack the car and with a 7 hour drive in front of me I think I need a coffee.  🙂

Packing the car to cover an event in Melbourne.

If you a have large event that needs to be covered by a team of experts in the field, drop me a message as I am sure we can help and we do travel. 🙂

iAwards Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony – Official National Photographer

First I photographed the State iAwards gala dinner and award ceremony here at the National Art Gallery of Australia which I must say was a fantastic evening and I think I might blog about it when I did it.

The AIIA (Australian information industry Association) who hosted this evening was so happy with my work they are requested that I fly down to Melbourne and cover the national iAwards gala dinner and award ceremony at the Convention Centre. This my friend is going to be a massive evening as it is more than just a gala evening. It is a three-day event that includes judging, exhibitions, a conference and of course the gala dinner with subsequent award ceremony.

They will have speakers giving presentations throughout the Convention Centre to which we have to capture all of them along with being an opportunity for the AIIA board of directors to get together, so we’re going to use that opportunity to capture their portraits photos for their annual reports and publications. 🙂

All the images of the speakers and people getting the awards are being filtered out to the various media outlets as fast as we can after the images are taken with one of the key problems we faced in our planning was being out to tag and name everyone in the images, along with descriptions of what is happening in the photo they these images are in line with photojournalistic rules, all without missing any action on the media walls and the VIP areas.

With maybe about 1000 people attending the gala event itself and having to cover the entertainment along with the various areas throughout the centre it became fairly apparent that this was not a one-man job, so I enlisted various photographers including myself and an assistant to fly, drive, swim down there so make this a truly great success…. ok ok ok maybe no one will be swimming down there but you get the point.. lol

The gala event going till around 11 PM and that day starting around 8 AM is going to make for a very long day, and then you add around four hours of postprocessing straight after the event so we can get the images out to the media outlets so they have time to put them to press its going to be a very very very long day.

I must say having said that I’m so looking forward to it!!

There something about events that I just love, I’m not sure whether it is the excitement and the buzz in the air that goes with them or the pressure to ensure that you get the shot matter the lighting conditions and no matter the location. It’s just a buzz!!

If you know of anyone that is going to the iAwards or if you yourself are please say hello and we will make sure we get some special photos of you. 🙂

National iAwards to be held in the Convention Centre in Melbourne