Robin Sellick
Encyclopedia
Robin Sellick is an Australian
portrait photographer
. Sellick first rose to prominence in the 1990s when his work started appearing in magazines such as Vogue
and Marie Claire
.
; the son of housewife Dora and miner Ian.
In 1988, at the age of 21, Sellick began working for the wedding portrait studio Gainsborough in Adelaide
. There, he accidentally developed slide film in cross processing colour chemicals, and was pleasantly surprised with the result. Exploring the method won him an SA Professional Photography Award from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography.
Sellick spent three months travelling the US in 1991 to survey the country's wedding portrait scene. He came away feeling that Australia was lagging ten years behind them. Sellick attended a lecture given by Annie Leibovitz
and decided she was doing portrait photography on a level not found in his home country.
working as an assistant to photographers such as Liebovitz, Mark Seliger
and Mary Ellen Mark
.
In 1994 Sellick returned to Australia and was eagerly embraced by the magazine industry. His portraits appeared regularly in major publications including Australian Vogue
, Marie Claire
, Who Weekly and Australian Style. Sellick developed a new visual style for Who Weekly as it transformed into a glossy, full-colour magazine.
Sellick was the first photographer to be commissioned to shoot in Australia for Marie Claire. His work has been published internationally, appearing on the cover of magazines such as Q
, NME
and German Rolling Stone
.
His book, Facing, was published in Australia in 2004 and launched at the National Portrait Gallery
in Canberra
.
101st International Exhibition of Professional Photography perfect score - 1992. Sellick's was the first perfect score in four years, and he was the first Australian to achieve this result.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
portrait photographer
Portrait photography
Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people , in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject...
. Sellick first rose to prominence in the 1990s when his work started appearing in magazines such as Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
.
Early life
Sellick was born in Broken Hill in outback NSW, AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
; the son of housewife Dora and miner Ian.
In 1988, at the age of 21, Sellick began working for the wedding portrait studio Gainsborough in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. There, he accidentally developed slide film in cross processing colour chemicals, and was pleasantly surprised with the result. Exploring the method won him an SA Professional Photography Award from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography.
Sellick spent three months travelling the US in 1991 to survey the country's wedding portrait scene. He came away feeling that Australia was lagging ten years behind them. Sellick attended a lecture given by Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
and decided she was doing portrait photography on a level not found in his home country.
Career
At the end of 1992 Sellick returned to America for a job interview at Liebovitz's studio. He ultimately spent two years in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
working as an assistant to photographers such as Liebovitz, Mark Seliger
Mark Seliger
Mark Seliger is an American photographer noted for his portraiture.Seliger was born in Amarillo, Texas and attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and Texas A&M University–Commerce. Seliger served as the chief photographer for Rolling Stone from 1992 to 2002 and...
and Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark is an American photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F...
.
In 1994 Sellick returned to Australia and was eagerly embraced by the magazine industry. His portraits appeared regularly in major publications including Australian Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, Who Weekly and Australian Style. Sellick developed a new visual style for Who Weekly as it transformed into a glossy, full-colour magazine.
Sellick was the first photographer to be commissioned to shoot in Australia for Marie Claire. His work has been published internationally, appearing on the cover of magazines such as Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and German Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
His book, Facing, was published in Australia in 2004 and launched at the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
The National Portrait Gallery of Australia is a collection of portraits of prominent Australians that are important in their field of endeavour or whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
Awards
Australian Institute of Professional Photography's Don Taylor Award and Townsend Award - 1990 and 1991. Sellick was the first to win both awards at the same time.101st International Exhibition of Professional Photography perfect score - 1992. Sellick's was the first perfect score in four years, and he was the first Australian to achieve this result.
External links
- http://www.robinsellick.com.au/
- http://www.epson.com.au/downloads/pdf/robinsellick.pdf
- Australian Institute of Professional Photography