This week, we take you behind the scenes with another member of The Courier news crew.
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Our photographers, Lachlan Bence, Kate Healy and Adam Trafford, have a combined 70 years of experience between them, each with unique passions and who bring something different to their craft.
Not only do they capture the best in regional photojournalism, but their visual eye now lends to video as our newsrooms shift to different ways to tell the story across platforms.
This week, we go behind the scenes with Kate Healy, who has been a news photographer across western Victoria for about 17 years.
When did you start working at The Courier?
I started at The Courier on October 3 2011 after transferring within the company from The Wimmera Mail-Times. Before that I spent four years at WMT where I covered drought, fires (Black Saturday), landslides in the Grampians, plagues of locusts and mice, famous singers including Kasey Chambers, Rogue Traders, Lee Kernaghan, and so many amazing people and events across the Wimmera with a lot of kilometres driven in between.
Can you share your earliest memories on the job in Ballarat?
My first day started with being eased into things with feature portraits, only to be sent on an unexpected assignment to a tragic train accident in Wallace.
This was only the beginning of a busy first week, with premiers, regional newspaper editors from across Victoria, opposition leaders and the first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
What has been your most memorable photo?
Michelle Payne and her brother Stevie at the Sportsperson of the Year Award after having been the first female to win the Melbourne cup in 2015.
I took Michelle away to a quiet space during the awards to get a nice portrait different from everyone else. Her brother followed and in that moment I saw how proud he was of his sister and knew that the emotion was needed for the image. I asked him to congratulate her and he was very willing to do just that. The emotion made the moment.
Another one is when heading to cover the hockey late one night in July in the middle of winter, I was driving past the lake and noticed how still it was, I had never seen it so still that everything was reflecting in the water. I decided right then and there that after the hockey was done I would be grabbing the tripod and taking some time to capture the stillness. It was so cold my hands were frozen but I didn't care, I stayed there in the quiet with just the sound of the shutter of the camera. The images I got that night are some of my favourites.
How has the role of a news photographer changed?
What hasn't changed is more like it. This business is ever-changing, from the technology, equipment, software, and the daily changes of the world that is online. I had to change from film and scanning negatives all the way to now video and mirrorless cameras, as well as uploading and sending photos back on location so they can go up online instantly.
We used to take lots of real estate, cars and advertising images but now a lot of those businesses hire their own photographers or have access to their own images. Everyone has a camera in their pocket now so we have to look for the special photo that no one else has.
What's the most challenging thing you've experienced in your career?
Like most people in the industry, I have struggled with the emergency events and funerals. Those times when people in our community are going through one of the hardest times in their lives, I have to do them justice by doing my job but also respect what they are going through in that moment too.
Several times I have had to get over fears to get a photo, be it heights, working through motion sickness while in a plane, or a journo coaxing me to get closer and closer to a tiger snake.
What's a piece of advice you were always told?
Never assume anything - ask and double check.
What have you learned about news photography?
To just take every assignment one at a time and go in with fresh eyes and mind. Something that could seem so simple could end up being the biggest story with an incredible image but then something that was meant to be the biggest story of the year could be so small. It's best to just go with the flow and take it as it comes.
Where do you get your ideas from?
I like to look and listen, keeping an open mind.
For events, sports, emergencies or the unexpected, I just always have my eyes and ears open and in some cases, smell and feel, looking for those important or special moments that truly make an image.
For set up assignments - listen to the interview with the journalist picking out any words that might have meaning. Explore my surroundings as I'm arriving at a job and during the interview, looking for that special location that grabs my attention.
What's something about Ballarat that people may not know?
There are so many hidden gems in Ballarat that the general public doesn't always get to see. They range from the hidden spaces under our streets that most people work over, the incredible views that people rarely get to see, to the homes and personal stories that people in our community open up and share with us.
I'm truly in awe and humbled by every single one of these gems and am grateful for every time I get to experience them.
How to follow Kate's photography:
Instagram: @katevrh
