Final Year Advanced Diploma of Photography student Nish Paranavitana had a chance to kick some of his own goals recently. Nish is majoring in commercial photography, with a keen interest in sports photography. Recently he met up with renowned sports photojournalist and PSC Tutor, David Callow. Here Nish shares his photographic journey and the value of a mentor relationship.

 Photo of Nish by David Callow

What got you started in photography?

I loved sport as a kid and was always flicking through sports magazines, mainly to look at the photographs, rather than reading the articles. I’d always thought how cool it would be to be a sports photographer and to capture great sporting moments. I was lucky enough that my Dad bought me an SLR when I was 15, but then when I finished school and wanted to do a photography course, he said it wasn’t the kind of career that I should be aiming for. At that stage I didn’t have the courage to chase my dream and so I took another road. There is a long story that follows from here but it took me another 27 years before I finally enrolled myself into a course and followed my passion for photography.

Congratulations Agata Mayes!

Last night the prestigious Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) Victorian Professional Photography Awards sponsored by Epson, was held at Eleven40 Studio and Gallery in Melbourne.

Over 900 entries were received in 16 categories with the standards exceptionally high this year and the awards fiercely coveted. In presenting the awards last night, the Victorian President of the AIPP, Vanessa Macauley, herself a graduate of PSC, said how encouraged the Institute was to see that almost half of the entrants were students.

Agata Mayes, a final year Advanced Diploma student swept up the AIPP 2018 Emerging Photographer of the Year category with a series of emotive and surreal images. Agata’s photography explores the fragility of the human condition with sensitivity and she draws inspiration from classical painting and music to create her mystical and inspiring images.