Shine Magazine, Issue 3, April 2010 - Department of Education and ...

Where ARe they now?
Susannah
Wimberley
••
Photographer
frankston High School 1998–2003
PhotogrAPhing U2 frontman Bono and working on Baz
Luhrmann’s Australia are now all in a day’s work for ex-Frankston
High School student Susannah Wimberley.
Then ••
The 24-year-old photographer, whose work will be shown alongside
Victoria’s most promising young designers, artists and performers
during the Vce Season of Excellence Top Designs tenth birthday
celebrations at Melbourne Museum, has been making a name for
herself since leaving high school and completing a photography
degree at RMIT. In demand, Ms Wimberley currently divides her
time between Sydney and Melbourne – on the opening night of Top
Designs she will be on a plane to Scotland for a photo shoot.
“At school I dreamed of being a photographer, but I did not expect
this. I still don’t expect it to happen,” says a bemused Ms Wimberley,
who credits her high school media teacher Anne Griffin for kickstarting
her rising career.
“Before taking Anne’s Year 9 media class I had not really touched
a camera. I was interested in the darkroom and the technical side,
such as the shutter speed and motion blur and I had more of a
passion for architecture than for fashion and portraits, but Anne
encouraged me to look at a whole range of photography. She
understood my needs and gave me the right material to inspire me.
“She was really interested and passionate in everything that she did
and that really rubbed off on us. She had directed a video clip and
she showed us the work. She got excited about it, so we got excited.
She made you believe that if you were passionate enough and
worked hard enough, then your dream could be a reality.”
Since leaving school and completing a photography degree at RMIT,
Ms Wimberley has worked as a stills photographer on a number of
small films and music video clips, as well as on blockbuster movies
Australia and Wolverine. She has also taken a series of dynamic
portraits of U2 frontman Bono – a job that came completely out of
the blue but which has put her on a stellar path to success.
“The U2 job was incredible,” she says. “I was only one week out of
university and assisting in retouch photography when I got a call
from some people I was running time lapses for and the next thing
I knew I was in the studio shooting Bono. It was amazingly good
timing and from that I met some great people who recommended
me to go on and do Australia and Wolverine. I learned so much
about lighting and how the directors work with people’s moods and
the landscape, and that experience has really helped me with my
portraits. It’s funny because architecture was my initial passion and
Anne encouraged me to explore beyond that, and I discovered that
portraits are fascinating and fantastic. I find people engaging and I
really like showing their quirks,” she says.
Susannah Wimberley (pictured here in her final year of study at
Frankson High School) credits her Year 9 media teacher Anne Griffin
for kick-starting her now thriving career in photography.
Now ••
“The U2
job was
incredible.
I was only
one week
out of uni,
and the
next thing
I knew
I was in
the studio
shooting
Bono.”
If you know of a past student who has achieved success, email us at editor@edumail.vic.gov.au
Story by Tina Luton
Shine APRIL 2010 29