Renowned Australian photojournalist Russell McPhedran has released his latest book Stop the Presses! Russell McPhedran’s Golden Years of Press Photography, showcasing his life’s memorable collection of iconic pictures from his illustrious and remarkable career.
McPhedran was an icon of world photojournalism who used his camera to capture the right shots at the right time and left us with many important news photographs of the 20th century including the Buckingham’s fire picture in Sydney 1968, and has since passed away on 7 May 2018, a month past his 82nd birthday.
McPhedran created Stop the Presses! in October 2007, shortly after learning he was to be inducted into the Media Hall of Fame. He had been suffering from a deteriorating heart condition for nearly two years and he recorded most of the words while in Royal North Shore Hospital. As time passed, he was bedridden but continued sorting pictures and checking proofs. McPhedran was still checking proofs a few days before his death. Despite the torture from the illness, McPhedran worked till his last moment of life to finish his last great project. This book stands as a testament to a remarkable life’s work, as a memorial to a life of achievement, and in memory of this good man.
With essential background information from respected journalist Norman Tasker, Stop the Presses! represents the time when press photography was an essential part of news gathering, featuring the Munich Massacre; the opening of the Sydney Opera House; numerous royal tours and the lives of the rich and famous; as well as the big news events and sporting.
Readers also enjoyed this story about Onespace’s latest exhibition openings.
