A year in photos with Fairfax photographer Eddie Jim
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Hannah Craft
In a year in review, Fairfax Media photographer Eddie Jim shares his three favourite photographs of 2016. Jim laments that he has never captured the perfect image; however satisfied he might be initially, once he's in the editing suite he perceives a thousand changes he might have made. He believes the key to a striking shot is painstaking attention to lighting, which can make or break a photograph.
Molly Meldrum
![Molly Meldrum at the announcement of The Australian Music Vault, a new exhibition space dedicated to sharing the story of Australian contemporary music at The Arts Centre. <cite>Photo: Eddie Jim</cite>](http://web.archive.org./web/20170105064925im_/http://cliquephotos.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2_gt9wzw.jpg)
Jim saw Australian music legend Molly Meldrum when Meldrum spoke at the launch of The Arts Centre in Melbourne. Jim observed Meldrum as he sat silently on the stage, watching intently as Michael Gudinski delivered his address. Jim saw the opportunity to capture Meldrum's candid meditation and took it. "It was just pure luck," he says.
"The room was really dark, full of LED lighting... I didn't want to use the flash because it would have killed the atmosphere. The shadow from Michael Gudinski fell on his face, and I saw the opportunity for getting the perfect shot. He was fully focused, listening to Michael's speech. If I had to set up a shot like that... it's not as natural."
![A set up photo of a young couple, Giacomo Bell and Ellen Weigall, at the Yarra for a New Year's Eve story. <cite>Photo: Eddie Jim</cite>](http://web.archive.org./web/20170105064925im_/http://cliquephotos.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2_gtiil3.jpg)
New Year's Eve
Photographers face a certain challenge on New Year's Eve. The 7 or 8pm deadline for the morning print edition falls well before the evening is dark enough to capture fireworks to great effect. Jim staged this photograph for the January 1, 2016, edition of The Age using steel wool. "I set up a tripod on my camera with a remote control, so I stood behind the couple, behind the umbrella with the steel wool, swinging it around," he says.
"The exposure was, I think around 20 and 30 seconds... if you do nighttime photography you need to expose the images for much longer. For that particular image I didn't need to expose it for too long because the city's skyline was so bright."
Precy and her surgery
![Precy, a four-year-old girl from the Phillipines. She had an encephalocele, a protrusion where cranial contents gather when bones in the skull haven't formed. <cite>Photo: Eddie Jim</cite>](http://web.archive.org./web/20170105064925im_/http://cliquephotos.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2_gsnyiq.jpg)
Precy, also known as Angel, was a four-year-old girl from the Philippines flown to Australia by the Children First Foundation for a life-changing surgery. Jim photographed her on four occasions, chronicling her journey before and after her surgery. "She was so cute, she was so active," he recalls. "She just liked to play with other children at the farm, she liked to play piano and keyboard."
Jim took many photos of Precy, but he is drawn to the peculiar innocence of this image, conveyed in her childlike posture despite her confronting medical condition. "That moment she rubbed her eyes, she wasn't crying... I thought it was quite cute.
![Precy's bright smile after her successful surgery. <cite>Photo: Eddie Jim</cite>](http://web.archive.org./web/20170105064925im_/http://cliquephotos.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2_gsnyid.jpg)
"I've got so many photos of her, but I just liked this particular picture... it's just so real, you know? Just like a young kid."