Author Description

The Shadowcatchers, a comprehesive history of Australian cinematography, presents over 380 photographs of working cinematographers from 1901 to the present, with a ground-breaking, highly readable historical text, biographies of significant cinematographers, and personal anecdotes from some of the great characters of the Australian film industry. The book¿s images display the artistry of leading Australian and international stills photographers. The result is an insider¿s view of what happens behind the camera: the highs and the lows, the changing culture and technology, the dangers, the commitment and hard work, the relationships with directors, cast and crew, the incredible places cinematographers travel to and what it takes to get the shot. Biographies cover early battlers like the Burnes of Queensland, Academy Award winners such as Dean Semler, Russell Boyd and John Seale, war correspondents Damien Parer and Neil Davis, and famed Movietone newsreel cameraman, Bill Trerise. While the book is quintessentially Australian, British and American cinematographers also play their part, and anyone who loves film and is interested in the nature of its production will discover elements in this book that are both surprising and familiar. Author Martha Ansara is a film scholar and former cinematographer.