WEBVTT - Ryan Pierse - Ordineroli Speaking 

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<v Speaker 1>Ordinarily speaking, as a sports photographer, you never expect to

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<v Speaker 1>have to cover a tragedy, let alone one involving your mate.

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<v Speaker 2>Time, Hello and welcome to ordinarily speaking, today's guest is

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<v Speaker 2>a little different. Ryan Pierce is a chief photographer at

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<v Speaker 2>Getty Images, one of Australia's leading sports photographers. For years now,

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<v Speaker 2>he has followed the Australian men's cricket team and is

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<v Speaker 2>the man behind the lens of some iconic images. The

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<v Speaker 2>ones most precious to him the pictures he took of

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<v Speaker 2>Philip hughes Hughsey was one of those people that greeted

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<v Speaker 2>everyone with a smile, no matter which side of the

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<v Speaker 2>fence you were on. He was cheeky and he was

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<v Speaker 2>one hell of a cricketer. A photographer's dream. November twenty five,

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<v Speaker 2>twenty fourteen, is a day that none of us will

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<v Speaker 2>ever forget, a day where cricket changed forever. Ryan was

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<v Speaker 2>there that day photographing his mate. In this chat, Ryan

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<v Speaker 2>shares the stories behind his favorite images of Hughesy. He

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<v Speaker 2>has put together a gallery on Instagram to accompany this episode,

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<v Speaker 2>so if you'd like to see those photos, head to

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<v Speaker 2>Instagram and follow at Ryan Pearce or at Ordinarily speaking

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<v Speaker 2>throughout this chat, our thoughts always remained with the family, friends,

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<v Speaker 2>and teammates of Philip Hughes. He was someone special. Well, Ryan,

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<v Speaker 2>thanks very much for spending some time with me. You're

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<v Speaker 2>a bit of a different guest to what I'm used

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<v Speaker 2>to on this podcast. Tell me a little bit about

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<v Speaker 2>your background.

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<v Speaker 1>So having me Nez. Yes, I'm a sports photographer. I've

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<v Speaker 1>been working for Getty Images for sixteen years shooting a

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<v Speaker 1>variety of sports in Australian around the world. But the

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<v Speaker 1>last six or seven years I've fallen into shooting one

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<v Speaker 1>of my great love's cricket so and it's taken me

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<v Speaker 1>around the world and to some incredible places and met

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<v Speaker 1>so many amazing people and got to work with some

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<v Speaker 1>great cricketers and got to know their families. It's been

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<v Speaker 1>an amazing a few years.

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<v Speaker 2>Why do you love cricket?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I grew up playing cricket and I think there's

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<v Speaker 1>no doubt that most Australian kids want to wear the

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<v Speaker 1>baggy green and Captain Australia. And as a kid I

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<v Speaker 1>was Alan Border had all the.

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<v Speaker 2>Kid because you're Captain Grumpy.

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<v Speaker 1>I only before my coffee in the morning. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>looked the part. I just couldn't play very well and

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<v Speaker 1>I still hold my high school record for a number

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<v Speaker 1>of ducks in a row.

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<v Speaker 2>So you're a bit like me. You love sport, weren't

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<v Speaker 2>very good at it, so you decided to watch it.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely But I looked the part. I had all the

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<v Speaker 1>best kid but no idea how to play.

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<v Speaker 2>So you are one of the leading sports photographies in

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<v Speaker 2>the world. I can say that you maybe don't feel

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable saying that, but as you mentioned, you get invited

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<v Speaker 2>into those really intimate moments that no one else really

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<v Speaker 2>is outside of the team. So if you take the

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<v Speaker 2>Australian cricket team for example, you're there for those moments

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<v Speaker 2>of celebration, giving the insight to the public of what

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<v Speaker 2>they'll never experience and what a journalist like me really

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't get the opportunity to experience. So you're there in

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<v Speaker 2>pretty intimate times with these guys.

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<v Speaker 1>It took a long time to get to a point

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<v Speaker 1>where I guess you trusted and accepted, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>that's the key in our jobs, and for me, it's

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<v Speaker 1>just about just being a normal person to them. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>of course you look up to them as their performances

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<v Speaker 1>on the field, but as soon as they step off

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<v Speaker 1>that pitch there, for me, they're just like normal people.

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<v Speaker 1>And that I can definitely say that of the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>cricket team. I think they're generally just normal guys who

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<v Speaker 1>happened to be really good at cricket. That's what I

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<v Speaker 1>explained to everyone when they asked me what are they like?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, So tell me about the day that you

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<v Speaker 2>met Phil Hughes.

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<v Speaker 1>I was living in the UK at the time, working

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<v Speaker 1>for Getty over there. I was sent out to cover

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<v Speaker 1>a Middlesex County cricket match in the outskirts of London.

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<v Speaker 1>It was only a couple of months after he made

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<v Speaker 1>his debut in South Africa and burst onto the scene

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<v Speaker 1>captured everyone's attention, and so I'd only seen him on

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<v Speaker 1>Telly read about him in the paper. I just wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to get a great shot of Phil Hughes, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>being a big cricket fan, I just know I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to spend the day. I'm just going to sit on

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<v Speaker 1>him as long as I can and get something good

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<v Speaker 1>of him. I've turned up to the ground pretty early,

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<v Speaker 1>you know. I set up as a beautiful ground, white

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<v Speaker 1>pick at fence, lots of trees, just a classic English ground.

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<v Speaker 1>Just after the toss, I think Middlesex won the toss

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<v Speaker 1>and battered and I've moved around towards the change rooms,

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<v Speaker 1>which I say change rooms was actually a tent under

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<v Speaker 1>a tree. I poked my head around the corner and

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<v Speaker 1>there's this little fellow sort of side on. I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>see who it was, reading the paper, just sitting there.

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<v Speaker 1>Heads turned around and I just said this, get a bruzzi.

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<v Speaker 1>Here you gone, as if I'd known him from Millionaires.

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<v Speaker 1>And it was Phil and he was sitting there with

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<v Speaker 1>his pat it up, ready to go out, reading the paper.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'll never forget that moment. I said, get a mate,

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<v Speaker 1>and he said you're an Aussie. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>work for Getty over here for a while, but I'm

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<v Speaker 1>moving back next year, so hopefully I'll be shooting more

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<v Speaker 1>of you when you're in the test team. That was

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<v Speaker 1>the first time I met him, and he walked out

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<v Speaker 1>that date about I'm pretty sure he got one hundred.

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<v Speaker 1>I saw creatures played that day. I've never seen before

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<v Speaker 1>him down on one knee, so unorthodox, so amazing to

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<v Speaker 1>watch and even better the photograph. I think cricket's such

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<v Speaker 1>a game of patience for the photographers and he can

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<v Speaker 1>get really bogged down sometimes waiting for something good to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>But when you get a guy like hughsy Eddie's just

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<v Speaker 1>you can't look away for a second. It was even

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<v Speaker 1>in a county match. So yeah, that moment will stick

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<v Speaker 1>with me forever.

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<v Speaker 2>So you've brought in a lot of your photos today

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<v Speaker 2>because you've shot him a lot of times over the

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<v Speaker 2>years and you got to know him pretty well.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that fair to say? Yeah? I think when my

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<v Speaker 1>first Test tour was twenty thirteen, so probably a year

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<v Speaker 1>after I met him for the first time, and that

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<v Speaker 1>was the Ashes in England twenty thirteen and I walked

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<v Speaker 1>into the team. It was a new role for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know anyone. I knew the media manager that

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<v Speaker 1>was it. Two guys during that period really took me

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<v Speaker 1>under their wing and made me feel really welcome and

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<v Speaker 1>took me out for a beer, maybe one too many beers,

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<v Speaker 1>and one of them was Phil that was David Warner.

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<v Speaker 1>Dave was going through his own struggles during that tour

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<v Speaker 1>off the field, but he finally got back in the

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<v Speaker 1>team where Phil started in the team and then ended

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<v Speaker 1>up out of the team halfway through the tour, so

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<v Speaker 1>there was I think Daveon said to me that it

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<v Speaker 1>was good at the time to get away from cricket

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<v Speaker 1>and hang out with someone just away from the team

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<v Speaker 1>just for a night and someone else's opinion on things,

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<v Speaker 1>and I felt the same, although I don't think you

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<v Speaker 1>ever said it. I think Phil felt like he could

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<v Speaker 1>talk to me and I wouldn't talk about cricket to him.

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<v Speaker 1>It would just be just generally, you know. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I definitely viewed him as a mate and someone that

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<v Speaker 1>always put a smile on your face generally because he

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<v Speaker 1>had a smile on he's one hundred percent of the time,

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<v Speaker 1>even when things were going bad for him.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think what a lot of people listening won't

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<v Speaker 2>understand is that when you're on tour as media, often

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<v Speaker 2>the person that's out of the team in the twelfth

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<v Speaker 2>man is the person that you spent the most time

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<v Speaker 2>with because whilst the team is off being professional and playing,

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<v Speaker 2>often they're socializing a little more. So you often get

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<v Speaker 2>to know that twelfth man better than anyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Very well. Yes, I think if you'd if you ask

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<v Speaker 1>me now to roll off the people I was closest

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<v Speaker 1>to in the Australian cricket team, most of them have

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<v Speaker 1>spent quite a bit of time mixing the gatorade.

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<v Speaker 2>Good at mixing drinks. The reason why you're doing this podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a hard one for you, and I know you

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<v Speaker 2>are very clear about the fact that there's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people that were closer to him than you. But

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<v Speaker 2>at the end of the day, the truth is you

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<v Speaker 2>also lived through what happened to feel Hughes, and you

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<v Speaker 2>live with it. Is that fair?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh? Absolutely? I live with it every day. There's every

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<v Speaker 1>time I think about cricket, you think about that day,

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<v Speaker 1>anything about him, anything about how he made you feel,

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<v Speaker 1>You think about how he made others feel. And absolutely,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm nowhere near the closest person in this tragedy. But

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<v Speaker 1>I was there that day and I've obviously continue to

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<v Speaker 1>be involved with the team after that. And yeah, I've

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<v Speaker 1>never really spoken about I never felt comfortable to speak

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<v Speaker 1>about it, and even when family and friends bring it

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<v Speaker 1>up and ask me about it, I tend to remove

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<v Speaker 1>myself of conversation or the room pretty quickly because I

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<v Speaker 1>just really struggle to talk about it. I think just

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<v Speaker 1>recently hearing some other people talk about things they've gone through,

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<v Speaker 1>and yeah, I just feel like I'm ready to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about my feelings during that time and how I still

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<v Speaker 1>feel about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Tell me about that day. Why were you the SCG?

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, So, Sheffield Chield was pretty pretty rare for me

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<v Speaker 1>to cover Sheffield Chield matches because most of them are

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<v Speaker 1>clashing with Test matches or other tours. So it was

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<v Speaker 1>an unusually Sheffield child day because both teams were packed

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<v Speaker 1>full of players that are even in the team or

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<v Speaker 1>about to be picked in the Test team. And I

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<v Speaker 1>feel went well this day, which he did. No doubt

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<v Speaker 1>he would have been picked in the team for the

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<v Speaker 1>first Test that was going to be at the Gabba

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of weeks later, so or the week after.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a very relaxed day of It was one

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<v Speaker 1>of those days where you turn up to work and

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<v Speaker 1>it was a blue sky, nice breeze. SCG is the

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<v Speaker 1>best place to work in the world, hands down. I

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<v Speaker 1>remember walking out with Brad Hadden to the middle he

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<v Speaker 1>was capped and then he put his new South Wales

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<v Speaker 1>caps and check it on that he hadn't worn for

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<v Speaker 1>a while and on the way out to the toss,

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<v Speaker 1>Hughsley was hitting balls into a net just to my

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<v Speaker 1>left and he seen me out of the corner of

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<v Speaker 1>my eye and just shout out again, get a Brusie.

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<v Speaker 1>How you going? What are you doing out at Sheffield Chair?

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<v Speaker 1>And I thought you only do test matches and I'm like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I know. I said, I'm just here to shoot you, mate,

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<v Speaker 1>Just here a photograph you. He's like, good, make sure

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<v Speaker 1>it make me look good, make me look good. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't remember who won the toss, but anyway, South

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<v Speaker 1>Australia he came out all guns blazing, playing again shots

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<v Speaker 1>that you just never rarely see, rarely see from most cricketers.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone was just looking at each other sideways going just

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<v Speaker 1>not of approval. I was there that day shooting with

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<v Speaker 1>two other photographers, Phil Hillyard from the Daily Telegraph and

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<v Speaker 1>my colleague Mark Metcalfe. Have We just kept looking at

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<v Speaker 1>each other going yeah, okay, he's in. He's in in

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<v Speaker 1>that form where you're just like, no one's going to

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<v Speaker 1>keep him out of this team. And we got the lunch,

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<v Speaker 1>went up to the press box, grab a quick sandwich

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<v Speaker 1>and that was the buzz. All the journals were like,

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<v Speaker 1>who's he's in? You know, I think the journals are

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<v Speaker 1>probably started writing their copy for that night, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>even though the team wasn't going to be picked till

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<v Speaker 1>a few days later. I left the press box, probably

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<v Speaker 1>earlier than I would for after lunch, because it's pretty

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<v Speaker 1>rushed up there generally, to get back down under the ground,

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<v Speaker 1>because I wanted to do a picture of hugh'sy walking

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<v Speaker 1>out of the change rooms. Obviously, the SCG change rooms

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<v Speaker 1>are the original change room in the members pavilion, and

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<v Speaker 1>for a photographer, it's the best place to shoot a

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<v Speaker 1>player walking out to bat anywhere in the world. So

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, why not do a bit of a feature

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<v Speaker 1>picture for Hughsey that might get used at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've got down there early. He was also finished

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<v Speaker 1>lunch early and ready, and he's just sitting on the

0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.439
<v Speaker 1>massage table near the door, and I've walked up the

0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.880
<v Speaker 1>stairs to the side and up to the railing and yeah,

0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.040
<v Speaker 1>this is probably something I haven't told anyone. Still makes

0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:57.959
<v Speaker 1>me smile thinking about it. He said, Now am I

0:11:58.000 --> 0:11:59.640
<v Speaker 1>looking out there? How am I looking out there? BUSSI?

0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.360
<v Speaker 1>I said, yeah, gone, all right, mate, gone, all right,

0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.640
<v Speaker 1>not bad, not bad? He's got You've got any good shots? Yeah? Yeah, yeah,

0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:07.600
<v Speaker 1>I got a couple. Did you get my good side?

0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:12.559
<v Speaker 1>I said, I'm trying to, mate, I'm trying to you know,

0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:14.280
<v Speaker 1>just keep going the way you're going. I'll get a

0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:16.640
<v Speaker 1>good picture of you. And then he's walked out the bat.

0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:18.440
<v Speaker 1>Probably one of my favorite pictures of all the time,

0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:22.840
<v Speaker 1>probably because of what happened later on that day. Yeah,

0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:24.480
<v Speaker 1>He'm walking out the bat with this really term of

0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:26.640
<v Speaker 1>look on his face, out of the members of pavilion

0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:30.480
<v Speaker 1>and down onto the ground. Yeah. Never forget that moment.

0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:36.200
<v Speaker 2>So it was all buzz really and celebration and typical

0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:42.560
<v Speaker 2>Hughesy making everyone feel welcome and entertaining everyone, and then

0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.480
<v Speaker 2>everything went very bloody wrong.

0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:50.599
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, did it ever? I was when you're on the

0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.320
<v Speaker 1>side of the ground, you're constantly transmitting pictures on your laptop.

0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.800
<v Speaker 1>I didn't actually have the camera up to my face

0:12:56.320 --> 0:13:00.640
<v Speaker 1>for that ball, so I was sending, finishing, sending, probably

0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:02.719
<v Speaker 1>the pictures have been walking out onto the out of

0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.079
<v Speaker 1>the change rooms, and I heard Phil Hilly are just

0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:09.400
<v Speaker 1>sitting right next to me, just let out this sort

0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:13.280
<v Speaker 1>of dull noise or grant, he's just like you know,

0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.440
<v Speaker 1>and I've looked up and I've just got the camera,

0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.599
<v Speaker 1>picked the camera up straight away, and obviously from the

0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.600
<v Speaker 1>time he was hit to the time he ended up

0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.080
<v Speaker 1>on the ground, I was able to pick the camera

0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:33.760
<v Speaker 1>up and photograph what happened next basically, and looking back

0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:39.760
<v Speaker 1>at it now, that seemed like forever that moment, and

0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:41.959
<v Speaker 1>then I think as soon as you ended up on

0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.720
<v Speaker 1>the ground, that's when you knew something wasn't completely right.

0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:53.240
<v Speaker 1>But as a photographer, and I guess a news gatherer,

0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:58.560
<v Speaker 1>you keep shooting. You just kept shooting. But I remember

0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:01.400
<v Speaker 1>saying the while I've still had my head up to

0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:03.520
<v Speaker 1>the face up to the camera, I said, this doesn't

0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:07.640
<v Speaker 1>look good. This is not good. And that's when you

0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.000
<v Speaker 1>you tense up your heart. I just I remember the

0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:14.880
<v Speaker 1>feeling my heart just going million miles an hour, and

0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:20.040
<v Speaker 1>I felt sick instantly, but I just kept shooting, just

0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.680
<v Speaker 1>kept shooting because we had no idea obviously how bad

0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:31.360
<v Speaker 1>it was. Yeah, that was definitely the hardest thing I've

0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.280
<v Speaker 1>ever had to shoot in my career, just that that moment,

0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.360
<v Speaker 1>and then what what I guess what followed was even harder.

0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:41.320
<v Speaker 2>And you're a sports photographer. This is not something that

0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.560
<v Speaker 2>you go into your office and anticipate.

0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:47.200
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I guess you never expect to have to go

0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.920
<v Speaker 1>to work and as a sports photographer and photograph someone

0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.880
<v Speaker 1>in a way any more than a serious injury like

0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:58.480
<v Speaker 1>a knee injury or a broken arm or a broken leg.

0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:02.640
<v Speaker 1>Maybe that's that's as bad as get let alone someone

0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:07.840
<v Speaker 1>you know and who's mate laying there unconscious, not knowing

0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.680
<v Speaker 1>what's next. I don't know what kept me shooting that

0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:14.240
<v Speaker 1>day because I'm not trained to as a news photographer

0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.240
<v Speaker 1>at all. I've always said I don't think I'd ever

0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:18.680
<v Speaker 1>risked my life for my job. But there's plenty of

0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.920
<v Speaker 1>guys brilliant news photographer out there that do daily and

0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:26.040
<v Speaker 1>I'm in total all of those guys. But for me,

0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.800
<v Speaker 1>that was a total new experienced situation for me to

0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:31.000
<v Speaker 1>be in.

0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:33.640
<v Speaker 2>There are obviously a lot of details that we're not

0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.920
<v Speaker 2>going to go into because we don't need to what

0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.240
<v Speaker 2>happened next, because there was a moment for you where

0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.880
<v Speaker 2>you and Phil Hilly are decided that's enough, we're not

0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:45.720
<v Speaker 2>shooting anymore.

0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.360
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly, the three of us, Phil, myself and Mark.

0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.600
<v Speaker 1>There was a moment where, just after they put Phil

0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.680
<v Speaker 1>on the medicab and they started to drive him to

0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:01.280
<v Speaker 1>the side of the members stand and the little tunnel there,

0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:03.120
<v Speaker 1>I just heard this voice out of the corner of

0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:09.600
<v Speaker 1>my my ear yelling just stop stop, stop, stop, And

0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:11.320
<v Speaker 1>I didn't realize what it was at the time, but

0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.840
<v Speaker 1>I looked over and it was Brad Hadden running over

0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.840
<v Speaker 1>towards us. I thought he was talking to a medical

0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.760
<v Speaker 1>person or someone else in the stand, but as he

0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.200
<v Speaker 1>got closer, his voice lowered a bit and he's like, guys,

0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:28.800
<v Speaker 1>stop shooting. It's not good. And immediately we didn't just

0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:31.640
<v Speaker 1>stop shooting. We put our cameras on the ground and

0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:36.400
<v Speaker 1>just sat there. And then it seemed like an hour,

0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.160
<v Speaker 1>but it was probably about twenty minutes where we were

0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.960
<v Speaker 1>forced to sit there. There's security there by that time,

0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.160
<v Speaker 1>who just just told us to move there. It was

0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.120
<v Speaker 1>obviously became a pretty restricted zone around that area where

0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:48.400
<v Speaker 1>they brought him to the side of the ground and

0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:50.800
<v Speaker 1>we just sat there and we had to watch the

0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:52.840
<v Speaker 1>next probably twenty minutes unfold.

0:16:54.080 --> 0:17:00.760
<v Speaker 2>How do you cope in that moment, Yeah, because it's.

0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:02.120
<v Speaker 1>Not I did at the time, because I think the

0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.200
<v Speaker 1>adrenaline kicks in and you're just like, Okay, I'm in

0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:07.760
<v Speaker 1>the middle of this and you have to react. The

0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:11.800
<v Speaker 1>first react. First reaction was to take photos. Second reaction

0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.159
<v Speaker 1>was too told to stop when you're told, and we

0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:15.720
<v Speaker 1>did that, but.

0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:20.399
<v Speaker 2>You're it's not for me covering the later days. It

0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:26.119
<v Speaker 2>was having that, you know, the relationship, friendship, colleague, however

0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.600
<v Speaker 2>you want to call it, with Phil. And then there's

0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.240
<v Speaker 2>also the layer on top of that of being mates

0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.479
<v Speaker 2>with a lot of the guys. So you were mates

0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.480
<v Speaker 2>with all of those guys out on the ground who

0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:41.880
<v Speaker 2>are also going through this. That is an incredibly traumatic

0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.160
<v Speaker 2>thing to experience on a workday.

0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:50.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, in my way, it's the best situation in the world,

0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.640
<v Speaker 1>knowing everyone you're photographing out there, But on that day

0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.520
<v Speaker 1>it probably turned out to be the worst. But I

0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:59.960
<v Speaker 1>can honestly say at the time when it all happened,

0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.600
<v Speaker 1>all I was thinking about was was fel like I

0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:07.480
<v Speaker 1>didn't really you know. The only I guess the only

0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.760
<v Speaker 1>thing other person I remember really clear was was Dave Warner,

0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:15.159
<v Speaker 1>who was on the medicap with him and stuck with him,

0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.960
<v Speaker 1>with him all the time, holding his hand. That will

0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:24.440
<v Speaker 1>stick with me forever. Yeah, that was Yeah, It's a

0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.680
<v Speaker 1>different situation to be in, for sure. And I think

0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.000
<v Speaker 1>as we started looking through the pictures on the back

0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:34.399
<v Speaker 1>of our camera, and there was some really graphic pictures

0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:37.080
<v Speaker 1>that as a group, we probably decided that it was

0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.240
<v Speaker 1>best not to ever be seen. So the pictures that

0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:41.160
<v Speaker 1>end up going.

0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.320
<v Speaker 2>Out that day, they were filtered.

0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, there was no reason for some pictures to go

0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.359
<v Speaker 1>out wouldn't have added to the story or the moment

0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:56.280
<v Speaker 1>at all. To this day, I still have not looked

0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:58.840
<v Speaker 1>at those photos again. They're sitting on a hard drive

0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:01.440
<v Speaker 1>somewhere at home, and I have no need or want

0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:03.960
<v Speaker 1>to look at those photos again. I'm not sure I

0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:09.160
<v Speaker 1>want to relive it through still images. I love looking

0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.879
<v Speaker 1>at pictures of Husey playing having fun, but I'm not

0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.760
<v Speaker 1>sure looking at pictures from that incident would do me

0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:19.160
<v Speaker 1>any good. So I think I'll just keep them locked

0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:20.120
<v Speaker 1>away on that hard drive.

0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.320
<v Speaker 2>How did the rest of your day unfold? Do you

0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:25.720
<v Speaker 2>remember any of it? Do you remember how you dealt

0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.960
<v Speaker 2>with it that night, how you felt that night? I do.

0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:33.600
<v Speaker 1>In parts. I stayed at the ground for quite a while,

0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:35.840
<v Speaker 1>only because I just didn't feel like I wanted to

0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.960
<v Speaker 1>get in a car. I was still shaking, and even

0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.480
<v Speaker 1>though it's ten minutes drive home to my house from

0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:43.720
<v Speaker 1>the ground, I just I think I actually sat in

0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:45.320
<v Speaker 1>the car when I got to the car, I sat

0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:48.280
<v Speaker 1>in the car for a little bit, just things going

0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.600
<v Speaker 1>through my head. And I got home and yeah, basically

0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:53.800
<v Speaker 1>just collapsed in a heap. And I think my wife

0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:58.199
<v Speaker 1>came home not long after, and she knew what was happening, obviously,

0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.000
<v Speaker 1>but yeah, that's when I really sort of got set off,

0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:05.120
<v Speaker 1>I guess, And yeah, it wasn't a good night you're

0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:05.600
<v Speaker 1>listening to.

0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:11.639
<v Speaker 2>Ordinarily, speaking with photographer Ryan Pearce, it was such a

0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:16.040
<v Speaker 2>hard thing to cover because it then went on for

0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:18.960
<v Speaker 2>a couple of days. How did you cope through those

0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.640
<v Speaker 2>couple of days whilst also trying to be a support

0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:25.480
<v Speaker 2>to people that your mates within in that fold?

0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.159
<v Speaker 1>Well, first off, my manager at the time asked me

0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:33.000
<v Speaker 1>straight off the bat, do you want to cover this?

0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:35.399
<v Speaker 1>Do you want to follow this story through? And I

0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:37.240
<v Speaker 1>knew there's no way in the world I could have.

0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:40.120
<v Speaker 1>I was just way too close to the whole situation.

0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:42.720
<v Speaker 1>So I'm glad I was given the option. I think

0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:44.640
<v Speaker 1>a lot of people might not have been given the option,

0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:48.920
<v Speaker 1>but I was reassigned to other things. So the day

0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:51.800
<v Speaker 1>after I ended up at the ARIA Awards of all things,

0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.920
<v Speaker 1>the show goes Forevero's Red Huppet and everything, and I'm

0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:57.120
<v Speaker 1>just I'm like a zombie. I couldn't tell you who

0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.600
<v Speaker 1>was there, who's saying who won? I couldn't tell you anything.

0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:02.320
<v Speaker 1>I was just And obviously my colleagues knew what happened

0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:03.720
<v Speaker 1>the day before, and they're like, why are you here?

0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:05.280
<v Speaker 1>Why are you here? And I'm like, well, I just

0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:07.240
<v Speaker 1>wanted to help out, and I think maybe to keep busy.

0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:08.879
<v Speaker 1>It was good. If I'd stayed at home, I just

0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:11.520
<v Speaker 1>would have been texting the guys all day, going looking

0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:15.000
<v Speaker 1>for updates, just going how is he? That word sort

0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:17.440
<v Speaker 1>of filtered through I think at night that things weren't

0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:23.400
<v Speaker 1>looking that good, and that's when it really set in that, yeah,

0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:25.920
<v Speaker 1>we weren't going to get to see you smile and

0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:26.640
<v Speaker 1>face again.

0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:29.960
<v Speaker 2>At that point. Are you just his mate?

0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:35.040
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to think I always felt like that, but

0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:38.200
<v Speaker 1>there was that probably five minutes where I kept doing

0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:41.520
<v Speaker 1>my job, and I think that's what haunts me a

0:21:41.560 --> 0:21:44.240
<v Speaker 1>little bit still. And you ask yourself, what did the

0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:47.119
<v Speaker 1>same thing happen again, what would you do. It's a

0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:50.440
<v Speaker 1>very fine line between doing your job and looking after

0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:53.280
<v Speaker 1>your mates, especially when one goes with the other. You

0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:54.840
<v Speaker 1>just got to trust in the rest of the team

0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:55.480
<v Speaker 1>that they know that.

0:21:56.119 --> 0:22:00.200
<v Speaker 2>How did they receive you? Did things change between those

0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:02.840
<v Speaker 2>guys or were they always pretty supportive of everything?

0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:08.800
<v Speaker 1>Always always really supportive. I think they could see by

0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:11.920
<v Speaker 1>talking to me when they saw me how affected I was.

0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:16.960
<v Speaker 2>The couple of days where we sort of knew what

0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:21.680
<v Speaker 2>was happening, but we didn't yet or couldn't couldn't say

0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:25.000
<v Speaker 2>it public yet. You know, we're still holding out that

0:22:25.119 --> 0:22:28.800
<v Speaker 2>glimmer of hope. Do you remember the moment that you

0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:32.800
<v Speaker 2>found out that that he was gone?

0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:42.639
<v Speaker 1>Yep, I do, I do. I I got a message

0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:46.840
<v Speaker 1>from a player. Probably was half an hour before the

0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:50.080
<v Speaker 1>press conference was held. Maybe, yeah, I remember it pretty clearly,

0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:52.920
<v Speaker 1>but I think I'd nearly already prepared myself for it.

0:22:53.760 --> 0:22:56.920
<v Speaker 1>I turned on Fox Sports News. It's probably you on there,

0:22:56.960 --> 0:22:59.840
<v Speaker 1>I guess at the time, I remember that half an

0:22:59.880 --> 0:23:02.840
<v Speaker 1>hour before the but I think there was announced the

0:23:02.840 --> 0:23:04.960
<v Speaker 1>press conference and everyone knew it was coming, I think,

0:23:05.119 --> 0:23:07.440
<v Speaker 1>and I'm just I just remember sitting there, I'm a

0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:11.840
<v Speaker 1>couch at home watching this and yeah, just in pieces

0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:17.560
<v Speaker 1>wasn't good. I think I called my dad to tell

0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.600
<v Speaker 1>him and chatted with him for a few minutes. But yeah,

0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:23.600
<v Speaker 1>I remember it really clearly. And then I was just yeah,

0:23:23.600 --> 0:23:24.560
<v Speaker 1>I just felt really.

0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:32.239
<v Speaker 2>Numb after that day, well that evening, when I had

0:23:32.280 --> 0:23:34.440
<v Speaker 2>to say what I had to say on air and

0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:40.080
<v Speaker 2>let people know. Watching I completely broke down that night

0:23:40.320 --> 0:23:43.600
<v Speaker 2>because I had to hold it together for a couple

0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:47.280
<v Speaker 2>of days, and as I say, watching how mates go

0:23:47.440 --> 0:23:51.920
<v Speaker 2>in and out of the hospital that night, I don't

0:23:51.960 --> 0:23:57.639
<v Speaker 2>think I've ever had a outburst of just complete and

0:23:57.800 --> 0:24:02.240
<v Speaker 2>utter collapse and everything that that week had taken.

0:24:03.680 --> 0:24:04.600
<v Speaker 1>Was it the same for you.

0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:08.200
<v Speaker 2>Did you have a moment where, because when you're working

0:24:08.240 --> 0:24:11.560
<v Speaker 2>on it, you have to hold your shit together, but

0:24:11.680 --> 0:24:14.760
<v Speaker 2>you're also living through it. Did you have a moment

0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:19.200
<v Speaker 2>where you allowed yourself to grieve?

0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.040
<v Speaker 1>I think at the time, if you can call that grieving,

0:24:23.320 --> 0:24:26.680
<v Speaker 1>I think crying uncontrollably, I'm not I guess that's a

0:24:26.720 --> 0:24:29.359
<v Speaker 1>part of grieving, but I think after that everything happened

0:24:29.400 --> 0:24:33.240
<v Speaker 1>so quickly, I'm not sure I did grieve properly. I

0:24:33.320 --> 0:24:36.280
<v Speaker 1>think the funeral was good again. My office gave me

0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:38.280
<v Speaker 1>the option of covering the funeral and I did think

0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:43.920
<v Speaker 1>about doing that, but it didn't take long to make

0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:45.600
<v Speaker 1>a decision that I just wasn't up to doing it.

0:24:46.359 --> 0:24:48.879
<v Speaker 1>My good mate Cameron Spencer ended up doing that. I

0:24:49.000 --> 0:24:51.360
<v Speaker 1>was speaking to him again about it the other day

0:24:51.400 --> 0:24:55.159
<v Speaker 1>and he's not he likes his cricket. He doesn't love

0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:58.160
<v Speaker 1>his cricket. He wasn't attached to the game or the players,

0:24:58.200 --> 0:25:00.440
<v Speaker 1>but he still says that's the hardest day of his career,

0:25:00.760 --> 0:25:04.560
<v Speaker 1>been in that room in Maxville and seeing everyone's faces

0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:07.920
<v Speaker 1>of you guys he'd photographed and known for years, and

0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:09.919
<v Speaker 1>so I think that says a lot about the pressure

0:25:09.960 --> 0:25:12.240
<v Speaker 1>of that day for that guy. I went up with

0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:17.159
<v Speaker 1>Phil Hilliard, Peter Lawler, cricket journalists for The Australian, and

0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:20.280
<v Speaker 1>my wife Will went up. Just such a blur. I

0:25:20.440 --> 0:25:22.760
<v Speaker 1>guess I've never felt that way really at a funeral.

0:25:23.520 --> 0:25:25.720
<v Speaker 1>Prior to that moment. I broke down a number of

0:25:25.800 --> 0:25:28.399
<v Speaker 1>times and I don't know why. I don't know why, Like,

0:25:28.520 --> 0:25:31.320
<v Speaker 1>obviously I was close to the situation, but I'm normally

0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:33.320
<v Speaker 1>not that person to break down. Maybe it was just

0:25:33.520 --> 0:25:35.520
<v Speaker 1>looking at around and all he made to the players

0:25:35.520 --> 0:25:38.600
<v Speaker 1>around and the team and the staff were just in

0:25:38.720 --> 0:25:43.760
<v Speaker 1>pieces and maybe that set me off, but yeah, that

0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:47.480
<v Speaker 1>was a really emotional day. The wake was good. It

0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:50.520
<v Speaker 1>was a celebration of his life. It was good, lots

0:25:50.560 --> 0:25:53.360
<v Speaker 1>of good stories and everyone had a smile on his face,

0:25:53.480 --> 0:25:55.920
<v Speaker 1>just like he would have. One of the great things

0:25:56.119 --> 0:25:59.480
<v Speaker 1>Cricket Australia did, I think was turned the focus directly

0:25:59.520 --> 0:26:02.480
<v Speaker 1>on how we can celebrate feel and obviously the test

0:26:02.520 --> 0:26:05.040
<v Speaker 1>matches were moved though Adelaide ended up being the first Test,

0:26:05.119 --> 0:26:08.080
<v Speaker 1>and I think focus really quickly turned to that. And

0:26:08.480 --> 0:26:10.440
<v Speaker 1>again work gave me the option, do you want to

0:26:10.480 --> 0:26:13.240
<v Speaker 1>do these test matches still? And I took me half

0:26:13.280 --> 0:26:15.879
<v Speaker 1>a second. Absolutely, I want to be there because this

0:26:16.040 --> 0:26:19.240
<v Speaker 1>was going to be you know, paying tribute and a

0:26:19.320 --> 0:26:21.440
<v Speaker 1>lot of respect to Phil. There's no way I could

0:26:21.480 --> 0:26:23.439
<v Speaker 1>be home watching this. I had to be there, photographing

0:26:24.200 --> 0:26:26.480
<v Speaker 1>and capturing it. I knew it would be hard, but

0:26:26.640 --> 0:26:27.400
<v Speaker 1>I had to be there.

0:26:28.119 --> 0:26:31.520
<v Speaker 2>And it was certainly the most special Test match I've

0:26:31.520 --> 0:26:34.400
<v Speaker 2>ever covered, you know, with ashes and all those sorts

0:26:34.440 --> 0:26:37.840
<v Speaker 2>of things, or even cricket in general. World Cup. That

0:26:38.080 --> 0:26:42.760
<v Speaker 2>match was like no other experience, I think anyone at

0:26:42.800 --> 0:26:44.640
<v Speaker 2>the ground had had you had you had the four

0:26:44.680 --> 0:26:46.800
<v Speaker 2>to eight painted on the ground, you had the Steve

0:26:46.880 --> 0:26:51.639
<v Speaker 2>Smith tribute even very coally and twin tons and he

0:26:51.840 --> 0:26:54.480
<v Speaker 2>was a mate with Peel as well. But Nathan Lyn

0:26:54.600 --> 0:26:57.280
<v Speaker 2>needed those well, they needed the eight wickets and at

0:26:57.320 --> 0:27:02.000
<v Speaker 2>four eight pm Local, which is just beyond belief, he

0:27:02.160 --> 0:27:04.400
<v Speaker 2>takes that first wicket and then from there they all

0:27:04.520 --> 0:27:07.119
<v Speaker 2>crumble and I get goosebumps just thinking about it. But

0:27:08.600 --> 0:27:12.359
<v Speaker 2>from my perspective watching those boys get through that, we

0:27:12.480 --> 0:27:14.800
<v Speaker 2>all worried whether it was too much pressure and whether

0:27:14.880 --> 0:27:17.800
<v Speaker 2>they were able to mentally get up for this game.

0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:21.120
<v Speaker 2>And then it just turned into this therapy for them

0:27:21.600 --> 0:27:25.080
<v Speaker 2>in a very public way. But was it felt therapeutic

0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:28.359
<v Speaker 2>watching them? Is that how you felt photographing it?

0:27:28.520 --> 0:27:31.600
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely? I think it was that summer and then the

0:27:32.200 --> 0:27:34.639
<v Speaker 1>following World Cup. The way they were playing, they look

0:27:34.720 --> 0:27:36.280
<v Speaker 1>like they're floating on air.

0:27:36.400 --> 0:27:36.640
<v Speaker 2>Nelly.

0:27:37.000 --> 0:27:39.440
<v Speaker 1>They were so determined to do it for him and

0:27:39.600 --> 0:27:44.520
<v Speaker 1>have success fulfill that. The Adelaide Test match was, I agree,

0:27:44.600 --> 0:27:47.280
<v Speaker 1>one of the best Test matches I've ever covered photographically

0:27:47.600 --> 0:27:50.600
<v Speaker 1>because of everything you just mentioned, but just the added

0:27:50.680 --> 0:27:54.440
<v Speaker 1>meaning behind everything for everyone. I think was incredible and

0:27:54.960 --> 0:27:56.720
<v Speaker 1>I think the moment that stands out to me where

0:27:56.920 --> 0:27:59.440
<v Speaker 1>it hit home that this was happening, This Test match

0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:02.080
<v Speaker 1>is happening. It was going to be tough. Was the

0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:05.400
<v Speaker 1>day before Gavin Dovey, the team manager, invited me into

0:28:05.400 --> 0:28:07.520
<v Speaker 1>the rooms. He said there's something I want you to see.

0:28:07.760 --> 0:28:11.800
<v Speaker 1>So walked into the Adelaide rooms and sure enough, where

0:28:11.840 --> 0:28:14.720
<v Speaker 1>Hugh's his locker would have been, were two massive photos

0:28:15.200 --> 0:28:18.000
<v Speaker 1>of us that I'd taken over the years, one in

0:28:18.080 --> 0:28:20.720
<v Speaker 1>his locker and then one on the wall. He's like,

0:28:20.800 --> 0:28:22.359
<v Speaker 1>you don't have to photograph this if you want, but

0:28:22.400 --> 0:28:24.879
<v Speaker 1>if you would like to photograph these, and he's empty locker.

0:28:25.520 --> 0:28:27.480
<v Speaker 1>What wasn't empty? They had his shirt in there as well,

0:28:27.840 --> 0:28:30.000
<v Speaker 1>and all the player's shirts had four oh eight in

0:28:30.200 --> 0:28:33.240
<v Speaker 1>place of their test number. I thought, this is this

0:28:33.359 --> 0:28:36.720
<v Speaker 1>is the moment in time. It's so with storic. So

0:28:36.800 --> 0:28:39.520
<v Speaker 1>I had to photograph it, but it was it was hard.

0:28:39.960 --> 0:28:40.560
<v Speaker 1>That was really hard.

0:28:40.800 --> 0:28:42.640
<v Speaker 2>How proud are you of the level of respect that

0:28:42.760 --> 0:28:45.240
<v Speaker 2>the Australian team showed you, the fact that they use

0:28:45.280 --> 0:28:48.280
<v Speaker 2>those photos, wanted to allow you in. I mean that

0:28:48.480 --> 0:28:49.680
<v Speaker 2>is a sign of respect for you.

0:28:50.000 --> 0:28:52.880
<v Speaker 1>Oh, absolutely look the photos. I think it just so

0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:55.760
<v Speaker 1>happened that they were mine. I think they could have

0:28:55.800 --> 0:28:59.120
<v Speaker 1>been anyone's photos. But yeah, it's a privilege. It's always

0:28:59.120 --> 0:29:01.040
<v Speaker 1>a privilege. Any accident, some granted by the team is

0:29:01.040 --> 0:29:03.520
<v Speaker 1>always a privilege, and you never take that for granted

0:29:03.640 --> 0:29:07.000
<v Speaker 1>for a second. The moment that really hit home in

0:29:07.160 --> 0:29:09.440
<v Speaker 1>terms of how members of the team, all the staff

0:29:09.720 --> 0:29:12.360
<v Speaker 1>feel towards me. Just before the anthems on the on

0:29:12.480 --> 0:29:16.120
<v Speaker 1>the morning of the game, Grant Baldwin, who was the

0:29:16.720 --> 0:29:20.360
<v Speaker 1>that still is at times of physio massuse, he was

0:29:20.440 --> 0:29:23.800
<v Speaker 1>handing out they had the black armbands made with the

0:29:24.160 --> 0:29:26.800
<v Speaker 1>pH on them, and he was handing him out to

0:29:26.840 --> 0:29:28.400
<v Speaker 1>the boys just before they went out to the for

0:29:28.480 --> 0:29:32.120
<v Speaker 1>the anthems, and he came over someone. I just felt

0:29:32.160 --> 0:29:36.320
<v Speaker 1>someone grab my arm and he put one on my arm,

0:29:37.160 --> 0:29:42.280
<v Speaker 1>and that was Yeah, that was a pretty special moment.

0:29:42.320 --> 0:29:45.480
<v Speaker 1>I'll never forget that. But yeah, what a day, What

0:29:45.560 --> 0:29:49.600
<v Speaker 1>a day to photograph like that anthem ceremony. Obviously I

0:29:49.720 --> 0:29:52.000
<v Speaker 1>was way back. I'm normally right in there for the

0:29:52.040 --> 0:29:54.560
<v Speaker 1>anthem ceremony under the they put the flags in front

0:29:54.560 --> 0:29:56.320
<v Speaker 1>of the players and normally crouched down and shoot it

0:29:56.440 --> 0:29:58.680
<v Speaker 1>quite wide. There's no way I was going in there

0:29:58.720 --> 0:30:00.760
<v Speaker 1>that day. I was way back with my long lens.

0:30:02.160 --> 0:30:05.680
<v Speaker 1>I was not getting anyone's face and shot it from

0:30:05.680 --> 0:30:09.920
<v Speaker 1>a long way away. And images of Michael Clark gave Warner,

0:30:10.000 --> 0:30:14.680
<v Speaker 1>Ryan Harris just in tears, arm in arm. Yeah, all

0:30:14.680 --> 0:30:17.040
<v Speaker 1>pretty powerful images. And then all the bats. You know,

0:30:17.440 --> 0:30:19.360
<v Speaker 1>players put their bats out with their baggy greens on

0:30:19.400 --> 0:30:22.200
<v Speaker 1>the top. They put Phil's name on the team sheet.

0:30:23.880 --> 0:30:26.280
<v Speaker 1>I took a picture of that. Yeah. Look everywhere you

0:30:26.360 --> 0:30:29.360
<v Speaker 1>look that day, there was just amazing pieces to be had,

0:30:29.800 --> 0:30:33.120
<v Speaker 1>and they all paid tribute to Phil when they won

0:30:33.240 --> 0:30:34.040
<v Speaker 1>the test.

0:30:34.560 --> 0:30:38.000
<v Speaker 2>Take us inside what you got to see that night,

0:30:38.160 --> 0:30:42.080
<v Speaker 2>because you got no access that was unrivaled.

0:30:42.320 --> 0:30:46.239
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Nathan Lyon. Over the years, getting to know him

0:30:46.240 --> 0:30:50.040
<v Speaker 1>a lot better, He's allowed me some pretty close and

0:30:50.160 --> 0:30:52.960
<v Speaker 1>intimate access to the team song when they sing it

0:30:53.040 --> 0:30:55.880
<v Speaker 1>on the ground. I've never photographed it in the change rooms.

0:30:56.080 --> 0:30:59.120
<v Speaker 1>I never want to because that's their space. But if

0:30:59.160 --> 0:31:01.320
<v Speaker 1>they go out on the ground at midnight and sing

0:31:01.400 --> 0:31:04.320
<v Speaker 1>the team song, I want to photograph that, whether it's

0:31:04.360 --> 0:31:06.440
<v Speaker 1>from just outside the circle or up in the stand.

0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:09.080
<v Speaker 1>And I thought this was a good moment to really

0:31:09.080 --> 0:31:12.080
<v Speaker 1>step back and shoot it from a long way away,

0:31:12.520 --> 0:31:15.200
<v Speaker 1>with the added bonus that there was the four oh

0:31:15.280 --> 0:31:17.320
<v Speaker 1>eight on the ground. I didn't know they were going

0:31:17.400 --> 0:31:19.120
<v Speaker 1>to stand around the four oh eight and sing it,

0:31:19.200 --> 0:31:21.400
<v Speaker 1>but they did. And I was up at the top

0:31:21.480 --> 0:31:26.240
<v Speaker 1>of the Bradman stand and it was dark, there was

0:31:26.320 --> 0:31:29.000
<v Speaker 1>hardly any light on the pitch, and yeah, the quality

0:31:29.000 --> 0:31:31.000
<v Speaker 1>of the photos aren't great, but you can definitely see

0:31:31.040 --> 0:31:32.720
<v Speaker 1>what's going on. And they all had a round the

0:31:32.760 --> 0:31:34.640
<v Speaker 1>four ro eight, brought the ski out, put it in

0:31:34.720 --> 0:31:38.560
<v Speaker 1>the middle, or cracked a beer and saying under the

0:31:38.600 --> 0:31:42.080
<v Speaker 1>Southern Cross, I stand the loudest I've ever heard team song,

0:31:42.240 --> 0:31:44.200
<v Speaker 1>even louder than the Ashes last year.

0:31:45.160 --> 0:31:49.479
<v Speaker 2>People listening should probably also know that those photos are

0:31:49.600 --> 0:31:52.720
<v Speaker 2>cherished by those players as well. A lot of what

0:31:52.920 --> 0:31:55.680
<v Speaker 2>you do is for the public and for the access,

0:31:55.920 --> 0:31:57.520
<v Speaker 2>but fair to say that a lot of what you

0:31:57.600 --> 0:31:59.960
<v Speaker 2>do is for their family album.

0:32:00.360 --> 0:32:02.720
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely. Oh the amount of stuff that will never get

0:32:02.760 --> 0:32:04.680
<v Speaker 1>sent out to papers and magazines was just for the

0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:07.480
<v Speaker 1>players and the families. There's a lot of that material

0:32:07.520 --> 0:32:11.200
<v Speaker 1>and I really enjoy taking those pictures. And of course

0:32:11.240 --> 0:32:14.479
<v Speaker 1>there's moments your new sense kicks in and you're like, oh,

0:32:14.600 --> 0:32:17.800
<v Speaker 1>that's such a beautiful picture of that player and their

0:32:17.840 --> 0:32:20.600
<v Speaker 1>wife or their kids and whatever, and you know, you'd

0:32:20.640 --> 0:32:23.400
<v Speaker 1>know a newspaper would run it. But that's where the

0:32:23.480 --> 0:32:23.920
<v Speaker 1>Trust is.

0:32:24.720 --> 0:32:26.680
<v Speaker 2>It was really hard for a lot of the boys

0:32:26.880 --> 0:32:30.080
<v Speaker 2>to head to the SCG. What was it like for

0:32:30.200 --> 0:32:31.720
<v Speaker 2>you to head back there?

0:32:31.920 --> 0:32:36.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? Even harder than Adelaide for sure, because there was

0:32:36.800 --> 0:32:39.080
<v Speaker 1>so much going on in Adelaide. You didn't have that

0:32:39.240 --> 0:32:42.600
<v Speaker 1>much time to stop and really reflect on the weeks beforehand.

0:32:42.680 --> 0:32:47.000
<v Speaker 1>But the SCG was tough. The Trust erected a plank

0:32:47.080 --> 0:32:51.000
<v Speaker 1>outside the Australian Chaine Rooms of phil beautiful plaque, which

0:32:51.320 --> 0:32:54.200
<v Speaker 1>is actually the artworkers of picture. I took a Phil

0:32:54.640 --> 0:32:57.760
<v Speaker 1>during the twenty thirteen Ashes tour which was used through

0:32:58.040 --> 0:33:00.680
<v Speaker 1>a lot of the press. On the invitation of the

0:33:00.760 --> 0:33:03.080
<v Speaker 1>running order, on the funeral, it was used everywhere and

0:33:03.120 --> 0:33:05.560
<v Speaker 1>they ended up making that picture for the pluck. So

0:33:06.800 --> 0:33:08.840
<v Speaker 1>having a photograph that going up, that was an emotional

0:33:09.160 --> 0:33:11.440
<v Speaker 1>moment and all I was thinking for the next few

0:33:11.480 --> 0:33:13.760
<v Speaker 1>days of the test matches, how do I illustrate, how

0:33:13.800 --> 0:33:15.680
<v Speaker 1>do I get this pluck in a picture that really

0:33:15.840 --> 0:33:19.160
<v Speaker 1>makes it relevant? And thankfully day one, David Warner walks

0:33:19.160 --> 0:33:21.640
<v Speaker 1>out the bat goes up to it with his glove

0:33:21.720 --> 0:33:23.640
<v Speaker 1>on and pats him on the head. I didn't know

0:33:23.680 --> 0:33:25.680
<v Speaker 1>what was going to happen. I had a feeling that

0:33:25.920 --> 0:33:28.480
<v Speaker 1>someone might do something again. That's probably one of my

0:33:28.520 --> 0:33:31.640
<v Speaker 1>favorite pictures I've ever taken. It just captures the moment perfectly,

0:33:31.720 --> 0:33:34.360
<v Speaker 1>and I'm not sure how else you would try to

0:33:34.400 --> 0:33:37.600
<v Speaker 1>capture that moment of the players walking out. The biggest

0:33:37.640 --> 0:33:40.880
<v Speaker 1>moment that day was when they've got to sixty three

0:33:41.880 --> 0:33:46.360
<v Speaker 1>and he walked across to the spot where Hughes he fell,

0:33:47.920 --> 0:33:50.720
<v Speaker 1>got down his knees, kissed the ground, got up, looked

0:33:50.760 --> 0:33:55.920
<v Speaker 1>to the sky. What a moment, What a moment, Just incredible.

0:33:56.000 --> 0:33:58.480
<v Speaker 1>The photos don't do it justice. You just had to

0:33:58.560 --> 0:34:01.560
<v Speaker 1>be there. Everyone got on the feet and never forget that.

0:34:01.880 --> 0:34:02.440
<v Speaker 1>What a moment.

0:34:03.680 --> 0:34:08.960
<v Speaker 2>Sport remembers people and rallies around people better than anything.

0:34:09.040 --> 0:34:12.480
<v Speaker 2>I think wraps their arms around around people in moments

0:34:12.560 --> 0:34:16.040
<v Speaker 2>like this. I want to finish by saying, how will

0:34:16.360 --> 0:34:18.000
<v Speaker 2>you remember hughsy.

0:34:18.400 --> 0:34:20.520
<v Speaker 1>And I'm saying this with the biggest smile on my face.

0:34:20.600 --> 0:34:22.879
<v Speaker 1>That because that's how he made me feel. I think

0:34:22.920 --> 0:34:26.239
<v Speaker 1>that's how he made everyone feel. He made you feel

0:34:26.320 --> 0:34:28.600
<v Speaker 1>like the only person in the room. Every time he

0:34:28.680 --> 0:34:31.520
<v Speaker 1>spoke to you. I already remember him as a fun

0:34:31.600 --> 0:34:36.120
<v Speaker 1>loving kid from the country who was amazingly talented batsman.

0:34:37.280 --> 0:34:40.840
<v Speaker 1>There was only just scratching the surface on it. Incredible

0:34:40.840 --> 0:34:45.759
<v Speaker 1>test career, and I just feel so fortunate to have

0:34:46.000 --> 0:34:48.800
<v Speaker 1>had the time I did with him. I wish I

0:34:48.960 --> 0:34:52.440
<v Speaker 1>had more time with him. I wish I wish I

0:34:52.560 --> 0:34:55.479
<v Speaker 1>had the chance to have more beers and funny chats

0:34:55.520 --> 0:34:57.840
<v Speaker 1>with him. I wish I had the chance to photograph

0:34:57.920 --> 0:35:04.920
<v Speaker 1>him batting. He's a photographer's dream. Yeah, I'll just miss him.

0:35:05.400 --> 0:35:06.160
<v Speaker 1>I'll just miss him.

0:35:09.280 --> 0:35:11.120
<v Speaker 2>How do you feel about talking about it now?

0:35:12.600 --> 0:35:17.000
<v Speaker 1>It's still really hard. It's still really hard. But although

0:35:17.040 --> 0:35:19.279
<v Speaker 1>it's a tragic event, it's really hard to feel sad

0:35:19.360 --> 0:35:23.399
<v Speaker 1>about someone that made you feel so happy. And yes,

0:35:23.880 --> 0:35:27.560
<v Speaker 1>he's gone, but his memory will live on forever. He'll

0:35:27.560 --> 0:35:29.399
<v Speaker 1>always be sixty three, not out.

0:35:30.960 --> 0:35:35.160
<v Speaker 2>Thank you for chatting, and know it's a really different

0:35:35.200 --> 0:35:38.719
<v Speaker 2>perspective for people listening. As you mentioned off the top,

0:35:38.960 --> 0:35:42.040
<v Speaker 2>you know you're not, you know, the closest person, but

0:35:42.760 --> 0:35:45.600
<v Speaker 2>I think you have every right to feel sad, and

0:35:46.320 --> 0:35:48.800
<v Speaker 2>you were mates with him, and you did go through it,

0:35:48.920 --> 0:35:51.080
<v Speaker 2>and I know you live with it all the time,

0:35:51.320 --> 0:35:54.600
<v Speaker 2>so yeah, I appreciate your time.

0:35:55.280 --> 0:35:57.160
<v Speaker 1>Thanks NAS, thanks for the opportunity.

0:36:01.440 --> 0:36:05.280
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening to this episode of Ordinarily Speaking. A reminder,

0:36:05.360 --> 0:36:08.080
<v Speaker 2>you can see the photographs that Ryan has referenced at

0:36:08.320 --> 0:36:13.760
<v Speaker 2>Ordinarily Underscore Speaking or at Ryan's Instagram page at Ryan Pearce.

0:36:14.080 --> 0:36:16.520
<v Speaker 2>As I said off the top, our thoughts remain with

0:36:16.640 --> 0:36:19.640
<v Speaker 2>Philip Hughes's family, friends, and teammates.