The Other Side of The SUN | Colin Lucas

SUN prides itself on having a great team of staff in both Melbourne and Sydney, ready to help you with your every photographic need. 

With a love for photography and the industry; they are truly a bunch of unique people worth getting to know.

See why we love them - every month....

Starting with Colin, our Sydney Rental Supervisor.

"Hi, I am Colin Lucas.

I am a photographer who loves waves, beaches, and being in or photographing in the ocean. I am fascinated by live music and enjoy photographing live music scenes. And some of you might know, I am also the SUNSTUDIOS equipment supervisor in Sydney.

My interest in photography can be traced back to my mid teens. Back then it was mainly surf, skate and clouds that I photographed. I then became more interested in live music photography in my late teens. It was around this time that I had developed a real passion for photography and decided to try to get into the industry.

I got my first job as an E6 film processor at Colour Control Centre in Pitt St. With no formal background in photography, I was thrown in the deep end at this job and this proved great training for a photographer. I would shoot film constantly, and then develop and print all my own work in black and white, colour transparency and negative. I really enjoyed the scientific aspects of this job as well as getting to view some of Sydney's top photographers film on a daily basis. After all that times with various photography studios, here I am now. I started working at Sun since it’s beginning!

I love that I am able to provide a lot of advice to photographers about what equipment might be best for upcoming shoots. Amongst many wonderful experiences here at Sun, the highlight is the workshops by Urs Recher. I use the knowledge and techniques he taught me everyday. I am always giving the same lessons to my clients!  Other great things about working at SUN is being surrounded by people interested in photography and being able to try all the best equipment available as part of my job. Last but not least, I love having a lovely café in my work as well!

I enjoy both taking photography in colour and, black and white. If I had to choose I would be sad! I would say black and white today. Because the last interesting shoot I worked was black and white.

The first three images below were taken on the 'March in March rally' in the city. I have been photographing public rallies and marches as a personal project since 2007. This one was basically anti-politician protest in the city, which culminated in a march through the city streets to a park in Newtown.

There were many challenges on this shoot. It was raining for a start! Photographing these sorts of events always involves a lot of concentration. One needs to anticipate where the action is going to occur, as well as summing up when it is intrusive and when it is ok to photograph strangers. A few anarchist types made some aggressive gestures towards me. This is normal at a protest. There are always extremists who assume that photographers are working for ASIO!

I own a Canon 5D Mark II, a Go Pro and a dozen old film cameras. I often use the amazing Canon 1DX and 5D Mark III we offer here at Sun. (That’s another thing I love about Sun!) I took the protest shot on a 5D Mark III with a 24-70 series 2 lens. I also enjoy using a Hassleblad with a P40+ Phase back for studio portraits. 

If you bump into me next time in the rental department or the SUN Sydney cafe, or maybe at a beach, come and say “Hi Col!”