fine-art-photography

This Indigenous community flipped the roles in colonial photos

"It was set up to gather the Indigenous people from out in the bush and chain them up and bring them into Coen ... to get them off the country," says artist and Kaantju traditional owner Naomi Hobson.

Now, in collaboration with photographer Greg Semu, Hobson has set out to explore this history by recreating brutal archival images.

But in Semu's images the script has been flipped — often the victims pose as abusers. And the entire Indigenous community of Coen was involved in the recreations.

Scared to speak

Selfie Conscious: Lens people went to for the perfect picture

An exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane shows the lengths people of the 1800s would go to when trying to capture an image of themselves that they wanted to share with the world.

Props, backdrops, costumes, animals and touch-ups were all used to create the perfect photo in the 19th century.

The exhibition — Sit. Pose. Snap. Brisbane Portrait Photography 1850-1950 — showcases more than 330 photos from one of Australia's most significant collectors of portrait photography, Marcel Safler.

National Photographic Portrait Prize finalists share the stories behind the pictures

Ahead of the announcement, the ABC contacted 10 of the 49 finalists, and asked them to share the stories behind their photographs.

Of the above picture, titled A Moment, photographer Millie Brown said it captured a brief, captivating look from a child playing by the sea in East Arnhem Land.

"[It was] a very organic, brief moment in time where I asked him to look down the lens, and he did, and he gave me that very strong, intense look," she said.

"Then he slipped straight back into the running and the jumping and the diving and the swimming."

Bill Henson model speaks out

"I think he's an amazing artist," she told 7.30 from her home in Berlin.

The celebrated photographer is her godfather, and from the moment she was born via caesarean section, Henson has been documenting her time in the world.

"I've known Bill my whole life," she said.

"When I was 17 he asked me if I wanted to try it out.

"The first time was in Rome, it was just an experiment."

'I was very intrigued'

Heyward is the daughter of leading publishers Michael Heyward and Penny Hueston.