FAMOUS FACES SHARE PET SUBJECTS

News Source: Sunshine Coast Daily, page 8, Tuesday 9th November, 2004


When James Morgan combined his love for photography, his passion for animals and his know-how with celebrities, the photographic exhibition Petarazzi was born.

The project saw James travel the world over to photograph 40 famous Australians with their pets - politicians, sportspeople, entertainers, artists and the people we just love to love.

The beautiful Jo Ashton with her dog Buddha the well-known face of Peter Beattie and his dog rusty and the big softie Gorden Tallis up close and personal with his puppy Tyson all showed the special relationship they had with their pets.

And yesterday the exhibition made the trek to Australia Zoo with Australia’s most unusual pet owner, Steve Irwin, on hand to do the launch honours.

James, who has photographed Princess Diana, the Olympic Fames and the Lockerbie disaster, said he has a 10-minute time limit on each photo. But not all subjects stuck to the limit. The faster was Bob Hawke at 32 seconds while the longest – Naomi Watts – took 30 minutes.

His all-time favourite photo, one he described as deeply personal, was Cathy Freeman sitting on her doona with her cat Billy.

The project will raise funds for the RSPCA, with the public having the opportunity to own a piece of photographic history on an online auction.

For more details visit the website www.rspca.org.au