How Two Brothers Constructed WA’s Greatest Images Occasion

In Perth, there was a time when severe pictures followers needed to look east — and even abroad — for the large occasions. Trade reveals in Sydney or Melbourne would showcase the most recent cameras and know-how, whereas Photokina in Germany was the final word pilgrimage for business professionals. But in Western Australia, there was nothing comparable.

That all modified in 2015 when brothers Saul and Howard Frank, the second-generation house owners of Camera Electronic, determined to convey a serious pictures occasion to Perth. The outcome was PhotoLive Expo: one venue, sooner or later, all the large manufacturers in pictures underneath one roof. It’s grow to be the one occasion of its type in Australia.

Now in its eleventh yr, PhotoLive Expo combines hands-on experiences with business perception. Attendees can see the most recent tools, attend instructional periods, and join immediately with photographers, suppliers, and creators. This yr’s version can be held on Sunday, August seventeenth at Novotel Perth Langley, with entry priced at simply $25.00 for the expo room and $45 for entry to all speaker periods.

From a household enterprise to a statewide stage

The story of PhotoLive Expo is inseparable from the story of Camera Electronic. Founded by the brothers’ father within the late Nineteen Sixties and opened on Angove Street, North Perth in 1971, the store has been a part of WA’s pictures panorama for greater than 5 a long time.

“Dad loved photography — it was his passion,” Saul says. For Saul and Howard, the fervour was simply as a lot about individuals and group because it was about cameras. They grew the enterprise over 20 years, attending digital camera membership conferences, commerce reveals over east, and worldwide occasions. What they noticed at these reveals impressed them, but in addition left them annoyed.

“There wasn’t one in Western Australia,” Saul remembers. “We thought, one day we have to build it.”

The brothers returned from a commerce present in Japan and determined to cease speaking about it and simply do it. Within three weeks, that they had booked the Novotel ballroom and have been promoting tickets. That first yr, about 800 individuals got here by way of the doorways — proof that WA had been ready for one thing like this.

Building a group, not only a commerce present

From the start, PhotoLive Expo was designed to be greater than a room full of apparatus. Saul and Howard needed an occasion the place individuals might deal with the gear, speak to the consultants, and get impressed by seeing what others create.

“We wanted engagement,” Howard says. “WA is on the arse end of the planet, and we know the passion that West Australians have for engaging with people and products and brands. We just don’t get it enough here.”

To obtain that, they stripped away glass show circumstances and had exhibitors stand in entrance of their tables. They added training rooms, with ten half-hour talks within the first yr priced at $5.00 every. The purpose wasn’t simply promoting gear — it was about collaboration, creativity, and connection.

Memorable moments over time

Over the years, the brothers have collected loads of highlights. That first yr stands out for the leap of religion it represented — and for the reception it obtained.

One standout was a chat by Tony Hewitt, Australia’s most awarded photographer, who chaired judging at main worldwide competitions. “Only a third of the room had heard of him,” Howard says, but the session oversold so closely that folks have been sitting on the ground and leaning towards the partitions simply to get in.

Before COVID, the occasion reached its greatest crowd but, drawing shut to three,000 attendees. Every workshop was packed, with some rooms internet hosting 150 individuals at a time. They added picture walks, transformed the breakfast space right into a dwell child pictures workshop earlier than the resort’s pub opened, and saved discovering methods to suit extra into the day.

When COVID shut down in-person occasions, PhotoLive went absolutely digital. From a inexperienced display studio, Saul and Howard interviewed photographers and creators from India, Thailand, the USA, and New Zealand. It was a approach to preserve the group linked when journey and gatherings weren’t doable. “It was super, super cool,” Saul says. “I don’t know if anyone’s done anything like that with speakers from all over the world in one channel.”

In latest years, one of the vital rewarding tendencies has been seeing new generations uncover pictures. Parents have introduced alongside youngsters focused on content material creation, typically not sure the place to start out. More than as soon as, Saul has handed them free tickets to a related workshop, eager to encourage younger individuals into the craft.

Looking to 2025 and past

This yr’s PhotoLive Expo will characteristic a refreshed format. Instead of paying for particular person periods, attendees can entry all eight talks for a single worth. The expo room will provide extra interactive parts than ever: meet-and-greets with VIP photographers, cosplay characters to {photograph}, a free print station to check papers and printing methods, and two portrait studio with dwell instruction.

While the ticketing change has meant a transfer away from the outdated gold coin donation mannequin, Saul and Howard consider it can create a extra dedicated viewers and add actual worth for many who attend.

And the explanation they preserve doing it hasn’t modified: Perth deserves its personal pictures showcase. As Saul places it, “For a long time there was nothing like this in WA, and for a long time there was nothing like this in Australia.”

PhotoLive Expo isn’t nearly cameras — it’s about celebrating the creativity, connection, and group that pictures can encourage.

How to get tickets

When: Sunday, August seventeenth
When: Novotel on Adelaide Terrace
Tickets are available here.