The golden light of a North Queensland afternoon streamed through smoke and dust churned up by armoured personnel carriers as they ground towards the enemy’s trench.
A trio of soldiers dismounted and paused with weapons before pushing further into the trenches, where Lance Corporal Riley Blennerhassett was lying in wait.
The 3rd Brigade trainee photographer raised his camera and captured what he saw.
“It turned out to be a pretty good shot,” he said.
Nearly a year later, that “pretty good shot” from Exercise Brolga Run 23 would be the primary image for the North Queensland Cowboys 2024 Defence Jersey.
Raised in Townsville, and the fifth generation of his family to serve, Lance Corporal Blennerhassett said it was a proud moment when he found out.
“It’s great that my work is getting out there, and I’m an avid Cowboys supporter, so to have my favourite NRL team use my image – I’m quite excited,” he said.
“I had the Cowboys head of design message me and say as soon as she saw my photo, she knew they were going to use it.”
A good image can be subjective, and there is always room for improvement according to Lance Corporal Blennerhassett, but conveying the emotion of a subject within their environment sets the tone on how a picture is received.
“For this photo, the foggy mist of the smoke makes it feel hectic and fast-paced, which allows the viewer to put themselves in the boots of a soldier in the trenches,” he said.
Lance Corporal Blennerhassett was working at Headquarters 3rd Brigade completing on-the-job training as an Army photographer while waiting for his corps transfer at the time.
He started photography as a hobby three years ago, and photos he took during RIMPAC 2022 caught the eye of his Officer Commanding at 1 Royal Australian Regiment, who suggested a transfer to photography.
“I initially hadn’t thought about transferring to image specialist and was going somewhere else, so luckily he was able to organise something for me to continue my career,” Lance Corporal Blennerhassett said.
The former rifleman is now completing the imagery specialist course at HMAS Kuttabul, and believes taking photos is an important part of any military career and it should be encouraged.
“People tend to be scared of pulling the camera out and getting a bit of banter from their mates; I think you’re going to regret it when you leave, so take as many as you can and enjoy the moment,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid to pick up the camera and give it a crack, and don’t be afraid to take a bad photo, that’s the only way you learn to take a good one.”
