DEAN DREW
In this issue, model Lily Nova stars in Vogue’s very first virtual fashion shoot, ‘Screen queen’, from page 96, captured via Zoom from her home in Adelaide. The shoot, which was styled, directed and photographed over a video call, would not have been possible without the help of Lily’s father Dean Drew, who took on the roles of prop stylist, assistant photographer and make-up artist. “It was an amazing 24 hours,” he says of the experience. “I have a greater understanding of the nature and complexities of her profession and industry now.” Confessing he came close to tears while watching his daughter at work, Drew says that “while I loved all the different looks, the Givenchy dress was a particular favourite. It was stunning visually.”
MATTHEW ABBOTT
Documentary photographer Matthew Abbott received global acclaim earlier this year after the image he took of a kangaroo escaping the bushfires in Lake Conjola, New South Wales, went viral. “I hope it will be remembered as an iconic photo capturing the harsh reality of climate change,” he says of the picture shared on social media by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Greta Thunberg. For this issue, Abbott captured female essential workers on the front line as Australia continues to fight against Covid-19 – see page 44. “It was important to me to photograph the women in their working environment and to convey a feeling in the images of what they are going through during the pandemic,” he says of the experience.
JENNIFER DUNCOMBE
“I have seen people survive the worst possible situations, often with nothing more than the visceral force of hope to get them through. We, too, will triumph eventually,” says Australian epidemiologist Jennifer Duncombe. In ‘Guiding spirit’, from page 36, the woman who once managed disease outbreaks in conflict zones across Asia, Africa and the Middle East explores the importance of resilience in the time of Covid-19. “My story is a collage of other people’s stories; snippets of vulnerability shared with me during moments of extraordinary suffering,” says Duncombe. “Initially
I felt uneasy about putting these stories on paper, but I wanted to reassure Australians that we will get through this difficult time.”