Smith

11 February 2016, Collingwood, Australia. A man begs for money on Smith St

Summer

Recently while on assignment for Getty Images / The Age, I was sent to cover bushfires in the Lorne Anglesea area. On Christmas day, fires at Wye River and Separation Creek burnt out of control, subsequently devastating the local nearby hamlet towns. Over 100 properties were lost, and the tourist town of Lorne was placed under direct threat. Fortunately, however, the wind changed and the town suffered a near miss. There were no casualties.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Fires rip through the Angahook - Lorne state forest, threatening the nearby towns of Lorne, Wye River, and Separation Creek.

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Tourists and locals escape the summer heat as bushfires threaten the seaside tourist town of Lorne. 

25 December 2015, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. Firefighting aircraft dump flame retardant nearby the town of Lorne. 

Summer

As things get hot, people head to the beach to get cool. 

People escape an early start to Melbourne's summer at Half Moon Bay, Black Rock. © Getty Images / Fairfax

People escape an early start to Melbourne's summer at Half Moon Bay, Black Rock. © Getty Images / Fairfax

Maha Navami

One of the longest and most anticipated festivals in the Nepalese calendar, Dashain is a 15 day Hindu festival which celebrates the victory of good over evil. The ninth day of Dashain, called 'Maha Navami' is the pinnacle of the festival and is punctuated with the ritualistic sacrifice of buffalos, goats, and fowl. It is a time for Nepalese to gather with family, worship at temples, and feast.
Thousands of Nepalese flock to Taleju Temple in Durbar Square, Kathmandu to pay respect to the goddess. It is the only day each year in which the temple is open to the general public.

Goat blood mixed with rice and red pigment at a small temple in Freak St, Kathmandu

A goat is blessed before being sacrificed at the Durbar Square police buildings

Blood from a slain goat covers the floor of the Durbar Square Police Headquarters

Durbar Square Police Headquarters

A freshly sacrificed buffalo's body is ritualistically dragged around its head at the Durbar Square Police Headquarters

Durbar Square Police Headquarters

A buffalo calf's body is haphazardly attached to a bicycle. The freshly slaughtered animals are butchered and eaten. Note the man's t-shirt "Do fries come with the shake?"

The living goddess Kumari, a prepubescent girl, makes a rare public appearance in Durbar Square

A dog, seemingly unbothered by the days events, lies surrounded by hundreds of pigeons 

A buffalo is butchered by a temple in Durbar square. 

In the late afternoon, young children and adults take to the street to fight with kites. The string used to fly the kites is impregnated with glass, while the objective of the game is to sever the string of ones opponent.

Young men fly kites on the rubble of Maju Deval, a 17th century temple that was destroyed by the April earthquakes

Worshipers light fires by the side of a temple. 

Light The Dark

07 Sep 2015, Melbourne, Australia. A young boy places a candle at a makeshift memorial as part of the 'Light The Dark' vigil at the Treasury gardens. Candlelight vigils were held across the nation in honour of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler found drowned on a Turkish beach.

Reclaim Australia

 A right wing protest dubbed 'Reclaim Australia' marched through capital cities to mark Eid al-Fitr aiming to 'reclaim Australia from the traitorous Left and the Islamisation of Australia' leading to counter-protests and clashes with police. 

Left wing  protestors assemble to block 'Reclaim Australia' protestors from assembling at Parliament House. 

A Reclaim Australia protestor confronts the police cordon. 

Antifa left wing protestors searched by police. 

The 'Reclaim Australia' protestor who was photographed with swastikas tattooed on the back of his head. 

Far right Evangelist pastor and politician Danny Nalliah addresses the 'Reclaim Australia' protestors

Clashes between protestors and the police

Capsicum spray

A young woman affected by capsicum spray staggers back from the police line. 

Protestors use milk to reduce the effects of the capsicum spray. 

Nationalist and antifa protestors clash in Little Bourke St, near the corner of Spring Street. 

Antifa protestors set up barricades on Little Bourke Street.  

Police use capsicum spray to disperse protestors on the corner of Little Bourke St and Spring St. 

Antiracism protestors burn a 'Reclaim Australia' sign. 

Anti-Racism protestors heckle departing Reclaim Australia protestors. 

Fathers Grief

16 July 2015, Melton, Australia. Damien Sheehy stands at the site where his 18 year old son Daniel was killed in a 2012 house fire. Following a coronial enquiry which ruled an absence of foul play, Damien has petitioned for the case to be re-opened, alleging that Daniel was murdered by a drug gang in which he was involved. Australia suffers one of the highest rates of crystal methamphetamine use in the world. Photo for the Star Weekly.