Adelaide Festival Photographer: Tasting Australia 2024

Every time the rush of a big event wraps up, a sense of bittersweet relief washes over us.

Adelaide photographers tend to have it rough this time of year. By the time we’ve cleared one card, another takes its place. There's only just enough time to ruminate on seeing off a library of smiling faces before we have to move along to the next.

That’s why when Tasting Australia brings its annual 10-day array of sights and smells to our humble streets, it grounds us for a little bit longer. Congregating our finest regional and local venues in Victoria Square, amidst a sea of clinking glasses and laughter from friends, we’re reminded why we do what we do. It is a showcase of heartfelt collaboration from our city’s most important venues, that bring us all together.

We saw hard-working bartenders labour to blend fine local gin with fresh citrus, all to present a mere moment of zingy experience in a sugar-rimmed glass to their patrons. Huddled around wood-fired pizza and perfectly cooked pasta, vibrant colours and shapes from across all culinary boundaries dotted tables up and down the venue. If you know us then you know we LOVE colourful shots, and Tasting Australia certainly didn’t disappoint in providing them.

As Australia’s oldest food and drink celebration, this event is a timely reminder of why South Australia is the festival state. We should all take a moment to feel communal pride in that title. Aside from bringing so much into our economy, it cements us as Australia’s haven of culture beyond just showcasing the world. These festivals showcase Adelaide back to them, enmeshing local and international talent whilst bringing that knowledge back into the palm of the audience (quite literally if you were lucky enough to be part of the cooking workshops).

Partnering with international sponsors like Volkswagen, as well as the likes of The University of Adelaide, The Advertiser, and our very own Pirate Life Brewing, a tapestry of hospitality venues across the city join together to bring life into the CBD. As autumn approaches, jackets start piling on. Despite the chill in the air, true Adelaideians know nothing will ever come close to the feeling of sipping a Barossa red amongst a group of old friends under the warmth of an outdoor gas heater. It makes us grateful to live in a city that knows the value of little moments like this, and the community that breathes life into it.

Adelaide event photographers are a lucky bunch. We not only get to experience the warmth and beauty of these events firsthand but we are tasked with crafting the memories that live on long after the marquees have been rolled up and the town halls have been cleared out. And as the city returns to its intermediary buzz, we recharge ourselves for the next one with equal anticipation.

As we sign off from another one of these events, our eyes lay firmly on the next. So for now, enquire with us if you’d like your next event to feel as special as this one was for us.

Lewis Whittenbury

Lewis Whittenbury is a co-founder, lead photographer and creative director at Frankie The Creative, Adelaide's event and brand photography studio. With over a decade of professional experience and a background lecturing Introduction to Filmmaking at the University of Adelaide, Lewis brings a rare depth of visual and directorial expertise to every shoot. He has covered some of South Australia's most significant events - including LIV Golf Adelaide, the FIFA Women's World Cup, AFL Gather Round, and the Santos Tour Down Under - for clients including Red Bull, Accor, Qatar Airways, and the South Australian Tourism Commission. His work has been published in Forbes, ABC News, Australian Geographic, and the Sydney Morning Herald. Based in Adelaide, SA.

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Australian Event Photographer: Australian Institute of Architects Awards 2024