Welcome to Patrick Keenan Photojournalist
I guess the idea of traveling to fascinating parts of the world to record the faces and events that pass in front of the camera lens is something we all dream about as we sit in our stuffy offices and let our minds imagine the exotic, the exciting, maybe even the dangerous.
The 'holiday snaps' we capture are sacred possessions and we proudly show them to those who stay at home and steer clear of the local travel agent or airline booking office. If you are ambitious enough to class yourself as a photojournalist you demand both sides of the brain work together to seek out the ideal picture material and formulate a saleable, readable story that will appear as a magazine feature - you must train your 'critical eye' to submit the most effective images to the editor.
My travels have taken me to the well-trodden locations in Far North Queensland - Normanton, Croydon and the channel country, to the deserts of Western Queensland - the Verdun Valley and the remote isolated towns. Travelling south to the coastline to explore the rich diving at Byron Bay and South-West Rocks with the migratory families of Grey Nurse sharks - further on to the Bass Strait community of King Island with the numerous convict ships wrecked on the fearsome west coast. More great diving trips, many more photographs.
Travelling overseas, diving and photojournalism is hard work - the prospect of losing something important is always with you but once you start taking good pictures the fun starts. The globe is scattered with great dive locations: the Red Sea, Scotland, the Solomon Islands, Guam and Truk Lagoon all offer superb diving and photography. The Middle East, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India all have exciting histories with many a story to be told - if you are willing to do the research and take a good pic.
The West Australian coastline has it all for the adventurer/diver. From Broome and the Rowley Shoals through Exmouth and the Navy Pier to Perth, Rottnest Island, Busselton, Dunsborough, Albany and Esperance - diving and photography at its best - as good as anywhere in the world.
For the technically-minded the Royal Australian Navy base (RAN) at Garden Island, has the Submarine Escape Training Facility (SETF) and the Clearance Diving Branch (CDT3) all offering the photographer a chance to shoot amazing images. Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) is also carried out at Fremantle in order to cater for the growth of the oil & gas Industries. The images on my website reflect all these opportunities to record the pictures and tell the story.