Robert Catto
@robertcatto.com
Canadian/Kiwi/Australian photographer on Gadigal land, specialising in theatre, dance, opera and music. Member of Kage Collective. Oh, and silent film researcher, who also likes Formula One. 📷🇨🇦🇳🇿🇦🇺🏁
https://www.robertcatto.com
https://www.rupertjulian.com
https://www.robertcatto.com
https://www.rupertjulian.com
Pinned
Robert Catto
@robertcatto.com
· Nov 15
Photographing The Arts — Robert Catto, Photographer - Superb, Professional Photography for Business and the Arts in Sydney, Australia
A series of essays about being a stills photographer in the performing arts world of theatre, dance, music, opera and events.
robertcatto.com
Just in case anyone’s discovering me for the first time, I’m a photographer (from Canada, via NZ, in Sydney Australia) specialising in theatre & performing arts. And I write about the complexities of that, on my blog! It’s a funny old life, but I like it. robertcatto.com/photographin...
Reposted by Robert Catto
Library Of Congress Makes Collection Of Classic Film Magazines Available Online https://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2025/10/27/library-of-congress-makes-collection-of-classic-film-magazines-available-online/
Library Of Congress Makes Collection Of Classic Film Magazines Available Online
The Library of Congress’s Historical Media Publications Collection is now a an online, searchable resource for film fans and historians.
www.filmbuffonline.com
October 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Library Of Congress Makes Collection Of Classic Film Magazines Available Online https://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2025/10/27/library-of-congress-makes-collection-of-classic-film-magazines-available-online/
Some new production photography featuring Matilda Ridgway and Iolanthe in The Edit, written & directed by Gabrielle Scawthorn, playing at @belvoirst.bsky.social here in Sydney until 26 Oct. Great script, amazing cast, and a beautiful production!
October 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Some new production photography featuring Matilda Ridgway and Iolanthe in The Edit, written & directed by Gabrielle Scawthorn, playing at @belvoirst.bsky.social here in Sydney until 26 Oct. Great script, amazing cast, and a beautiful production!
Ruin a song by adding the word “literally” to the title:
And Your Bird Can Literally Sing
Let’s Literally Dance
Literally Call Me, Maybe
And Your Bird Can Literally Sing
Let’s Literally Dance
Literally Call Me, Maybe
Ruin a song by adding the word “literally” to the tit(le:
(I Just Literally Died) In Your Arms Tonight
(I Just Literally Died) In Your Arms Tonight
Ruin a song by adding the word “literally” to the title:
If You Were Literally the Only Girl in the World
If You Were Literally the Only Girl in the World
September 14, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Ruin a song by adding the word “literally” to the title:
And Your Bird Can Literally Sing
Let’s Literally Dance
Literally Call Me, Maybe
And Your Bird Can Literally Sing
Let’s Literally Dance
Literally Call Me, Maybe
Make a band singular:
Panic! In Your Headphones
Panic! In Your Headphones
Make a band singular
Blink-1
Blink-1
Make a band singular.
A Dude Called Quest
A Dude Called Quest
September 13, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Make a band singular:
Panic! In Your Headphones
Panic! In Your Headphones
Got 7 minutes to spare? Disarmed is a GREAT, beautifully shot, surprising short film from my amazing friend Lucy Green, that's now on Youtube--and if you look REALLY close, you might even see my name in the credits. (As a photographer this time, not an extra!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dKy...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dKy...
DISARMED | Omeleto
YouTube video by Omeleto
www.youtube.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Got 7 minutes to spare? Disarmed is a GREAT, beautifully shot, surprising short film from my amazing friend Lucy Green, that's now on Youtube--and if you look REALLY close, you might even see my name in the credits. (As a photographer this time, not an extra!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dKy...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dKy...
I was back in Canada a few months ago, and this photo essay is how I spent my summer vacation. (Well, part of it, anyway!) Now live at the Kage Collective site...
www.kagecollective.com/kage-stories...
www.kagecollective.com/kage-stories...
The Remains Of The Bay — KAGE COLLECTIVE
It’s been a funny time to be Canadian, lately. Even watching from afar, the renewed passion for our home and native land (as the national anthem says) has been startling to see, as threats to make t...
www.kagecollective.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:26 AM
I was back in Canada a few months ago, and this photo essay is how I spent my summer vacation. (Well, part of it, anyway!) Now live at the Kage Collective site...
www.kagecollective.com/kage-stories...
www.kagecollective.com/kage-stories...
I don’t know if it’s a flex, but the first concert I ever went to was the night they filmed this video, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. youtu.be/J5ebkj9x5Ko
August 29, 2025 at 3:13 AM
I don’t know if it’s a flex, but the first concert I ever went to was the night they filmed this video, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. youtu.be/J5ebkj9x5Ko
And nobody in all of Oz
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down
half green, half pink, all beautiful…
#FlowersonFriday
#FlowersonFriday
August 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM
And nobody in all of Oz
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down
Reposted by Robert Catto
Post someone who looks good in a hat.
August 4, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Post someone who looks good in a hat.
Post someone who looks good in a hat.
August 4, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Post someone who looks good in a hat.
Age verification? I was there when Duran Duran filmed the video for The Reflex, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
age verification? I saw Spandau Ballet during their record breaking* six-show Christmas run at Wembley Arena.
age verification? went to the garden state arts center to see an mtv concert featuring bell biv devoe, gerardo, c&c music factory, and color me badd
July 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Age verification? I was there when Duran Duran filmed the video for The Reflex, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
So I've seen a few posts recently about it being 50 years since A Chorus Line first came out, which of course sent me digging into my archives to see what I could find from the Darlinghurst Theatre Company production(s) here in Sydney, in 2020 and 2022...! www.robertcatto.com/blog-archive...
Photographing The Arts: A Chorus Line (2020/2022) — Robert Catto, Photographer - Superb, Professional Photography for Business and the Arts in Sydney, Australia
Recently it was the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line, the famous musical based on actual stories from performers working in the industry, their lives, their fears, and the challenges of getting that ...
www.robertcatto.com
July 29, 2025 at 6:51 AM
So I've seen a few posts recently about it being 50 years since A Chorus Line first came out, which of course sent me digging into my archives to see what I could find from the Darlinghurst Theatre Company production(s) here in Sydney, in 2020 and 2022...! www.robertcatto.com/blog-archive...
what perfect album came out when you were sixteen? (I’ll limit myself to the ones I wore out on cassette at the time…)
July 27, 2025 at 12:14 PM
what perfect album came out when you were sixteen? (I’ll limit myself to the ones I wore out on cassette at the time…)
Part II of the @bernardzuel.bsky.social interview with @tamineilson.bsky.social — and her astounding, outstanding new album came out on Friday, so get into it! Go on, you deserve a little treat.
Saturday read #4. What would The Big O do?
When life gets dramatic put that in your songs says @tamineilson.bsky.social. "It’s cooler to be mysterious & keep things close to the chest but that’s just not the kind of artist, the kind of writer or performer I am."
www.bernardzuel.net/post/go-big-...
When life gets dramatic put that in your songs says @tamineilson.bsky.social. "It’s cooler to be mysterious & keep things close to the chest but that’s just not the kind of artist, the kind of writer or performer I am."
www.bernardzuel.net/post/go-big-...
GO BIG OR GO HOME? TAMI NEILSON, DRAMA QUEEN, DOES BOTH part two
THE HARD-CUT FRINGE and the glossy clothes, the rockabilly skank and the truth-telling lyrics, the country belter and the Kiwi address with a Canuck accent. It’s true, Tami Neilson will tell you, you ...
www.bernardzuel.net
July 13, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Part II of the @bernardzuel.bsky.social interview with @tamineilson.bsky.social — and her astounding, outstanding new album came out on Friday, so get into it! Go on, you deserve a little treat.
Nice to work with Mark Sutcliffe and Opera Australia this week on Strictly Baz Luhrmann at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, with this group of absolute stars—Phoebe Panaretos, Tim Draxl, Alinta Chidzey and Ryan Gonzalez, with the Opera Australia orchestra.
June 24, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Nice to work with Mark Sutcliffe and Opera Australia this week on Strictly Baz Luhrmann at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, with this group of absolute stars—Phoebe Panaretos, Tim Draxl, Alinta Chidzey and Ryan Gonzalez, with the Opera Australia orchestra.
Reposted by Robert Catto
Can we all just take a moment to remember this brave theatre sign writer who tragically passed away whilst doing the job he loved.
June 21, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Can we all just take a moment to remember this brave theatre sign writer who tragically passed away whilst doing the job he loved.
The great Canadian-Kiwi musician @tamineilson.bsky.social is a vocal powerhouse, and (lucky for me) a good friend as well. Check out this interview, but also waste NO time in listening to her latest single, Foolish Heart—this new album is all killer, no filler.
Get in when @tamineilson.bsky.social is at the wheel & who knows where you'll end up. Ask her kids who spent 5 months in a mobile home crossing Canada playing gigs "so that they can really know where they come from ... understand how I grew up & how it felt".
www.bernardzuel.net/post/mad-fac...
www.bernardzuel.net/post/mad-fac...
MAD FACTS TOO: TAMI NEILSON ROAD WORRIER
SHE IS NO JOHN DENVER, thank god: her powerful voice with its tender heart, not to mention an aversion to half measures when it comes to country music, as her new single, Foolish Heart, shows, renders...
www.bernardzuel.net
June 20, 2025 at 5:06 AM
The great Canadian-Kiwi musician @tamineilson.bsky.social is a vocal powerhouse, and (lucky for me) a good friend as well. Check out this interview, but also waste NO time in listening to her latest single, Foolish Heart—this new album is all killer, no filler.
It's been far too long between essays at the Kage Collective, but we're back to regular posting--hopefully once a week for the rest of the year. Here's my first one for 2025, about the traditional Australian election sausage sizzle...
Democracy Sausage — KAGE COLLECTIVE
They say a week is a long time, in politics. For those of us who live in Australia or Canada—or if you’re a citizen of both countries, like me—this has been a very long week indeed. Monday was the ...
www.kagecollective.com
June 16, 2025 at 2:11 AM
It's been far too long between essays at the Kage Collective, but we're back to regular posting--hopefully once a week for the rest of the year. Here's my first one for 2025, about the traditional Australian election sausage sizzle...
Reposted by Robert Catto
This is so good, and useful, and funny—worth it just for the review of Dumb Girl of Portici, and Rupert Julian in short shorts. Enjoy! moviessilently.com/2019/08/11/t...
April 30, 2025 at 11:51 AM
This is so good, and useful, and funny—worth it just for the review of Dumb Girl of Portici, and Rupert Julian in short shorts. Enjoy! moviessilently.com/2019/08/11/t...
So many spectacular reviews for Posh by Laura Wade, directed by Margaret Thanos at the Old Fitz Theatre here in Sydney—it’s only natural it’s nearly sold out!
Worth getting in while you can, for this hilarious and searing indictment of wealth and privilege. An amazing cast, and a great production.
Worth getting in while you can, for this hilarious and searing indictment of wealth and privilege. An amazing cast, and a great production.
April 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM
So many spectacular reviews for Posh by Laura Wade, directed by Margaret Thanos at the Old Fitz Theatre here in Sydney—it’s only natural it’s nearly sold out!
Worth getting in while you can, for this hilarious and searing indictment of wealth and privilege. An amazing cast, and a great production.
Worth getting in while you can, for this hilarious and searing indictment of wealth and privilege. An amazing cast, and a great production.
Repost with the first album you bought with your own money. (I can’t remember what the first album I ever bought was, but the first RECORD was the 45rpm single of this…!) youtu.be/dWRWYYt47RI
April 17, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Repost with the first album you bought with your own money. (I can’t remember what the first album I ever bought was, but the first RECORD was the 45rpm single of this…!) youtu.be/dWRWYYt47RI
Cause baby you’re a dire wolf
How does this gene splicer work?
Make ‘em all white, white, white
Put some bark into their bite, bite, bite
How does this gene splicer work?
Make ‘em all white, white, white
Put some bark into their bite, bite, bite
The de-extinction of the dire wolf – is Jurassic Park really happening?
The de-extinction of the dire wolf – is Jurassic Park really happening?
These wolves were extinct for 10,000 years. Now, the DNA of their ancestors has brought them back to life. Should we be thrilled or terrified that these carnivores are back in action?
www.theguardian.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Cause baby you’re a dire wolf
How does this gene splicer work?
Make ‘em all white, white, white
Put some bark into their bite, bite, bite
How does this gene splicer work?
Make ‘em all white, white, white
Put some bark into their bite, bite, bite
I realised recently that it’s been FAR too long since I posted anything on my blog about photographing the arts; but in rectifying that I’m cheating slightly, and republishing an interview I did with Australian performer Jennifer Trijo a few years ago, in the early days of the pandemic. Here it is…!
Photographing the arts: embracing uncertainty — Robert Catto, Photographer - Superb, Professional Photography for Business and the Arts in Sydney, Australia
“When I look back at how I got to where I am now, the one through-line that carries on is always theatre. For me, that’s been the great love/obsession of my working life, and so everything I’ve done —...
www.robertcatto.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:07 AM
I realised recently that it’s been FAR too long since I posted anything on my blog about photographing the arts; but in rectifying that I’m cheating slightly, and republishing an interview I did with Australian performer Jennifer Trijo a few years ago, in the early days of the pandemic. Here it is…!
Being the kind of person who has literal folders of tickets and programmes going back 35 years(!!), I loved this article.
I have an essay in this week’s @bloomberg.com Weekend Edition about ticket stubs and memory and how the ways we catalog our own pasts have been changed by the internet. I’m really proud of it and I hope you’ll read it. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
What We Lose When Our Memories Exist Entirely in Our Phones
The act of putting something aside is an exercise in remembering.
www.bloomberg.com
March 7, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Being the kind of person who has literal folders of tickets and programmes going back 35 years(!!), I loved this article.
Sorry to hear today that jazz legend Roy Ayers has passed; he came to New Zealand for the Wellington Jazz Festival in 2009 when I was their photographer, and I was in complete awe of his playing. Incredible sensitivity and sound, with intense depth of feeling in his hands.
March 7, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Sorry to hear today that jazz legend Roy Ayers has passed; he came to New Zealand for the Wellington Jazz Festival in 2009 when I was their photographer, and I was in complete awe of his playing. Incredible sensitivity and sound, with intense depth of feeling in his hands.