Photos of Anzac Day coverage in Melbourne at the Shrine of Remembrance by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake on assignment for Getty Images






Photos of Anzac Day coverage in Melbourne at the Shrine of Remembrance by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake on assignment for Getty Images
In a sign of the times in ‘post-lockdown Melbourne’ Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has taken the press pack out of the the dreaded ‘purple room; the room now synonymous with one of the darkest chapters in Melbourne’s history. Since Lockdown restrictions were eased Premier Daniel Andrews has conducted his press briefings away from the purple backdrop and by design done so in places which project a more positive optic.
As part of that, we joined the premier as he visited the New State Library Metro Station as part of the wider Metro Tunnel project. Images taken on assignment for Getty Images
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a Melbourne based Photojournalist who works on regular assignment with The New York Times, Agence France-Presse, Getty Images, AP | http://instagram.com/abrfoto/
This year, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) will be unlike any other for the 50,000+ members of Melbourne’s Jewish community. In lieu of the closure of Synagogues and restrictions on wider family gatherings, the celebrations will continue albeit under a totally unprecedented set of rules.Â
Normally over 1,500 Jews join Rabbi Yaakov Glasman at the St Kilda Synagogue, this year it will be closed. The Kallenbach family usually spend the 2-day celebration breaking bread with their wider family, this year they do so among themselves while gathered around the dinner table listening to Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann deliver the Rosh Hashanah Drosha (sermon) live via Zoom.Â
On Assignment for the Guardian Australia I worked on this story for this piece titled ‘Everyone wants to hear the shofar’: ringing in Jewish new year in locked-down Melbourne
Melbourne residents are currently experiencing some of the strictest and longest coronavirus lockdown measures in the world as Victoria continues to work to contain a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Under stage 4 lockdown restrictions, which came into effect on 2 August 2020, people are only allowed to leave home to give or receive care, shopping for food and essential items, daily exercise and work while an overnight curfew from 8pm to 5am is also in place. Originally scheduled to end on September 13, Melbourne’s tough stage four lockdown has been extended for a further two weeks after the Victorian government announced COVID-19 case numbers remained too high for a safe return to a more normal way of life.
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake #onassignment for @gettyimages
Images are available for licence via Getty Images here
#melbourne #coronavirus #photojournalism
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Among some of the worst-hit by this pandemic in Melbourne are International students and those on temporary, humanitarian or bridging visa’s.
During some much-needed respite from the usual joyless Covid-19 coverage, I spent some time with two volunteer charity organisations providing and distributing free meals for those who fall through the cracks of government assistance.
The first is @alexmakesmeals, an organisation started by 20-year-old university student @alexkdekker during Melbourne’s first lockdown when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in March.Â
Originally aimed at providing meals for healthcare workers, the charity has now expanded to provide meals for anyone in need following the return of lockdown restrictions due to a spike in community coronavirus transmissions. A team of volunteer chef’s and kitchen staff (most out of work) cook and pack hundreds of nutritious culturally appropriate meals a day.Â
The second group was the Kasih Project is a community organisation that has been distributing emergency food relief.
Angelina Sukiri project co-Ordinator of the Kasih Project has been assisting in the distribution of food to those on Humanitarian Visa’s illegible for government assistance, often working very low-paying jobs in the farming, warehouse or cleaning sector.
With work hours drastically reduced and some without work due to Covid-19, many have had to resort to initiatives such as The Kasih Project, which is a community organisation that has been distributing emergency food relief for international students and other temporary visa holders who are not able to access any government assistance.
If you wish to donate to either organisation you can do so via their links
@alexmakesmeals bit.ly/ammDonate
Kasih Project https://www.facebook.com/kasih.project/
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake #onassignment for @gettyimages
#melbourne #coronavirus #photojournalism
#photojournalism #documentaryphotography #reportage #gettyimages #photojournalist #reportagespotlight #covid19au #coronavid19 #covid_19 #covid #corona #melbournelife #melbourneiloveyou #melbournelife #canon #canonaustraliaÂ
On 28th of June Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews during a press conference on June confirmed COVID-19 infection numbers continued to rise, with 49 new coronavirus cases recorded overnight.
Health authorities are continuing on a testing blitz in Melbourne suburbs that have been identified as community transmission hotspots for coronavirus.
A few days later Daniel Andrews announced Lockdowns across Melbourne which came into effect at for residents of suburbs identified as COVID-19 hotspots following a spike in new coronavirus cases through community transmission. From midnight Wednesday 1 July, residents of 10 postcodes will only be able to leave home for exercise or work, to buy essential items including food or to access childcare and healthcare. Businesses and facilities in these lockdown areas will also be restricted and cafes and restaurants can only open for take-away and delivery. The restrictions will remain in place until at least 29 July.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 28: Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews during a press conference on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 28: A woman conducts an oral Covid-19 test at a pop-up facility during a COVID-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 28: An elderly man has a Covid-19 test under the guidance of a member of the testing team during a COVID-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 28: A man conducts a Covid-19 test by inserting a swab in his nose, under the guidance of a member of the testing team at a pop-up testing site, during a COVID-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 28: An elderly woman is tested at a pop-up clinic during a COVID-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: A police officer directs traffic into a lane where drivers are checked on their reason for travel and residential address on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: A police officer directs traffic into a lane where drivers are checked on their reason for travel and residential address on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Lockdowns across Melbourne have come into effect for residents of suburbs identified as COVID-19 hotspots following a spike in new coronavirus cases through community transmission. From midnight Wednesday 1 July, residents of 10 postcodes will only be able to leave home for exercise or work, to buy essential items including food or to access childcare and healthcare. Businesses and facilities in these lockdown areas will also be restricted and cafes and restaurants can only open for take-away and delivery. The restrictions will remain in place until at least 29 July. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: An empty row of shops is seen at the Olsen Place shopping village in the suburb of Broadmeadows on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: A general view of a drive through testing facility at Broadmeadows central shopping center on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: A man gets a Covid-19 test at a testing site on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: A woman gets a Covid-19 test at a testing site on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
People line up to get a Covid-19 test at a testing site in the locked-down suburb of Dallas on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 02: Bottleshop owner of Dallas Cellars, Darshan Singh in the locked down suburb of Dallas on July 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Darshan Singh has noticed a drop in business today, he normally gets a lot of walk-in customers but since lockdown has only got local customers. The restrictions will remain in place until at least 29 July. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews walks to the podium to conduct a press conference on June 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria’s confirmed COVID-19 infection numbers continue to rise, with 49 new coronavirus cases recorded overnight. Health authorities are continuing on a testing blitz in Melbourne suburbs that have been identified as community transmission hotspots for coronavirus. Restrictions in Victoria have been tightened in response to the spike in new cases across the state with premier Daniel Andrews extending the current state of emergency for at least four weeks to allow police the power to enforce social distancing rules. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Words and Photos by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a photojournalist and travel photographer based in Melbourne Australia covering Australia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Follow him on instagramÂ
An estimated 10,000+ #BlackLivesMatters protestors took the street today in #Melbourne in an effort to bring further attention to the Indigenous deaths in custody, Racial profiling and the murder of George Floyd.
Australia has had 432 Indigenous deaths in police custody since 1991.
Events across Australia have been organised in solidarity with protests in the United States following the killing of an unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota and to rally against aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia.
Words and Photos by Asanka Brendon RatnayakeÂ
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a photojournalist and travel photographer based in Melbourne Australia covering Australia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Follow him on instagramÂ
To give some idea of how long that line of international students in #Melbourne lining up for Food vouchers was. pic.twitter.com/kAMLphponH
— Asanka Brendon Ratnayake (@abrfoto) June 1, 2020
Words and Photos by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a photojournalist and travel photographer based in Melbourne Australia covering Australia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Follow him on instagramÂ
My news beat covering the Corona Virus over the past few months has meant I’ve spent numerous days walking through the eerily quiet streets of Melbourne. In the last month or so, teams of Hi-Visibility vest clad cleaning teams would be dispatched throughout the city and into the suburbs. It was obvious to me that many of them didn’t seem like the sort of people you would generally associate with such work, it was evident that this was a new form of employment and in all likelihood the only form available for most. Curious to this, I felt compelled to learn more about who these people were, there was more to this story than just an increase in the number of cleaners on the street.
Under an initiative funded by the Victorian Government titled ‘working for Victoria’ councils were giving funds to employ via their contractors displaced workers to conduct a sanitisation blitz.
On assignment for Getty Images, I spent a few days with the Covid-19 cleansing teams in the City of Port Phillip in Melbourne inner city south-east, to learn about the makeup of these unsung heroes of the Pandemic in Melbourne. Who are they, where do they come from, how are they in these roles and why have they chosen to do it?
Some have come from all over the world, among them are recent Law graduates, Architects, International Students and displaced local workers from the tourism and hospitality sectors. Most of have fallen through the cracks of being eligible for financial assistance during Covid-19, there are also some who have chosen not to get financial assistance and just want to get back to work.
For 5 days a week, they navigate their way through the street of Melbourne walking over 15 kilometres a day cleaning and sanitising railings, playgrounds, bins, lamp posts bicycle racks and every other council amenity we may not even notice. All done enthusiastically and with a sense of duty to the community.
Words and Photos by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake taken while #onassignment for @gettyimages
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a photojournalist and travel photographer based in Melbourne Australia covering Australia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Follow him on instagram
Eid al-Fitr follows weeks of fasting and marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. I spent some time with the Abbas family in Melbourne as they broke fast and conducted their evening Taraweeh prayers.
Due to Covid-19 and the restrictions on large gatherings, Ramadan this year meant prayers wouldn’t take place in Mosques and breaking of fast couldn’t be conducted in large groups. Eid al-Fitr celebrations to would be confined within family homes.
Mother of three Dewi Andrina felt Ramadan this year felt more special and harmonious within the confines of their family home and allowed their family to be closer to their faith as a result allowing for more time to be dedicated to the teachings of their faith as a family.Â
To those celebrating, Eid-Mubarak to you and your families.
Images taken while #onassignment for @gettyimagesÂ
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake is a photojournalist and travel photographer based in Melbourne Australia covering Australia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Follow him on instagramÂ