About Rob
Photography: Kim Tonelli
The light was slipping away, and there I was — eighteen years old, stranded on a muddy roadside deep in the Borneo jungle, wondering where on earth I was going to sleep. As luck (or maybe a little magic) would have it, an elderly woman from a nearby village appeared, smiling and gesturing. With little more than hand signals and a whole lot of goodwill, she offered me a spot for the night: a humble bamboo platform, high enough to keep the snakes and centipedes at bay.
That night, under a canopy of stars, I learned that real communication isn’t just about words. It's about trust, instinct, and a good dose of resilience. It’s a lesson that’s stayed with me ever since — especially on photo shoots, where thinking fast, moving creatively, and embracing the unknown are just part of the adventure.
That spirit of exploration never quite left me. It’s what keeps calling me back to the high trails of Nepal, the windy shores of New Zealand, and the highlands of Tasmania.
To build some solid technique around all that teenage enthusiasm, I studied photography at RMIT, then cut my teeth in two of Melbourne’s busiest studios — working alongside some of the city's top advertising agencies and creatives.
In 1989, I decided it was time to chart my own course and opened 7Phoenix Studio — a lively, collaborative space that became a creative home for an incredible community of photographers, videographers, assistants, and designers. It wasn’t just a studio; it was a launchpad for big dreams.
These days, I’m lucky enough to have teamed up with my good mate Ian van der Wolde. His studio has given me the space and freedom to circle back to what first drew me to image making— traveling, chasing the light, and telling the stories tucked away in the wilder corners of the world.