the different aspects of photography

A serious post today.  I am at the Nikon Event in the Hunter Valley - a big event for professional photographers with speakers from all over the world.  The first speaker was today was James Nachtway,  a multi award winning American war photographer.  His presentation was full of very confronting and emotive images and his words were intelligent and moving - people around me were crying and someone actually fainted.  The ICRC (Red Cross) have said that his images of the famine in Somalia were responsible for raising enough money to save 1.5 million people.  I was privileged to hear him talk.  His website is here and there was also a documentary made about him entitled War Photographer.

This afternoon I had a workshop with one of my favourite wedding photographers, Marcus Bell, at a beautiful little chapel in a vineyard.  It was a lovely golden afternoon, with a gorgeous, loving young couple in an idyllic setting.  You couldn't have had two more different examples of the photographic industry.

Today brought home to me the power of the photograph.  Photographs by photojournalists like James Nachtway can bring to the attention of the world the injustices and suffering of people who don't have a voice, and hopefully can make a difference to millions of people.

In a very different and much smaller way, as a wedding and portrait photographer I get to record the beautiful and happy times in people's lives, to give them an image to treasure and to always remind them of the special moments in their life .....