The atmosphere was relaxed, considering this was the frontline of a conventional war, and it reminded me of some sort of huge outdoor picnic in the middle of the desert.

Libyan rebels offered me cups of sweet tea and tuna sandwiches and we tried to converse in my non-existent Arabic and their non-existent English.

All they could get across was: “Gaddafi crazy, Gaddafi crazy…!” as they sat on chairs and surveyed the battlefield stretching out to the west on the low ground.

Then our friendly chat was broken by the screaming of more rebel rockets being launched from a sand bank about 100 metres to our right.

Each salvo was met with a huge cheer from the rebels who would then shoot their AK47’s aimlessly into the air.

As we watched the rockets impact with a dull thud in and around the government positions some 5 kilometres away, my friend and driver, Abdullah, an ex Libyan army soldier, came from behind and grabbed my shoulder.

‘Kim we must go! The government soldiers will get their distance now! Let’s go!.

As we turned and started running down the hill to the car, a salvo of Libyan army shells, most probably from both tanks and artillery, came slamming into our position. Sounding like wailing banshees, they exploded around us; there was chaos as rebels and journalists ran for cover, some diving into ditches beside the road, others making for their cars, some simply standing bemused and shocked.

As I made the tar road and sprinted towards the vehicle with Abdullah just in front of me, a shell came spinning at warp speed, end over end just above our heads, crashing into the road behind us with a dull but menacing thud. As Abdullah drove like one possessed through the retreating rebel 4 x 4’s, shouting and screaming at them and the universe, my mind was racing, praying that we would not be hit by a shell as we went on our mission to make the safety of the Ras Naluf junction about 5 kilometres away.

Adrenalin fills the veins, all your senses are on full alert, you hold the dashboard with your free hand, cameras bouncing on your lap and hitting the car door as the car rams over shell holes in the road – and as you drive, time seems to stand still; even though you are running for your life, the human mind and senses work overtime, in a higher gear and thus, despite the speed at which everything is really happening, it conversely slows down, so every memory becomes recorded in your memory bank…

The next attack by Gaddafi forces war planes on the road junction outside the main enterence to Ras Naluf town had the rebels running for any weapons they could find from anti-aircraft weapons mounted on Toyota Land Cruisers, shoulder launched Sam 7’s and AK47’s.

Every rebel who was armed unleashed a massive barrage of lead into the sky as the rebels shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and stood unafraid of death in the open as the sound of spent shells hitting the tar road brings high notes to the otherwise explosive sounds of continuous fire.

Then, as the plane passes and disappears into the cold blue sky over Libya, a short silence falls over the junction.

In anticipation the rebels stand in the open waiting for the inevitable explosion of a 1000 pound bomb.

Hiding alongside a wall to the west of the junction, I look through the view finder of the 5D and wait for the explosion.

Without warning, the first of two massive, body rocking explosions rip through the junction as a 1000 bomb tears the tar to pieces and sends a shock wave rushing through the nearby environment… with shrapnel slamming into anything in its path. With that a rebel ran and dives into the sand drift next to me, his eyes wide with fear and excitement.

For what seems like an eternity my body and senses try to recover; my eardrums ring as I look around to see if there are any injured rebels. This time we were all lucky; both bombs left us rocking with the power of their explosions, but no-one was killed or injured.

As the conflict continues there are many who have not been so fortunate. With the recent passing of conflict photographers, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondras, and the capture of friend, colleague and fellow photographer Anton Hammerl, those memories, and questions I ask myself, come back to fill my mind.

Like a computer defragmenting, I am trying to answer some questions that remain: Why did I survive the daily bombings on the front and not others?

Do my images make ANY difference in the world? What has happened to my driver and friend Abdullah? How do I process the absolute assault on my senses that a war brings (the massive barrage of sounds, smells and sights of wounded and dead soldiers, tanks and metal, sand and cold, wind and rain, no trees, no vegetation, men screaming and shouting at each other, nerves on edge…)?

But probably the most important questions is: How do I deal with the fact that although I put my life at risk to take photographs, I am thrilled by the excitement of covering war?

Is it that you took the risk and survived that leads you to feel invisible and invincible, or is it the fact that there’s no other drug on the market, no motorcycle fast enough, no fairground ride tall enough, that holds such danger that it captivates you to such an extent?

As the memories start to fade slowly into the background, I realised that the most difficult aspect of covering conflict, what I have a problem dealing with, is the fact that within hours of leaving my quiet and idyllic middle-class life in the suburbs of Johannesburg, I was dodging bombs in a bitterly cold and desolate foreign desert - and then mere hours after leaving the front line, the reverse happens. It’s like waking up from a dream to the reality. Now that I’m lying in bed at home the entire two weeks experience seems like an ultra-fast, acid induced dream that I remember clearly, but now seems to have been some sort of out-of-body experience.

And as the war rages on I watch with interest and pray that the needless attempt to depose a leader does not cost the lives of more journalists, photographers and civilian casualties. ….

But the hard facts are that war needs to be photographed as the eyes of the world are often than not focused on the still images created through the 35mm viewfinder of a camera and thus the need and want of photographers to risk their lives to bring the images to the mass media will continue.

Note: Pls view the images from Libya’s front line @ http://www.kimludbrook.com/photo-essays/ras-naluf-junction-2.html

It all used to be so simple when I first started shooting professionally back in the mid ’90’s. There was a choice of three film formats to capture the light that shines through that magic lens – black and white or colour film, chrome, or Polaroid Now there is a bewildering choice of ways to capture the subject.

Should I use my iPhone? Or a medium format Pentax film body? The Canon 5D? Or a new Fuji X100 digital rangefinder? http://www.poyi.org/68/17/third_01.php

Since the advent of photography with its use of chemicals, films, metal plates and various formats of camera, to current days, we as photographers have had to move with the times and try to keep up with developments with regard to technology whether we like it or not. Of late though I, like many other photographers I’ve been talking to, have been feeling increasingly unsure of what the future holds with regard to camera technology and what format suits our work.

On one hand some photographers are buying film cameras and shooting quality medium format images, but on the other, the advance of technology has recently produced the hipstamatic app for the iPhone, and the soon to be released Fuji X100 digital rangefinder – which is seriously retro, and looks like it belongs back in the ’60’s in the hands of some discerning photojournalist covering a far off war. http://www.finepix-x100.com

Within months of the last roll of Kodachrome being sold and exposed, Fuji brought out a rangefinder digital body with fixed lens that uses a hybrid viewfinder, where the photographer looks through a traditional optical viewfinder all the while having digital data – such as shutter speed, aperture, white balance, exposure correction and ISO – added to the view. http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/the-end-of-an-era-1935-to-2010/

But while Fuji brings us a retro digital rangefinder, many photographers are dedicated to crafting printed images in the old school way.  Certainly, the contemporary art photographer’s choice of format still is medium. And it goes without saying that the most common medium for looking at still photographs now is on a screen of some sort, be it a laptop or on an iPhone.

Working for a news agency takes this process of digital imagery to the extreme with my life basically ruled by zero’s and one’s, and of the thousands of images I shoot and transmit to the wire all of them remain in the digital format and never grace a 12 x 16 print.

Yes, I for one very rarely make a print, whether it’s because I’m constantly looking at images on the LCD on the back of my camera, then in software on my laptop, before looking at it published online on some foreign website or as a daily attachment from our desk in the form of the daily ‘play report’, thus there’s no need, or because frankly, there doesn’t seem to be much call for it anymore.

Ultimately the truth of the matter is that we as photographers have no choice but to keep up with developments and, who knows, in 100 years time we may not even need a camera. We may end up simply looking at a subject, closing our eyes and some built-in app in our brain will record the image and transmit it to a cyberspace viewer…

Interesting times ahead.

This reported quote by 44-year old South African War photographer, Joao Silva, will surely become the stuff of legend.

The incredibly inspirational photojournalist and family man was seriously injured Saturday while on patrol with US troops in Afghanistan while working as a conflict photographer for the New York Times.

What has always amazed me about Joao when I have worked with him is that he never  seems to be working hard on assignment.

Although always relaxed and in control, he never misses the moment, and time and time again captures timeless, uncluttered and emotive images, while never losing sight of his humanity.

Cruising in a car with Joao on news jobs, mainly in Johannesburg of late, is always a ‘photographic masterclass’, a dissertation on how to work under pressure and how to weigh up the options that a photographer constantly comes across: should I go closer to the hundreds of angry protestors or stay at a distance?; should we run behind those shacks and come out behind the police?; and is it time for the long lens or should we stay short?.

Joao is the consummate professional. Never ever have I seen him lose control of himself or the situation, or get too emotionally involved – often the biggest challenge for anybody behind the lens….

He is one of the industry’s naturals, completely at ease doing what he loves the most – working under pressure on conflict news events. And in doing so, always seemed to be nourished by the process. Give him a mundane assignment and you will know all about it…

The recent injuries Joao suffered and the amazing support he is rightly getting from both the photographic community and members of the public, has brought attention to the commitment of contemporary conflict photographers. (http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/widespread-impact-from-an-afghan-mine/)

In a recent interview, Joao talked frankly to friend and fellow New York Times photographer, Mike Camber, about his emotional and intellectual approach to the dangers of the life of a war photographer. ( http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/joao-silva-acting-despite-fear/)

In an age of the “I” Reporter and paparazzi, it should be remembered that photographers like Joao are risking their lives every day to bring images of the world’s ghastly conflicts to a public who seem to be suffering from an increasingly bad dose of attention deficit disorder.

Within the fast moving world of the internet age, timeless war images are still being made, and this brings me to an insightfully produced BBC series I recently watched, ‘The Genius of Photography’, which includes the work of virtually unknown war photographer, Tony Vaccaro, who shot the most astonishing image of a soldier being killed right in front of his lens. ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/)

A US army photographer, Tony covered the Second World War at the same time as Magnum founder and celebrated war photographer, Robert Capa. Tony carried both camera and rifle as he documented the second world war, not an easy task. One memorable moment in the interview has him remembering how he ended up developing film in five up-turned army helmets, with chemicals he’s found in rubble in a bombed photo lab, then leaving the film to dry overnight.

Whether it be developing film in the second world war or walking patrol while embedded with US troops, our thoughts should go to those photographers who risk their lives to try to document the every increasing conflicts of our age.

In Joao’s case I am sure that he will prove as big an inspiration during his rehabilitation and subsequent career as he did before this most horrid moment in Afghanistan.

And after reading about the recovery of AP photographer, Emilio Morenatti after he lost his foot in Afghanistan, I am sure that with modern medical care and the indomitable spirit that is part of this remarkable man, Joao will be back in the saddle in no time at all. (http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/behind-41/)

I, for one, am blessed to have had the opportunity to have worked with Joao, and to learn the craft of the conflict photographer from a man who will continue to be of the Greats of conflict genre.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/article737043.ece/True-stuff-of-legends

http://photographyblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/dangerous-duty.html

It seems that Marco Vernaschi asked the parents of a murdered girl in Uganda,  Babirye Margret (10) to exhume her body so he could  photograph her as part of a story on child sacrifice he was working on with the backing of the Pulitzer centre and aided by Ugandan NGO, RANCHO.

The debate surrounding the exhumation has taken Lightstalkers by storm with various angles on the story being brought in ranging from the ethical aspect; the legal aspect and the fact that this may not have happened in a Western country.

http://marco-vernaschi.photoshelter.com/gallery/CHILD-SACRIFICE-Uganda/G0000×1HawSRNvQo/?bqH=eJzL9A0PdfYrTY8PSg4rMHULNSo2NS6vLEhyMC1MjO0MjQwsLJyj_d0sXU3AIIKQ4_E8uAgv7LAfLUAkKiau2e8u6OPj2tQJDZFAEfQHDs-&_bqO=58

http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/illegal-exhumation-a-debate-about-marco-vernaschis-methods

http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/africa/child-sacrifice-uganda

Firstly I must point out that I do not know Marco Vernaschi personally and have only done research for this blog from the internet so I have not first hand information regarding the events that toke place in Uganda.

Having said that it seems obvious that the illegal exhumation has raised some serious points with regard to our profession and points that need debating.

Secondly my personal view is that from a professional point of view I condemn the exhumation.

It seems outrageous, even with the aim of telling the world about child sacrifice, that a photographer would alter reality by digging up a DEAD girl of ten years old.

From a personal point of view I have daughters and I ask Mr Vernaschi to think of what went through the minds of the parents when they where asked to dig up their daughter.

If this had happened to me and involved either or both of my 7 year old daughters I would have found the request totally unacceptable.

Thirdly from the point of view of being an African and having worked in Africa for most of career I wander if this would have happened in a rural village in Kent, England or a small town outside Roma?

There seems to be a perception by many non African’s that Africa has a different set of standards with regard to human rights and that as journalists, SOME, feel that they are thus able to take advantage of this percieved difference in thinking and approach to life and thus step over the boundaries that hold together non Africa societies.

That said Africa does not do itself any favor being continuously producing bloody civil conflict, dictators, strange traditions and violence at any opportunity.

Finally with the advent of the social media and the proliferation of ‘photographers’ with digital cameras, the world of photojournalism can ill afford this type of unethical behavior lest the profession wakes up one day to find that the general public does not believe the ‘truth’ we are trying to carry in the photo essays and stories that aim to inform those out there would cannot see for themselves.

A woman lies amongst the rubble of a broken building, looking up at the photographer, Haitian Daniel Morel.

The former Associated Press staffer realized the importance of distributing his pictures as quickly as possible. What happened next, and decisions yet to be made in a Manhattan courtroom, may come to redefine how photographers and big media interact with the freewheeling world of social media.

1: Daniel opened a Twitter account and uploaded 13 images to an associated account at Twitpic tweeting that he had exclusive images of the earth quake. ( http://twitter.com/photomorel )

2: Shortly afterwards  Lisandro Suaero, located in the neighboring Dominican Republic and previously unknown as a professional photographer, stole the 13 images, uploaded them to his own TwitPic account, and tweeted that he too had exclusive earthquake pictures.

3: At about 9:45pm AFP copied the images from Suero’s account, and subsequently began offering them for licensing to their international clients.

Effectively what happened was that his images seem to have been stolen from the internet and used by AFP and  Getty Images for sale with no permission or said agreement.

Both parties are now fighting it out in a Manhattan court room but the implications are possibly very damaging to photojournalism.

Some would say that Morel was not wise to have posted images on a social network site that can be seen by anyone with an internet connection and it thus left the door open for parties to ’steal’ the images.

However the fact that AFP distributed the images without his consent has far reaching implications.

For further reading follow these links:

A: http://www.jeremynicholl.com/blog/2010/05/03/afp-steal-photos-then-sue-photographer-2/

B: http://www.1854.eu/2010/04/agence_france_presses_slap_to.html

C: http://www.100eyes.org/2010/04/daniel-morel/



Right wing AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche was murdered by two of his farm workers in his bed on his farm a few kilometers from the Platteland town of Ventersdorp. The murder took place amidst a racial controversy in South Africa involving ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema, who openly sings a struggle song that includes the lyrics “Shoot the Boer”.

With this as background, there was a rise in racial tension the week after the murder, both at the opening day of the court case and at the tense, but quiet funeral of this “boer leader”. Social networking sites and newspaper websites around South Africa were also inundated with people’s viewpoints from both sides.

Covering the court case and the funeral became a difficult and sad week for me as the two parties to the story, the white AWB members and the black farm workers and unemployed from the nearby township, faced off outside the court house while the two suspects inside awaited their future. To stand between the two sides and photograph people shouting racial slurs filled with such sadness.

Just how can humans hate each other SO much because of the difference in skin colour and cultural differences?

Although there are clearly racial divides on South Africa it was very depressing to witness this level of openly displayed negative emotion. Although, for those who lived through the horrid 1980’s, photographing the struggle of our democracy, this may very well have been a commonplace event or show of hate.

The other interesting aspect of the week’s coverage of the murder story was the local and international media coverage of the story. Most of the world’s major news networks, newspapers, agencies and local outlets covered the court case and funeral, and although there were very few media outlets that reported a biased story, it was stunning to see how fast and effectively the average South African was polarized by the event. This is obviously from media reports as the vast majority of the 49 million South African’s were not in Ventersdorp to witness the events.

This brought my thoughts to the question: just how much of a role does the media play in fanning the flames of discontent and racial strife, and to what extent can the media be held responsible for the widespread hate? Is this murder and the coverage thereof simply a starter motor or ignition for feelings which people already have – and are they simply waiting for an event like this to start to air their hate and racist feelings?

Would this hate boil over if we lived in a society WITHOUT media? Or is the media coverage which, like it or not, remains a polarizing tool, a major factor in the thought processes of the public?

Dare I say it? As a member of the international media, I alas feel the media had a huge effect this week in driving a wedge between South Africans, and were also probably responsible for reinforcing the opinion of international readers that South Africa is unsafe and not worth traveling to.

Let us hope and pray that one day our society can live in some form of harmony and that we will honour the constitution that so many fought for so long to institute.

Ultimately the middle of the road South African has been held ransom between the two extremist sides of the political spectrum, the AWB and Julius Malema.

Over the past two weeks I have been editing Winter Olympic images as part of
the EPA Photos and DPA teams based at the main media centre in Vancouver,
Canada.

One of the first thoughts that crossed my mind was just how the images were
getting from the photographers cameras high in the mountains surrounding the
city to the end user – the newspapers and websites. Another thought was how
long it takes and what IT resources are needed to make this happen.

What I found out is that an enormous amount preparation is vital for this
type of assignment, and planning from the agency in conjunction with the IOC
is also very important.

The IT department started their work two weeks before any photographers
arrived and they effectively cabled entire mountainsides with LAN cables,
and from there to the designated EPA photo positions that were agreed on
during earlier meetings with the photo manager of the IOC and EPA sports
editor, Gernot Hensel, as well as with IT manager, Ole Bratz.

A total of 4 kilometres of LAN cabling was laid, including 40 LAN stitches
and mountains of other IT hardware. EPA had to also supply its own servers,
desk top computers, power sockets and other office hardware.

According to Martin Leo, from EPA Photos IT department, the worst venue to
cable was the Ice Hockey stadium. He spent the best part of a day crawling
under spectators’ seats to cable the venue and had to share the stadium
floor with dead rats and mouse traps.

The main reason to cable the Ice Hockey venue was to access images from the
remote cameras that were preinstalled in the roof of the stadium directly
above the nets of the ‘field’. These remote cameras are fired by the two
photographers covering the hockey from pitch side and edited in real time by
EPA editors in the main media centre, with images moving from the camera to
the media centre via LAN cables.

Some of the events, on the other hand, allow photographers to edit their own
work and transmit the edited and captioned images to the desk via LAN
cables. Most photographers are using Photo Mechanic with code replacement to
add captions, before moving the images to the desk.

The 9 editors working shifts from 1oam to 12pm use FotoStation software to
edit, caption and transmit images to the EPA Photos head offices in
Frankfurt, Germany, where the images make the final part of their journey to
clients around the world via a satellite feed.

The process of shooting an image, moving it to editors, sending it to
Frankfurt and then moving it onto clients takes less than 2 minutes.

After the first week of the games, 10 000 images were moved to the clients,
with 16 000 images having been edited by the desk.

This makes me think how different the workflow would have been decades ago,
before high speed internet, before cameras that are now effectively powerful
computers, and before smaller and faster laptops.
The one thing that I can guarantee is that photographers would have shot
less images and would probably have focused on the winners of the events,
and not been forced to shoot images of most of the athletes, transmitting an
endless stream of images.

As editors, the modern high speed imaging work flow forces us to look at
more images than before, as clients expect their feed from major sporting
events to be all-encompassing, to be counted by the ‘weight’ of images, not
only important moments.

Thus, as an agency you are expected to produce not only the winning moments,
winners, podiums and stunning features from EVERY event, but MORE images
than from previous Games.

The more images, the better, and so the circle of needing to move more
images to clients faster than before is unending, and I am sure the workflow
will get faster and

Editorial photographers used to jump from one story to another. News was news — whether sports, conflict, celebrity or natural disaster. A photojournalist would shoot a head of state one hour and a celebrity the next. And he or she would do so with the same talent, the same intense dedication to quality.

Today, many photographers prefer to categorize themselves in self-assigned niches. News photographers hardly talk to sports photographers anymore. Everybody has their group, association, blogs, and forums.

Photography has its social classes, almost like a feudal society. It has its kings and knights, its jesters and courtesans, and of course, the peasants.

So where do you rank on the totem pole of photo-snobbery? Here’s a quick take, starting with the photographers most respected (by snobs) –

1. Conflict Photographer. The bigger the scarf around the neck, the more important you are. It’s like a medal of honor. Conflict photographers are treated as heroes, regardless of the quality of their images. It is not so much what they bring back that matters, but what they go through to get it. They even earn more credentials if, heaven forbid, they are wounded or killed. The path to legendary status is then almost a given.

2. Fine Art Photographer. If your works seems to carry a hidden message that no one understands, or is “disturbing,” or both — you’re in. The more academic titles you have, and the more awards (even unknown awards) you’ve received, the higher your ranking on the totem pole. Books, exhibits, and speaking engagements are a plus.

3. Documentary Photographer. Even one photo story on dying children in Africa goes a long way. It’s even better if you use multimedia. A crappy documentary photographer is 20 times more respected than the best red carpet photographer.

4. Magazine Cover Photographer. It doesn’t matter that the end product is highly retouched by on computer. Magazine cover photographers often enjoy privileged celebrity status; it helps to be a great schmoozer. Being a good photographer is irrelevant. It’s all about who you know.

5. Corporate Photographer. We’re heading down the totem pole now — but taking pictures of CEOs and lawyers still brings respectability. The longer you do it, the more respected you’re likely to be. Not for your talent, but for the mere fact that you have been around for so long.

6. Commercial Stock Shooter. The higher the nose is pointing, the more important the photographer.

7. Sports Photographer. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

8. Wedding Photographer. So plebeian.

9. Celebrity Photographer. If you are a photographer with a lot of talent shooting every day because people hire you all the time, then you are a “peasant,” a laborer. Especially if you work in the celebrity field. Although everyone will tell you that celebrity photography is what sells these days, it is considered by photo snobs a sub art form, a dirty job, like cleaning the sewers. Celebrity photographers are completely ignored at photo festivals, trade shows, photo museums and even workshops. They are like a family member you keep locked in the basement.

10. Paparazzi Photographer. The scum of the earth, right? How dare they take pictures of people without their approval! Of course, documentary photographers also invade privacy, don’t they? But I guess that’s OK because it’s in Africa or Afghanistan and not Hollywood.

11. Amateurs and Microstock Shooters. How dare they even make this list!

As a reminder, where you rank on this list has little or nothing to do with talent. After all, the “best” photographers these days don’t take pictures anymore and have assistants doing it for them. No one seems to mind.

http://stateoftheart.popphoto.com/blog/2008/09/perpignan-satur.html

During the xenophobic violence in Johannesburg, South Africa that took place in 2008, an extraordinary situation occured that still has me considering the approach of photographers in conflict situations.

Running battles between the police and protesters left a man lying wounded by a rubber bullet and as he lay in pain waiting to be tended to by paramedics, scores of photographers and cameramen formed a half circle around him.

As we framed and made our images, we tried to make a clean background for the image of the injured man.

On occasion a journalist would walk past the scene and get shouted and sworn at by photographers for ‘getting in the picture’.

After shooting the ‘clean’ image, I also walked past the scene and made an image of the media scrum from the other side and transmitted the image to EPA Photos head office in Frankfurt, Germany.

What followed later that year was a heated debate at the Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France, with the discussion centring around the very nature of photographers on assignment, as well as the merit of the images which were put on the EPA wire service to its global clients.

The debated included photographer, Kim Ludbrook, EPA editor Maria Mann, Visa pour l’Image founder Jean-Francois Leroy, and AP photographer Jerôme Delay.

My feeling on the day was that there where many photographers trying to make ‘World Press images’; in other words fighting to make the money picture at all costs, even if it meant shouting at fellow journalists for walking in the background and clambering over each other to get the picture of a wounded man.

While being a Devil’s Advocate here, I am also part of the pack and know the feeling of pushing the boundaries of morality to get images partly because of the pressures involved in the industry and in my case, because of the highly competitive nature of news agency photography.

The second and more heated part of the debate is the question of whether or not the image should ever have been shot, never mind transmitted to Frankfurt and then put on the wire.

My view is that the image is simply another view of the reality that happened in that moment in time.

I can understand how many in the industry would have reservations about the usage of the image showing us looking like war paparazzi, but the sad fact is on that day we were acting just as the image shows.

Part of the issue also stems from the fact that once we are behind the viewfinder, we tend to become far braver, more interested in the IMAGE than what is happening around us and I am sure that many photographers and TV cameramen on that day did not act intentionally like war paparazzi.

Instinct took over.

In the space of six hours I had covered the fashion section of the 2009 Miss World Pageant and the grand final of the Mr Gay South Africa pageant in Pretoria.

I don’t know if the disorganisers of the two pageants knew that the events were taking place on the same day, but covering them both was a really interesting, if not weird experience.

The whole thing surrounding beauty competitions is one that leaves me a little cold, but at the end of the day it is a free world and if you were blessed with great looks, male or female, then hell – go ahead and make something of them!

The first of the two jobs for the day was the Miss World Beauty Pageant at the Turbine Hall in downtown Johannesburg.

115 of the world’s most stunning women parading down a cat walk in their heels was certainly enough to make me use the Canon auto focus to the best…

It rather seemed like some medieval cattle market, as the women were judged on looks and the costume they where wearing. No thought process involved…

Many tears where shed during the evening as those who where knocked out in the early stages sulked off to the holding pens and those who made it to the final five beamed with happiness.

The final winner was totally overjoyed and was unable to talk as her make-up ran down her face…

Bless her – she, like so many before her, also wanted to save all the poor children of the world.

Later in the day came the more interesting and enjoyable of the two events – the finals of the Mr Gay South Africa pageant at the State theatre in Pretoria.

The atmosphere was electric as the Apartheid era theatre bulged with much hugging and kissing as hundreds of supporters, family and friends enjoyed a great stage show involving some of the countries lushest gay men.

The smell of various lotions and potions was thick in the air and tight swimwear and see-through club gear was the order of the night. And I got the backstage view too, as the organisers had most kindly allowed me full access to shoot a photo essay on the action.

All heterosexual men out there – be jealous. Yes, some of the best built men in the country are the entrants in this prestigious competition. About time you started getting buffed up too??