I went along to the World Press Photo Exhibition in Auckland today and as expected it is an excellent collection of moving and emotive photojournalism from around the world. The exhibition has been well promoted and is in a great location, hence there was a sizeable crowd there which was great to see also.

There are some extremely hard-hitting images that really effect you through the raw reality they show. There are also many images that move you because of the deep emotion or humanity on display. Then there are those that work because you as the viewer are presented with something that you just didn't quite expect - the above image of a man carrying a shark through the streets of Mogadishu in Somalia falls into this category for me. This is why I love World Press Photo.

I have an immense amount of respect for the press photographers who in many cases literally put their lives on the line to bring us the images of the varied and often dangerous events happening in our world. World Press Photo is an amazing organisation and you can find out more about them HERE

The exhibition in Auckland runs until October 9 and you can find out more about it HERE

Photo: Omar Feisal / World Press Photo

Amazingly it is a decade since the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. I remember at the time being absolutely memorised by some of the on-the-scene imagery which emerged and the ability these photo's had to portray some of the emotion of that day.

One of my favorite photographers James Nachthey was in New York that day and it is his images that have always resonated with me the most. In many ways the images he took have become some of the most iconic images of 9/11 - a selection are here and you can also discover more of his incredible images at his website which is HERE

All Images James Nachtwey

I visited Lopdell House Gallery yesterday and was delighted to catch a very moving exhibition by photographer Kathrin Simon just before it finishes.

As per the brochure "Close up Te Waka Huia gives a unique insight into the world of today's Kapa Haka. It is a beautiful and moving portrayal of the dedication, passion and vitality of Aotearoa's most successful and four-times National Champions, Te Waka Huia, as they prepare for the 2009 championship'

I have to agree - this is a very personal and moving collection of fine photography.

More information on Kathrin Simon can be found at her website HERE

Image: He Whatu Kura, He Mareikura, Kathrin Simon 

I have just finished watching 'Bruce Springsteen: The Promise' in it's entirety on DVD and I have to say it is a phenomenal movie. I was absolutely captivated by the story behind last years 'The Promise' album which has found itself a near permanent position on my playlist.

Even though I consider myself a Springsteen fan I had no real knowledge of the story behind this period of his journey - the 'Darkness On The Edge of Town' era.

It is an amazing story of belief, hope, persistence, redemption and ultimate brilliance which intertwines original studio footage with revealing interviews with Springsteen and other members of the band from today.

Of course another aspect of 'The Promise' for me was the brilliant photography which accompanies the film and album - all of which was taken back in the period. The movie covers how some of the images came into being including the photo shoot that was to produce the album cover for Darkness On The Edge of Town.

If you are in search of inspiration and a musical journey back to a time when everything was literally on the line for this band then I certantly recommed seeing this film - amazing stuff.

I have waited years to get the oportunity to see a Brian Brake exhibition so was thrilled to go to the Auckland Art Gallery the other day to see 'Brian Brake: Lens on the world'.

It is a phenomenal exhibition and I absolutely recommend going along - it runs at the Auckland Art Gallery till 14 August and then tours to a further eight New Zealand galleries.

Brian Brake was a pioneer and true legend of photography. Coming from New Zealand he spent most of his career working on assignment all around the world for Magnum Photo Agency. The images that he captured graced the pages of many leading publications of the day including National Geographic and LIFE.

I enjoyed many of the images on display and especially the rich insight into the photographic essays he produced including Monsoon, but also incredible work of the Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt and Asia.

I will definately be going back to the exhibition several more times while it is on. Information on the exhibition can be found HERE and a good overview of Brian Brakes life and work can be found HERE.

All images: Brian Brake

                            Photo: Nick Risinger

This is an extraordionary photograph made up of over 37,000 exposures stitched together to create the entire night sky in one image - a 360-degree view of the Milky Way, Planets and stars in our Solar System.

Behind the image there is also the extraordionary story in the AP release of the passion, determination and sheer hard work required by Nick Risinger to capture the image. It is a great story which can be found HERE. 

Also there is a dedicated website for the image which is HERE which features further details on it's creation and the ability to zoom right in for a good look etc

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll. The man who "forced folk into bed with rock, disappeared into a haze of substance abuse, returned after finding Jesus before being written off in the 80's"

I went to the Bob Dylan concert other night which was the third time i have seen him play - it was also the best time.

While obvously appreciating the classics it is his latter albums (Modern Times and Love & Theft etc) that I really like and as a result I have developed a real taste for Dylan's style of 'rockabilly'

I will sometimes play songs of these albums as I am driving too or from a photography shoot and hence I guess it is safe to conclude I draw some inspiration for my photography from Dylan's music. Probably a favourite song is off Modern Times entitled 'Working Man Blues # 2 - a lovely tale of life and hope as only a true poet could write.

I love music photography and Dylan is one of those legends who I enjoy looking at photographs of throughout their careers - there is much that some of those photographs seem to tell.

The set list that he played can be found HERE

A review of the concert can be found HERE

Being someone that loves photography books I was thrilled to see that a very special book was released in October of last year by renowned Irish fashion photographer Barry McCall.

From the Pho2ography press release:

'For the book Barry has shot a large number of celebrity portraits around the world - from Liam Neeson in his family apartment in New York City to Snow Patrol in Red Square, From Colin Farrell on a hotel roof in LA to John Kavanagh on the Abbey theatre stage. In each and every shot he has captured the essence of the subject'

I lived in Dublin in 1998/1999 and worked for Barry on a number of occasions as a second assistant. He is an amazingly energetic and passionate man. But most of all he is an amazing photographer and I always came away from a day shooting with Barry very inspired.

So I am really pleased to see he has released what looks like an awesome book - Pho20graphy.

Some details of the book can be found HERE (which includes some of Barry's images).

An interview with Barry on the books release can be found HERE

                               Photo: U2.com

This is a really cool image taken at a recent U2 concert in Cape Town where most of the 95,000 fans were captured on an incredible 5 billion pixel camera. Use the controls at the bottom to zoom right in - or around the stadium.

A nice touch is the ability for those in the crowd to identify and then tag themselves.

Very cool and gets me thinking how one of these cameras would work in the field...

Link to the site HERE