Looking through the lens: The people
As the Manawatu¯ Standard marks 140 years of chronicling the region’s happenings, we look at the newsroom’s photographers.
In 1921, advertising executive Fred Barnard declared: ‘‘One picture is worth 1000 words.’’ This comment has since been embedded in our culture. Today, the Manawatu¯ Standard’s pictorial content is a quantum leap from 1955, the year it first employed a local staff photographer. Brilliant colour, sharp focus, video interviews and fastaction shots are the norm, with photographers renamed ‘‘visual journalists’’.
Today, past and present Standard visual journalists share their comments.
Murraywilson
The Standard’s former chief visual journalist says video ismore work, but worth it: ‘‘Today’s expectations are different – video was introduced around 2013. My favourite assignments included breaking news and on-the-spot work, such as the 2004 Manawatu¯ floods, shooting from a helicopter above the floodwaters.’’
The timeframe was tight. ‘‘I met the [then] editor, Clive Lind, at the Palmerston North heliport, gave him the film, it was quickly processed, still and video, and there it was: a part of history that can be viewed in 100 years’ time.’’
Wilson’s personal portfolio contains 20 years of precious on-the-spot news moments and his pictures have been reproduced in various publications.
Being part of the community in this way produces ‘‘a real feel-good factor’’, he says.
David Unwin
‘‘I started working for the
Manawatu¯ Standard in 2012 after returning from South Korea and travelling through Southeast Asia with my wife for four years.
‘‘I’m now a visual journalist and enjoy telling compelling stories through photos and videos. One of the best parts of my job is the opportunity to engagewith people from all different walks of life. It’s a privilege to hear their stories, capture them and tell them.’’
He recalls the time a dead whale washed ashore at Hokio Beach.
‘‘After arriving and speaking with those there, we learned that the whale was considered a gift from Tangaroa, god of the sea, by the local iwi, Muaupoko. Iwi representatives were welcoming of our presence and the awareness given to their role as kaitiaki (guardians) of the beach.
‘‘Covering events such as this is truly rewarding. Visiting a local school for a notable achievement, taking portraits of prominent people ... documenting emergency services saving lives are all in a day’s work for a visual journalist.’’
Maurice Costello
Costello clocked up around 27 years as a Standard visual journalist, from 1962 until the 1990s.
He says: ‘‘Joining the Evening Standard [as it was then named] in December 1962 was the beginning of a great life in photojournalism – tome a career that I never dreamed would be so wonderful.’’
The Nash family owned the newspaper then. ‘‘Eachmorning news editor Gerald Nash, along with the chief reporter and I, would stand in front of the editor’s desk almost at attention and go over the assignment list for the day.’’
Photographers were equipped with the best of cameras: Graflex, Rolleiflex and Leica.
‘‘The photographic department had one of the best rooms in the house, overlooking The Square from the third floor. In those early yearswewould publish only about two local photographs each day and they were nearly two and three columns wide, four columns if of real national news. There were always two or three overseas photos from Reuters News agency, old news.
‘‘I looked forward to going to work, not knowing what the day would bring. We developed a very good rapport and trust with the fire department, police and military.’’
Challenges included incidents on Mt Ruapehu. In one, several soldiers lost their lives on the mountain. The same day, a Japanese man went missing there. Costello and the Standard recorded the rescue of the man – the first newspaper in the country to get the story out in time for the 6pm TV news.
‘‘Another lastingmemorywas covering the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990 ... It was a great pleasure towork beside a great team with sports editor Lorraine Vincent and sports reporter Peter Lampp. It was all go, taking photos during the day and night and then having to process films and print into the early hours of the morning to meet the courier pickup at 5am.
‘‘Life is so much easier now with digital cameras. The younger photographers will never know what they’re missing ... I still from time to time have a photograph in the news columns, at which I feel a certain amount of satisfaction.’’
Warwick Smith
‘‘Visiting a local school for a notable achievement, taking portraits of prominent people . . . documenting emergency services saving lives are all in a day’s work for a visual journalist.’’
David Unwin
Smith, who has captured scenes ranging from the Manawatu¯ Gorge to the mountains of Nepal, joined the Standard staff in 2006. He says: ‘‘I worked many years before that as a casual photographer, which was the perfect entry into photojournalism. The casual system no longer exists at the Manawatu¯ Standard, making it an even more difficult occupation to enter.’’
His job involves not only photography, but also videography, ‘‘requiring accompanying skills of moving image recording, sound recording, interviewing and video editing, all within the traditional working day and the same deadlines.’’
Every picture tells a story, he says, and his published images spark memories of the day he captured them.
‘‘One such image is from July 8, 2010, the day [Feilding farmer] Scott Guy was killed ... Arriving at the scene, the police cordon preventedme from getting near the property or even seeing from the road.
‘‘I noticed the comings and goings of small pilottraining planes from the Taonui airstrip nearby. I approached the airfield with a request to assist in my taking an aerial photo of the scene.
‘‘Obligingly, and for a reasonable sum, I was flown by Flight Training Manawatu¯ chief instructor Jess Neeson to capture what became an iconic image of the day.
‘‘Tragically, less than three weeks later I returned to the same airfield towitness and photograph the aftermath of a midair collision between two of the small training planes which, sadly and unbelievably, took Jess’ life.’’
In recent years, female photographers have joined the ranks of visual journalists at the Standard. Memorable additions have included Faith Sutherland, Susan Siu, Leilani Hatch and Sam Baker.
Sutherland and Siu now have their own photography businesses.