I began my career with ABC Television as a video cameraman and stills photographer filming entertainment, features, news and current affairs. Ten years later I joined the Australian Information Service (DFAT) in Sydney documenting Australian lifestyle, events and overseas humanitarian Aid projects. During this time I was also an official photographer of visiting dignitaries, world leaders and members of the Royal family including the Queen. In '88 I moved back to Brisbane and joined News Corp as a features photographer shooting mostly fashion and the Arts until I was asked to cover the East Timor conflict.
A few days after arriving I was smuggled across the border into West Timor to document the plight of refugees suffering in militia controlled camps which were full of malaria, malnutrition and illness. These images made the front pages of newspapers around the world and the exposure forced the government to allow the United Nations to take in aid and medical supplies. Years later I was told by a member of the UN who had facilitated the journey that his images had saved hundreds of lives.
After witnessing first-hand the power of an image to change lives, I shifted my focus to covering national and international disasters, conflict and crisis. This included the conflict in East Timor,Iraq and Afghanistan, the AIDS epidemic and violence in PNG, the terrorist bombings in Bali and Jakarta, the tsunamis in Phuket, Aceh and Ghizo and the floods, cyclones and bushfires closer to home.
In 2000 I won the Walkley Award, Australia’s highest award for photojournalism, for my images of the conflict in East Timor. In 2004 I won the United Nations Association Media Peace Award for exposing the ravages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Papua New Guinea. I’ve won numerous Queensland Media/ Clarion Awards and many others for my photojournalism work
I’m now working as a freelancer based in Noosa, Queensland.