Favourite photographers: Heni Cartier-Bresson

Another of the photographers I admire most is Henri Cartier-Bresson. What appeals to me isn't just the beauty of his photographs, but the way he observed the world. He had an extraordinary ability to recognise the significance of an ordinary moment and capture it at exactly the right instant. His idea of the "decisive moment" reminds me that the difference between an ordinary photograph and a remarkable one often comes down to patience, awareness and timing.

I also appreciate that Cartier-Bresson didn't try to control or stage his subjects. He trusted life to provide the moment rather than trying to create it himself. His photographs have a naturalness and authenticity that still feels fresh today. Looking at his work encourages me to slow down, pay closer attention, and remember that some of the most compelling images come from simply being present and noticing what others might miss.

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Favourite quotes

• Photography is nothing-it’s life that interests me.
• Of all the means of expression, photography is the only one that fixes a precise moment in time.
• Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.
• Photography is like fencing. You must keep your distance, wait, and then thrust.
• To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.
• In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv.
• It is through living that we discover ourselves, at the same time as we discover the world around us.
• Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience.
• To take photographs is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis.
• A photograph is neither taken or seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.
• We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.
• In every photographer there is something of a stroller.
• Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.

Favourite photographers: Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is one of my favourite photographers. Over the decades, he has created many iconic images for National Geographic, capturing people and cultures across the world with extraordinary intimacy and sensitivity. I particularly love his portraits—the vivid colours, expressive faces and, above all, the remarkable way he reveals the individuality and dignity of each person. I was fortunate enough to see an exhibition of his work near The Rocks in Sydney and was completely blown away by the power and beauty of his photographs. His images transcend geographical and cultural boundaries and beautifully illuminate our shared humanity.

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Favourite photographers: Vivian Maier

I discovered Vivian Maier through the documentary Finding Vivian Maier I saw with Sue at The Orpheum and was immediately captivated by her remarkable portraits and street scenes. Working largely in obscurity as a nanny, she was extraordinarily prolific, creating an immense visual record of everyday life—fleeting expressions, chance encounters and small human dramas that most people would have walked past without noticing. It is astonishing that so much of her work, including many undeveloped rolls of film, was discovered only later, revealing a great photographer who had remained almost completely unknown during her lifetime.

A large part of my own enjoyment of photography comes afterwards, when I edit, organise and carefully curate the images I have taken. Maier’s relationship with photography seems to have been very different. She did not need an audience or even a finished print to validate what she was doing; for her, the deepest joy appears to have been in getting out into the world, observing it intently and taking photographs. I find that wonderfully pure and inspiring—the act of seeing and capturing the moment was apparently reward enough.

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