Rogan Ward

Rogan Ward

Based
Durban, South Africa
Born
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Status
Photographer
“I think in this day of false news it is important that there are people who focus on the truth rather than on lies, shares and views.”

Beat

News, features and sport.

One Shot

. Isipingo, South Africa. Reuters/Rogan Ward
A foreign man feeds his young child in Isipingo, south of Durban, April 13, 2015. Several hundred foreign nationals have sought refuge in the tents after xenophobia driven violence forced them to flee their homes and businesses.
“I normally avoid people making direct eye contact through the lens, but the photograph of the refugee feeding his baby worked because of it. It is important to me as I have children and shudder to think about having your life destroyed.”

Profile

I studied photography at Technikon Natal, now the Durban University of Technology, while freelancing for newspapers.

I had just finished my first year of photography and had managed to get a month contract at a local newspaper during the summer. I arrived with a very big camera bag with a small camera, a lens and a flash my uncle had given me, which I had never used. I had to photograph a mentally challenged weight lifter in a dark gym. I had to dig deep in my memory to remember how to calculate the correct power of the flash using the guide number, and somehow got a useable picture. I learned more in the two months at the paper than an entire year at college.

The period leading up to Nelson Mandela’s funeral was a very moving time. It was sad, but there was a celebratory atmosphere, which was more powerful than the sadness. While Mandela by his own admission not a saint, he was a symbol of hope.

I enjoy breaking news, but am enjoying in-depth feature stories so much. It is special to be able to spend time with a person, to photograph them once they are used to your presence and are not reacting to the camera.

I think in this day of false news it is important that there are people who focus on the truth rather than on lies, shares and views.

I think that I try to tell the story as honestly as possible. I think that the people I am photographing are who I think of most.

Sometimes it is best to leave your camera in the car for the first 10 minutes.