Kiwi photographer Simon Townsley: capturing history

Twice named British Press Photographer of the Year, Simon Townsley was at Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He's covered many conflicts, including the Gulf war, the siege of Sarajevo and most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, capturing images of people whose lives have been devastated. The award winning photojournalist is a Kiwi, who left for London in 1987, where he spent 14 years as Senior Photographer at the Sunday Times. In recent years he's focussed on highlighting global health issues by creating compelling images of distressing situations. Simon says he wants to open the eyes of people who've become desensitised to the plight of others, and perspectives. There's a gallery of his photographs on our webpage, rnz.co.nz/ninetonoon. He started his career in Wellington as a photographer for the Dom Post...