Graham Tidy

Where have you worked and over what time period?

I started my career as a press photographer at the Adelaide Advertiser in mid-1970, and I worked there until late 1988. In early 1989 I started work at the Canberra Times and as of March 2015 I am employed there.

How did you get into press photography - what was your big break?

After studying photography at high school, I took a photographic darkroom position with a government department in Adelaide. I was there for about eighteen months when I applied for the position of cadet photographer at the newspaper. There was no big break. I just consistently worked at the paper, learning from the senior photographers and gathering experience ‘on the road’.

What is your favourite photograph of all those you have taken and why?

It's difficult to nominate just one image taken in a forty-five year career! I don't really have a favourite, I'm just proud of the breadth of images I have been able to capture by being in the privileged position of a press photographer over all those years.

One image that does stick in my mind, though, is one I took in the great hall at Parliament House in Canberra of the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke. He was speaking at a memorial service for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre and as tears streamed down his face, his nose began to run. Highlighted by the backlight provided by the television lights, it made a great shot.

What is the biggest change you've seen in press photography over your career?

By far the biggest change was the introduction of the digital SLR camera. After using film cameras for three decades, to be able to see the image straight away and then upload those images to a computer and email them to the office was revolutionary.

What was the first camera you used and what camera do you use now?

The very first camera I used was a high school issued Agfa Clack, a very basic camera that used 120 roll film. I currently use the Nikon D3s digital SLR.