Getting the shot, in brothels, refugee camps and disaster zones | photojournalism | Brian Cassey

How Good Are Humans

For more than 40 years Brian Cassey has watched suffering, tragedy, hope, elation and thrill through a few curved glass elements, waiting for moments of greatest importance and nearest perfect illumination to manifest. When they do, he stamps them into history via a 35mm grouping of pixels. The next morning, the moments are tossed onto your doorstep where you unfurl them in the calm of your home. Meanwhile, Brian is still at the epicentre of interest, looking for tomorrow's breaking news.

For decades, photojournalism has accompanied, complemented and led reporting to keep the world informed of disaster, corruption, development and deceit. It has brought down the mighty, exposed hidden wrongdoing and told stories of those long ignored. Brian has captured images in natural disaster zones, during military coups and humanitarian crises. He has told the stories of refugees, abused children, prostitutes, forgotten communities and weathered journeymen. Newspaper editors have consistently placed Brian's award-winning images on their front pages.

So what's it like waiting five days in a Papua New Guinea brothel to build enough trust with a woman so you can tell the world about the realities of sexual slavery in Oceania? What's it like photographing and sharing the stories of humans living in cages, or snapping a wannabe military dictator as his gun points at you atop his desk? Brian shares these stories and many more, and also tells us what the world might be like if he and his colleagues aren't given a role to play in the future.