Greg Ardé is a journalist and author who lives in Durban. He got his first media job in 1990 and has since worked for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has written three books, the most recent being War Party, published by Tafelberg in 2020. He writes about many things: politics, social justice, entrepreneurship, the environment and how cities function. That’s the fancy blurb. Truthfully, Greg is a bit of a muckraker, a mercurial wanderer, absorbed in storytelling and always on a quest.
Jon Ivins is a graphic designer with photography and a video problem. He loves the creativity of them all. He never considered what he does as a job. Jon runs a creative design, photographic and film agency in Durban. He is up for any challenge – which comes with the territory of being in the creative industry for over 30 years. Jon has a deep love for the ocean, SUP and daily board meetings at North Beach and has been tagged as Durban’s own “Dolphin Whisperer”.
Matthew Hattingh likes writing about interesting people doing interesting things. He likes visiting exotic locales, sipping fine wines and interviewing beautiful women. But working life seldom goes so sweet or so smooth. Instead, he usually ends up writing about complicated issues, things that are hard to grasp, but somehow important to somebody. Many years in news and feature writing and editing, plus some time in the academics doesn’t seem to make it any easier. But he tries and is trying.
Rogan Ward has been photographing real life since the mid-1990’s when he managed to get a summer position on the Natal Witness newspaper after his first year studying photography at Technikon Natal. Since then he has documented presidents and shack fires, pop stars and buskers, sporting heroes and street cricket. He is currently on assignment for international news agencies and charities and beavering away on several long term personal projects. Although photography is his first love, he has added writing and video production to his offerings recently.
Tony Carnie grew up in Kenya and flirted with various career options as a youngster: archaeology, game ranging or veterinary science. As things turned out he ended up in journalism, learning the ropes as a cub reporter in Zimbabwe before shifting to Durban in 1985 to join a daily newspaper. But his early interest in the natural world persisted and he has spent the bulk of his career specialising as an environmental journalist – everything from air and water pollution to climate change and threats to wildlife and shrinking wild spaces. He contributed a South African chapter to the 2020 Routledge Handbook on Environmental Journalism.
Mlungisi Mbele has been a photographer since he finished school. In 2012 he started freelancing for Media 24 (Daily Sun & Sunday Sun). He is a self-taught photographer who picked up a camera and pressed “click” and life fell into place. He has since documented hundreds of events from the South African president to show business, fashion shows, celebrities and politicians. He is currently working with international and local news agencies like AFP, AP and Getty Images. Mlungisi loves story telling, documenting everyday life and fashion projects.
As a child, Val Adamson dreamt of following in the footsteps of Zoologist Dian Fossey. This might have greatly benefited gorillas, but the world would have been poorer without Adamson’s contribution to art. Born in Kenya, Adamson studied photography in Edinburgh and ended up as a darkroom assistant, then assistant photographer, at Pact in Pretoria where she became absorbed in performing arts. A few years later she was headhunted by NAPAC (now The Playhouse) to run their photographic dept. Adamson is renowned for photographing theatre, dance and portraiture and has an uncanny ability to put her subjects at ease. She has shot icons from Nelson Mandela to John Smit, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ela Gandhi.