Introduction  »  Then and Now » Graeme Williams » Graeme Williams - Then  (10 Slides)     [Page 1 of 3] :: Jump To  

“I was planning to be a photographer, but all I could find was a job as a property photographer at The Argus. All you had to do was put your camera over the wall, and as long as you got the pool and the house in the frame, you were home and dry. When, in 1986, the violence broke out in Crossroads, I finished photographing my houses as quickly as possible, and just drove into the township, thinking, ‘Okay, this is something a bit more interesting.’ I had no idea what I was doing—I just drove in, stopped my car, got out, and took pictures, and The Argus used them that night. When I got back home I heard that the BBC cameraman George d’Arth had been hacked to death covering the Crossroards violence, so that was a bit of a reality check. But this was a turning point for me; I realised there was lot going on that I was interested in photographing.”


Xhosa youths reach the final stages of their initiation ritual, Port Elizabeth, 1994
A supporter of the Inkatha Freedom Party who was shot dead during a march through Johannesburg, 1994.
   
   
An angry crowd clashes with police in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, 1992.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu calms an angry crowd, Sebokeng, Vaal Triangle, 1990.
   
   
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