Head On Conversations 2026 celebrating 200 years of photography

Marking two centuries of image-making, Head On Conversations 2026 brings together acclaimed photojournalists, commercial industry veterans, scholars, and contemporary artists for a day of critical dialogue. Across four curated panel discussions, industry leaders examine the practicalities of building a sustainable career, the ethical responsibilities of documenting conflict, female agency and self-representation, and personal reflections on the evolving nature of the medium. Join us at Bondi Pavilion for an engaging series of conversations shaping the contemporary photographic landscape.

Presented in partnership with the Embassy of France in Australia.

Note: All tickets include light refreshments and drinks served from 5pm.

Program schedule

Session 1 | 10am–11.30am: The business of photography

Love photography but need it to cover the rent? A commercial veteran, an academic, an accountant, and a designer tackle the questions every photographer asks. Practical, honest, and free of jargon, this panel covers setting fees, licensing work, navigating copyright, securing clients, and building a sustainable career in Australia today - with time for your questions.

Presenters:

• Richard Glover - Architectural photographer & academic, representing IMAA

• Chris Shain OAM - Commercial photographer & former director of the Australian Copyright Council

• Stan Kessanis - Photographer & designer

• Michael Hadley - Accountant & photographer

• Moderator: Moshe Rosenzveig OAM - Founder & Creative Director, Head On Photo Festival
  
  
  

Session 2 | 11.30am–1pm: Beyond the front line: photographing war, survival and dignity

Photographers covering conflicts from Gaza, Iraq and Lebanon to Sudan and East Timor discuss the ethics, risks and power of photographing conflict, trauma and civilian lives across war-affected regions.

As photography reaches its 200th birthday, this conversation examines its enduring role in making violence visible. Photojournalists who have worked in Gaza, Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, East Timor, Ukraine and other conflict zones talk about what it takes to document war and what it costs. Together, the panel will explore who gets to tell the story, how images are verified in the age of AI, and what we owe the people in front of the lens. A powerful, thoughtful conversation. 

Contains discussion of war, death and trauma.

Presenters:

• Giles Clarke (UK) - an award-winning visual storyteller focused on conflict, displacement, and survival under constant threat. Documenting underreported conflicts across Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, his practice is grounded in bearing witness to dignity and resilience.

  Giles’s work features in Head On Photo Festival 2026 at Paddington Reservoir Gardens.

• Kate Geraghty (NSW, Australia) - a five-time Walkley winner war photographer, and photojournalist for The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age. Kate was the first Fairfax woman photographer to cover a war. Kate has embraced multimedia platforms as a vehicle in which she has "complete control of the story being told", being able, alongside a trusted journalist, to edit and provide audio and visuals unencumbered.

• Abdelrahman Alkahlout (Palestine/Turkiye) - an award-winning Gazan photojournalist. Since beginning his career during the 2014 Gaza war, he has dedicated his practice to capturing the lived reality of civilians under conflict. Joining online.

  Abdelrahman’s work features in Head On Photo Festival 2026 at Paddington Reservoir Gardens.

• Moderator Dr Alison Stieven-Taylor (VIC, Australia) - a Monash University lecturer and former journalist whose research examines visual journalism,  human rights, climate communication and photography’s role in social change.
  
  

Session 3 | 2pm–3.30pm: Unscripted women reclaiming the image

For much of photography’s 200-year history, women have appeared as subjects rather than authors. Three photographers whose work challenges representations of women’s bodies, identities, and experiences discuss how image-making becomes a space for self-definition, intimacy, resistance, and making silence and inherited trauma visible.

(Contains discussion of trauma and abuse)

Presenters:

• Julia SH (USA/Sweden) - Photographer exploring sculpture, dance, and codes of beauty

• Veronique Vial (France ) - Photographer seeking intimacy beneath celebrity

• Virginia Morini (Italy) - Documentary practitioner examining family trauma and secrecy

• Judith Nangala Crispin (Australia) - visual artist and poet

• Moderator: Anita Schwartz - General Manager, Head On Foundation
  
  
  

Session 4 | 3.30pm–5pm: 200 years of photography – artists’ reflections

Two centuries after Nicéphore Niépce produced the earliest surviving photograph, we carry cameras in our pockets. In this final session, panellists take a personal look back at two hundred years of photography, exploring how the medium has evolved and what might lie ahead.

Presenters:

• James Farr (Australia/UK} – Remote travel and landscape photographer

• Fernanda Pedroso (ACT) – Conceptual photographer exploring social themes

• Liz Miller Kovacs (Germany) – Photographer examining landscapes altered by industry

• Moshe Rosenzveig OAM - Founder & Creative Director, Head On Photo Festival

• Moderator: Dr Alison Stieven-Taylor - Monash University lecturer & visual journalism researcher

Images: Neil Armstrong (NASA, Apollo 11), Abdelrahman Alkahlout, Julia SH, Pip Farquharson