Today in History: Photographer from The Star commits suicide
He was soon promoted to Staff Photographer, and he and Oosterbroek were also linked to the Bang Bang Club.
Gary Bernard became a photographer for The Star newspaper after he was recruited by conflict photographer, Ken Oosterbroek, as an intern.
He was soon promoted to Staff Photographer and he and Oosterbroek were also linked to the Bang Bang Club.
The Bang Bang Club was a group of four conflict photographers active within the townships of South Africa between 1990 and 1994, during the transition from the apartheid system to democracy.
These photo-journalists put themselves in harm’s way as they shot evidence of the atrocities committed in the final days of South African apartheid, documenting the violence between the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the townships.
Bernard was also the winner of Fuji Film’s Photographer of the Year award for 1998.
Sadly, Bernard took his own life on 13 September 1998.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
