life among the dead - john robinson

july 2008 bbc news online. i have put this series of images together against the backdrop of living a city that seems to be dying all around me. something must be wrong when so many people are dead and buried, so close, so fast and so often. while i walked among the graves making these images i asked questions of family members; what happened? why are these people all dying? i was told that he were just old (thank god) others, well they were sick, or stabbed with a knife, she just died, and, well you know my friend these things just happen now. what ever the medical details might be in each case, i do know that many many people are dying and that mountain rise cemetery is often the place where the remains are interned. i chose just look at the cemetery as a whole, the fresh graves, a funeral or two, the state of the settling soil, the grass cutters on behalf of the council and the individual tending of the graves, even the vendors who sell ice cream on the weekends and make up to 200 rand a day. pietermaritzburg is a global epicenter for hiv/aids infection, about 40% of the general population is infected. about 60% of mothers and children who present at local clinics and hospitals will test positive for the hi virus...

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About

John Robinson is a Africa based photojournalist of Zambian extraction, and now living in South Africa.

John comes from a broad based visual design and design educational background. He is a graduate of the Market Theatre Photography Workshop 1992/1995, and participant in photojournalism programs with The Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg South Africa and Poynter Institute. John freelanced for a number of years in Johannesburg with The Star, Saturday Star, Sunday Independent, Mail & Guardian, Business Day, Finance Week, Leadership, Marie Claire and numerous corporate, international developmental partnerships, and private clients.

He continues to be privileged to spend much time in the lives of some, or just a moment or two in the lives of others and come away with vivid images that convey the essence or an aspect of these moments in time.

He is currently involved in long term photojournalist projects, news features, portraits and social documentary imagery with a special interest in the current issues around health, culture, portraiture and African daily life. His clients include online media, wire services, international news media organisations, print media, international developmental partnerships, corporate and private clients.

John has left footprints in Zambia, Rio de Janeiro, Washington DC, Europe, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Dubai, Sudan, Darfur, Southern Sudan, Uganda, Mali, Ivory Coast, Kinshasa, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Nairobi, Swaziland and South Africa.

John Robinson 's current location:
Kwazulu Natal , South Africa

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