Australian black and white photographer Alastair McNaughton was born in England in 1949 and graduated from art college with a BA in Graphic Design & Photography.
His love of travel and getting to know indigenous peoples culture has led him all over the world, photography being the perfect medium for his creativity. He has immersed himself in the cultures of the Maasai in Tanzania, the Rabari of Gujerat, Sadhus in India, dancers in Cuba, monks in Burma and the Wongi Aboriginal community of Western Australia. He eats, lives and travels with the people he photographs - to capture the right image, he believes, it's necessary to understand how people live, the problems that beset them, and their own picture of the world. As Alastair himself says, "Once you understand someone's humour and can relate to them, they accept you and tend to forget that you're pointing a camera lens at them". Alastair spent four years with the Wongi Aboriginal community at Coonana in the Western Australian desert.
Royalties from his Australian Aboriginal Images series of postcards, art prints and bookmarks are paid to the Aboriginal Communities and Alastair maintains a close relationship with his friends there.
Currently based in Fremantle (just south of Perth) Western Australia, Alastair's recent photographs of the Sydney Harbour city capture its icons in an individual way, revealing this talented photographer's unique view of Australia and the world.
His exhibitions and prizes include:
1992 Fremantle Arts Centre, Australia
1995 National Portrait Gallery, London
1996 Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Australia
1996 The Leica Prize
1996 The Nikon/Panorama Prize
1997 Royal Photographic Society, UK
1999 Starcourt Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1999 E3 Gallery, New York, NY
2000 UNESCO Award, Beijing, China
2000 Arts D'Australie Exhibition, Paris
2002 UNESCO Body Adornment Photography Award
2003 Australian Commonwealth Broadcasting Assoc. Environment Award
Alastair supports the HART project with the donation of a series of signed limited edition photographic art prints. HART (the Heart of America Road Tour for the Children of War) is a fundraising project appealing to Americans of conscience to reach out and help the children victimized by war