Fiji-born photojournalist, Steven Saphore, has recently become a stringer for the internationally acclaimed news agency, Reuters.
“I have been working as a freelancer for the past few years, and now I am fortunate enough to be considered a contributor to one of the biggest news agencies in the world,“ said Steven.
Established in 1851, Reuters is an international news agency with its headquarters in London. It employs approximately 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists, in some 200 locations, worldwide.
“My position with Reuters in Sydney, Australia, gives me the responsibility of covering a diverse range of topics for an international clientele that includes some of the world’s top publications. I cover business, finance, politics, sports, as well as technology, lifestyle and culture stories.”
As a freelancer, Steven’s work has already featured in the international media arena. When he was back home in Fiji during Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in February of 2016, his work became “…a key source ofinternational media coverage when I travelled to some of the worst affected areas, documenting both the damage and the ensuing relief efforts,” said Steven.
Born in Suva in 1990 and educated at International School, Suva, Steven said he has grown up in Fiji “with an abundance of wildlife around me. I was drawn to capturing images of birds and nature,” a passion that was encouraged by his parents, Ed and Anne (nee Smith) Saphore.
His local wildlife photography has been featured on the covers of the Nature Fiji- MareqetiViti 2016 and 2017 calendars and he has worked with several Pacific–based environmental NGOʼs, including the filming of a documentary for Birdlife International.
The documentary focused on the award-winning conservation efforts by rural villagers in Vanua Levu to protect from deforestation, more than 10,000 hectares of jungle that is home to Fijian endemic species. This was screened at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2013.
Amongst other events, Steven has covered the 2014 #BlackLivesMatter protests in USA, the 2016 Australian Federal Election, the worldwide launch of the iPhone 7, and his work has appeared in international media outlets, including The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CNN News, ABC News, CBS News, International Business Times, Newsweek, The Daily Telegraph, and Popular Science.