The Northern Territory's Museum and Art Gallery is showcasing an exhibition honouring Australia's war photographers. Veteran camera operators say the display is a tribute to the bravery and dedication of those who have risked their lives to capture history from behind the lens.
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00:00Featuring more than a century of archives and equipment, action, film and war has arrived
00:08in Darwin.
00:09Its focus, those behind the camera.
00:12We've got hand-wound wooden cameras that were used on the Western Front, hand-held cameras
00:18used in Vietnam, a helmet cam from Afghanistan.
00:22The exhibition, currently showing at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory,
00:26pays tribute to the veterans of video journalism.
00:29David Brill was an ABC cameraman in the Vietnam War.
00:33He says the exhibition allows people to reflect on the courage of his colleagues.
00:37To show the unsung heroes, the cinematographers, the people behind the lens, who don't get
00:44a lot of credit, but they're the ones who've got to put their head up as the bullets are
00:48flying around at times or whatever, to bring the pictures.
00:53On one hand, action, film and war honours the careers of Australia's war cinematographers,
00:59using their words, work and equipment to walk through the nation's military history.
01:04But beneath the exhibits is a deeper reflection on the complicated nature of the relationship
01:09between truth and storytelling.
01:11One of the aims of the exhibition is to explore that space between truth and fiction, between
01:17the historical record and telling a really good story.
01:20ABC camera operator Neil Maud was involved in the exhibition and says capturing the craft
01:25of camera operators was key.
01:27You know that this story is going to be one minute, 38 seconds, and you've got to try
01:32and get that story of that occurrence across in that time.
01:38Above all, Neil says it's vital to honour the work of his colleagues, some of who never
01:43make it home.
01:44It was great to be able to give a voice to other camera people, so that people could
01:53understand what it was like.
01:55So I was quite proud of what we achieved.
01:58A moment in the limelight for those behind the lens.