Hangout Festival acts on photography
Organisers of Hangout Music Festival, slated for November 5 to 7 at Kabumba Hotel in Salima say they will orient photographers prior to the event to avoid controversy emanating from photographs of artists on stage.
During the just-ended Sandfest, photographs of South African musician Makhadzi divided opinion as others felt they were in bad taste and blamed the photographer while others saw nothing wrong as they reflected what happened.
In an interview, one of the organisers of Hangout Festival, Levi Msakambewa said it was unfortunate that things happened the way they did on the photography part.
“To avoid a repeat of the incident, we will engage an expert for an orientation training of our official photographers,” he said.
Msakambewa said they cannot just discard the photographers since they pay a fee to come and make money by taking photos at such events.
He said said since many people have condemned what happened, they have no choice but listen to the voice of reason.
He said: “We gave access to a number of photographers, but with this situation, we are compelled to withhold the access and ensure such tendencies are avoided.”
Photographers Association of Malawi president Lucky Mkandawire said it is important for photographers to not only be professional but also have moral values.
“If we make images that harm our clients, we personally do not only lose the trust and confidence of people, but most importantly, we put at risk the integrity of the industry,” he said.
