In about 1826 Nicéphore Niépce coated a pewter plate with bitumen and left it in a window for hours. The result is the oldest surviving photograph – and the date is still debated by historians, some preferring 1827. This year France is marking the bicentenary when two centuries later we carry cameras in our pockets and machines can invent pictures. In this session presenters take us on a personal look at two hundred years of photography, and what might lie ahead.
Note: All tickets include light refreshments and drinks served from 5pm.
Presented in partnership with the Embassy of France in Australia.
Secure your tickets today: https://events.humanitix.com/head-on-conversations-2026-celebrating-200-years-of-photography
Presenters:
James Farr (Australia/UK): a British photographer based in Australia, passionate about photography and travel. Inspired to find beauty in everyday life, James has been living on the road in a roof top tent for the past five years exploring some of Australia’s most remote places.
James’s work features in Head On Photo Festival 2026 at Bondi Beach promenade.
Fernanda Pedroso (ACT, Australia): a Canberra-based Brazilian photographer who transitioned from a 20-year career in advertising to photography after moving to Australia in 2020. Her conceptual practice draws on personal experience and cultural diversity, exploring social themes and human complexity.
Fernanda’s work features in the Head On Exposure Awards 2026 at Paddington Reservoir Gardens.
Liz Miller Kovacs (Germany): a California-born photographer based in Berlin. The granddaughter of Hungarian immigrant coal miners, she has spent the past five years exploring landscapes altered by industry, combining analogue and digital photography with research, documentation, and self-portraiture. She currently works with Aboriginal and mining communities in Western Australia, and with SOS Orinoco on a documentary about mining in South America.
Liz’s work features in the Head On Landscape Awards 2026 at Bondi Beach.
Moshe Rosenzveig OAM (NSW, Australia): Founder and Creative Director of Head On Photo Festival. Moshe has spent over four decades putting photographs in front of the public. A photojournalist and former SBS Television producer-director, Moshe founded Head On in 2004, and the festival has exhibited more than 5,000 photographic artists. Moshe reflects on what twenty years of running a festival have taught him about what endures.
Moderator: Dr Alison Stieven-Taylor (VIC, Australia), a Monash University lecturer and former journalist whose research examines visual journalism, photojournalism, human rights, climate communication and photography’s role in social change.
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