Sony Global Ambassadors programme
A new global initiative sees Sony working closely with some of the world’s top photographers and industry leaders to celebrate the beauty of photography. Inaugural participants in the Global Imaging Ambassadors programme include William Klein and photographers from the leading international photo agency, Panos Pictures.
Through the Global Imaging Ambassadors programme Sony will work closely with a range of photographers with diverse styles from across the globe. The symbiotic partnership will see Sony lending its technical expertise and ground-breaking products, whilst benefiting from participating photographers’ exceptional imagery, professional feedback and brand support.
In addition Sony will work with each photographer to create a bespoke image using Sony’s high-end line of photographic equipment. These commissions will include unique shots of respected photographer William Klein’s return to New York, where this past summer – 60 years following his seminal work, Life is Good and Good for you in New York – he documented Brooklyn, a city he refers to as ‘the America of tomorrow’.
Of the programme, Klein says, “Brooklyn for me, a Manhattanite, has always been a mystery. This year, it became a photographic discovery. With the Sony a99, photography has been a pleasure. The camera has been a partner, rather than a burden. And the quality of the photos have proven to be an unexpected revelation.”
A portion of “Brooklyn, by William Klein”, along with an exclusive behind the scenes film, can be seen on the new ambassador website. Additionally, a major retrospective of Klein’s legendary work is now on display at the FOAM museum in Amsterdam. The showcase of over 200 pieces of Klein’s work spans six decades and includes ten photographs from this latest Brooklyn project.
William Klein show
Panos Pictures brings to the programme a wealth of established and award-winning photographers, including Zackary Canepari, Espen Rasmussen, Sanjit Das and George Georgiou. Over the past five months, these photographers have been using Sony’s RX1/R and a7 cameras to produce their projects in places such as Malaysia, Norway, Turkey and the USA. Adrian Evans, Director of Panos Pictures says, “Panos Pictures photographers always strive to be unique and creative in their approach to visual story telling and journalism. Our relationship with Sony gives our photographers access to Sony’s latest technological innovations, and support for photographers long term projects in an industry that is rapidly changing.” Additional photographers, including Bolivian based Karla Gachet, will be added to the programme in 2014. All current projects can be found on the ambassador website.
Yoshiyuki Nogami, Senior General Manager, Marketing Division, DI Business Group, Sony commented: “The Global Ambassadors Programme is an extremely exciting project that allows Sony to lend its technical expertise to some of the world’s leading photographers to enable them to bring their creative visions to life. From Sony’s perspective, we are able to gather valuable feedback about what photographers want from their equipment which will shape our new product development and help us move towards our goal of providing the best digital imaging products available in the market.”
Running the programme on Sony’s behalf is the World Photography Organisation (WPO), an international organisation providing various platforms and programmes for photographers of all levels and disciplines, along with educational and cultural programmes for the public. Sony has a long-standing partnership with WPO through their sponsorship of the annual World Photography Awards.