Diane Smyth talks to Philip Blenkinsop (middle) and Stanley Greene (right) Image © Olivier Laurent

‘When photographers have an agenda, when they put their heart and soul into it, when they breathe and sleep and bleed with the people they’re photographing, that’s when they get the best work,’ Philip Blenkinsop told me, just hours before he was presented with the Visa d’Or for his reportage on China’s earthquake. ‘Photographers who expect to be paid for it are in the wrong business. You should be doing it because you’re passionate about issues and injustices and want to shine a light on them and give people a voice. If you don’t get paid for it that’s tough, but you keep going and keep trying. The greatest payment you can have is to know that you’ve done that in a responsible way.’

Blenkinsop gave his interview for the BJP alongside Stanley Greene, a friend and fellow member of Noor – the photo agency launched at last year’s Visa Pour l’Image. ‘Philip is a true journalist,’ said Greene. ‘He risks everything to go and do stories nobody knows about.’

But although both men have devoted their lives to photojournalism and passionately believe in the power of photography to advocate for change, they also added that sometimes the photographer’s greatest responsibility is to simply stop taking pictures. Blenkinsop critised the 24-hour media culture encouraging photographers to generate instant news, explaining ‘I never feel that pressure [to take the quick picture]. You have to keep your integrity. You see it and you leave it because you know the shallow nature of those images.’