Peters
Born in Bulawayo
International Motivational Keynote Speaker | Raconteur | War journalist |Photographer –
“I am a real photographer”
Born and educated in Bulawayo, in what was then Rhodesia, Mark Peters started his career as a news photographer in the ideal setting for what was to come. Working for the Bulawayo Chronicle in 1975, while the war raged in Rhodesia, Mark (in his own words) “covered everything from old ladies' tea parties to murdered nuns”.
Mark has worked both as an in-house and freelance photographer for such publications as the Johannesburg Star (from 1978), the New York Times, LA Times, London Sunday Times, Chicago Tribune, and finally Newsweek Magazine – which published the famous cover of Nelson Mandela’s triumphant walk to freedom.
During this time, he entered the field in dozens of conflict situations, fearlessly documenting war after war, protest after protest, and revolution after revolution. These include South Africa during the Apartheid era struggle, and wars in Rwanda, Somalia, Mozambique, Angola and the Congo, as well as his own home, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). He photographed the Balkan conflict, the First Gulf War, conflicts in Cambodia, Jordan, Mali and Israel, and most recently in Afghanistan.
During the course of his astounding career, Mark points to a few moments that stand out to him:
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He took the first photograph of a pilot to take off in the First Gulf War. This photograph now hangs in the Pentagon at America’s Hall of Heroes and was turned into an air force medal.
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He took the first photograph of Nelson Mandela as a free man to be transmitted around the world.
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He was the first person to be escorted into Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island prison cell by the man himself.
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Nelson Mandela spent many a Sunday lunch at Mark’s house in Mellville, Johannesburg.
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He travelled to the USA with Nelson Mandela and had the honour of joining him in a tickertape parade in New York. In this time, he had the opportunity to photograph then President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.
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He met Mother Theresa during a visit to Cape Town.
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Mark photographed Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street, and King Hussein of Jordan at his palace in Oman.
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Mark was sentenced to death by the Dogon tribe in Mali (happily his execution is yet to be carried out).
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Mark was also sentenced to death (to be ‘necklaced’) in Soweto during the early mid 1980's student uprisings.
Below is a list of references from various acquaintances
“Mark Peters calls himself a war-photographer. Those who know him describe him differently. He’s a storyteller, a dreamer, a reader. He loves his dogs and the wine-farm he calls home. He values old friendships and constantly seeks out new ones. He’s nostalgic, but for people rather than events.
My first conversation with Mark happened in the back of a rebel army’s pick-up truck in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. By then, he’d covered virtually every conflict of the past two decades and appeared more interested in my life than in where we were going or what we were likely to see. It was a pattern that repeated itself in the days that followed; not just with me but with the hotel manager, the receptionist, the soldiers. All impacted by war, all with a story few wanted to hear.
Our paths continued to cross professionally: the killing fields of South Africa’s rural KwaZulu Natal, the invaded farmlands of Zimbabwe. Each had its challenges, but none seemed to faze Mark Peters. And, as we became friends, we reminded each other of those times. Me filling in the detail of what took us there, Mark inevitably recalling the names and characters of people the rest of us had long since forgotten.
That is the true nature of Mark Peters. He is an exceptional photographer because he’s incredibly brave. Deeply affected by some of what he’s seen and as flawed as the rest of us, but empathetic and kind. Yes, he’s a war photographer but he’s so much more.”
- John Webb
John Webb began his career in journalism with Network Radio News. In his two years at NRN he covered several high-profile stories including the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, post-genocide Rwanda and political violence in Richmond, KwaZulu Natal. John moved to 702 Talk Radio in 1999 as a reporter, news reader and talk show host and later became the station's unofficial International Affairs correspondent, travelling to 15 countries while working at 702.
His assignments included the impact of international sanctions on Iraq, the build-up to the American invasion of Afghanistan, the second Gulf War, the land invasions in Zimbabwe, the floods in Mozambique and the outbreak of ethnic strife in eastern DRC.
He left 702 in 2004 to launch a television production company called GIANT Media International. The move coincided with his first assignment as a presenter for Carte Blanche in April 2004. He has been with this award-winning reality show until now, and is based in Ireland as a Carte Blanche field presenter.
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“Mark , your generosity tonight will be paid a thousand times over."
- Mrs Ceil Pulitzer
Mrs Ceil Pulitzer, member of The Pulitzer Prize founding family at a dinner auction by the Prince Phillip Trust of one of only three signed Mandela original prints raising 204 000.00 British pounds donated by Mark Peters.
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“It had been two years since Desert Storm and Mark was his old piss and-vinegar self, the last of a breed; hard drinking, hard playing, one great hell raiser, up all night but always ready for duty in the morning, the ultimate warrior photographer. Wherever we went he was a magnet for women and a lightning rod for trouble.”
- Colonel David Hackworth
Colonel David Hackworth fought in Korea, gained a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant in 1951 and was awarded three Silver Stars for heroism and three Purple Hearts. In 1965, he deployed to Vietnam as a major. He served as an operations officer and battalion commander in the 101st Airborne Division, and later founded the platoon-sized unit Tiger Force to "outguerrilla the guerrillas," which was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. He was promoted to the rank of colonel and received orders to attend the Army War College. Hackworth earned over 90 U.S. and foreign military awards.
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“One of the first and quite possibly smartest decisions I made after becoming the first woman Director of Photography at Newsweek, was hiring Mark Peters as my contract photographer who I tasked with covering all news and feature stories in Africa. He never disappointed. As a photojournalist he exhibited more than just photographic skill, he possessed an abundance of wisdom, bravery, tenacity and compassion which made him indispensable to me and to Newsweek.”
- Karen Mullarkey
Karen Mullarkey is one of the most influential and respected picture editors of all time. Dozens, if not hundreds of photographers owe much of their success to her. She started at Life Magazine and quickly moved on to be the Director of Photography at Rolling Stone, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. She has been a Director of Photography for Sports Illustrated, Picture Editor at Newsweek, Chief Picture Editor for Rolling Stone and Assistant Director of Photography at Life magazine.
