Cameras empower people.   That’s why I love them.   Even camera phones in the right hands can shine a light in dark corners.     Citizen journalists have made a huge difference in exposing what is going on under repressive regimes.  The images they capture can be more powerful than any soldier’s bullet.

A case in point is the award winning video showing the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman in Iran during the 2009 protests which captivated hundreds of thousands of views on cable television and Arab TV.  When foreign journalists were expelled by the country’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it was left to citizens with simple cameras to give the world a glimpse of what’s going on.

And then there’s the tireless work of citizen video journalists for the Democratic Voice of Burma. They don’t just risk arrest, they put their lives on the line everytime they go out and film protests.

Even in Africa video news is gathered using mobile phones in countries like Tanzania.  Some people question the merit of ordinary people filming events around them in this fashion, arguing that their viewpoint distorts the truth.  But honestly, I’d always prefer a citizen reporter’s perspective to none at all.  And everyone, including the impoverished and downtrodden, deserves a voice.

I’ve covered a lot of natural disasters — earthquakes, bushfires and other traumatic events.  It often humbles me to see what things people have shot on their phones or cameras in the hairiest situation they’ll ever witness.  Sometimes they apologise for swearing during a traumatic event but the composure it takes to take such amazing defies belief.  I often say, “Mate, getting rid of the sound is the least I can do for you.”

Would the history books tell a different story if they had access to “user generated footage”? Just think of the pieces of history that went missing in the 20^th century…  I mean, cameras back then were so big, heavy and cumbersome!  News cameraman had to put their film stock on planes and it would take a day — or two or even three — to get the film and process it.  Nowadays people can shoot stuff and send it almost instaneously.  I sometimes wonder what the world would be like without digital cameras.