“A judge in Iran once asked me if I would prefer to have a murderer hanged in the morning or afternoon. He wanted the light to be right for my photographs.”

Michael Coyne has worked for over 30 years as a photographer covering wars, revolutions and international events. “Photography is a political tool” says Michael, “and you must be careful how you use it. I believe in-depth photographic reporting is the best way for the general public to learn the truth. But a story can only be fully told if the reader is able to go some way to completing it.”

Much of Michael's award winning documentary work has taken place in areas regarded as inaccessible or impenetrable due to their political or strategic sensitivity. Coyne spent eight years in the Middle East documenting the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. In 1985, National Geographic used his photographs and text from Iran, in 28 pages of the magazine – something that led to the editor being summoned to the White House to explain who Coyne was and why he had so much access to the leaders of Iran's Islamic Revolution and the Iran/Iraq war, which was occurring at the time. 

For his work in the Middle East Michael received a number of prestigious awards including the American National Press Photographers Association and the Overseas Press Club of America.

He has worked on in-depth stories on the Palestinian Liberation Army including documenting the life and work of PLO Chairman, Yasser Arafat and in 2010 he received an honourable mention in the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club Human Rights Awards for his photographs of Chinese coal miners.

The international acclaim he has received for his work is in recognition of the revelatory nature of his photographs as well as his creative talent.