Some of the most important and most beautiful moments captured on film will be on show over the next few weeks as the Reportage festival celebrates photojournalism.
The Reportage festival began in 1999 when several Australian photographers decided to take turns to exhibit their work to each other in a Bondi living room.
Founding member, award-winning photographer and this year's exhibition curator Stephen Dupont says that the photography shown will have a dramatic effect.
"People will laugh, people will cry. People will walk away from this with some sort of emotional charge.
"Not everyone is going to like every piece of work that's being shown but they'll certainly go away with a sense of some surprises."
Fairfax photographer Andrew Quilty says the Reportage festival celebrates the still image and it's power to store a single moment for prolonged appreciation.
"I guess still photography, when compared to moving images, it has, in my opinion, more of a lasting effect.
"You can pause on one single image for as long as you want and take every little aspect of it in, whereas moving images you've seen one thing and you're onto the next.
"One frame ago is old news and you don't have time to sit and ponder that."
The Reportage Festival opens Wednesday night at 7pm at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington Town Hall.
Screening run through till Friday October 17. For more information go to reportage.com.au.
Video: Yasmin Bright