RealTime Images is a new ‘international visual content agency’ set up by The Ole! Media Group which will focus on sport, news/current affairs and entertainment from South Africa.
They say: RealTime Images, headed up by Kate Dearlove, Ron Gaunt and Leigh Benson (photo below), further bolsters the Group’s content offering to publishers, brands and agencies alike. Working with a host of independent photographers and videographers across South Africa, the team will source and provide quality photographs, videos, and even streamed news conferences, to support today’s evolving stories.
In addition to these graphic news offerings, Real Time Images will also provide images and footage, as well as their professional services for bespoke assignments. This is great news for both local and international photographers, especially those who have been faced with limited avenues for their works, as traditional media houses trim staffers, and the world of media digitally evolves.
Focusing on sport, news (current affairs) and entertainment, RealTime Images will syndicate South African stories to local and international publishers, but is also working with international agencies to share their stories to local outlets.
Tim Legg, co-Founder of Ole! Media Group says: “It’s an exciting time for the Group, as Real Time Images answers the growing demand for authentic visual content. This was seen with the recent staging of the Olympic Games when RealTime Images supplied IMI Mobile with live images for their outlets, as well as placing the cover photograph for a recent edition of Huisgenoot magazine.”
Dearlove, who is no stranger to the photographic world having worked in the past for some of the globe’s largest photography houses, is also keen to see what the future holds, remarking: “The advent of digital media has seen an increased need for good news photographers and videographers who can capture ‘the story’ in a single moment. We have been very selective about the photographers we choose to work with as this medium demands a true eye and attention to detail, but it also presents an exceptional opportunity to attract and nurture young photographers into this business, as the demand for visual content is growing daily.”