Saunders on display at the Bermuda National Gallery. A smattering of this internationally acclaimed Bermudian's work that spanned five decades is represented in 30 powerful black and white images.

On entering the intimate gallery of the Ondaajte Wing, the photographs have a near hypnotic effect. Compelling compositions of news photographs that millions of people have seen on the pages of Look and Life magazines appear in the show. Image after image underscores the exciting world that Dick Saunders and his wife/frequent photographic assistant Emily experienced. He captured many important moments on film and shared them with the rest of the world.

Photographer Graeme Outerbridge curated this fine collection, selecting "the tip of the iceberg'' from thousands of Saunders' negatives that are kept at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in New York City.

New York master printer Elizabeth Pope Saunders, who worked for Saunders during the height of his career, printed the images on fine Agfa fibre-based paper. All prints are 9.25 inches by 13.5 inches, protected with low-reflective plexiglass and framed in black wood.

Saunders, who died in 1987 at age 65, was without question one of the best photographers in the business. And it is ironic that many Bermudians are just now learning of his extraordinary talent.

Alongside the fine photojournalistic images are portraits of the famous people that Saunders met while doing bread-and-butter freelancing for The New York Times and as a staffer for Topic magazine. The greats in this show are composer Leonard Bernstein, humorist and television personality Milton Berle, Muslim leader Elija Muhammed, jazz singer Abbey Lincoln, actor Terence Stamp and actress Geraldine Chaplin.

But the focus of this show is on Saunders' first love -- documenting the importance of an event in news photographs, none of which were staged. His caring and intuitive personality respected his subjects' privacy, and he demonstrated this by establishing a rapport with them before pulling out a camera.

In a shot done for The New York Times -- "Children watching Street Theatre, Harlem, 1967'' -- Saunders captured the subjects completely engrossed in the performance. He froze their intensity -- and the fact that their focus was not gong to be diverted -- on film.

Part of his well-known Africa series is "Women building the Lesotho Track, Lesotho, 1971''. He froze the physical force of a lineup of women wielding pick-axes above their heads. No matter that their faces are not visible -- the focus is on their energetic motion, their response to the task at hand.

Joy and excitement dominate in the pair of images "Fans greeting James Brown, Kaduna Airport, Nigeria, 1970''. The American singer is the crowd's hero, and the occasion is a definite celebration of some of life's greatest gifts -- laughter and complete happiness.

The mood turns to a more serious note in "Literacy Program, Baguineda Village, 1972''. The focal point of the classroom setting is a discouraged looking man who is being consoled by two friends. Human concern and vulnerability is what strikes the viewer, and it is these elements of life that compel a hard look within. Saunders probably identified with the man's feeling of helplessness when, as an aspiring young photographer, he was turned down for a job at the Bermuda Trade Development Board.

And to think what would have happened to him if he had been successful in Bermuda...He probably never would have captured the hilarious moment in "Hershey Factory, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 1974'' of the workman whose huge stomach matches the size and shape as the sack of cacao before him.

This show is a must-see for all Bermudians, particularly schoolchildren who will see how far one man went to pursue his passion -- and succeed. -- Judith Wadson .