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"That Hector Pieterson picture is not the only shot Sam Nzima should be remembered for". These were sentiments shared by legendary photographer Sam Nzima's former colleague, Joe Latakgomo.
"He deeply loved his country and he deeply loved his people," said Latakgoma.
The memorial, which was held at the Tiso Blackstar offices in Parktown on Thursday, was filled with both young and old photojournalists, colleagues and admirers of his work.
"The one thing that I could always appreciate about Sam was the way he dressed for work every day. He was always neat," said Pearl Luthuli, a former colleague who worked with him at The World newspaper, a black publication in Johannesburg in the 1970s.
Luthuli recalled her first assignment with him covering the Miss South Africa event. "When we were done we went straight to the office, he went to the darkroom and told me to go to my desk."
She explained that Nzima made it a point to finish off stories on the day, even if the deadline was not urgent. "That was something that never left my training."
At the end of the memorial, photojournalists in the room honoured the late icon with a shutter salute, holding their cameras in the air and setting off a 10-second shutter release.
"Let us hope that all you younger journalists follow in the footsteps that Sam Nzima walked," said Latakgomo.
The 83-year-old died on Saturday at the Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit.
