Mr President, it’s great to see you today; here is the plan.”

Those are words I have spoken to the past five American Presidents and many other world leaders as a photographer trusted to create iconic images that will stand the test of time.

How did a kid from a working-class house and a city on the far-reaches of the globe and far away from the White House get there, why were the city and people of Adelaide responsible, and why is my story here with other thought leaders and innovators?

It is very simple: creative innovation needs a lab and an environment in which to grow. Adelaide is that lab.

After I experienced new places, new challenges and new ideas, I kept coming back to Adelaide and seeing that we are innovative and influential creators recognized around the globe.

My industry and the world have been dealing with profound changes in how media and images are created and shared. Gone are the days of just the daily newspaper and advertising billboard. It has been replaced with real-time news and communication and hyper-connected social media channels where everyone globally shares ideas instantaneously.

My work has changed from just shooting a magazine cover to creating multimedia projects and sharing layered stories in print and motion, and from camera to screen in hours.

We are all rethinking ways of telling stories and creating powerful pieces of art that connect us all with the rise of these new technologies and newer ones emerging every day, like the dawn of A.I.

The societies that will succeed through these momentous change in communication are those whose creative foundations are strong and who continue to do critical work in deep learning and sharing.

We do this here with world-leading cultural events: the Adelaide Festival, Writers Week, Fringe Festival and more. The world’s leading creative storytellers come to Adelaide to share new ideas and art forms.

Our film industry continues to create brilliant, innovative and powerful stories shared globally. The city is home to numerous digital production houses working on Hollywood and world cinema-leading productions.

Adelaide’s proud history of innovative art and adaptive creators has us placed perfectly for now and years ahead. I have always acknowledged the Adelaide cultural and photographic foundations for the work that I have created and my existing drive to further innovate technically and creatively.