Through the Lens: Witnessing history

Mark Power happened to be in Berlin on the night the Wall came down, 30 years ago. The photographer describes what it was like to chance upon a world-changing event.

Forty years ago, the Iranian Revolution overthrew 2,500 years of monarchy. The Magnum photographer Abbas captured vivid images of the events as they unfolded.

In the 1980s, Chris Steele-Perkins photographed all sections of society, including National Front supporters and brawlers in a nightclub – images that reveal the flashpoints of today.

Elliott Erwitt travelled to the Soviet Union and Cuba during the Cold War. He describes his iconic images of Richard Nixon, Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.

Thomas Dworzak spent time in Iraq before and after the fall of Saddam Hussein. He describes taking photos that capture a sense of fear, celebration – and short-lived relief.

In 1966, photographer Costa Manos stumbled on a funeral for a young US soldier killed in Vietnam. He describes taking pictures that went on to become iconic.

US photographer Susan Meiselas heard the first plane flying overhead before it crashed into the World Trade Center. She describes capturing 9/11 through a camera lens.