Christchurch photographer Oz Golan has experienced ambulance work close up - and he has used his experience to help him with his photography.

Throughout August of this year, Oz was an observer on St John ambulances on Friday and Saturday nights, accompanying crews as they went to incidents across the city.

An operational volunteer for St John, Oz has some experience of the type of work ambulance crews do, and he wanted to capture some of that in his photographs. "I wanted to shed some light on the amazing work and service that St John personnel offer the community."

During the four weeks of shifts, Oz took over 2,500 photographs, and he has selected some of them for a multi media expos on his website, http://iamthelightsearch.blogspot.com/

His photo-essay, titled 'Life on the Front Line', shows several St John ambulance crews at work.

"I had been an operational volunteer for the last two years," says Oz. "During this time I witnessed and participated in the work that St John ambulance staff experience.

"It became clear to me that this amazing contribution to the community sometimes goes un-acknowledged. These ideas gave birth to the project 'Life on the Front Line'."

Oz says that the photo-essay hopefully depicts a true representation of the work carried out by St John personnel day in and day out.

Tony Dowell, St John District Operations Manager Christchurch, thanks Oz for capturing St John members caring for the community.

"Oz' photos show a wide range of the work we do, from serious motor vehicle accidents, through to medical emergencies in people's homes," he says. "He has managed to sensitively capture the caring nature of our people. They're wonderful photographs."

To see Oz' photo-essay on St John, please visit: http://iamthelightsearch.blogspot.com/

For more information on St John and our services, please visit: www.stjohn.org.nz