Andrew Meintjes was born in Cape Town on 31 January 1955. In the 1970s, while he was working as a post office technician, he met photographer David Goldblatt in, who took him under his wing and allegedly helped him to build up a portfolio with which he got into Michaelis School of Art. Although he did not finish his degree, he embarked on a fruitful career in printing, photography and invention. Among his inventions is the Panfield 4” x 5” camera, which is used all over the world, and a 40-watt per channel stereo amplifier. He also developed a carbon-fibre tracking rig used for automotive photography, in other words, to photograph moving vehicles. This was used for campaigns for, among others, Rover and Lamborghini. 

During his career, Meintjes had worked with photographers such as Jo Ratcliffe and Frenchman Patrick de Mervelec.

On 5 October 2004, Meintjes was murdered in his studio in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, during a robbery. He is survived by his wife, Lorna Ferguson, and daughter, Frances.

References

• Sean O’Toole, The Big Picture, Sunday Times: Lifestyle, 17 October 2004, p. 5.
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