Photographer #400: Moises Saman

Moises Saman, Spain, 1974, Spain, is a very productive photojournalist based in New York City. He studied Communications and Sociology at California State University. Between 2000 and 2007 he worked as a staff photographer at the New York Newsday before going freelance in late 2007. For his photographic work he has traveled to countries as Pakistan, Nepal, Cuba, Lebanon and El Salvador to name a few. In his extensive portfolio we find stories that cover the earthquake aftermath in Haiti, Afghan boys who enter Europe fleeing from poverty and violence in their home-country, problems with drug cartels in Peru, the conflict in Congo that has cost the lifes of millions as well as multiple stories in Iraq focusing on an intense drought, the war and the complexities of the conflict by looking at the three major cities. He also concentrated on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Mara Salvatrucha gang in El Salvador. He released the books Afghanistan: Broken Promise (2007) and This is War (2004) as well as providing the images for the book Howard Zinn: Just War. In 2010 he became a Magnum Photos nominee. The following images come from the series Rivers of Coca, Peru 2009, The Lost Boys of Afghanistan. Greece 2009 and La Vida por las Maras 2007.

Website: www.moisessaman.com

Photographer #351: Christopher Colville

Christopher Colville, 1974, USA, is a conceptual and experimental photographer. He received a BFA in Anthropology and Photography at the Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico.  He uses many different techniques to obtain his photographic works. For his series Dark Emanations he placed dead squid in containers where they emit gaseous clouds of phosphorescent light as they decay. This light or chemical decomposition imprints itself as colors on paper. The beauty for Christopher is not the death of the squid, but the possibility of new life due to the decaying process. In 2006 he spend 27 days in a tent in Iceland where he created a body of work consisting of four suites of images that are unique yet intertwined. He photographed the entire night on one single image, documented the cairns (man-made piles of stones) and the landscapes. While working on this project he would collect a small plant in the morning, place it on an impregnated paper attached to his backpack. While hiking it was exposed to the sun thus creating an image. The following images come from the series The Iceland Trilogy & Movements, Dark Emanations and Instar.

Website: www.christophercolville.com

Photographer #339: Anoek Steketee

Anoek Steketee, 1974, The Netherlands, is a documentary photographer with a unique approach. In her series Dream City she visited, together with journalist Eefje Blankevoort, various amusement parks. She went to Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Colombia, Indonesia, China, Turkmenistan and the USA. The parks form a universal backdrop to the large differences in cultural, sociological and political contexts. She stages her subjects and her lighting is impecable. In 2011 Dream City was released as a monograph. For the series Frontstage she visited Iran on several occasions between 2003 and 2006. She wanted to explore to what extend the image of Iran had been created by the western media and the Iranian propaganda itself. She asked passersby to pose, again using flash lights and giving the people directions. By using this technique, the people in the images become individuals with a story, while the Islamic Republic and the revolutionary ideology faded into the background. The following images come from the series Dream City, Frontstage and Holy Sepulchre.

Website: www.anoeksteketee.com

Photographer #312: Scott Conarroe

Scott Conarroe, 1974, Canada, is a landscape photographer with a distinct eye. He received a BFA at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 2001 and an MFA the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2005. His images of the sea or the railroad tracks in Northern America contain a subtle criticism on how humans interact with their environment. By Rail is the result of an eight month trip in his Chevy Van, often making long exposure photographs on a 4x5" large format camera. His series At Leisure contains images of recreational spaces in built environments that seem unfitting, out of order or just weird. Scott has also created series in Ontario, Halifax and Beijing among other places. He has exhibited in Canada, several places in the US and abroad. Scott is one of the PDN's 30 emerging photographers of 2010. The following images come from the series By Sea, By Rail and London.

Website: www.scottconarroe.com

Photographer #289: Jacob Felländer

Jacob Felländer, 1974, Sweden, is a landscape photographer working with multiple captures on a single image. With a modified analogue camera he has created a technique that enables him to expose and wind the film one centimeter at a time. Through this process Jacob is able to capture fragments of time, space and perspectives. For his latest project I want to live close to you he traveled to the most densely populated cities in the world. He wanted to capture multiple cities in one frame and as the places started to merge together he grew increasingly fascinated by how close we all live together. Jacob's images seem chaotic, but they create a landscape that is multi dimensional. The series has also been released as a book. Since 2003 he has traveled extensively for his photography. The following images come from the series I want to live close to you, Nownownow and Stand Still. 

Website: www.jacobfellander.com

Photographer #276: Damon Winter

Damon Winter, 1974, USA, is a photographer who is highly competent in various kinds of photography. He is based in New York City and works as a staff photographer for The New York Times. He focuses on photojournalism, documentary work, celebrity portraiture and travel photography. For his work he has traveled extensively to places as Iceland, Japan and Afghanistan. His photo essay on sexual abuse victims in Alaska in 2005 was nominated for a Pullitzer Prize, but it wasn't until 2009 that he won the Pullitzer Prize for feature photography with his images that captured the different facets of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The following images come from his portfolio Faces and from the stories Afghanistan and Haiti Earthquake.

Website: www.damonwinter.com

Photographer #274: Sebastian Kim

Sebastian Kim, 1974, USA, is a fashion / editorial photographer based in New York City. He was born in Vietnam, raised in Iran, France and the USA. He started his career assisting Richard Avedon for four years and then moved on to assist Steven Meisel for another seven years. The lessons he learned while assisting both photography legends laid the basis for his current work. His work has appeared in numerous magazines, from Numéro to GQ Style and from Vogue to V Man. Amongst his clients are Calvin Klein, L'Oreal and Nina Ricci.  The following images come from his portfolios Womens, Mens and Portraits.

Website: www.sebastiankim.com

Photographer #249: Cédric Delsaux

Cédric Delsaux, 1974, France, studied literature and cinema in Paris. He started out as a copywriter in the advertising world before he decided to devote all his time into photography in 2002. He does personal work aswell as advertising campaigns for major brands. His series Here to Stay explores the relationship between humans and nature. The series was published as a monograph in 2008. In his series The Dark Lens he combined two worlds, the world of Star Wars and Earth. The post-apocalyptic scenes blur reality with fiction. 1784 is again a series in which reality and fiction, myths and symbols, the present and the past meet and collide. In 2005 Cédric was awarded the 'Bourse du Talent' award in France. The following images come from the series Here to Stay, The Dark Lens (Star Wars) and 1784.

Website: www.cedricdelsaux.com
(Video in French)

Photographer #244: Zeng Han

Zeng Han, 1974, China, received a BA in International Journalism and Communication at the Jinan University in Guangzhou and attended the artist residency program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. His series Soul Stealer is a four part series of portraits in various landscapes. It plays with modern and traditional role playing of characters of ancient chinese opera's and those of popular culture. The four parts are Landplay, Cosplay, Mulian Opera and World of Warcraft. In his series Hyperreality China Zeng documented the transformation and urbanization of China in which the actual viewsights appear to be somewhat of a "hyperreality", a term that derives from the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, referring to the blurring of the destinction between reality and falsity. The following images come from the series Soul Stealer - World of Warcraft, Hyperreality China and Dizzy City.

Website: www.zeng-han.com

Photographer #215: Wayne Lawrence

Wayne Lawrence, 1974, The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, works and lives in Brooklyn, New York. He left St. Kitts in 1994 and started working as a carpenter. He swopped carpenting with photography several years ago. Wayne's work focuses on "individuals and rituals within communities otherwise overlooked by the mainstream media". His work has been shown at various exhibitions and has been published in magazines as Colors, Newsweek and the New York Times Magazine.  The following images come from the series Orchard Beach (The Bronx Riviera), Jouvert (Labor Day in Brooklyn) and MIA (Urban Beach Week).

Website: www.waynelawrenceonline.com

Photographer #207: Pep Bonet

Pep Bonet, 1974, Spain, is a photojournalist who has won various awards throughout the years. He has covered many stories throughout Africa, amongst which are Somalia, Darfur, Angola and Ethiopia. His most known project is Faith in Chaos, an ongoing photo essay on the aftermath of the war in Sierra Leone. Pep also concentrated on HIV/Aids for long periods of time within Africa, but also in India and Honduras. In 2008 he released the book One Goal, a long term project on the Sierra Leone's amputees soccer team. During the civil war in Sierra Leone, amputation was used as a weapon of fear in order to get young men to stop fighting for an opposing side. The following images come from One Goal, Orphans Zwaziland and Somalia 04.

Website: www.pepbonet.com

Photographer #178: Matt Stuart

Matt Stuart, 1974, UK, is a street photographer. He uses a Leica MP to shoot his images. Matt's work is humorous and spontaneous. He does not stage or manipulate any of his photographs apart from his commercial work. Roaming the streets of London, Stuart is looking for moments, happenings where all things fall into place to make his shot. He had a show beginning of this year called Happy Accidents, which might just be the best title to describe Matt's photography. The following images come from his Colour and Black&White portfolio.

Website: www.mattstuart.com

Photographer #166: Shai Kremer

Shai Kremer, 1974, Israel, lives and works in New York. In his project Infected Landscape, with which he has had several solo exhibitions in the last few years, he focused on the effect of the military on the Iraeli landscape. Since 2002 he has been working on a series in New York. Instead of concentrating on the elements that make New York great, he takes us on a journey past the "less-explored". The following images come from the projects New York, Fallen Empires and Desert.

Website: www.shaikremer.com

Photographer #164: Marco Bolognesi

Marco Bolognesi, 1974, Italy, works and lives in London. He can be described as a multimedia artist, because next to his photography he also draws, paints, uses video, makes installations and uses collage techniques. His photography consists of portraits of women with props added. The women become sculptures, with plants added to their heads or parts from a computer. In his series C.O.D.E.X Blue, he painted his model completely blue. Marco released several books with his work. The following images come from the series C.O.D.E.X Blue, Babylon Federation and BlackinBlack.

Website: www.marcobolognesi.co.uk

Photographer #144: Carlos Alvarez Montero

Carlos Alvarez Montero, 1974, Mexico, is a photographer that focuses on identity, indiviuality and appearances. After 12 years of working in Mexico City as a photographer he decided to go to New York to complete a two year MFA program at the School of Visual Arts. For his series Scars he made 20 portraits of people from Mexico City that decided to engrave ink marks on their neck or face as a statement of their life experiences. Throughout his projects the theme of identity is apparent. The following images come from his projects Scars, Covers (Adopt & Adapt) and M (De Michoacán).

Website: www.alvarezmontero.com

Photographer #132: Seba Kurtis

Seba Kurtis, 1974, Argentina, studied journalism and became a political activist. He grew up under the dictatorship regime. In 2001, during the political and econimocal crisis in Argentina, he left for Europe. He spend over 5 years in Spain as an illegal immigrant. This experience have been the founding blocks of his work today. Seba has focused on the immigration of Mexicans in the USA, Egyptians coming to Italy and Africans going to the Canary Islands. The following images come from the series 700 Miles, A Few Days More and Drowned.

Website: www.sebakurtis.com

Photographer #126: Pieter Ten Hoopen

Pieter Ten Hoopen, 1974, Netherlands, left for Sweden in 1999 to study photojournalism at the Nordens Fotoskola, since then he has been living and working in Sweden. Pieter has been all over the world for his stories, from Iraq to Kenya and from Russia to Mallorca. In 2010 Ten Hoopen won two World Press Photo Awards, one of them for his series on Hungry Horse in Montana. Next to his outstanding work as a photojournalist he has been recognized for his portraiture and his commercial work as his campaign for SSU. The following images come from his series Stockholm, Balakot - Earthquake and Kitezh - The Invisible Town.

Website: www.pietertenhoopen.com
For more work: www.agencevu.com/