Photographer #440: Claire Martin

Claire Martin, 1980, Australia, is a documentary photographer with a focus on marginalised communities. In 2007 and 2008 she concentrated on Vancouver's Downtown East Side. Even though Vancouver is a city that was twice voted "the worlds most liveable", the residents of this part live below the poverty line. The suburb has an estimated AIDS rate of 30% and the leading cause of death is overdose. In 2009 she visited Slab City where she focused on the permanent residents of this community in the Colorado desert. It "is a place for the broken and desperate and for the fierce defenders of freedom from tyranny." In 2010 and 2011 she went to Haiti to document the aftermath of the earthquake. "Every spare piece of land has turned into a tent city and whole suburbs and major infrastructure lay demolished, essentially turning and entire city into a slum." Claire has exhibited her work in solo shows in Australia and has been in various group exhibitions around the world. In 2010 she won the Magnum Foundation Inge Morath award for female photographers under the age of 30. She is a member of the prestigious Australian photo collective Oculi. The following images come from the series Petionville - Life in Haiti's Tent Cities, Slab City and Downtown East Side.

Website: www.clairemartinphotography.com

Photographer #286: Stephen Dupont

Stephen Dupont, 1967, Australia, is a photojournalist and portrait photographer who focuses on fragile cultures and marginalized people. He has released several monographs amongst which are also three handmade limited edition books. His exhibition Afghanistan: The Perils of Freedom 1993-2009 is a fifteen year retrospective on all of his journeys to Afghanistan. It shows the various stages the country has gone through, the resilience of the Afghan people and the growth of the photographer himself. Stephen puts a lot of respect into his photography, showing the human dignity of his subjects. Raskols is a series of portraits shot in 2004 which shows a gang member community, better known as the Raskols of Papua New Guinea. Dupont does not limit himself, he uses polaroid, medium format and 35mm camera's. The following images come from the series Afghanistan: The Perils of Freedom 1993-2009, Axe Me Biggie, or MR Take my Picture and Raskols.

Website: www.stephendupont.com

Photographer #189: Nirrimi Hakanson

Nirrimi Hakanson, 1992, Australia is a very young photographer who started with photography at age 13. She is very productive, which is visible when looking at the various websites she has, including her weblog filled with amazing images and personal stories of her photographic life. Nirrimi has already done the winter campaign for Diesel in New York. Her work is fresh, youthfull and sexy, but at the same time they are very mature and professional. The following images come from her portfolio's For Love, For Living and For Money.

Website: http://www.nirrimi.com

Photographer #148: Thom Kerr

Thom Kerr, 1984, Australia, is a fashion and commercial photographer. He started out in production design and wardrobe before getting behind the camera in 2005. Since then he has appeared in various magazines and worked for a large number of clients. His photography reminds us of fairy-tales and fantasy stories, but also the new wave era. Thom has exhibited in several places around the world and appeared on Germany's next top model as a guest photographer. The following images come from his portfolio's Fantasy, Classic and Beauty.

Website: www.thomkerr.com

Photographer #136: Tamara Dean

Tamara Dean, 1976, is an Australian photographer. She is part of the Oculi photographic collective (devoted to illuminating the real lives and stories often overlooked by mainstream media) and works as a staff photographer for the Sydney Morning Herald. Her most recent series of images is This too shall pass, Australia. About the project she says: "These pictures come from the hem of life. From a city broken down. Subjects un-grown-up. I feel as though I am conjuring something in these photographs." Her work has been exhibited at leading galleries in Australia. The following images come from the series This too shall pass, Australia, Divine Rites and Ritualisms.

Website: www.oculi.com.au  & www.agencevu.com

Photographer #087: Jane Burton

Jane Burton, 1966, is an Australian photographer. She has been in various exhibitions (group and solo) and her work is held in numerous private and public collections. Her photographs are dark, mysterious and often poetic. She often combines images of landscapes together with portraits. The following images come from the series Velvet Portrait Suite, Ivy and Wormwood.

Website: www.janeburton.com.au

Photographer #079: Polixeni Papapetrou

Polixeni Papapetrou, Australia, 1960, used to make images that dealt with identity and contemporary culture, but now takes photographs that concentrate on the themes of childhood and childhood memories. She often uses her own children, Olympia and Solomon, in her photographs. In her latest series Between Worlds, she made images of children with masks. Even though it seems the photographs are merely humouristic, there is a serious underlying theme. The following images come from Between Worlds, Haunted Country and Dreamchild.

Website: www.polixenipapapetrou.net

Photographer #072: Vee Speers

Vee Speers, Australia, 1962, lives and works in Paris, France. Her most recent series is The Birthday Party, an imaginary birthday party where children dress up creating bizarre, twilight zone like images. Earlier her book Bordello was released. Photographs printed with a 19th century technique and inspired on the photography of the 1920's and 30's. The following images come from the series The Birthday Party, Bordello and Parisians.

Website: www.veespeers.com

Photographer #046: Simon Strong

Simon Strong, 1974, is an Australian photographer. The time he works on a single image ranges from a few weeks to 9 months. Combining Eastern with Western influences in his photography, that often are about dreams and memories, make up the body of work from Strong. He likes to trigger our perception of the possible and defines his work as "photographic composite."

Website: www.simonstrong.com