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John Thomson
John Thomson
John Thomson

John Thomson

Country: Scotland
Birth: 1837 | Death: † 1921

John Thomson, one of the great figures of nineteenth century photography, is known for the unusual and exotic nature of his chosen subject matter. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1837, Thomson took up photography as a profession in his early twenties. For ten years, from 1862, he traveled and explored the Far East, visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang and the Malay Peninsula, Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam, Formosa and especially China.

Utilizing a large wooden box-type camera capable of accommodating a glass plate of up to 12 x 16 inches, John Thomson photographed commoners and kings, attempting to capture the individual behind the veneer of social status. His photographic record of the Far East documented a complete panorama of the cultures and people of the Far East at a time when Westerners were a few and curious lot. John Thomson not only created a photographic history, but also wrote numerous articles and books on his travels and views of life in the Far East.

There is no doubt that it was Thomson’s sympathetic approach to his subjects, and the dignity with which he embued them, as much as his great technical expertise, which enabled him to produce such an outstanding photographic documentary. It is this marriage between sensitivity, technical expertise and sheer professionalism, not to mention his voluminous literary output and descriptions of the scenes and people, which he photographed, that has earned Thomson the title of the ‘first of the great photo-journalists’. His work, which has only recently gained full recognition, represents one of the great photo-historical records in the history of documentary photography.
Source Westwood Gallery
Selected Books on Available on Amazon
Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson 1865-66
Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson 1865-66
John Thomson, Paisarn Piemmettawat
China: Through the Lens of John Thomson
China: Through the Lens of John Thomson
John Thomson, Betty Yao

Gallery

Westwood Gallery

 

Selected Books

Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson 1865-66
Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson 1865-66
John Thomson, Paisarn Piemmettawat
China: Through the Lens of John Thomson
China: Through the Lens of John Thomson
John Thomson, Betty Yao

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Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Mexico
1902 | † 2002
Manuel Álvarez Bravo was a Mexican artistic photographer and one of the most important figures in 20th century Latin American photography. He was born and raised in Mexico City. While he took art classes at the Academy of San Carlos, his photography is self-taught. His career spanned from the late 1920s to the 1990s with its artistic peak between the 1920s and 1950s. His hallmark as a photographer was to capture images of the ordinary but in ironic or Surrealistic ways. His early work was based on European influences, but he was soon influenced by the Mexican muralism movement and the general cultural and political push at the time to redefine Mexican identity. He rejected the picturesque, employing elements to avoid stereotyping. He had numerous exhibitions of his work, worked in the Mexican cinema and established Fondo Editorial de la Plástica Mexicana publishing house. He won numerous awards for his work, mostly after 1970. His work was recognized by the UNESCO Memory of the World registry in 2017.Source: Wikipedia Manuel Álvarez Bravo, one of the founders of modern photography, is considered the main representative of Latin American photography in the 20th century. His work extends from the late 1920s to the 1990s. Alvarez Bravo was born in downtown Mexico City on February 4, 1902. He left school at the age of twelve in order to begin making a contribution to his family's finances after his father's death. He worked at a textile factory for a time, and later at the National General Treasury. Both his grandfather (a painter) and his father were amateur photographers. His early discovery of the camera awakened in him an interest that he would continue to cultivate throughout his life. As a self-taught photographer, he would explore many different techniques, as well as graphic art. Influenced by his study of painting at the Academy of San Carlos, he embraced pictorialism at first. Then, with the discovery of cubism and all the possibilities offered by abstraction, he began to explore modern aesthetics. He had his initiation into documentary photography in 1930: when she was deported from Mexico, Tina Modotti left him her job at the magazine Mexican Folkways. He also worked for the muralists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Álvarez Bravo is an emblematic figure from the period following the Mexican Revolution often called the Mexican Renaissance. It was a time of a creative fertility, owing to the happy though not always tranquil marriage between a desire for modernization and the search for an identity with Mexican roots, in which archaeology, history and ethnology played an important role, parallel to the arts. Alvarez Bravo embodied both tendencies in the field of visual arts. Between 1943 and 1959, he worked in the film industry doing still shots, which inspired him to realize some of his own experiments with cinema. While Manuel Álvarez Bravo was alive, he held over 150 individual exhibitions and participated in over 200 collective exhibitions. According to several critics, the work of this "poet of the lens" expresses the essence of Mexico. However, the humanist regard reflected in his work, the aesthetic, literary and musical references it contains, likewise endow with a truly universal dimension. He died on October 19, 2002, at the age of one hundred.Source: www.manuelalvarezbravo.org Manuel Álvarez Bravo was a teenager when he first picked up a camera and began taking pictures, before he enrolled in night classes in painting at the Academia San Carlos, in 1917, or sought instruction in the darkroom of local German photographer Hugo Brehme. Initially self-taught, Álvarez Bravo’s style developed through study of foreign and local photography journals. In these pages, he first encountered the work of Edward Weston and Tina Modotti, who came to Mexico in 1923; the latter became a close colleague and supporter, introducing Álvarez Bravo to the artists of Mexico’s avant-garde, including Diego Rivera, Frida Khalo, and Rufino Tamayo, as well as encouraging him to send photographs to Weston. In the 1930s, Álvarez Bravo met Paul Strand, traveling with him while he worked in Mexico, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. With Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans he exhibited in a three-man show at the Julien Levy Gallery, New York, in 1935. Mexico was a cultural hub for many in the international avant-garde in these years; André Breton visited, including Álvarez Bravo in the Exposition of Surrealism he organized in 1940 in Mexico City. Although the artist never identified with Surrealism, it was a major theme in the analysis of his pictures throughout his career. Revealing the influence of his formative years following the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Álvarez Bravo would instead speak of his interest in representing the cultural heritage, peasant population, and indigenous roots of the Mexican people in the face of rapid modernization.Source: Museum of Modern Art
Nat Fein
Nat Fein
United States
1914 | † 2000
Nathaniel Fein (August 7, 1914 – September 26, 2000) was a photographer for the New York Herald Tribune for 33 years. Fein is known for photographing Babe Ruth towards the end of his life, winning the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph The Babe Bows Out. Fein was born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He was a press photographer at the New York Herald Tribune from 1933 to 1966. Known for setting a scene correctly, he would climb buildings and bridges to get the shot he was after. Fein's main subject matter was New York following World War II. Albert Einstein, Ty Cobb, Queen Elizabeth and Harry S. Truman were among the many public figures that he photographed. Nat Fein won more press photo awards than any of his contemporaries. Although considered to be one of the greatest human interest photographers in journalism, he carried the distinction of having taken "the most celebrated photograph in sports history." -- The New York Times, 1992. A resident of Tappan, New York, Fein died on September 26, 2000, at the age of 86.Source: Wikipedia Babe Bows Out", photograph of Babe Ruth during a ceremony at Yankee Stadium to retire his number, 13 June 1948 (This photo won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for photography) © Nat Fein / Public Domain Babe Ruth’s dominating influence changed the game itself. He became the face of the New York Yankees and embodied the ethos of the game of baseball, American sports culture, and New York heritage. In Babe Bows Out photographer Nat Fein captures the beloved athlete and showman in an image that has become synonymous with the immensity of its subject. Nat Fein began to work for the New York Herald Tribune as a copyboy in 1932. After investing in a camera years later, he became a press photographer for the paper, creating a working relationship that lasted 33 years. While working as a staff photographer at the Tribune, Fein had not been assigned to work on the day that the New York Yankee’s would retire Babe Ruth’s number three jersey. On the day when the Yankees would celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yankee stadium and retire “The Great Bambino’s” number, the mainstay sports photographer for the Tribune called in sick. Thus, on June 13 of 1948, Nat Fein was set out to cover what many suspected could be Babe Ruth’s last public appearance. While other press photographers attempted to capture a portrait of the great American baseball hero wearing his uniform one last time, Nat Fein, tried to capture the iconic number on his jersey, stating: “All the photographers were in the front, and I wanted to see how he looks from the back. So I figured, well, number three is out. The Babe bows out…” – Nat Fein The final image is filled with emotion, a bidding farewell to the greatest player in baseball. Among an interminable crowd of onlookers and accompanied by current Yankees players, Ruth bows out in the stage where his legendary mythology was created. At the time of the photograph in 1948, Babe Ruth had not played for the Yankees for over a decade. Ruth had also been ill for some time, and his appearance had changed; his thin legs and face showed signs of his fragile condition. Fein’s photograph, instead of highlighting the aged features of the passing of time or sickness, captures the silhouette of the baseball giant. The picture presenting Ruth with his classic number three jersey underlines the monumental influence he exuded over the game and New York. The image not only symbolizes a sports hero but a man who was larger than life. His rough childhood with frequent visits to orphanages and hospitals, his kindness to black baseball players in a time of racial inequity, his fondness to volunteer his time for kids sick with Polio, and his larger physique, generate empathy in his farewell photograph. The photograph presents a poetic image that connects us through its resounding human and empathetic quality, connecting the viewer to an unwavering American hero. Babe Bows Out eventually became the first sports photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize. It cemented the importance of the medium of photography. It is considered one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential images of all time and is featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian Institute. Never surrendering to sickness or ill-health, the photograph commemorates the hometown hero. It immortalizes the strong and imposing Babe Ruth as the towering figure we remember and speak of today. A man whose recognition has reigned supreme over baseball, New York, and the world of sports for over 100 years. Nat Fein’s Babe Bows Out is one of the most excellent images of baseball lore.Source: Holden Luntz Gallery
Daniele Colucci
Daniele Colucci
Italy
1992
Daniele Colucci is a visual storyteller and documentary photographer whose work explores the unfiltered human experience. Originally from Southern Italy, his approach has been shaped by immersing himself in diverse cultures through years of solo travel around the world. After working as a commercial video editor and photographer in Sydney and Toronto, he decided to document events that reveal extreme cultural expressions, such as the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, the Exploding Hammers Festival in Mexico, and the Tinku ritual in Bolivia. Check the link: Sacratos He co-founded the documentary project Sacratos.com and has been featured in Eyeshot Magazine, the World Photography Organisation, and FFIEL. His work has rachered over 100 million views on Unsplash. He currently lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico. Statement "My work moves along the line where ritual, danger, and devotion meet. I am drawn to moments in which people step outside themselves, where identity loosens and culture takes over. I listen to what these scenes reveal about belonging and the human need for transcendence, without drawing any conclusions or judging them. I work close to the ground, with minimal intervention. My main objective is to craft visual narratives that remain faithful to the lived experience. Natural light and handheld cameras allow me to follow the raw energy and rhythm of events. Aesthetically, I am interested in the balance between beauty and transgression, order and chaos. " Awarded Photographer of the Week - Week 06, 2026
Carlo Naya
Carlo Naya
Italy
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Carlo Naya was an Italian photographer known for his pictures of Venice including its works of art and views of the city for a collaborative volume in 1866. He also documented the restoration of Giotto's frescoes at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. Naya was born in Tronzano di Vercelli in 1816 and studied law at the University of Pisa. An inheritance allowed him to travel to major cities in Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. He was advertising his services as portrait photographer in Istanbul in 1845, and opened his studio in Venice in 1857. He sold his work through photographer and optician Carlo Ponti. Following Naya's death in 1882, his studio was run by his wife, then by her second husband. In 1918 it was closed and publisher Osvaldo Böhm bought most of Naya's archive.Source: Wikipedia Carlo Naya studied law in Pisa before becoming a diplomat according to his father’s wishes. After his father’s death Naya embarked on a tour through Europe and Asia with his brother. During his stay in Paris in 1839 he was taught the daguerreotype process, which fascinated him. Naya settled in Venice in 1857, where he set up a photographic studio. For several years he collaborated closely with photographer Carlo Ponti but in 1868 he founded his own studio. During his long career, Naya photographed every aspect of the city of Venice. His views of the palaces on the Grand Canal, and his panoramas of the city give a complete picture of Venice’s architecture in the mid-nineteenth century.Source: The National Galleries of Scotland Carlo Naya (1816-1882) was born Carlo Naja at Tronzano Vercellese near Turin. He studied law in Pisa, where he graduated in 1840. Until recently it was thought that for the next fifteen years, he and his brother Giovanni travelled widely throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, only photographing occasionally for pleasure. However, recent research has revealed that Carlo Naya worked as a professional daguerreotypist long before his move to Venice. He apparently operated briefly in Prague around 1845, before opening a daguerreotype studio in Constantinople the following year. When his brother died in 1857, Carlo returned to Italy and settled in Venice. Initially he worked with the established publisher Carlo Ponti, who distributed his prints. The two men soon quarrelled, however, and Naya opened his own studio. In 1868 he opened a larger photographic shop in the Piazza San Marco, his business soon growing to rival Ponti‘s. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the two firms were considered the leading photographic concerns in the city. At the time of Naya‘s death in 1882, Edward Wilson, an experienced and knowledgeable writer on photography, described Naya‘s studio as ‘the largest establishment we think we ever saw devoted to photography, in an old palace on the other side of the grand canal‘. Ponti and Naya were both photographic chroniclers of the city‘s tourist sights. Greater ease of travel meant that tourists came in ever increasing numbers to see the splendours of Italy, and these visitors were eager to take away with them souvenirs to show their friends and family at home and to help them remember what they had seen. Thus a photographer with a large stock of negatives showing the buildings and monuments, canals and palaces, harbour views and gondolas of Venice was assured of a steady, reliable income for years to come.Source: Luminous-Lint
Vanias Xydas
Vanias Xydas
Greece/France
1960
I was born in Athens in 1960. Since photography was my father's hobby, I became familiar with darkrooms and all aspects of photography from a young age. I studied art history for two years at Paris X and later pursued photography at EFET. After completing my studies, I worked in a professional studio. In 1989, I founded my own studio in Athens and began collaborating with magazines such as Elle Deco, Marie Claire, Elle, Figaro, and various advertising agencies. Alongside my professional work, I have always pursued my passion for personal photography.. The economic crisis impacted me significantly, and I moved to a smaller studio where I continue to work today. I have held two exhibitions in Greece and two in France, including at "La Maison de la Grèce" and a studio in Paris. In addition to my photography work, I teach at the Leica Academy in Athens. I have been married twice and have four children.. I would say that my approach to photography is more spontaneous and less conceptual. When working on my personal images, there isn’t a specific idea guiding my shots—it's more likely my subconscious driving the process. I enjoy revealing textures, but I’m not particularly fond of sharp definition, as I find it often distracts from the essence of the photo. I like experimenting and varying my work.
Stephen Rauch
Stephen Rauch
United States
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Stephen Rauch is a photographer whose work explores themes of place, memory, and shared humanity. Early experiences—spending hours with National Geographic magazines and traveling across the U.S. on family road trips—instilled a deep curiosity about the world and its diverse cultures. That curiosity matured during work-related travel, when Stephen Rauch first picked up a camera to document encounters across Europe and Asia. What began as a way to capture personal memories has evolved into a deliberate and thoughtful practice. Today, Stephen Rauch creates photographic series rooted in specific themes or geographies, seeking to evoke the quiet beauty of a moment and the emotional resonance of a place or person. The images aim not only to document but to connect—inviting viewers to reflect, relate, and find meaning through shared visual experiences. Based in Seattle/United States, Stephen Rauch has exhibited work at the Praxis Gallery and is in private corporate collections such as Microsoft Corporation, and continues to explore new projects that blend narrative, travel, and visual storytelling.
Kathryn Nee
Kathryn Nee
United States
Kathryn is an Fine Art/Freelance Photographer/Food Photog/Urban Explorer living in Atlanta. A Georgia native, she has been photographing life as art for over 15 years. Kathryn finds incredible beauty in old, decaying, and forgotten places and objects and loves all things vintage, weird, macabre, dark, whimsical, unusual, and strange. When she's not photographing abandoned and vacant structures, Kathryn steps into the land of the living and captures the beauty of people. Kathryn works as a freelance photographer for Sports Gwinnett Magazine and is the director of photography for the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival. All about Kathryn Nee: AAP: When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer? I knew I wanted to be a photographer when I was in elementary school. I'd rummage through National Geographic magazines in the library, mesmerized by the images. I knew that one day, after working several lousy jobs that I hated, I'd become a photographer. Where did you study photography? I am self taught. I learned through trial and error, years of studying, and practice. Do you remember your first shot? What was it? I remember my first roll of film with my first 'real' camera, a Nikon N60. I was a teenager who would sneak into Atlanta clubs and bars on weekends. I'd roam around photographing graffiti. I found the mess to be beautiful. What or who inspires you? Decaying, forgotten, and unloved places. I have a vivid imagination that runs wild all day, every day. I can call a friend and say, "I need you to suffer through a long, strenuous shoot in an abandoned building. It will be weird, but I have a vision" and they trust me enough to go through with it. It works out well. What kind of gear do you use? Camera, lens, digital, film? I use all Canon equipment. Do you spend a lot of time editing your images? I actually don't. I like my photos the way I like my food: organic. I try not to over do it with editing or manipulation. What advice would you give a young photographer? Break rules to get the shot you want. Don't waste money on art school. What mistake should a young photographer avoid? Please don't HDR all of your work. An idea, a sentence, a project you would like to share? I'm currently working on a new series that will be a visual expression of how work, domestic home life, parenting, and society can beat us down physically and mentally. It sounds depressing but it's actually the most fun I've ever had shooting. Your best memory as a photographer? Being published by National Geographic twice in one month. I couldn't believe it. If you could have taken the photographs of someone else who would it be? I'd give just about anything to photograph Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire.
Dougie Wallace
Dougie Wallace
Scotland
Dougie Wallace, also known as 'Glasweegee', is a Scottish street photographer, based in east London. He was born and raised in Glasgow, lived in Blackpool for a couple of years in the 1980s before enlisting in the army, and has lived in Shoreditch, east London, for 15 years. For two-and-a-half years beginning in October 2010 Wallace made 30 trips to Blackpool to complete his first book Stags, Hens & Bunnies: A Blackpool Story (2014), photographs of the stag and hen parties that visit the town, "lads and lasses on their worst behaviour, partying away in a bawdy sea of L-plates, handcuffs, blow-up dolls and uniformed fancy dress in various states of undress and drunkenness; revelling in bars, puking in the street, refuelling at chip shops." Wallace spent 15 years photographing in the Shoreditch area of East London, a series published in his second book, Shoreditch Wild Life (2014). He photographed the disappearing Premier Padminis in Mumbai for his series Road Wallah.Source: Wikipedia Scottish photographer Dougie Wallace is internationally recognised for his long-term social documentary projects and a distinct direct style of expressive street photography. He has won prestigious awards, exhibited as a solo artist or in joint exhibits in world-renowned institutions and photographic festivals, authored a number of books, all critically acclaimed. London-based, his assignments and personal work take him around the world. To coincide with BBC Season of Photography, in March 2017, BBC4 broadcast a 30-minute programme about Dougie, as part of the What Artists Do All Day series, providing insights into the lives of outstanding artists. The programme follows Dougie on the streets of Knightsbridge, as he completes the photographs for the book Harrodsburg. Available here to watch. More recently, Dougie was commissioned by Sky Art 50 to create a film, which explored what it means to be British in the light of the EU referendum. It was showcased at The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Barbican. It was also broadcast on Sky Arts channel on the night of the original Brexit leaving date (March 29th, 2019). Dougie attributes his unique vision to his Glasgow up-bring and experiences lived or perceptively witnessed over two decades of residing in east London, from the uninhibited party days, when the area was a cultural wasteland through to its on-going urban regeneration, turning this district into a fashionable destination and tourist Mecca. "Living in Shoreditch has helped me develop an eye for the tragi-comic, messy side of uninhibited human behaviour. My Glasgow upbringing has shaped my style, which has been described as 'visually exaggerated' and 'hard-edged'. What motivates my pictures is human behaviour. People’s interactions and emotions fascinate me. My stories are thematic. They have similarities of expressions running through them. My work is informed by societies’ trends and incongruities and translating what I see through the lens into wit, criticism and humorous vignettes. I’d like to think that my photos convey a point of view that believable and absurd." This idiosyncratic point of view comes to life in his books, which have all equally generated critical attention and viral buzz. His books Stags, Hens and Bunnies: A Blackpool Story (Dewi Lewis Media, 2014) and Shoreditch Wild Life (Hoxton Mini Press, 2014), each a distinctive spin on hedonism and excess, turned Dougie into a household name among taste-makers. Road Wallah (Dewi Lewis, 2016), which offers a unique insight into the world of Bombay cab drivers has been exhibited at numerous photo festivals and gallery shows and was shortlisted for 2015 European Book Publisher’s Award. Followed Harrodsburg, which won the inaugural 'Magnum Photography Award 2016'. Well Heeled (Dewi Lewis, 2017) is an observation about the cultural shift among dog owners (Dewi Lewis, 2017). Goan to the Dogs is to be published by Dewi Lewis in 2020. East Ended is a reflection on gentrification and its ambiguous and fraught relationship with street art and local communities. Newly published by Dewi Lewis. Dougie is sought after for opinion, project assignments, editorial features and ad-hoc opportunities. His work has been featured in assignments and publications for magazines and newspapers, including, The Sunday Times Magazine, D Repubblica, The Economist, Le Monde, The New Yorker, Stern, The Guardian, New York Times, The Independent, International New York Times, Observer, GQ, Dazed, Hunger, Vice, BBC, CNN, Itsnicethat, Marie Claire, Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, El País, Der Spiegel, Macleans, NZZ, Die Tageszeitung, Neon, dS Magazine - De Standaard. As well as numerous photography magazines, BJP, GUP, Amateur Photographer, Professional Photographer, F2, Fotografia Magazine, Lens Culture, Leica LFI, L’Oeil, Fotomagazine, European Photography and Photo International. Dougie continues to shoot fashion for the likes of Tatler, Balenciaga and Dazed. Dougie Wallace has conducted workshops both in the UK and overseas. He regularly donates his work to his chosen charities each year.Source: www.dougiewallace.com
Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark
United States
1940 | † 2015
Mary Ellen Mark is an American photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Mary Ellen Mark was born in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began photographing with a Box Brownie camera at age nine. She attended Cheltenham High School, where she was head cheerleader and exhibited a knack for painting and drawing. She received a BFA degree in painting and art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, and a Masters Degree in photojournalism from that university's Annenberg School for Communication in 1964. The following year, Mark received a Fulbright Scholarship to photograph in Turkey for a year. While there, she also traveled to photograph England, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain. In 1966 or 1967, she moved to New York City, where over the next several years she photographed Vietnam War demonstrations, the women's liberation movement, transvestite culture, and Times Square, developing a sensibility, according to one writer, "away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes". As Mark explained in 1987, "I'm just interested in people on the edges. I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence". Her shooting style ranges from a 2 ¼ inch format, 35 mm, and 4x5 inch view camera. She also uses a Leica 4 for most photographs and Nikons for long-range shooting. Mark loves shooting with a Hasselblad for square format and she shoots primarily in black-and-white, using classic Kodak Tri-X film. Source: Wikipedia Mary Ellen Mark achieved worldwide visibility through her numerous books, exhibitions and editorial magazine work. She published photo essays and portraits in such publications as Life, New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. For over five decades, she traveled extensively to make pictures that reflect a high degree of humanism. She is recognized as one of our most respected and influential photographers. Her images of our world's diverse cultures have become landmarks in the field of documentary photography. Her portrayals of Mother Teresa, Indian circuses, and brothels in Bombay were the product of many years of work in India. A photo essay on runaway children in Seattle became the basis of the academy award-nominated film Streetwise, directed and photographed by her husband, Martin Bell. Mary Ellen received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House as well as the Outstanding Contribution Photography Award from the World Photography Organisation. She has also received the Infinity Award for Journalism, an Erna & Victor Hasselblad Foundation Grant, and a Walter Annenberg Grant for her book and exhibition project on America. Among her other awards are the Cornell Capa Award from the International Center of Photography, the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the Matrix Award for outstanding woman in the field of film/photography, and the Dr. Erich Salomon Award for outstanding merits in the field of journalistic photography. She was also presented with honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from her Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of the Arts; three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Photographer of the Year Award from the Friends of Photography; the World Press Award for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years; the Victor Hasselblad Cover Award; two Robert F. Kennedy Awards; and the Creative Arts Award Citation for Photography at Brandeis University. She published twenty books including Passport (Lustrum Press, 1974), Ward 81 (Simon & Schuster, 1979), Falkland Road (Knopf, 1981), Mother Teresa's Mission of Charity in Calcutta (Friends of Photography, 1985), The Photo Essay: Photographers at work (A Smithsonian series), Streetwise (second printing, Aperture, 1992), Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years (Bulfinch, 1991), Indian Circus (Chronicle, 1993 and Takarajimasha Inc., 1993), Portraits (Motta Fotografica, 1995 and Smithsonian, 1997), a Cry for Help (Simon & Schuster, 1996), Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey (Aperture, 1999), Mary Ellen Mark 55s (Phaidon, 2001), Photo Poche: Mary Ellen Mark (Nathan, 2002), Twins (Aperture, 2003), Exposure (Phaidon, 2005), Extraordinary Child (The National Museum of Iceland, 2007), Seen Behind the Scene (Phaidon, 2009), Prom (Getty, 2012,) Man and Beast (University of Texas Press, 2014,) Tiny: Streetwise revisited (Aperture, 2015,) and Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Moment (Aperture, 2015.) Mark's photographs have been exhibited worldwide. She also acted as the associate producer of the major motion picture, American Heart (1992), directed by, Martin Bell. Her last book Tiny: Streetwise Revisited is a culmination of 32 years documenting Erin Blackwell, who she first met in 1983 on assignment for Life Magazine. Erin was the subject of both the book and film Streetwise. Martin also made an updated film, Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell. Aside from her book and magazine work, Mark photographed advertising campaigns among which are Barnes and Noble, British Levis, Coach Bags, Eileen Fisher, Hasselblad, Heineken, Keds, Mass Mutual, Nissan, and Patek Philippe.Source: www.maryellenmark.com
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Interview with Maureen Ruddy Burkhart
Interview
Interview with Maureen Ruddy Burkhart
Photographer Maureen Ruddy Burkhart brings a quietly attentive and deeply human sensibility to her exploration of the world through images. Shaped by a life immersed in photography, film, and visual storytelling, her work is guided by intuition, observation, and an enduring interest in the emotional undercurrents of everyday life. With a practice rooted in both fine art traditions and documentary awareness, she approaches her subjects with sensitivity, allowing subtle moments to emerge naturally rather than be imposed. Her series Til Death, selected as the Solo Exhibition for February 2025, reflects this long-standing commitment to photography as a space for reflection rather than spectacle. Drawn to moments that exist just outside the expected frame, Burkhart’s images suggest narratives without resolving them, leaving room for ambiguity, humor, and quiet connection. We asked her a few questions about her life and work.
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Exclusive Interview with Peter Ydeen
Interview
Exclusive Interview with Peter Ydeen
Winner of AAP Magazine #45 Travels, his series reflects this unique vision—capturing the spirit of place through subtle layers of light, color, and emotion. Whether traveling abroad or observing the rhythms of his own surroundings, Ydeen creates images that feel both grounded and enchanted, inviting viewers into a world where reality and reverie meet.
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Exclusive Interview with Julie Wang
Interview
Exclusive Interview with Julie Wang
Chinese-born photographer Julie Wang brings a poetic, contemplative sensitivity to her visual exploration of the world. Having lived for nearly equal parts of her life in China, Europe, and the United States, she approaches her subjects with the nuanced perspective of someone shaped by many cultures. This blend of distance, curiosity, and emotional resonance infuses her work with a quiet depth, allowing her to reveal the fragile beauty and subtle tensions that often pass unnoticed.
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Exclusive Interview with Ghawam Kouchaki
Interview
Exclusive Interview with Ghawam Kouchaki
American photographer Ghawam Kouchaki brings a sharply observant and introspective gaze to the streets of Japan’s capital. Based in Los Angeles, he approaches Tokyo with the distance — and curiosity — of an outsider, allowing him to uncover the city’s subtle contradictions, quiet tensions, and fleeting gestures that often go unnoticed. His series Tokyo no no, selected as the Solo Exhibition for December 2024, explores the hidden undercurrents of urban life: the unspoken rules, the small ruptures in routine, the poetic strangeness found in everyday moments. Through muted tones, instinctive timing, and meticulous framing, Kouchaki reveals a Tokyo that exists somewhere between reality and imagination — both intimate and enigmatic. We asked him a few questions about his life and work.
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Exclusive Interview with Tommi Viitala
Interview
Exclusive Interview with Tommi Viitala
Tommi Viitala, winner of AAP Magazine #44: Street, is a Finnish photographer celebrated for his striking and cinematic street photography. With a keen eye for atmosphere and composition, he captures fleeting urban moments that reveal the poetry of everyday life. His work often explores the tension between solitude and connection within contemporary cityscapes, blending documentary realism with artistic sensibility. Viitala’s photographs have been exhibited internationally and recognized for their strong visual storytelling and emotional depth. We asked him a few questions about his life and work.
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Exclusive Interview with Robert Mack
Interview
Exclusive Interview with Robert Mack
Robert Mack is a California-based visual artist, photographer, and filmmaker. His fine art photography and films have been exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, with major shows at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany. Both institutions hold his work in their permanent collections. Working across different media, Mack has built a career exploring the complexities of human presence and representation. In 1981, while living in Baltimore, he produced The Perkins Project: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, a rare photographic and film study inside Maryland’s hospital for the criminally insane. These stark yet compassionate black-and-white portraits remain one of his most powerful and controversial bodies of work.
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