photographers
series (i)
Nick Ballon is an internationally-renowned, award-winning documentary and portrait photographer whose work appears regularly in publications including the Sunday Times Magazine, The Guardian Magazine, the Financial Times, the New York Times, El Pais and Der Spiegel.
A journalistic sensibility is at the heart of Ballon’s photographic practice. He invests hours into research and development, studying and hunting for nuances and irreverent details that allow him to forge a new route into a particular subject. For the last decade, Nick’s personal work has focused exclusively on his Ango-Bolivian heritage, exploring socio-historical ideas of identity and place, with a particular focus on the concept of “foreignness” and belonging.
Recent work includes Ezekiel 36:36, an exploration of Bolivia’s national airline; the spectacle of open-air wrestling in Viva Las Luchadoras! and, most recently, The Bitter Sea, which examines Bolivia’s painful longing to reclaim the sea it lost to Chile in The War of the Pacific at the end of the 19th century.
Adapted from a text by Gem Fletcher
Solmaz Daryani is a self-taught Iranian documentary photographer based in Iran and the UK. Her work is particularly known for exploring the themes of climate security, climate change, human identity and environment. Through her work, she identifies locations, characters and scenes that enable her to investigate the diversity of lifestyles and the relationship between people and their environment.
Daryani’s photographic projects take place over extended periods of time. This enables her to tune into personal narratives, and to understand how time impacts the people, environment and life around her.
In 2015, she received the IdeasTap and Magnum Photos Grant while working on a long-term project entitled The Eyes of Earth – an investigation into the environmental and human impact of the drying of Lake Urmia in Iran. The project explores the connections between climate change, environment, water crisis/security, geography, and human identity in Iran and neighbouring countries.
Her work has been published in National Geography, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy Magazine, Polka Magazine, L'OBS Magazine, Le Monde Magazine and other publications. She is a member of Women Photograph and Diversify Photo.
Elena Heatherwick is a London-based freelance photographer specialising in portrait and documentary photography. Her work is characterised by an acute understanding of light and shadow and a sharp eye for texture and meaningful detail. “Conversations are at the heart of how I approach photography,” Heatherwick explains. “After that, I rely a lot on what the light is doing that day ...”
Heatherwick’s award-winning work has featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including the New York Times and The Guardian. International assignments include projects for the United Nations and the International Rescue Committee. She recently travelled to Rwanda and Madagascar to document the lives of those affected by the lack of access to basic sanitation. “Each encounter is an opportunity to learn, to exchange ideas” says Heatherwick. “It’s a total privilege.”
Stephanie McLeod is a freelance photographer. She has recently relocated back to New Zealand after five years in London. After graduating with a BSc in Human Nutrition in 2010, Stephanie took a more creative path, turning her photography hobby into a career. Initially focussed on food, this quickly expanded into a wider range of still life photography. Her main inspiration will forever be food and our relationship with it.
Settling into life in a small town in New Zealand, Stephanie is currently inspired by the wider concept of moving ‘home’ into a relatively innocent and insular community, and the damp, hazy sunlight of the region. Stephanie often works alone, enjoying the calm quietness of composing a scene. This is translated into the images she makes. Her goal is always to create perfectly imperfect light, bringing soft textures and a natural quality to her work.
Ameena Rojee is a freelance photographer working with both digital and film photography. Rojee – who was born and grew up in south London – is half-Spanish, half-Mauritian and her mixed heritage informs her practice. Community and culture are the cornerstones of her work, which ranges from portraiture to documentary photography.
Rojee recently spent 47 days walking from the south of Spain to the north-western city of Santiago de Compostela, a route which forms part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Personal participation is key to her practice. “I enjoy telling stories about adventure, the outdoors and women in these spaces,” she explains. “I am motivated by a need to be more than an observer; to personally understand the topic I’m photographing or exploring.”
Her clients include the Telegraph Magazine, Endemol Shine Group, Jagermeister, Culture Trip, Noctis Magazine, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and more. Alongside her work as a photographer, Rojee writes a bi-weekly newsletter, Notes on Freelancing, and runs an online photography journal, Of the Land & Us, which explores our relationship with the natural world.
Yilin Shi is a recent graduate of the Royal College of Art and is now a freelance photographer based in Changzhou, China. Her practice focuses primarily on connections between individuals and their surroundings. A sensitive and detail-oriented photographer, Shi specialises in capturing specific moments in surreal atmospheres.
“Photography represents escapism from what can sometimes be a painful reality,” explains Shi. “Light has a strong and significant role in my photographs,” she continues. “It is a symbol of pure love for the world, and it demonstrates the healing power of photography.”
Shi’s work has been exhibited in London and in China and she has been published in London’s Source magazine and Foto Video in China.