FAPA 1ST PLACE WINNER for PHOTOJOURNALISM ~ Photographer Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk (Ukraine, 1983) is a documentary photographer based out of the Ukrain. He began his career in 2007 and went freelance in 2010. Shortly after going freelance Maxim received Noor-Nikon Masterclass award in Documentary Photography in 2011

The list of his grants and awards is long but among them are: Magnum Photos competition ‘30 under 30’ for emerging documentary photographers, Finalist of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, Finalist for the FotoEvidence Book Award, Grand Prix ‘Best Global Health Story’ of the BD’s Hope for a Healthy World Photo Competition, Grand Prix of the ‘Best Photo of the Year’ at the contest ‘Photographer of the Year’, shortlist in the portraiture category of Sony World Photography Awards etc.

Maxim collaborates with many international editions and online media. His photos were published in TIME, Der Spiegel, STERN, Paris Match, Rolling Stone, PDN, Bloomberg Businessweek, Russian Reporter, Esquire etc. Also he works in cooperation with international organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

 Maxim’s works are in private and museum collections worldwide. ( VIA photoawards.com)

Maxim Dondyuk

"Winter 2013 changed Ukraine. 3 months of bloody clashes, tears, fear, Molotov cocktails, burning car tires and several deaths. It wasn’t just a protest in the support of EU. The Ukrainian revolution brought a new spirit, changed the people and their minds, they became one organism that fights with  great passion and intensity for a happy future." (VIA FAPA)

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk


Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

"Frequently a photographer attempts to contemplate, constructing a frame, a composition – and lets the emotions slip by! As a result he ends up with a beautiful, balanced, and completely dead picture." ~ Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

From series TB epidemic in UkraineMaxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk

 Maxim Dondyuk
Maxim Dondyuk

Maxim Dondyuk at work

Preeminent Photojournalist and War Photographer, James Nachtwey's Powerful Lifetime Achievement Award Speech.

" I'm only one among many journalists who've committed themselves to covering conflicts and revealing social injustices, that have been hidden or ignored, but that are crying out to be corrected." 
~ James Nachtwey

Here is an overview of some of Nachtwey's work:
Please see my posts on my favourite photojournalist by clicking on links here
and here

NORTH KOREA: The Photographs Kim Jong Un Doesn't Want You To See by Photographer Eric Lafforgue

Since 2008 Eric Lafforgue has ventured to North Korea six times. He managed to smuggle the images out of North Korea on SD cards that he was forbidden to take or was told to delete by his minders. His images offer a rare glimpse into everyday life in the hermit kingdom. ( via wimp.com)

“I was banned after my last trip in September 2012 when I published some photos on the web. The North Koreans saw them and asked me to delete them as they judged them too offensive. I refused as I thought it was unfair not to show the reality of the country."~Eric Lafforgue 

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

It's illegal to show photos, such as these, of repression and struggle.~Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

It's also illegal to photograph the poor. ~Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

"On the day of the Kimjongilia festival, thousands of North Koreans must queue up to visit various monuments." ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Citizens require permits to travel from town to town. ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Interestingly, it's also forbidden to show images of opulent wealth. ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Normal supermarkets are a luxury. ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

showing soldiers at ease is not permitted. ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photographs depicting malnourishment are banned. ~Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

"When visiting the delphinium in Pyongyang, you can photograph the animals, but not the soldiers who make up 99 percent of the crowd." ~  Eric Lafforgue

A broom leaning against a statue of Kim II Sung would be a punishable offense. ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Even a common photo like this is forbidden and photographers will be approached by guards to delete it.  ~ Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Photographers are, however, encouraged to photograph people using (1980's) computers. ~Photo by Eric Lafforgue

It's forbidden to photograph Kim statues from the back. ~Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Think you have difficulties commuting to work? This is the line to get on the bus. ~  Eric Lafforgue

"In the art centre of Pyongyang, we experienced a power outage, a daily event the North Koreans hate to show. When it happens, they tell you it’s because of the American embargo."  ~ Eric Lafforgue

Afghani Photojournalists Face an Uncertain Future

Frame by Frame: A documentary exploring Afghanistan's recent revolution of photography through four local photojournalists.



In 1996, the Taliban banned photography in Afghanistan. Taking a photo was considered a crime. When the regime was removed from Kabul in 2001, their suppression of free speech and press disappeared. Since then, photography has become an outlet for Afghans determined to show the hidden stories of their country. In this coming year, as foreign troops pull out of the country, international media will inevitably follow. The Taliban is poised to gain influence, if not fully return to power. The future of journalism in Afghanistan is unknown.[via kickstarter]




photo by Farzana Wahidy

Photo by Wakil Kohsar

photo by Massoud Hossaini 

Lend your support here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/framebyframe/frame-by-frame

The Sartorialist Sits Down with Legendary Photographer Steve McCurry

Scott Schuman, known better as street fashion photographer “The Sartorialist,” conducts this fascinating interview with legendary Magnum photographer Steve McCurry.


(c) Steve McCurry

World Press Photo of the Year 2012 ~ Paul Hansen

World Press Photo of the Year 2012's winning image by Swedish photographer Paul Hansen. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and her big brother Muhammad, who soon was to be four years old, were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike on Monday evening.
Their father, Fouad, was also killed. Their mother is in intensive care at Al-Shifa Hospital.

 In accordance with their religion, the dead are buried quickly. The badly mangled body of Fouad is put on a stretcher and his brothers carry his dead children to the mosque for the burial ceremony. When darkness fell over Gaza on this day, at least 26 new victims were to be buried. That makes the total more than 140 dead so far since the beginning of the bombardment. Approximately half of the dead are women and children. The picture was taken on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

The jury announced the winner of the press prize on Friday in Amsterdam . "The power of the picture lies in the way it is the anger and the grief of adults contrasts with the innocence of children," said juror Mayu Mohanna in a statement. "It is a picture that I will not forget."

A Nomadic Life: By Photographer Hamid Sardar-Afkhami

Hamid Sardar-Afkhami is a professional photographer as well as a scholar of Tibetan and Mongol languages who received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. After moving to Nepal in the late 1980’s and exploring Tibet and the Himalayas for more than a decade, he traveled to Outer Mongolia. Seeing the opportunity to create a single important collection concentrating on the last country where the majority of the population are still nomads, Sardar-Afkhami set up a mobile studio camp. With his arsenal of cameras of different formats, he mounts yearly expeditions into the Mongolian outback to document her nomadic traditions.













Tracking the white reinder from hamid sardar on Vimeo.