Highlighting 36 Freelance Visual Storytellers Worldwide Coming Into 2022 by Curated by Laura Oliverio For The Visura Blog

Photo by Jess DiPierro Obert . ...t. Jacmel, Haiti. Aug. 5, 2021.

Photo by Jess DiPierro Obert. Based in Brooklyn, New York & Port au Prince, Haiti.

On assignment for BuzzFeed News, Jess DiPierro Obert photographed the effects of a new ruling that gives some hope for families seeking child support in Haiti.

Caption: Jui and her mother, Phanie, whose names have been changed for their protection, embrace after winning a landmark case that ruled that UN peacekeepers, who fathered children in Haiti, must pay child support. Jacmel, Haiti. Aug. 5, 2021.

Photo by Ahmed Gaber . Based in... Brooklyn, N.Y. March 12, 2021.

Photo by Ahmed Gaber. Based in New York, New York.

Ahmed Gaber photographed Asian Americans who were racially attacked last spring in New York City for BuzzFeed News.

Caption: Noel Quintana, a 61-year-old Filipino man, poses for a portrait near his home. Quintana is among the members of the Asian community who have faced a string of racist attacks in recent months. Brooklyn, N.Y. March 12, 2021.

Photo by Arin Yoon . Based in K...venworth, Kansas. July 7, 2014.

Photo by Arin Yoon. Based in Kansas City, Kansas.

Featured in National Geographic, Arin Yoon wrote and photographed about her and others' experiences as a mother and military spouse.

Caption: Self-portrait at a B&B between duty stations. Leavenworth, Kansas. July 7, 2014.

Photo by Solmaz Daryani . Based...st-Azerbaijan, Iran. July 2015.

Photo by Solmaz Daryani. Based in The United Kingdom & Iran.

After six years of working on her project, The Eyes Of Earth, Solmaz Daryani won the 2021 FotoEvidence W Award and plans to publish a book of the work. This project focuses on the significant environmental shift of Urmia Lake in Iran.

Caption: Children who live in a village beside Lake Urmia, play on the dried lakeshore. Sheikh vale port was once one of the most important ports and used to get the most visitors. Now it has shut down and a couple of boats and ships in these ports have run aground. Urmia Lake, East-Azerbaijan, Iran. July 2015.

Photo by María Magda...ncion, Paraguay. March 7, 2021.

Photo by María Magdalena Arréllaga. Based in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

María Magdalena Arréllaga photographed the protests on COVID-19 healthcare in Paraguay. Her work was featured in both The New York Times and Bloomberg.

Caption: Young demonstrators protest in front of the Presidential Residence Mburuvicha Róga, demanding the ouster of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez amid unrest over his government's handling of the pandemic. Asuncion, Paraguay. March 7, 2021.

Photo by Anita Pouchard Serra ....ndes, Argentina. Feb. 21, 2021.

Photo by Anita Pouchard Serra. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

With support from the International Women's Media Foundation, Anita Pouchard Serra started The Turning Point, a project on women changing their minds about abortion rights in Argentina.

Caption Left: Portrait of Maria Ines with her hair blowing in the wind. Her hair is part of her emancipation and freedom. She spent her childhood straightening it to look more European and white according to her mother of German origin, while her father is indigenous. San Martin de los Andes, Argentina. Feb. 21, 2021.

Caption Right: For Maria Ines, every opportunity is good to talk about abortion and women's rights. The latest occasion was her visit to the florist to buy this plant where she exchanged with the young saleswoman about the work of "Socorristas en red." San Martin de los Andes, Argentina. Feb. 21, 2021.

Photo by Nadja Wohlleben . Base...Neudorf, Germany. Dec. 2, 2020.

Photo by Nadja Wohlleben. Based in Berlin, Germany.

Commissioned by Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Nadja Wohlleben photographed the life of a pig to bring awareness to the cruel pig farming standards in Germany.

Caption: Farmer Ralf Remmert looks after his animals on his pig farm 'markStück.' 150 million pigs were bred in the EU in 2017 and Germany is ranked the second highest producer of pork meat after Spain, with 27.6 million pigs farmed. In Berlin and Brandenburg alone, six million people consume around 220 million kilos of pork per year. Neudorf, Germany. Dec. 2, 2020.

Photo by Griselda San Martin . .... New York, N.Y. June 26, 2020.

Photo by Griselda San Martin. Based in New York, New York.

Griselda San Martin created a portrait series, Generation Covid, where she documented mothers and their newborns during the rapid spread of COVID-19 in New York City. This project was featured in The New York Times on Mother's Day.

Caption: Gloria Monroy holds her baby Adam in Central Park. New York, N.Y. June 26, 2020.

Gif by Ranita Roy . Based in Ko.... Kolkata, India. June 3, 2021.

Gif by Ranita Roy. Based in Kolkata, India.

To process isolating during India's second lockdown from COVID-19, Ranita Roy created a personal experiential project that was published by NPR.

Caption: All my emotions are mixing with one another. Sometimes I really don't know exactly what I’m feeling. Kolkata, India. June 3, 2021.

Photo by Linda Kuo . Based in N...estchester, N.Y. June 30, 2020.

Photo by Linda Kuo. Based in New York.

Linda Kuo had her work, It Takes a Village, featured in The New York Times. This project centers on animal rehabilitation in the suburbs of New York City and how COVID-19 has been a major factor in the increase of wildlife injuries.

Caption: Euthanized. A fawn hit by a car that also killed its mother. Though it survived, its nose was broken, preventing it from suckling to eat. A baby cottontail rabbit attacked by a pet cat, breaking its back. A Turkey buzzard whose wing was broken when struck by a car. Westchester, N.Y. June 30, 2020.

Photo by Anne Ackermann . Based...erstadt, Germany. Aug. 19, 2020

Photo by Anne Ackermann. Based in Speyer, Germany.

Featured in LEICA's S Magazine, Anne Ackerman shares her personal story The most beautiful memory. Recollecting my father.

Caption Left: A portrait of my mother. Otterstadt, Germany. Oct. 21, 2020.
Caption Right: A broken tree in the garden of my parent's home. Otterstadt, Germany. Aug. 19, 2020

Photo by Sofia Aldinio . Based ...nia Sur, Mexico. July 30, 2021.

Photo by Sofia Aldinio. Based in Baja California, Mexico & Portland, Maine.

Sofia Aldinio had this image featured in an NPR collaborative piece, Songs and Pictures For Climate Change: A Playlist for the Planet.

Caption: An aerial view of San Jose de Gracia - a community nestled in the middle of the Pacific coast. The community claims that it was founded 200 years ago, but today there are only 21 members living there full time. As with many other small communities, water is the reason why they are able to settle and live in their surroundings. However, the rainy season has shifted leaving their community without a waterfall flowing off of the canyon as it used to. Mulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico. July 30, 2021.

Photo by Johis Alarc&oacute...emente, Ecuador. April 6, 2021.

Photo by Johis Alarcón. Based in Ecuador.

Published in The Guardian, Johis Alarcón photographed how COVID-19 brought a renewed sense of community to schools in the Andean highlands and the coastal rainforest bordering Colombia. This work is supported by Magnum Foundation.

Caption: Sayana Cuasque, 6, plays with corn plants at her home. San Clemente is one of the biggest Karanki indigenous communities in the northern Ecuadorian highlands. They have been resistant to colonialism since the '70s when the indigenous revolution started in the country. Although they make efforts to have a quality education, they still don't have high school grades in the community. For that reason, young people have had to leave and continue studying in the city. Due to the increase of the student population during the pandemic, teachers are trying to open more grades at the community school. San Clemente, Ecuador. April 6, 2021.

Photo by Valérie Bae...in, South Haiti. Aug. 15, 2021.

Photo by Valérie Baeriswyl. Based in Haiti.

On assignment for The New York Times, Valérie Baeriswyl covered the effects of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti.

Caption: A lady walks by the partially destroyed church of Mazenod located on the campus of the Mazenod College Seminary. The earthquake has affected many of the regional landmark churches. Camp-Perrin, South Haiti. Aug. 15, 2021.

Photo by Alec Jacobson . Based ...; Vancouver, BC. March 4, 2021.

Photo by Alec Jacobson. Based in Burlington, Vermont.

Photographer Alec Jacobson was hired by The Globe And Mail to document how indigenous communities in British Columbia are recovering information about their own history through Canadian public records.

Caption: Vera Jones holds a copy of her family tree that she is filling in through the Vancouver Public Library’s Connections to Kith and Kin Program. When she was five, Jones, who is Nisga’a, was separated from her family and sent to residential school like her mother and many other indigenous people in Canada and America. But, working with archivists at the Vancouver Public Library, she has begun to piece her family back together which has helped her understand her own violent and traumatic experiences at school as well as those of other family members. "Look at the way my mom was treated and what happened to her – that got passed on to me,” Jones says. “With my kids’ help, we’re breaking the cycle. I’m closer to my family than I’ve ever been.” Vancouver, BC. March 4, 2021.

Photo by Cate Dingley . Based i... Amarillo, Texas. Feb. 8, 2021.

Photo by Cate Dingley. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

For The Washington Post, Cate Dingley photographed parents who lost their children to COVID-19.

Caption: Quincy Drone and Lastassija White lost their five-year-old daughter, Tagan White, to COVID-19 in October, 2020. As the United States reached a milestone of 500,000 deaths, the parents remember Tagan while standing on their front porch. Amarillo, Texas. Feb. 8, 2021.

Photo by Fardosa Hussein . Base... Nairobi, Kenya. March 3, 2019.

Photo by Fardosa Hussein. Based in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Fardosa Hussein wants it to be normal for women in Somalia to be photographers. To break this construct, she partnered with another photographer, Hana Mire, and they created an exhibition to empower female photographers in Somalia. Interview on BBC News.

Caption: A portrait of my sister Fathi Hussein at our home. Nairobi, Kenya. March 3, 2019.

Photo by Molly Peters . Based i...r Azusa, Calif. Aug. 15, 2020.

Photo by Molly Peters. Based in Los Angeles, California.

Molly Peters had these three photographs from her project, Landfall, selected for Issue No. 15 of Aint-Bad Magazine with 96 artists contributing from all over the world.

Caption Top Left: Dew-soaked spiderwebs scattered throughout the field next to my late grandmother’s home, glisten in the early morning sunlight. Edgartown, Mass. Oct. 6, 2020.

Caption Bottom Left: Chicken soup remnants lie on the counter of my late grandmother’s kitchen. I quarantined there on my first trip home during the pandemic. Edgartown, Mass. Sept. 23, 2020.

Caption Right: A large smoke plume, morphing into a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, rises from the Ranch Fire in southern California. Near Azusa, Calif. Aug. 15, 2020.

PART II

Photo archive by Lauri Lyons . ...ph C. Pennell Collection. 1898.

Photo archive by Lauri Lyons. Based in New York, New York.

The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund announced that Lauri Lyons was named a finalist for the Howard Chapnick Grant for her not-for-profit, Rest With Honor. This organization works to connect communities with technology to preserve different cultures.

Caption: "The Higdon Family," The Joseph C. Pennell Collection. 1898.

Photo by Nina Berman . Based in... Washington, D.C. Jan. 6, 2021.

Photo by Nina Berman. Based in New York, New York.

Published in National Geographic, Nina Berman photographed the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last January.

Caption: Trump supporters converge on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden as president. Washington, D.C. Jan. 6, 2021.

Photo by Donna Ferrato . Based ...arges. Soweto, So Africa. 1998.

Photo by Donna Ferrato. Based in New York.

Over the last 50 years, Donna Ferrato has been photographing powerful women. She created a book with this work, Holy, which won the Lucie Photobook Prize for the Best Independent Photobook of 2021.

Caption: Spread from Holy by Donna Ferrato. Published in 2021 by PowerHouse Books. Heart broken mother. Her daughter was raped by the school bus driver. After the examination, the mother pressed charges. Soweto, So Africa. 1998.

Photo by Gabriella N. B&aac...Rio Grande, P.R. Dec. 30, 2020.

Photo by Gabriella N. Báez. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

With support from the Henry Luce Foundation for TIME and the Magnum Foundation, Gabriella N. Báez worked with Alejandra Rosa on a story about the House of Grace, a trans collective in Puerto Rico redefining family.

Caption: Members of House of Grace pose for a portrait. “House of Grace was founded by María José, a transdisciplinary artist and activist, in the months after Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. In the midst of natural disasters and a global pandemic, when rains have flooded and the earth has been shaken, the dancers, performers and writers who make up the House have laid down collective roots, built trust and chosen one another.” - Alejandra Rosa. Rio Grande, P.R. Dec. 30, 2020.

Photo by Caroline Gutman . Base...nt. Reading, Pa. July 15, 2021.

Photo by Caroline Gutman. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania & Washington, D.C.

Caroline Gutman photographed families that faced possible eviction when the nationwide eviction moratorium was set to lapse. On assignment for The New York Times.

Caption: Migreldi Lara, 37, sits for a portrait with her three children, Julmauris, 11, Julmeiris, 8, and Aleandra, 6, in their apartment. Reading, Pa. July 15, 2021.

Photo by Anna Liminowicz . Base.... Harsz, Poland. April 9, 2021.

Photo by Anna Liminowicz. Based in Warsaw, Poland.

With support from the National Geographic Society, Anna Liminowicz began her project, Virus of Fear, during the pandemic on the mental effects of COVID-19 in Poland.

Caption: Roksana, 13, has self-harmed several times, including once in the pandemic. She will have her first visit to a child psychiatrist after three months of waiting for an appointment. In Poland, there are long queues to see a child psychiatrist and as a result of the pandemic, the wait time has become longer. Roksana's mother is looking forward to her daughter's visit to a psychiatrist, but at the urging of family and friends, her mother decided to have Roksana meet with an exorcist priest first. Harsz, Poland. April 9, 2021.

Photo by Rosem Morton . Based i...uot; July 27, 2021. Clark, N.J.

Photo by Rosem Morton. Based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Featured on NPR and with support from Photoville and Friends of the Philippines, Rosem Morton set out to photograph Filipino healthcare workers during COVID-19.

Caption: Christianne Calderon, 42, Critical Care Nurse Practitioner. "I was defiant, I did not want to be defeated. I celebrated when our first patient was extubated and transferred. I looked ahead with optimism, tenacity and an indomitable spirit day after day since." July 27, 2021. Clark, N.J.

Photo by José A. Alv... New York, N.Y. April 28, 2021.

Photo by José A. Alvarado Jr. Based in New York, New York.

For Chalkbeat, José A. Alvarado Jr. photographed how a school in Brooklyn, N.Y. kept their community alive through WhatsApp during the pandemic.

Caption: Young Cypress Hills residents take in the warm spring day and spend their afternoon at the Highland Park Community Garden in late April. The nearby Highland Park has a community garden for local schools. P.S. 89 also has its own small garden on campus and now holds weekly gardening meetups for parents. New York, N.Y. April 28, 2021.

Photomontage by Robert Dash . B... Seattle, Wash. Sept. 17, 2020.

Photomontage by Robert Dash. Based in San Juan Islands, Washington.

Robert Dash uses a scanning electron microscope to explore the textures and patterns of foods to highlight critical issues of climate and biodiversity. Related work was published in the September 23 edition of National Geographic Proof/Science.

Caption: Potatoes have spiritual significance in the Peruvian Andes, having sustained cultures over many millennia. Peruvians practiced some of the first genetic food experiments by developing varieties for a great range of altitudes, soil types, slope exposures, and water conditions.

Climate chaos has come to the Andes. Droughts and floods, warming temperatures, pests, and diseases are creating stress on the crops. Several initiatives are underway to address these threats. The International Potato Center, headquartered in Lima, Peru, researches potato crop resilience by using liquid nitrogen to preserve potato varieties and their unique genes for the future. Other researchers collect potato crop wild relatives in the Andes, and even Brazil, in the hopes of finding the very genes that can keep this third-most-eaten crop on global menus for centuries to come.

Potato Starch Granules 1,000x. Seattle, Wash. Sept. 17, 2020.

Photo by Kiana Hayeri . Based i...ul, Afghanistan. Aug. 15, 2021.

Photo by Kiana Hayeri. Based in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Published in The New York Times, Kiana Hayeri photographed Kabul's fall to Taliban.

Caption: Families saying their goodbyes in the parking lot of the airport as their loved ones headed for what became the last commercial flight to leave Kabul on Sunday. Taliban fighters poured into the Afghan capital on Sunday amid scenes of panic and chaos, bringing a swift and shocking close to the Afghan government and the 20-year American era in the country. Kabul, Afghanistan. Aug. 15, 2021.

Photo by Pedro Farias-Nardi . B...Dominican Republic. Aug., 2021.

Photo by Pedro Farias-Nardi. Based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

On assignment for Mother Jones, Pedro Farias-Nardi photographed how American's need of sugar has resulted in poor living conditions in the Dominican Republic.

Caption: Juana, her name has been changed for protection, in her house which belongs to the Central Romana Corporation. Behind her are charcoal sacks, which she sells to local dwellers to make ends meet. Bateyes del Central Romana, Romana province, Dominican Republic. Aug., 2021.

Photo by Arianna Pagani . Based... District, Iraq. June 19, 2018.

Photo by Arianna Pagani. Based in Bologna, Italy.

For her web-doc project, Iraq without water, Arianna Pagani won the Albert II Prize of Monaco from the United Nations Association (UNCA) in the "climate change" section.

Caption: The water crisis has affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and is affecting Iraq's southern marshes, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. The struggle of Iraqi activists for the right to clean water is now more active than ever, despite the October revolution, which saw hundreds of deaths in Iraq's streets and the disappearance of dozens of activists. Al-Chibayish District, Iraq. June 19, 2018.

Photo by Lindsay Morris . Based...n. New York, N.Y. May 11, 2021.

Photo by Lindsay Morris. Based in Sag Harbor, New York.

Nearly a decade has passed since Lindsay Morris set out to photograph the kids of Camp I Am, a weekend summer retreat for gender-expansive children and their families. After reuniting with the former campers, her images were featured on the cover of The New York Times Magazine for the second time.

Caption: Elias poses during a decade anniversary shoot, ten years since our original meeting and photo session. New York, N.Y. May 11, 2021.

Photo by Sokari Ekine . Based i...New Orleans, La. Jan. 13, 2019.

Photo by Sokari Ekine. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sokari Ekine has this image featured in MOR: A Collective Exhibition of Black Lesbian Thought located at Goodyear Arts in Charlotte, N.C. The exhibition plans to open on Jan. 21, 2022.

Caption: "Touch," from the series Altars: Black Queer Ecologies of the Spirit. New Orleans, La. Jan. 13, 2019.

Photo by Koral Carballo . Based... Oaxaca, Mexico. July 23, 2021.

Photo by Koral Carballo. Based in Mexico City, México.

Koral Carballo began her photographic project, We were always here, to raise awareness of afro-descendants in Mexico. This work was published in the latest print edition of the British Journal of Photography in the Art and Activism issue.

Caption: Lucila Mariche, an Afro-Mexican activist originally from and based in the Costa Chica of Oaxaca in Mexico, poses for a portrait. Lucila is a herbalist and activist in the Afro-Mexican movement working with the women of her community in Chaco Redondo and belongs to the collective Ña A Tunda (black woman in Mixtec). The recognition of Afro roots in Mexico was made on July 31, 2019, however, Afro-Mexican activists like Lucila have been fighting for the recognition of their rights and black history in Mexico for the past 40 years. Charco Redondo, Oaxaca, Mexico. July 23, 2021.

Photo by Anja Matthes . Based i...s. New York, N.Y. May 17, 2014.

Photo by Anja Matthes. Based in Brooklyn, New York.

Anja Mattes' image was highlighted in a New York Times review as part of the Visions of Pride: Paris Is Still Burning exhibition on the High Line in New York City.

Caption: The judges, Icon Dominique Jackson aka Elektra from the HBO Max television series "Pose" and Icon MC Debra, check out the “face” performer Aniyah Juicy Couture at the House of Legendary Pucci Ball. In the “face” category, members compete based on their facial characteristics. New York, N.Y. May 17, 2014.

Photo by Erika P. Rodriguez . B..., San Juan, P.R. June 17, 2021.

Photo by Erika P. Rodriguez. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

For Billboard, Erika P. Rodriguez photographed Tommy Torres and Bad Bunny for Torres' new album release, El Playlist de Anoche, co-produced by Bad Bunny.

Caption: Benito Martinez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, poses for a portrait at the Cannon Club bar. Old San Juan, San Juan, P.R. June 17, 2021.

Photo by M'hammed Kilit...touan, Morocco. March 23, 2019.

Photo by M'hammed Kilito. Based in Rabat, Morocco.

In an interview for GQ, M'hammed Kilito speaks about his series, Among You, where he photographed Moroccan youth exploring their personal identities.

Caption: Randa wears make-up and dresses up every day before going out in Tetouan, a city known to be quite conservative. She says she has always been a "weird" child with a lot of imagination, attracted by the dark side, representing herself to the world differently from others. "I have often been the victim of intimidation and sexual abuse, mainly because of my appearance." She was self-mutilated and suicidal. To fully accept herself, she went through a deep understanding of her unconventional personality. After a long work on herself, she admitted that society will never be a homogenized sphere. She sticks to what she intuitively believes in and has stopped worrying about any kind of external judgment. Tetouan, Morocco. March 23, 2019.

Visura Blog

Visura is delighted to welcome the new year by highlighting 36 visual storytellers and journalists from 16 countries. Curated by Visura Mentee Laura Oliverio—this feature aims to inspire as well as inform audiences through unique, compelling visual storytelling.

At a time when fostering empathy and kindness can really have an impact on peoples' lives and perception of life—we thank freelance visual journalists for sharing their most in-depth and unique visual stories with our community.

We hope this feature encourages editors in newsrooms and organizations to connect with new work and talent worldwide. Each selection was found through the Visura database, which consists of posts, visual stories, and images shared by Visura members.

Featuring: <Name, Location>

Visura offers editors free accounts to search the Visura database by members or stories. We are here to serve our industry, empower visual storytellers and journalists worldwide, and help elevate media literacy. For more info, please email us at editors@visura.co.

Also by Visura Blog —

Visura: Rashod Taylor on Documenting the Intimate Realities of Family, Legacy, and the Lens

Video: Johanna Alarcón on the power of Photography

VIDEO: Sara Hylton on the importance of stories that capture strength, resilience and beauty

HOWARD GREENBERG GALLERY PRESENTS SAUL LEITER: CENTENNIAL

SFMOMA: Sea Change: Photographs from the Collection

Whitney Museum of American Art presents Trust Me

The Colombus Museum of Art presents Arbus • Sherman • Woodman: American Photography from the 1960s and 1970s

11th annual New York Portfolio Review

The Brooklyn Museum Presents María Magdalena Campos - Pons: Behold , the Artist’s First Museum Survey in New York

TATE MODERN: A celebration of the varied landscape of contemporary African photography today

Visura interviews photographer Thong Vo

Eastman Museum Presents Gillian Laub's Southern Rites

40th Annual ICP Infinity Awards Benefit Gala to be Held April 10 in New York City

New Mexico Museum of Art presents— Manuel Carrillo: Mexican Modernist

Delpire & Co presents Karla Voleau's new book

Gagosian presents Seeing Is Believing: Lee Miller and Friends

MoMA Presents: ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN

The Contemporary Jewish Museum Presents— RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped

Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) presents Beautiful Forms: Queer Art Unbound festival

Smithsonian American Art Museum presents Carrie Mae Weems: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Peabody Essex Museum presents As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) exhibits Cy Twombly's work

Art Gallery of Ontario Presents a Re-Imagination of African Studio Portraiture

Fox Talbot Museum presents Light Struck by Ellen Carey