The Photojournalism Hub Calendar 2026 showcasing the incredible work of photojournalists and documentary photographers who have contributed to our mission.
Rumi Munawar, former Miss Pakistan for UAE 2015 pictured in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 14th October 2016.
Photo Credit: Susannah IrelandCredit: Jermaine FrancisCity, Country, Date DD MMM YYYY
Susannah Ireland, is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer based in London, UK but working internationally as well. She began her photojournalism career on a local news agency in Birmingham in 2006, graduating to London the following year to work principally for The Times and Independent newspapers. Following a brief stint working in India, Susannah moved back to London and now undertakes news, features and portraits assignments for a variety of international clients such as NBC News, The New York Times and NRC Handelsblad. She is a member of Women Photograph – a platform of independent photographers working to elevate the voices of women and non-binary visual storytellers worldwide. She is particularly interested in documenting the humanitarian impact of conflict and environmental disasters on local communities.
Jermaine Francis, is a London based Photographer who works with portraiture and conceptual documentary projects, using editorial, personal projects, and books as vehicles to tell these stories! Jermaine’s work has appeared in publications such as I-D, The Face Magazine, Autre Magazine & Beauty Papers. His work has recently appeared in Aperture’s latest publication the monograph Photo No, No’s, as well ICP book ICP Concerned, Global Images for Global crisis! Jermaine’s work has also exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Taylor Wessing, The International Centre of Photography NYC in the group show #ICPConcerned and his solo show ‘The Invisibles’.
Sabrina Merolla has collaborated with Photojournalism Hub for more than one year. She is an awarded photographer, cultural studies researcher, multimedia journalist and participatory photography facilitator. Sabrina has a strong work ethic and is committed to telling stories in which the general fairness of the narration is granted by long pre-field and on-field research. She focuses on the environment, communities, health and human rights.
The second edition of the Photojournalism Nights at Elephant West gallery was met with an engaged audience, inspirational and talented guest photographers presentations, keynotes by Emma Perfect, global head of diversity and inclusion at Soho House, media partner Photo Archive News, networking and conversations till late at night at the bar/lounge of eclectic Elephant West gallery and the opportunity to bring home one of the donated photographs from the photographers printed with the support of Genesis Imaging UK.
I could not ask for a better night to present and showcase powerful long form photojournalistic projects exposing, reflecting and questioning the current political climate through the notion of European identity and Belonging. Presentations began with Claudia Leisinger with her project Europe Revisited documenting the lives of Roma families living in stark poverty in Serbia which questions the distribution of welfare and resources in Europe. Followed by Pete Boyd, whose work looks at where and how young people think they belong: what it facilitates; how they define who is a member and who not; how they signal their belonging; who they are allowed to be and what they can express; what they consciously adopt and what others foist upon them; and what they have to do to survive it, then to Sukhy Hullait who for 100 days documented in various cities in the UK, the opinions and feelings of people towards Brexit. Finally, we had the presentation of Quetzal Maucci, whose work looks at the lives of children of immigrants in the States and in the UK demonstrating the universality of those people caught in-between belonging. Four people won a photograph each from the raffle tickets and went home with on original print. This was made possible by the donation of the guest photographers and by Genesis Imaging which have supported this event. There were a lot of questions at the Q&A and I am guessing much more later as people stayed behind till late conversing and getting to know each other.
The Photojournalism Nights are organised by the Photojournalism Hub to bring together photojournalists and share their work, discuss important social justice issues in order to engage in a meaningful way to important topics whilst support the photojournalists which often put their lives at risk in doing this. The Photojournalism Nights are run bi-monthly at the Elephant West gallery and the next date will be announced shortly. If you wish to follow our work click here.
The Photojournalism Hub presents a Live Stream of the 8th Edition of the Photojournalism Nights.
Please join the live stream of the Photojournalist Hub eighth edition of the Photojournalism Nights with an amazing line-up of photographers: Jim Mortram, Kristian Buus, Maria Tomas Rodriguez.
Jim Mortram, is a social documentary photographer and writer, based in Dereham, Norfolk. He is well known for his powerful and ongoing project , Small Town Inertia, which records the lives of a number of disadvantaged and marginalised people living near to his home, in order to tell stories he believes are under-reported.
Kristian Buus, is a freelance photographer based between London and Copenhagen. Much of Kristian’s work is covering protests and civil disobedience which relates to climate change issues and civil rights. Over the years he has been on the frontline of many direct actions in the UK following events, often very fast moving, involving police and a lot of stress covering them from a news perspective. Over the past few years, Kristian has focused on getting to know through portraiture and interviews, what drives people who put themselves at risk of arrest and possible injury, to amplify their voices. With this approach, he has covered the early stages of Extinction Rebellion and the Stansted 15 protests.
Maria Tomas Rodriguez, is a senior lecturer in Aeronautical Engineering in the School of Mathematics, Computer Science & Engineering. Among the many awards, Maria has won the Best Documentary Photography Award at the prestigious 2019 British Photography Awards with her work that focuses on Senegalese traditions.The Photojournalism Nights is an event that promotes committed and courageous photojournalism and engages the public to social justice and human rights.
Claire Thomas is a photographer and photojournalist from Wales, UK, currently based between London and New York. Her photojournalism work focuses on issues relating to global political and military conflicts, human rights, and humanitarian and environmental crises. During her extraordinary career, Claire has produced compelling and timely images and has been extensively covering frontlines battles in ISIS in Iraq.
Q. How did you end up going to Iraq?
In December 2016, I decided to travel to Iraq independently with the goal of focusing on stories related to the military offensive to liberate the city of Mosul and the humanitarian crisis of people displaced by ISIS. Before that, I was based in Greece covering the refugee crisis where I met Kurdish and Iraqi families who had been displaced by ISIS. Hearing their stories, I wanted to better understand the horror that was driving people to flee their homes and risk their lives trying to reach the safety of European shores. As there was a lot of media attention on the war against ISIS in Mosul at the time, I decided to head to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and an entry point to Mosul.
Q. How long were you there for in total?Will you go back?
My first visit to Iraq was for just 2 weeks, but I returned a few weeks later and ended up living in northern Iraq for two and a half years. I’ve been back for a few short trips since I left in June last year, and I hope to return later this year or next year. Erbil was my home for a long time, and I became very fond of the place and the people, so I think I’ll always go back whenever the opportunity arises. There’s certainly no shortage of stories to cover in the country, and I’m particularly interested to follow the progress of rebuilding the city of Mosul, which was heavily bombed during the battle against ISIS.
Q. This is very traumatic work, what do you do to decompress after a trip like this? How do you look after your mental health while working?
I was lucky to have a great support network in Iraq, among other photographers and journalists, the medics I embedded with in Mosul, and also local friends and fixers. My way of decompressing is simply to talk about the situation, which helps me process my own thoughts and feelings, and I was glad that I had a lot of people I could talk to in Iraq.
I think it’s important to be aware of the emotional impact of doing this kind of work, and also to keep in mind that, as outsiders, it’s our choice to be there and we’re extremely lucky to be able to leave the war zone and go back to the safety of our homes at any time.
Of course, being confronted by violence and death is challenging and disturbing, and even more so is seeing people suffering the terror, pain and loss of war. The images that stick in my mind are of mothers crying over the bodies of their children, of soldiers wailing uncontrollably over a fallen comrade, of proud fathers broken by the loss of their loved ones, and the tearless look of shock on the faces of traumatised children. However, I try to focus my thoughts and energy on the incredible strength and resilience of the survivors and the people who helped them survive.
Q. I’m new to photojournalism – self teaching at the moment. How did you get started and did you go through formal means? And how did you get to work in Iraq? Did you pitch to someone as an independent? Would be great to know how it all works.
I’m also self-taught with no formal training in photojournalism. I studied Politics at University, and after I graduated I spent several years travelling and working overseas. During that time, I developed my interest and skills in photography, and eventually started doing some freelance photography work for my local newspaper in Wales. After a few assignments in Wales I travelled to Palestine where I began producing photo essays about life in the occupied West Bank, which I pitched to several mainstream media outlets.
As a freelancer, I really appreciate having the flexibility and freedom to choose which countries I work in and which stories I cover. Of course, that flexibility comes with the necessity for extreme self-motivation, self-discipline and organisation, as well as the financial burden of paying our own expenses in the hope of selling the work afterwards.
My decision to go to Iraq was one I made independently – I wasn’t sent there by any media outlet. Once I arrived in Erbil, I spoke with a lot of other journalists and fixers to better understand the context and get an idea of stories I could cover that weren’t as widely covered as the military operation in Mosul. In the beginning, I captured the content needed for the story I wanted to cover – photos and interviews – and then sent a pitch with a small sample of images to media outlets. Once editors got to know me and my work, I started to get more commissioned assignments, often working alongside a writer.
It took me a long time to understand how the industry works for freelancers. For me, the most difficult part about being a freelance photojournalist is not the photography or journalism work itself but finding ways to get the attention of editors and my work published. I’m still learning myself, and the best advice I can give is to be persistent and determined, and get to know the publications you want to contribute to.
Clare Thomas www.clairethomasphotography.com https://www.instagram.com/claire_thomas_photography/
The third Photojournalism Nights event guests speakers Jillian Edelstein, Roland Ramanan, Valentina Schivardi answer questions posed from the audience on their work and practice. Their answer lead us into their journey of resilience and commitment in voicing stories of prejudice, injustice and poverty.
From Sabrina Merolla : Well, you say you are not a photojournalist, but you are showing a stunning example of long-form traditional documentary photography. And the method you described, plus the interviews, make me think of serious socio-anthropological research perspectives. Out of curiosity: what do you teach and what kind of formation do you have? I would certainly say that I am working within the long form documentary tradition with people like Eugene Richards being a big influence. Richards was a social worker and I am a special needs teacher. I started as a primary school teacher and now I work with a local authority advisory service. I think this gives me a certain training to be able to work with people, empathise and present my ideas.
Really powerful stories and you have shown them all as whole human beings without judgement. You obviously gained their trust, how did you establish consent?
I establish consent by showing them honesty and trying to be clear about what I am doing. That was not always easy and I had set backs. A piece about my work in the local newspaper (which I thought was written sensitively) damaged my relationship with some individuals for a long time. I have more or less given up on trying to get formal written consent, I think it establishes more barriers than it removes. I try to show the work as its developing as much as I can practically can. At the start of the project I didn’t really know what my aims were, now I can be much clearer with people what I’m trying to do and that really helps to build trust. That, and just being there; relentlessly!
Roland, how do you feel about the work now and how do you see the work evolving or is it now finished.
Well, its not finished in terms of becoming a book. I have this on good advice from my mentor and others I trust so I need to keep working and thinking about different angles. Sometimes, nothing happens in the work and I get very down and frustrated but it just takes one good picture to lift my spirits. Just being there and hanging out for hours is something I find gets harder but its what I need to do. You need to find new angles to generate different situations. So at the moment , that means going to the foodbank/church and joining there – once it starts up again. That may lead to other things like photographing a baptism which would be amazing – tantalisingly now just out of reach. But I’m in no particular hurry.
Very interesting work but there are some ethical issues for me when photographing vulnerable people. Do you make people aware of the fact the photos are being made public? Do you get model release forms from people?
I did worry a lot, previously about model release but I don’t need it for a documentary/art project. It is non-commercial use. In the end, you simply have to demonstrate your own integrity and question your own motives over and over again. No model release is a substitute for that.
Roland Ramanan’s compelling image of Nina from his powerful ‘Gillett Square’ series is featured among other great photographers in Paul Sng’s This Separated Isle photobook, which is currently being crowdfunded on- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/invisiblebritain/this-separated-isle If you can, please support this photobook of stories and portraits exploring concepts of identity in modern Britain.
How did you protect yourself from the trauma of these stories?
I think it was hard for people to see people (mainly men) who had performed unspeakable acts and atrocities, walk free …but the concept of forgiveness espoused by Tutu, Mandela allowed that to happen. It is to be commended and admired. It was a powerful ‘tool’ to call upon, to draw out, to involve many victims of human rights abuse, torture and conflict. The fact that it happened was remarkable. It helped. It may not have healed but it was powerful in the transition process. I don’t think it ever hoped to turn things around overnight. The compromise is that it is human fragility, survival , emotion at stake ; sadly we don’t seem to learn from history.The after effects of Apartheid and it’s ugly legacy will be felt for decades to come.I was lucky enough to be able to ‘come and go’ as I had my work, my family life in the UK, so being able to leave it, feel a certain distance from it and then later revisit the horror of it intermittently was an enormous saving attribute.
Excellent thanks! How long did you document their ceremonies and are you still in touch with the community? The first ceremony was back in 2009. Yes, we are still in touch – I’m still working on this project.
Just wondered why the men in this community were not featured so much in the photos?
I guess because women are more photogenic. I’m just kidding. Actually, there were more men than women featured in the editing I showed.
Is the project ongoing? what’s next?
Yes, it’s an ongoing project. I’d love to make a book next.
When you were working on the project were you thinking about making photographs for them at the same time as making pictures for yourself? Did you take different approach for these?
This is a very interesting question for me. Yes, when I’m working on this project I think about both taking pictures for them as well as for myself, which can be tricky. Luckily, it’s been clear in my head since the beginning: I was able to start this project because I was hired to take photos for them. This allowed me to find a point of entry to their community. When possible, I work with an assistant, to make sure that he/she can cover the event for them, so that I can focus on my own project.
Given that the subjects seemed very keen to pose, did you capture moments where subjects had their guards down?
Oh yes. This is a question I had in my head since the beginning. What makes a photograph a more authentic and honest representation of someone? On one hand, it’s fascinating to see how my subject is very conscious of the camera. There’s something very strong about the way they always seem to know exactly how to pose. On the other hand, I’m also interested in showing how contradictory and much more complex we can be, by trying to capture my subjects off guard.
Oh yes. This is a question I had in my head since the beginning. What makes a photograph a more authentic and honest representation of someone? On one hand, it’s fascinating to see how my subject is very conscious of the camera. There’s something very strong about the way they always seem to know exactly how to pose. On the other hand, I’m also interested in showing how contradictory and much more complex we can be, by trying to capture my subjects off guard.
Kashmir in the last 30 years has been reduced to a land of pain and misery with thousands dead, disappeared, raped, detained and tortured. When an anti-India insurgency began in 1989, the mighty forces that India employed here crushed the rebellion. Since then more than 90,000 people have died and 8,000are disappeared.
The ongoing conflict mounted scars not only on the adults but the new generation. The young children’s were badly affected with hundreds killed, thousands blinded, amputated bodies, and detained in Indian jails.
With more than half a million Indian troops stationed, Kashmir has the distinction of being the most heavily militarized zone in the world. The Indian forces enjoy special powers under laws such as the Armed Forces special Powers Act (AFSPA) that gives them immunity and impunity to arrest or kill anyone on mere suspicion, without the fear of facing legal action.
The turmoil has devastated an entire generation. People have gone through worst in these turbulent times. The story is all about the Children’s who are the Future of Kashmir and a yearning of new generation to live a life of peace and dignity.
The images shot by me are somehow my own childhood experiences, as I grew in such condition seeing things periodically right from the time when rebellion broke out in Kashmir.
Mubashir Hassan Mubashir Hassan is a freelance photojournalist based in Kashmir valley, India. For the past six year, Mubashir has covered many stories on politics, conflict, human rights violations, as well as day to day life, art, culture and architecture. He is available for assignments.
On the project ‘Children: The forgotten future of Kashmir’ is an ongoing project by photojournalist Mubashir Hassan that focuses on the children living under the conflicted area of Kashmir valley. It documents the impact that the conflict has on their lives; from being physically maimed, psychologically traumatised and deprived of a future. ‘Children: The forgotten future of Kashmir’ is a personal project. It is an important story that needs to be seen and told. If you would like to support Mubashir, please be in touch with him. He is looking for commissions, representation and/or donations, which albeit small would make a huge difference for him. You can get in touch with Mubashir directly on:
Please join the live stream of the Photojournalist Hub ninth edition of the Photojournalism Nights with an amazing line-up of photographers: Ada Trillo, Georgina Smith and Ala Buisir.
Ada Trillo, award winning Philadelphia-based photojournalist, native to the Juarez-El Paso binational metroplex, covers stories to create awareness and fight injustice. Her powerful photographs engage with migration, Black Lives Matter and borders.
Georgina Smith, photojournalist based in East Africa covering stories, photos and words for BBC, Al Jazeera English, United Nations, Guardian. Georgina will share a very coignant series on Kenya’s pastoralists who face hunger and are under threat of conflict as locust plague is unravelling in the country.
Ala Buisir, documentary photographer currently residing in Ireland with roots in Libya. Her work documents the social and political tension around us today. The aim is to raise awareness by presenting events through different perspectives in hopes that it may also bring about change.
The Photojournalism Nights is an event that promotes committed and courageous photojournalism and engages the public to social justice and human rights.
As Coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world, it is increasing social injustices and bringing inequalities to the forefront. In this fifth edition, documentary photographer David Gilbert Wright shares the touching photo story of Paul, a homeless man who he became friends with during the current pandemic. This photo story highlights the impact of years of austerity on the most poor and exposes the further impact of the outbreak on them. The story of Paul speaks of the many which were already at the receiving end of funding cuts and support and they now in a lot worse conditions. These are issues we need to see, reflect upon and action.
Homeless and Locked Down Paul’s Story
by David Gilbert Wright
It was springtime, and the weather was beautiful. The skies had been clear for several weeks and the sun had been warming up the earth. But this was no normal spring. England was in the grips of an unknown pandemic and the Government had ordered a lockdown. Everyone but a few, were staying home. Buses and trains were empty, roads were empty and we were all trying to adapt to a new way of living. Rules about when you can go out and for what were in place. The population were being ‘frightened’ into believing that hundreds and thousands would catch this new virus and many would die. I was out walking the dog in nearby woods when I came across a tent pitched deep in a thicket, out of sight. I was intrigued. It took several more days before I plucked up the courage to investigate. That was when I met Paul. He was homeless and living in these woods. He was locked down too! Over the next 3-4 months I got to know Paul and he is the subject of this story.
Paul is 52 years old. He had a brother who died in his forties and a sister. He told me that his Mum left home when he was 15 years old. That was the start of things. “I left home and came to London. London was a terrible place back then and being homeless was very dangerous. I was sleeping rough when some one picked me up and took me along to a kind of hostel. You had to ‘book’ a night and then get out in the morning. I think they felt sorry for me and gave me a job sweeping and cleaning the rooms. That saved me. I lived in a house in Thurrock at some point and had a sort of job. I had to go sick and so I lost that job and couldn’t pay the rent so they evicted me. I have been on the move ever since. I don’t like towns. They are too scary. I decided to get a tent and live out in the country somewhere so here I am”. He got up and started to make a little fire. “Now it is warming up, the midges are starting to get on my nerves so I light a fire and the smoke keeps them away” he said laughing.
Paul often walked up to the town. He had broken his hip some time in the recent past and suffered from terrible sciatica. “I have to take pain-killers” he told me, “so I come up to the chemist every week or two to get me repeat prescription. Trouble is, people try to mug me and take my drugs”. We sat for a while in the warm sun and then this woman came along. Her name was Lizzie. She told me that she was what some call a ‘sofa-surfer’. “That’s someone who is homeless and manages to get a place to sleep in someone’s house.” She was in her 50s and had been homeless since the breakdown of her marriage. She was very guarded but alluded to being badly abused and beaten by her partner until she couldn’t stand it anymore and managed to escape. She had several grown-up children and managed to see them occasionally but she also was living a hard life. She told me how difficult it was in the winter. ‘We both try to find something a bit more permanent if we can because you can freeze at nights’ Paul told me.
We were talking in his encampment in the woods one day and he started to tell me about his Faith. It surprised me somewhat. He rummaged around in his tent, beer can in one hand and pulled out a book. It was the Pilgrim’s Progress by Chaucer. I see myself as a kind of pilgrim, always on the move. I am like the guy in the book, in search of something. It is something I can identify with. He rummaged a bit more and pulled out another book. “This is my Bible”. He said “I pray everyday. I try to speak to God. I think He loves me despite my faults. He loves me unconditionally. He does not expect me to change. I feel he forgives me for all the stuff I have done. He is my rock. Later that morning, we were walking up to the town together and he started reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
I asked Paul what he did for food. He told me that he visited a food bank in Brentwood. He told me where it was and I realised that it must take him nearly an hour to walk to it because he was very slow, due to his arthritis and needing a crutch to help. “They are very good and deliver stuff to me sometimes”. The food bank only opens twice a week between 10 and 12 midday. Paul was not usually an early riser. I often got to his tent mid-morning to find him sound asleep. “Jem looks after me. He will always open up if he is around”. So one afternoon we set off on the walk to the Food Bank. We talked about all kinds of things as we walked. Steve was the priest. He found a whole lot of food and Paul was so pleased with the large tin of assorted biscuits, like you get at Christmas. It was then that I realised first-hand how important these food banks are to people like Paul.
“I used to have another guitar but when I stayed a night with this woman she stole it and sold it for 5. Probably spent the money on drugs. Someone gave me another one then a bloke grabbed it off of me. I chased and tracked him down to this shed and got it back. Thing is, the E string was broken, that’s why I haven’t managed to replace it yet. I do a bit of busking to earn a few bob. I like Reggae and Punk and usually do a bit of both or improvise”. He started strumming something with a reggae beat and then sun along. He was making the words up and they were about him and his God or ‘Jah’ as he liked to call Him. On another occasion, we were walking past a charity shop and he saw a violin in the window. He went in and persuaded the assistant to let him try it out. Clearly, Paul was musical. When he came out, I asked what he thought of the violin. “The strings on the bow were all frayed so it was not a good bargain”.
“Some guys came to my camp one night and tried to rob me. It is very dark here in the night and they didn’t have lights. I am pretty good in the dark because I know where everything is. I managed to roll away into the undergrowth and just hide. They couldn’t find me and got very angry. I heard them say something and then heard a ripping sound. Once they had gone I discovered they had ripped me tent. This isn’t the first time” he said pulling out a roll of Gaffer Tape and starting to repair the ripped canvas. Camping out in the woods his not such a halcyon existence!
As the days wore on, I noticed Paul’s demeanor change. He didn’t seem so happy-go-lucky. At one point in June he disappeared for a couple of weeks. He had a phone but often as not, he had no credit or it the battery was flat. Out of the blue, I got a call from him. He told me he had been in hospital. I asked what was up and he said “I have been feeling very low and things got to much and I tried to top me self”. He told me he was being transferred to another hospital and hoped to be out soon. I went by his camp each day to check on things and one day I found him asleep in his tent. He was out of food so I went with him to the food bank. Jem was just leaving but when Paul told him about his illness, he agreed to open up and give him some supplies. Jem went off inside and we sat out in the sun. Paul was sitting very quietly waiting. I couldn’t help seeing the picture in front of me. Here was someone who really needed to talk.
While Paul was in hospital his tent got vandalized again. “Someone slashed it again” he said. I told him I had seen a bunch of teenage kids riding around his camp. “All me stuff got soaked cos the rain came through the whole” he lamented. Paul looked like a shadow of the man I had first met. As we sat quietly, he hung his head and said “I’m not happy, I don’t like living like this. People think I’m happy but I’m not.” I could see he had tears in his eyes. He looked up to the sky and shouted “This is not Heaven!” It was then that I realised that he yearned for the safety and security of a home and a family that many of us take for granted.
I saw Paul several more times then he disappeared and I never saw him again. I don’t know what came of him. All I do know is that when I went back to his camp one evening, I found that his tent had been pulled down, poles broken, bedding scattered around and his clothes flung into the surrounding bushes. Then I spotted his guitar or what was left of it. It was completely smashed up and the pieces were strewn around near what used to be his campfire. But that wasn’t the thing that really got me! As I looked around I noticed something white under a bush amidst the leaf mold of the forest. I went closer and realised I was looking at the discarded copy of his Bible. It was open at the penultimate chapter of the New Testament. It is about Jude, who was also a traveler. He went from city to city spreading the gospel. His name was Judas but has become shortened. He was a living example of faithfulness to Jesus Christ, in contrast to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him. The picture of the Bible, its pages dirty, crumpled and tattered is a poignant ending to this story about someone who was also ‘discarded’ and homeless during the Lockdown.
If you have work which highlights the social injustices that are being intensified or laid bare by Covid-19 please submit your work to the Photojournalism Hub. Next deadline is the 4th January 2021. Please submit your work to Cinzia D’Ambrosi, cinzia@photojournalismhub.org Further details on how to submit on our Submission page https://photojournalismhub.org/contribute-submissions/
