masterclass participants selected

© Andrea Bruce | NOOR

NOOR, Nikon and Kamerades are proud to announce the list of 15 participants for the NOOR-Nikon Masterclass 2015. The participants were selected out of a total of 114 portfolios that were submitted from 9 different countries in the region.

We would like to herewith sincerely thank all the people who put effort in their application and congratulate the photographers who will be taking part in the masterclass:

Majlend Bramo from Albania

Mina Delić from Serbia

Tsvetomir Dimov from Bulgaria

Fisnik Dobreci from Montenegro

Marija Erdelji from Serbia

Elena Geroska from Macedonia/Bulgaria

Milovan Milenković from Serbia

Armend Nimani from Kosovo

Marina Paulenka from Croatia

Midhat Poturovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Matjaž Rušt from Slovenia

Mitar Simikić from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Denislav Stoychev from Bulgaria

Oksana Toskic from Serbia

Matic Zorman from Slovenia

The NOOR-Nikon Masterclass will be held in Belgrade between 30 March – 3 April 2015. During the five days of the workshop, the participants, together with three member photographers of NOOR, Andrea Bruce, Stanley Greene and Kadir van Lohuizen, and NOOR’s Associate Editor, Asmara Pelupessy, will work on portfolios, improve editing skills and learn how to pick up and develop stories.

We are looking forward to meeting all the participants, having the chance to learn about their work and sharing experiences.

noor-nikon masterclass update: tutors announced, opened to bulgarian photographers & deadline extended

NOOR photographers Kadir van Lohuizen, Andrea Bruce and Stanley Greene will be the tutors for this years NOOR-Nikon Masterclass in Documentary Photography in Belgrade, Serbia.

The call has also been extended to Bulgarian photographers who are encouraged to apply.

Accordingly, we've extended the deadline for applications - the new deadline is Thursday the 19th of February. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

NOOR, Nikon and Kamerades invite photographers to submit their portfolios for selection for the 2015 NOOR-Nikon Masterclass in Documentary Photography. 
The masterclass will be accessible to young and aspiring documentary photographers and photojournalists from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Please find more information about applying here.

If you are interested to find out more and read about experiences of participants from former masterclasses then see the examples of previous workshops here & here.

call for applications: noor-nikon masterclass in belgrade, serbia

NOOR, together with the Serbian collective Kamerades and Nikon invite photographers to submit their portfolios for selection for the 2015 NOOR-Nikon Masterclass in Documentary Photography in Belgrade, Serbia.

NOOR photo agency and foundation and Nikon Europe support documentary photographers from emerging markets all over the world through the organization of annual motivational masterclasses.

The 2015 program is scheduled to take place in Belgrade, Serbia, 30 March through to 3 April 2015.

The masterclass will be accessible to young and aspiring documentary photographers and photojournalists from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia.

THE WORKSHOP

During the five days of the workshop, 15 participants, together with three member photographers of NOOR - Andrea Bruce, Stanley Greene and Kadir van Lohuizen - and NOOR’s managing director - Evelien Kunst - will share experiences, work on portfolios, improve editing skills and learn how to pick up and develop stories. Each day consists of intensive communication with the photographers on the subjects of technical features and the peculiarities of the international photo market. It is a unique opportunity to gain new knowledge, contacts, learn to tell stories in a visual language and develop a personal vision.

The workshop is free of charge; travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed (possession of a passport and travel insurance is required to apply).

SUBMISSION

For submission you are required to have:

• Basic experience in documentary photography or photojournalism;

• A high level of motivation;

• English language skills (the workshop is in English);

• A good technical understanding of your camera equipment, a working knowledge of the media environment and basic image management skills.

To apply you need to send a PDF file not exceeding 6 MB including:

• A CV including your contact information and a written text explaining your work and projects. Please clarify your involvement in photography by showing a proven track record, proof of a photographic training or at least 1-year experience of practice;

• Motivation letter in English (1 page);

• A portfolio of max. 30 images with text introductions and captions (please show your story telling skills by presenting at least one picture story of 8 images).

Please send your application to: masterclass2015@noorimages.com before midnight C.E.T. Thursday 19 February 2015.

If sending a PDF creates a problem, we accept links and word documents or alternative formats. For more information contact NOOR via masterclass2015@noorimages.com or tel. +31.20.6164040 or Skype: noorimages (Amsterdam).

In case you are selected for the workshop, you will be asked to perform a short assignment to work on before the workshop starts.

Organized with the generous support of Nikon Europe B.V.

NOOR (Amsterdam): Evelien Kunst

managing director | NOOR

tel. + 31.20.616.4040

email: masterclass2015@noorimages.com

www.noorimages.com | skype: noorimages

Kamerades (Belgrade): Tamara Ognjanovic

project manager | Kamerades

tel. +381 63 8679 800

email: contact@kamerades.com or tashaognjanovic@gmail.com

www.kamerades.com | skype: kamerades

rnw-noor visual storytelling academy in mexico kicks off

A report back from academy moderator, photography editor and consultant Claudia Hinterseer (former managing director of NOOR)

So nice to be part of a NOOR project once again, it feels natural, like I’ve never been away…

It’s day one of the Latin-American chapter of the RNW-NOOR Academy and we’ve kicked-off on a high note: Jon Lowenstein, Sebastian Liste, Michiel Bles and Cristina Fernández Cuéllar of the Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and myself - united with eight Mexican, one El Salvadorian and a Venezuelan photographer at the beautiful Monterrey Tech University in Mexico City.

 

The Academy started a few weeks ago with a visual literacy workshop for the picture editors and designers of RNW in Hilversum, and now here in Mexico the aim is to elevate the skills of local photographers for RNW’s El Toque platform to collaborate with. After these five days they will each - during three months - work on visual stories with the support of Jon and Sebastian, culminating in the publication of their work on the El Toque platform. So stay tuned.

 

Today we first took our time to get to know one another. In discussing which topics people cover; not surprisingly a lot deal with issues relating to narco-culture, violence, and disappearances, but there’s also interest in indigenous people and contra-culture for instance.

It’s a mixed group with some more-established, strong visual storytellers and some less experienced students of photography... and there’s a good vibe. Most importantly, everyone is serious about their work, and that’s a good thing too - as Jon put it laughingly: “‘…’cause otherwise it would be a nightmare to work together for 12 weeks!”

For me it’s at the same time a small reunion: at the welcome dinner NOOR photographer Andrea Bruce, who recently moved to Mexico City joined us - “que padre!”, so cool, as the Mexicans say.

Text and images © Claudia Hinterseer

NOOR at photoville 2014

NOOR's recent group project in Za'atari is now shown at PHOTOVILLE –  the largest annual photographic event of New York City; it is a modular venue built from re-purposed shipping containers. For Nina Berman this is an inspiring event ''it was here that I first started thinking about the possibilities for large-scale outdoor photographic displays''. NOOR is excited to bring the Za'atari project to this location, after it was initially installed on the walls of the refugee camp in Jordan. The installation features 4 meter wide images by photographers Alixandra Fazzina, Andrea Bruce, Stanley Greene and Nina Berman.

   
''Having covered stories of refugees around the world over nearly two decades, Zaatari Camp in Jordan puts a different face on what a crisis should look like. Far from languishing in the desert to wait out the ongoing conflict, the 120,000 Syrian refugees at Zaatari have mobilised themselves. Facing up to what is a protracted situation, they are getting by day to day in what has become a new temporary city across the frontier. These threads of new lives that are weaving together the community in Zaatari compelled me to look beyond the surface, to try and tell a more sensitive and positive narrative of the people I came to meet'' - says NOOR photographer Alixandra Fazzina, whose work is now available on the NOOR website - 'Za'atiri, New Lives' http://noorimages.com/feature/zaatari-new-lives/`

Also at Photoville, on Sunday September 28, there will be a Panel Discussion with Nina Berman on Photography in Public Space. This discussion will explore the politics, meanings, and impact of site-specific artwork, examining case studies from photographers who have mounted larger-than-life photographs everywhere.

More information on the installation:
http://www.photoville.com/2014-installations/zaatari/

More information on the panel discussion:
http://www.photoville.com/2014-programming/2014-talks-workshops/whose-space-our-space/

What to do at Photoville?
http://www.featureshoot.com/2014/09/10-workshops-panels-and-events-you-shouldnt-miss-at-photoville-2014/

NOOR pechakucha in new york

NOOR’s 7th Annual General Meeting was held in New York City from June 9 to 13. This year, we organized a special public event on Friday June 13 for people to come meet NOOR at a PechaKucha evening. With presentations from our photographers, the event showcased NOOR’s dedication to explore the human side of complex, global issues, as well as long-term and collaborative projects.

See some photos from the event below.

Stanley Greene presented his work from Chechnya and Dagestan.

Francesco Zizola spoke about his new ongoing project on overfishing around the world.

Andrea Bruce spoke about her most recent project about the cotton widows of India.

Kadir van Lohuizen presented his Rising Sea Levels project.

Benedicte Kurzen presented her work on the Boko Haram kidnappings in Nigeria.

Nina Berman first spoke about NOOR's outdoor installation project at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Later, she presented her work Evidence, part of NOOR's Modern Day Slavery group project.

Jon Lowenstein presented his long-term project about the South Side of Chicago.

world press photo pop-up group exhibition

All of NOOR's photographers have a strong connection to World Press Photo, as award winners, Joop Swart Masterclass participants and educators, jury members, or supervisory board members. To celebrate this fact, and with the World Press Photo Awards Days fast approaching, NOOR presents a small pop-up exhibition in an informal setting, featuring relevant work by all our photographers.

NOOR's pop-up exhibition is currently hanging at the Cafe de Engelbewaarder, which is situated just over the canal from Het Compagnie Theater, the location of this year's World Press Photo Awards Days. The exhibition runs until May 12th.

Address Engelbewaarder: Kloveniersburgwal 59, 1011 JZ Amsterdam.

This exhibition is supported by Nikon Europe.

All printing by FotolabKieKie.

Exhibition photos by Jen Tse.

andrea bruce's damascus work in national geographic

Andrea Bruce's work from Damascus, Syria was published in the March issue of National Geographic.

National Geographic also featured Andrea in an interview about her experience working in Damascus, showing a rare glimpse of life under the regime.

"A city I’ve always loved has become a tense bubble surrounded by encroaching chaos and violence," she said. "Followed by government-approved escorts, I was only allowed to leave my hotel at specific times; searching for the real Damascus under their wary and watchful eyes. Nevertheless, what I eventually found were people, living in the shadows of an over-crowded city, who largely didn’t take sides and whose loyalty was largely undefined. As in most of the world, people simply want to live their lives."

Her tearsheet in the print edition of National Geographic is below. 
 

outdoor installation in za'atari refugee camp

NOOR photographers Nina Berman, Alixandra Fazzina, Andrea Bruce, and Stanley Greene worked on a collaborative photography project at the Za'atari refugee camp for Syrian refugees in northern Jordan. The photographers documented life in the camp and set up a photo portrait booth. They made several thousand images, nearly 100 of which were turned into large scale prints, blown up to 3 meters wide, and pasted on the camp's concrete security walls.

“We tried to strike a balance with images showing daily life without sugar coating the reality and at the same time not make the experience of looking at the wall depressing,” wrote Nina Berman on her Instagram, adding that certain questions would never be concerns when photographing for publications, but presenting photographs in public where the subjects are also the audience becomes an entirely different conversation.

To learn more about the  NOOR Foundation/Za'atari project, contact the NOOR office.
 

 

a fresh set of eyes

After a great first day, NOOR photographers had practical and creative advice to share on the second day of the NOOR-Nikon Masterclass in Documentary Photography in Istanbul, Turkey.

“The danger, for all of us, is that you stay in the comfort zone. Whereas if you try and experiment, you might be surprised with the outcome”, explained Jon Lowenstein, recapping the individual portfolio reviews.

 

“I can see that some of you struggle with what you feel are important elements for the story and your creativity. The illustrative images are often the weakest ones,” said Benedicte Kurzen.

“Having an ‘idea list’ is great, but when you follow the list too rigidly, you miss out on the images that are magical,” continued Jon.

“I sometimes work with a list of things to capture in order to tell a story, but an ‘emotional’ list. Feelings that I am trying to show in images: fear, isolation, relief, etc.,” said Andrea Bruce.

In the afternoon, three groups were formed and each group discussed and edited a small assignment the participants prepared around the theme of "fragile".

“It has been a great experience editing my work with Andrea and the other participating photographers," said Achilleas Zavallis from Cyprus. "Having the input from these photographers with diverse backgrounds, coming from different countries, gave me a new perspective on my own work. Being able to get their collective knowledge helps me to look at my work with a fresh set of eyes.”

The masterclass continues until the end of the week. Check back to see how the next few days go!

Images by Frank Zuidweg.