amiev

Description:

Photography has been my all-consuming passion since I first picked up a camera at age 11. After living in various European countries for 10 years as a child, I developed an intense fascination and love for culture. At University I majored in International Relations with a minor in Photography, appreciating it for both artistic value and journalistic applications. Sometimes the injustice in the world overwhelms me, but ultimately it motivates me. My passion for photography is matched only by my passion to help create a more just and peaceful world. The subjects I choose are people and organizations with similar goals because I feel that relaying their stories to a larger audience will contribute to increasing awareness and support for their activities. In addition to my personal work, I am a regular photographic contributor for publications such as Memphis Magazine and the Memphis Business Quarterly, and provide photographic services to a number of businesses and non-profit organizations. Over the years my work has been featured in exhibits from California to Tennessee, and has sold to collectors across the U.S. My photo essays have been published in online and print publications alike, and several of my images have been published in books (including one book cover); two books produced by the Commercial Appeal - local Memphis newspaper - and one currently in production by the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers. In 2010 I was a recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship Award for Photography and used the funds to photographically document cultural practices in Nepal and India. In early 2011 I traveled to Zimbabwe, under the sponsorship of both a local & Zimbabwean church, and produced a visual documentary detailing the work being done there to support orphans and to drill water wells for rural Zimbabweans. On July 27, 2011 I am embarking on a 4-month personal photography project in Peru!