But my journey didn't start like this, of course, if you don't know my story, it's a bit of a wild ride!
I studied sociology and photography. I left school with illusion and lots of projects in mind but broke and with no idea of how to sustain myself as the documentary photographer I wanted to become. "OK, I know how to take good photos and create a portfolio, but now what?" How should I finance my wildest ideas and projects and build a career and a fulfilling life? I had no clue.
My practice started to grow as I began setting slightly higher goals for those dreams. Then I began to trust myself and my work, slowly building a profitable career.
Within a few years, I experienced steady growth, attracting new partnerships and clients, and ever-increasing revenue. It wasn't overnight. Not at all. This kind of progress took me years of little (and big) battles to fight, showing up day after day, establishing myself, refining my work until reaching those big dreams I had when I left school.
From that humble beginning, I became Leica Ambassador, co-owner of the photo agency NOOR Images. My stories have been published in dozens of international publications, like National Geographic or The New York Times. I have exhibited my work worldwide in galleries, museums, and photography festivals. My photographic projects have gotten awards and grants from leader organizations in our industry as World Press Photo, Magnum Foundation, PoYI, Alexia Foundation, Overseas Press Club, Getty Editorial Grant, and the Young Reporter Award in Visa pour l'Image, among others.
For the past eight years, I have taught hundreds of photographers worldwide in online classes, in-person workshops, and masterclasses. I love to transmit my experience and knowledge to other passionate photographers and help them find their creative path and accomplish their projects (as wild as they might seem!)
Documentary Photographer
Effendi is an award-winning documentary photographer and author of two monographs published in 2009 - “Pipe Dreams: A Chronicle of Lives along the Pipeline” and in 2013 - “Liquid Land.”
She is the laureate of the Prince Claus Fund Award for Culture and Development. Her work has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Saatchi Gallery, İstanbul Modern, the Venice Biennial, or the NYC MOMA.
Magnum Photos
Tavakolian is a self-taught photojournalist and documentary photographer, based in Tehran and a member of Magnum Photos.
She began working professionally for the Iranian press at the age of 16 and has since covered regional conflicts, natural disasters and created social documentary projects.
She was the laureate of the 2014 Carmignac Photojournalism Award and the 2015 Prince Claus Award.
Visual Artist / Magnum Photos
Sim Chi Yin is an artist from Singapore whose research-based practice includes photography, moving images, archival interventions, and text-based performance and focuses on history, conflict, and memory.
She is currently on an artist residency at the Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore.
Chi Yin is represented by Zilberman Gallery in Berlin and Hanart TZ Gallery in Hong Kong. She joined Magnum Photos as a nominee member in 2018.
Emeritus Director of Photography of National Geographic Magazine
Founder of the Visual Thinking
Sarah is the Founder of the Visual Thinking Collective. She has been a photographer, a photo editor, and the first female Director of Photography at the National Geographic Magazine.
Sarah works individually with photographers and agencies editing long-term projects and books. She has also won numerous awards for both her photography and photo editing from the Pictures of the Year International, Best of Photojournalism, and the World Press Photo Awards.