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Celebrating Black Photographers
Our thanks to Diane Butts for curating a selection of work by black photographers as part of Photoworks’ celebration of Black History Month. We are pleased to introduce these talented artists to the Photoworks community:
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Dawn Hester
Felix Masi
Polly Irungu
Roxanne Munson
Marquel Forbes
Olu Asade
Tamara Fleming
Diane Butts
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Dawn Hester:
Dawn says: Photography is such a big part of my life that I have retired twice — from the Air National Guard and the FBI (Forensic, Scientific & Technical). I have been involved with photography for over 35 years. What’s great about it all is that I’m still enjoying myself and still learning.
Dawn says: My motto is "capturing what is here today and may be gone tomorrow”. Even though I enjoy “dabbing” into a little of everything photography, I focus a lot on landscapes and macro photography. I enjoy traveling but with the pandemic I’ve been exploring what’s right in my backyard.
IG: dawndhester
Facebook: Dawn Hester
Twitter: @dawnhester58
Linkedin: Dawn Hester
Website: dawndhester.com
Blog: ddhester.wordpress.com
Podcast: Photography Adventures. You can follow: Apple, Spotify, and Anchor.
Felix Masi:
A Kenyan-born documentary photographer, Felix was a newspaper photojournalist in Kenya covering social issues and humanitarian issues across the continent. His journey took him across Africa and the US -- documenting life in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, showcasing the world’s only black orchestra in Kinshasa, and sharing his story with then Senators Barack Obama and Dick Durbin on Capitol Hill. His documentary, “A Grandmother’s Tribe”, tells the story of resilience and sacrifice in the face of a lost generation.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/felixmasiphotography/
IG: felixmasiphotography5
Polly Irungu:
Multimedia journalist, digital editor, and self-taught photographer Polly Irungu is the founder of Black Women Photographers, a global community and online database of Black women and non-binary photographers.
Polly is also a Digital Content Editor at New York Public Radio (WYNC), where she is responsible for managing social media for WNYC and PRX’s ‘The Takeaway’, a national NPR show with over 2 million listeners, pitching news stories and features for The Takeaway and her podcast is ranked the 4th most downloaded, amongst others.
Polly’s work has been published in numerous publications, including BBC News, MEFeater, Refinery29, NPR, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, CNN, HuffPost, OkayPlayer, OkayAfrica, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
pollyirungu.com
IG: @pollyirungu
Roxanne Munson:
Roxanne is a Black female documentary photographer living in Mexico City, Mexico. Roxanne got into photography over 15 years ago, when documenting her children. She now travels the country of Mexico, documenting the lived experiences of the people she encounters along the way.
IG: @RoxanneMunsonPhotography
FB: Roxanne Munson Photography
Marquel Forbes:
Marquel’s professional wedding photos have been featured in Munuluchi Bride, How They Asked by The Knot, Popsugar, and Black Nuptials, but during the pandemic, Marquel turned her focus to formal photography education and studio photography.
IG: @marquelslens
Olu Asade:
Olu is a Washington DC photographer whose work focuses on Weddings, Events, Fashion and Portraiture. Olu grew up in Lagos, Nigeria with a father who was an avid photographer. His journey into photography started out at a very early age. At about age 10 he got his first 110 camera as a birthday present and was immediately bitten by the photography bug. He has since transitioned to digital media, shooting mainly Canon full frame and mirrorless cameras. Olu moved to the United States in 1989 and is a resident of Laurel, Maryland.
Instagram: @awesomeafrican1
Tamara Fleming:
Tamara is a creative powerhouse, committed teaching artist and accomplished corporate, small business & branding photographer. Tamara has a driving passion to create images that positively represent diverse communities & cultures. In the first quarter of 2020, her next and current business venture, pocstock was launched as a global marketplace for licensing stock images featuring people of color.
Tamara Fleming is the founder of ExpozHER ™a personal development program using photography as a vehicle to empower young women and girls with new thought patterns about themselves and their impact in the community & the world. This international program continues to produce positive influences for young ladies worldwide, from Africa, Newark to Haiti, continuing to promote self-acceptance and confidence through photography.
TamaraFlemingPhotography.com
IG: TamaraFlemingPhotography
Dianne Butts:
Thank you Diane Butts for putting together our profile of black photographers this month, and for sharing some of your own work. Diane Butts is a photoblogger in Washington, DC who spent several months documenting Black Lives Matter and social justice following the death of George Floyd. Throughout the summer of 2020, she photographed many people who were passionate about social justice and gathered in solidarity in DC to reinforce the messages.
IG: @db2captures
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