theatlasofbeauty

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That's me with my daughter, Natalia, both thrilled about Girls of the World. I hope you’ll gonna enjoy it as well.

Girls of the World is a powerful and unique look at girlhood around the world. Order your copy today for the perfect Christmas gift!

Order it here: https://linktr.ee/girlsoftheworld

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Today is a big day for me. I’m releasing my new book, Girls of the World. This is the perfect gift for any girl, but also a great book for every parent of a girl, for every educator, and for anybody who is interested in the diversity of our world. You can order it here:

https://shorturl.at/quzHP

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AMAZING NEWS! My second book is ready, and it's already available for pre-order in the USA and CANADA. More countries will follow. 

GIRLS OF THE WORLD is the perfect gift for any girl in this world, but also a great book for every mother and father of a girl, for every educator, and for anybody who is interested in the diversity of our world.

This collection of portraits and moving stories, never seen before, shows us that all girls are awesome in their own special way. The book will be released on November 7, but if you know you will be ordering one, please pre-order it today. A good number of pre-orders is essential for the success of the book.

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Shanythia is a Navajo silversmith living in the spectacular Monument Valley, in the US. Following the tradition, she only cuts her hair when she loses a close relative. Until now she has only performed this ritual once, when her grandfather passed away.

In May I spent a day in Shanythia’s courtyard and that was truly captivating. Interestingly, her courtyard sits precisely on the border of two states, symbolising the complex history of her people. Half of the courtyard is in Arizona, while the other is in Utah. It is amazing to see people like Shanythia, who despite so many challenges, uphold ancient traditions and remain deeply connected to their roots.

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Deep in the jungle of Peru, Daniela met shamans who completely changed her life. Her spiritual journey brought her to different places of South and North America.

She has been under the guidance of different indigenous elders and collected rare traditional wind instruments, while also exploring and celebrating her own indigenous ancestry.

Today she lives in California and organises fascinating ceremonies, offerings and retreats. There is where I met her in May.

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Vanessa, who is a chimney sweep, was coming from work when I photographed her in Cologne, Germany a few months ago. She shared with me her vivid childhood memories, when a chimney sweep would visit her house from time to time to clean the chimneys. His presence fascinated her, and his departure left behind a sense of security within the family. At the age of 13, Vanessa decided to become a chimney sweep as well and began learning the trade. Then she started to work at only 16.

Being a chimney sweep is a hazardous occupation, with Vanesa constantly ascending to great heights on rooftops. It demands strength, courage and resilience. Vanessa has them all, and, moreover, she loves what she does.

Within her closely-knit community, ancient traditions are still held dear. Vanessa’s beautiful uniform not only provides her with fire protection but also serves as a representation of the ancient community she belongs to. As I photographed Vanesa, people from the street would approach her to ask to touch the buttons on her clothing, as it is a local tradition believed to bring good luck

#germany #traditions #trades

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Dear friends, today I need your support to continue The Atlas of Beauty. The last 15 months have been really difficult. Because of the pandemic I couldn’t work properly on the project and I lost funds and opportunities. Now the borders are opening and I need to travel to many challenging destinations to finish the work on my second book. But funding the project became a huge burden because of the pandemic and I decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign. If you enjoy The Atlas of Beauty and if you think the world needs such a project, I hope you will consider donating for its future. It would help enormously.

https://www.okpal.com/support-the-atlas-of-beauty

Thank you so much!

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I took this photo last month in Kulob, Tajikistan. This kind of embroidery called Chakan is widespread in this Central Asian country and is part of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. Maliks, Nizoramo and Sharafnisa learned these splendid, complex handicraft from their mothers and grandmothers and taught it to their daughters. More and more robots, computers and machines will take our jobs, so will these fabuolous handicrafts like Chakan survive? That’s impossible to predict. I personally feel privileged that I can still witness these traditions and share it with you.

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Mahal Wak is an award-winning actress and activist. I photographed her last week, in Kabul, Afghanistan.As an actress, she loves to play roles dressed in traditional Afghan outfits. If you look at the Afghan jewelleries, dresses or carpets you would see some of the most colourful and playful motifs. That’s the real Afghan spirit, but over 40 years of war have been putting it to the test.Through her work, Mahal wants to bring that spirit back while sending some light in the bitter lives of Afghan people. In a country devastated by war, in a city were horrific bombing attacks and target killings occur every week, there are still corageous people like Mahal who chose to stay, believing in a better future and standing up for it.

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I’m now in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, witnessing how locals celebrate Eid al-Fitr, or Uraza Bayram, how they call it here. This is the holiday that marks the end of the dawn-to-sunset fasting. After one month of Ramadan, families are gathering for delicious feasts. No wonder this market was crowded, two days ago, when I photographed Shamigul. People were preparing intensively for the celebration. Most of the sellers were exhausted of so much work and so many days of fasting, but there was a genuine feeling of joy in the air, because Eid was coming.

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That’s me and my daughter Natalia, today, in the Emirates. After a few months home, we’re back on the road. During these difficult times, traveling became incredibly challenging and so became portrait photography. But as much struggles we all have, as much hope we’ll need. So I’m really happy to meet, photograph and be inspired again by the amazing women of our world, while also raising one of them.

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I photographer Irina on the streets of Iasi, Romania. She loves to live a vibrant life, just as her outfit, enjoying the diversity of the world.    So far she has been to almost 140 countries, mostly on her own. Irina first travelled outside Romania in her 30s but after that, exploring the world became the passion of her life. As a gynaecologist, she had a challenging and intensive work, but whenever she had some days off she travelled as much as she could. Just a bit of context here. Traveling around the planet as an eastern European is much harder than as a westerner. That’s because you need to get more visas, you have longer and more expensive connections and also because the incomes are much lower in Eastern Europe. But all these didn’t stop Irina. When I met her she had two jobs. She told me that she even takes loans to support some of her journeys. She is now focusing on more challenging destinations, leaving the comfortable ones for later, when she will be older.  Yes, the pandemic ruined many of her plans, but she’s an optimist and looks forward with great hope. More exciting adventures are waiting. Irina, the world inspires you and you inspire us.

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Zsuzsa is an ethnic Hungarian from Transylvania, Romania. Since she was little, she was dressing traditionally every Sunday to attend the church where her father was a priest. In some Eastern European villages, houses have a special room where valuable traditional dresses, linens, and housewares are kept and exhibited. In the old times, all these were the trousseau of the brides.   The world has changed. Zsuzsa is an IT specialist and lives in a big and modern city. But she still comes often to her parental home, in this small village, and wears the beautiful outfits inherited from her ancestors. It’s not just a way to honor her family, but also her passion.

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Happy International Women’s Day. May we all be inspired by the amazing women of our world. One of them is Camila. I photographed her in 2019, in New York City.  Just a few years ago Camila was a housewife, taking care of her two little children. One day, without any prior notice, her husband decided to leave her for a younger woman.  So Camila found herself alone, in her 30s, with two children, no money and no perspectives. Was she broken-hearted? Of course, who wouldn’t be. But Camila decided to move on rapidly, when so few would have the strength to do so. She had a dream for a long time and that was the moment to fulfil it. She applied to the Police Academy and she was accepted. Camila was the oldest in her class, a woman in a field dominated by men. But all that made her even more ambitious. Now, at 37, after years of struggles, she is a respected Police Officer and she can afford to offer what’s best to her children. What a woman you are, dear Camila! In a field known lately for so many abuses, you bring light and hope.

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I took this photo a while ago, in Havana. Cami is more than a DJ. For many years she has been going from door to door, around Cuba, talking to people about the music they love and collecting old records from them. She has been mixing this music in surprising ways, animating the dance floors with tropical, tribal and latin rhythms and bringing the lost, forgotten music back to life. Cami is the kind of DJ who never drinks and never takes anything before and during performances. Her passion and joy are more intense than anything. Born from a Bolivian father and a Cuban mother, Camila is in love with diversity and music is her way of bringing together the beautiful cultures of the world.

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Micaela was selling these sweet, delicious fruits called loquats when I noticed her in the market of Chichicastenango, Guatemala, in 2019. If you look at a loquat tree, you’ll notice that these fruits grow in many small clusters, exactly like families. And Micaela’s story is a story about family. Micaela told me proudly that she was a seller in this market even before she was born. That’s because Micaela’s mother was already working here while pregnant with her.  Later Micaela had 10 younger siblings. She was the eldest, so besides helping her family at the market, she was also like a second mother for her brothers and sisters. Was this a burden for her? On the contrary. In many traditional parts of the world, people have a very hard life. But it’s the connection with their families and with the local traditions that gives them the strength, the bright spirit to see the beauty of life.

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Her country is well known for the desert, but she loves the water. Hold your breath! This is the fascinating story of a young woman who dives deep into the sea, deeper than any woman in her country.Salma is from Saudi Arabia and breaks records, but also stereotypes. I photographed her last year in Jeddah, her hometown. Her father is a marine biologist so Salma spent a lot of her childhood under the sea, scuba diving. But she didn’t like scuba so much. She felt constrained by the equipment and for her going under water was about freedom and serenity. So she started free diving. At the moment her record stands at 42 meters depth. Salma can stay about 4 minutes and 30 seconds under water, without breathing. Dear Salma, your spirit and your courage leave me breathless. I hope that more and more Saudi women will have the opportunity to follow their dreams.