Each year, Hasselblad, the world-renowned camera brand celebrates incredible female photographers withHasselblad Heroineswhich casts a spotlight on talented creators from around the world.
The company has been doing this for the last few years shining a light on skilled female photographers as they make their mark on the world.
This year is no different. So we’re showing off some of our favourites from now and previous entries for your enjoyment. Be sure to check out theofficial siteandthe Instagram hashtagto enjoy even more.
Stephanie Blomkamp - photographer, editor and curator
Stephanie Blomkampis a surreal photographer, editor and curator who often takes time to mentor others. Photography is a life-long passion for her and she’s helping inspire others too.
Blomkamp also createdOath magazinewhich helps shine a light on photographers all over Africa. And she believes it’s up to people like her to give women opportunities to get their work seen.
Lisa Devlin - wedding photographer
Lisa Devlinis a multi-talented photographer who previously worked as a music and celebrity photographer and now plies a trade as a wedding photographer.
Unlike a lot of other wedding photographers though, Devlin’s work tells a story with a more natural and authentic style.
This Hasselblad Heroine runsan online schoolto help share her knowledge with other aspiring wedding photographers. She also hopes that the Hasselblad Heroine program will help enhance the visibility of women in the industry and encourage more women in future.
Lola Akinmade Akerstrom - travel photographer
Lola Akinmade Åkerströmis both a travel photographer and award-winning storyteller who hails from Nigeria but now lives in Sweden.
As a Hasselblad Heroine, her mission is to make Black women more visible in the travel photography world:
“When it comes to professional travel photography, I am excited about and encouraged by the ever-growing wave of new women photographers, who are bringing fresh and dynamic eyes to their respective fields. My specific hope is to see more inclusion when it comes to the field of travel photography in particular, by supporting, spotlighting and uplifting more women of colour within the space.”
Gigi Chung - architecture and urban photographer
Gigi Chungis an architecture and urban photographer who uses urban lines to create aesthetically pleasing photos.
Her photography has taken her around the globe and her work has appeared in both galleries and professional photography competitions.
As one of Hasselblad’s Heroines she’s a firm believer in equality in the photography industry:
“It’s important to advance awareness in public through education in women’s role in photography. Creating outlets and platforms to showcase women photographers’ works and increasing scholarships and grants to help women photographers to materialize new projects is also needed.”
Anja Niemi - the fine artist
Anja Niemiis a fine art photographer who uses staged images to tell a visual story.
This highlighted image was chosen as part of the Hasselblad Heroines spotlight for the artist. It comes from a series of photos taken in 2018 called"She could have been a cowboy".
This selection of images gives a curious view of a fictional world where a female cowboy appears as the focus of the art yet never looks at the camera. Remaining aloof and mysterious in a truly curious way.
Isabella Tabacchi - the landscape photographer
Isabella Tabacchiis a landscape photographer who hails from Northern Italy. Her award-winning images have gained high praise and it’s easy to see why.
Tabacchi says she “expresses her emotions through capturing the magic of the scenery she explores.”
The result is a wonderful collection ofvisually astounding imageswhere the artist has used leading lines, natural frames and foreground elements to craft incredible photographic views of our world.
Katerina Belkinais a Russian fine artist who crafts amazing works with both photography and digital painting.
She was previously nominated for the Kandinsky Prize and won theHasselblad Masters Prizetoo.
Her workis a fascinating mix of self-portraits with various techniques employed to explore human emotion and tell a story through the medium of photography.
Alissa Ashley - portrait photographer
Alissa Ashleyis a Los Angeles-based self-taught portrait photographer.
Shetells an interesting storyabout her journey into photography:
“My interest in the arts began at a very young age beginning with drawing and gradually shifting to makeup after watching my mom apply hers every morning because I was so fascinated by the transformative element. Unbeknownst to me, that interest in makeup would lead me into a successful career on Youtube as a beauty influencer which I’ve been for the last 5 years. I am now at a stage in my career where I feel comfortable shifting my focus to another medium that I’ve always been in love with which is photography. I specialize in portrait photography, and also have a passion for macro & product photography.”
That interest in makeup has seemingly transferred nicely into photography where the composition of the shot helps to show off the beauty of the subject.
Flóra Borsi - the fine art photographer
Flóra Borsiis a Hungarian fine art photographer who uses clever photographic manipulation to create unusual andsurreal portrait images.
Hasselblad Heroines explores more about that unusual touch:
“…Flora uses her own life, memories, and emotions to execute stunningly peculiar images featuring her as the main subject. Flóra plays with the relationship between body and self, reflects on the fragility of the human psyche and raises questions of female representation in art in her captivating creations.”
Jillian Edelstein - portrait and documentary photographer
Jillian Edelsteinis a South African photographer living in London who has well over 100 of her images in theNational Portrait Gallery collection.
She started her photography career as a press photographer in Johannesburg, South Africa before later moving into portrait photography.
Her images have appeared in multiple international exhibits including the The Royal Academy, OXO Gallery in London, Sothebys, Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in France and more.
Her work has also been featured in multiple publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The FT Weekend Magazine, Vanity Fair and many more besides.
