travel & documentary photography Nov 2014

Alexander Savvas grew up in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2010, he decided to explore a different kind of lifestyle and moved to Cape Town.

He has recently moved to Berlin, where he continues to explore his own artistic skills and creativity.

Featured in this Spotlight are images from his recent travels through Vietnam.

It was not out of nostalgia that Christiane Burwitz and Stefan Pocha went to Cuba. They were just curious if there might be images nobody had taken before, if they could find their own relationship with this colourful island, its morbid charm and social problems.

Based on another island in the Baltic Sea, Christiane and Stefan took off with their two little sons to meet real people and take pictures that are carried by empathy as well as by enthusiasm for this post-socialist world.

Staying with Cuban families, they visited Havana, Pinar del Rio, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Santa Clara, Caibarien and Las Ovas. They met great guys and marvellous women and their dignity has inspired Christiane and Stefan – as had their zest for life!

Christopher Willan was born in Uganda but has lived most of his life in the UK. His first job after studying photography to post-graduate level was working for some of the world’s most iconic photographers at the legendary Magnum agency. He has over 20 years’ experience working on advertising, travel, TV and film, NGO, editorial and corporate assignments in over 50 countries - both alone and as part of creative teams.

Working with a photojournalistic eye, Christopher shoots black and white and colour photographs that are quiet, natural but nonetheless dynamic, capturing moments that resonate with warmth and authenticity, images that tell stories.

Christopher was the winner of the World Responsible Travel Award 2013.

Clients include Magnum Photos, BBC Worldwide, Channel 4, The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, The Travel Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Arts Council UK, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Condé Nast, The Times, The Guardian, Barclays, Pictet & CIE, Virgin, British Airways, Thomas Cook, Tui and First Choice.

Chris was recently chosen to show off a selection of his travel photographs at the Tate Modern. Contact him by email or call him on +34 667322164.

COMER (aka Matthew Comer) is an award-winning fashion and travel photographer.

Matthew's cheeky attitude gets him to travel the globe shooting hot models for even hotter brands. He is precociously talented, a perfectionist, a romantic, and a nostalgic. As a result of this, Comer was commissioned by Illinois Tourism Board in association with Edelma, Chevrolet and American Airlines to photograph his journey on the Route66. His series ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives’ depicts the love and loyalty still found within the Route 66 community.

Jasper James is a China-based photographer working in Shanghai and Beijing, shooting editorial, advertising and corporate work. His photography ranges from portrait, travel and interiors to concept driven projects.

Over the past decade he has lived and worked in New York, London and Beijing, covering assignments around the globe for some of the world's leading magazines, design and advertising clients.

Clients include Ferrari, British Airways, Wrigley's, Volvo, Bosch, China Mobile, Marks and Spencer, Bank of China, QQ.com, Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, Dockers, Wallpaper*, Traveler, Travel and Leisure, Departures, Men's Journal, Telegraph Magazine, Dwell, Vanity Fair and Monocle.

"I have always observed light as it fills interiors, or expands in the movement of light and shadow, sky and clouds. Exactly as I did in the many years of experience in architectural and figurative drawing, from high school forward. Without a light metre, empathy makes you see, not look.

The reportage started very early, with the first Leica. I was 12-13 years old then. Afterwards the mechanic Hasselblad came. I love the shape of the square. These images refer to places that are totally off the beaten tracks. Snapshots of landscapes and people: states of mind, always in motion."

Matt Dutile is a New York City-based lifestyle and travel photographer. He grew-up in a small New Hampshire farm town before venturing west seeking buried treasure, as most explorers do. He now enjoys the eccentricities of speeding cab rides and New York nights.

Matt has the absolute pleasure to spend his life doing what he loves; travelling the world, making people laugh and capturing the energy of the moment forever. He believes that great photography is not just about captivating images, but creating an enjoyable experience for both client and crew. He hopes you'll be one of them.

Barcelona-based Italian photographer and professional traveller Sergio Cattivelli has been across all five continents, visiting hundreds of countries to capture the essence of people, places and landscapes. He fluently speaks five languages, a great help in getting him closer to the people and understanding their cultures.

Thanks to a passion for lighting and his fine-tuned powers of observation, Sergio creates a perfect balance that gives his compositions an evocative and suggestive three-dimensionality.

His work flows from romantic-idealistic landscapes bathed in magical and ancestral light to urban architecture that splits and reflects itself over and over again.

Sergio is available to travel for assignments worldwide.

Email, visit his website, or call +34 93 412 2116 for further information.

Steve Ryan is a food, documentary, and portrait photographer from Kilkenny, Ireland.

He has shot reportage and profile features for The Financial Times, Selfridges, Lidl, Olive Magazine and Vice Magazine. Steve recently co-founded Root&Bone Magazine based in East London.

Steve has a strong technical approach but always ensures that his photographs are quirky and visually exciting. Steve has a portfolio full of unconventional ideas which take his work to another level. His images often hold strong cultural references from Ireland to Germany. Steve’s mission seems to be to share the world’s most unusual secrets to inspire and delight the viewer.

Stuart Hall’s portfolio covers both bold and beautiful advertising campaigns. He specializes in capturing people, lifestyle, and vast, abstract landscapes. Stuart’s images are highly evocative; he has a strong ability to bring drama into a single frame.

Having travelled the world as a photographer, Stuart has grabbed the opportunity to hone his artistic vision. It is a delight to share his experience of the world in these images.