Butterflies and Caterpillars

January 31, 2022

The body of work takes a closely intimate look at the contemporary drag scene in the United States. It’s a photographic examination that looks at the notions of identity and how we construct the self in a space different from society’s pre-established gender-specific roles and expectations.

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The Sunshiners. Code Red in Green China

Plastic pollution may seem to be something that doesn’t have a monumental impact on our daily lives right now, but issues like climate change and pollution do not take a gradual curve. They do not have to slowly deteriorate, kindly giving us enough time to notice that something is

Daniel Hinks

Charcoal of Cyprus

Tradition and family-run work of charcoal miners in Cyprus. We are very likely looking at the craft that is to become a thing of the past very soon.

Stefanos Kouratzis

On the first day of the Russian invasion

We are contacting photographers and authors who work in Ukraine to help spread their stories. Here's the first one. Please share and join us in supporting Ukrainians — the info is below. On the first day of the invasion, nobody was ready for HOW nightmarish it would be, nobody believed that this will end up with rocket strikes targeting civilian neighborhoods of Kiyv and other cities. So, it is where we are now. Evgeny Maloletka [https://www.evgenymaloletka.com/], a Ukrainian freelance photojo

Evgeniy Maloletka

Fire Corps

The concept (and practice) of voluntary work brings out the best of people. Volunteers not only don’t get paid, they also give their time, passion and effort to a cause that they believe is worth fighting for. Johan Brooks presents us with the story of the Fire Corps — groups

Johan Brooks

Dirt Road

The story covers the famous Camino de Santiago de Compostela network of pilgrims’ ways that lead to the shrine of St. James the Great in Northern Spain. It’s a personal account of the photographer’s journey which lasted over 1000km throughout the spiritual passage.

Isaac Kirby

Mark

I worked with Mark for two years documenting his experience of homelessness, heroin addiction and recovery in south London

James Hopkirk

The Steel Plant Mothers

Wilfully ignoring the pleas of the local and national population, the Ilva plant, Europe’s largest steel plant, is portrayed as prioritising profit over people's lives.

Valeria Mongelli

Balaganza

A spotlight on the drag queens in the only gay bar in Lithuania. Forcedly hidden from the public eye in the post-Soviet country, these performances seem too deliberately shocking for the part of the society.

Milda Vysniauskaite

100 days before conscription

Young Cypriots at months before unavoidable military service. Do they come to celebrate the upcoming life milestone or to protest against forced consription?

Max J

Hors-Jeu (Offside)

When we think of homosexuality, the world had made huge leaps in recent years. Gay marriage is now legal in the US and the UK, protections from discrimination exist in law, gay people are allowed to adopt children — events that we have come to accept as normal, as they should

Hannah Cauhépé

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mnngful Originals

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Child labor behind Fair-Trade coffee production

In spite of 30 years of goodwill and promises for a Fair-Trade coffee, there have never been so many kids working in the fields. But worst, child labor in coffee farms is the overlooked side of a system of exploitation that longs toward slavery. Only after five years of working on this theme I understand my findings could be controversial.

mnngful Members

Amy Romer

Documentary photographer, journalist telling compelling stories that elevate issues around human rights, social justice and the environment – particularly climate change. That’s why I’m passionate about helping social purpose organizations tell powerful stories through photography and video.

Annie Y Saldana

San Juan

Fine Art photographer, educator, curator. Founder at PRISMA Art Projects.

Isaac Kirby

London

London based-photographer and copywriter originally from the Australian town of Snake Valley.

Jim Mortram

Social Documentary Photographer and the creator of these photo stories: Small Town Inertia.

Nieves Mingueza

Artist, based in London. Her conceptually driven and intimate practice often interweaves images with research, documentary photography, archival material, collage, text, film, and installation. Bridging the space between the personal and political, she explores and activates the archives to address social and gender issues. In 2019 her first monograph book was published by IIKKI books editorial. Her work has been exhibited widely including installations at Royal Academy of Arts, Saatchi Gallery, Copeland Gallery, Tate Britain (UK), Fondazione Giorgio Cini (IT) and PhotoEspana (SP), among others. Mingueza’s work has been reviewed by multiple magazines as Der greif, Lenscratch, Blind, L’oeil de la Photographie, Metal, All About Photo, Analog, Yogurt, fisheye, Witty and Lensculture, among others.

Benedict Stenning

Documentary photographer whose work is primarily concerned with investigating peoples experiences with their proximal surroundings. Benedict is interested in the relationships we as human beings form with our environs and each other while seeking to subvert perspectives; identifying and capturing liminal spaces to form narratives and provoke an emotional response. Benedict was brought up with the arts from a young age and has an innate appreciation for the powers of story telling. His grandfather, Moran Caplat CBE, was General Manager at Glyndebourne opera house in the Sussex countryside for over 30 years and his father was a stage manager at the BBC and later an associate producer in film.

Philip Butler

Worcestershire

Documentary photographer focusing primarily on capturing the remains of Great Britain’s inter-war architecture. Philip has published two books focusing on this work; ‘Odeon Relics’ (2019 on ADM) and London Tube Stations 1924-1961 (2023 on FUEL).

Lewis Bush

Photographer, educator and curator working across media and platforms to visualise the activities of powerful organisations, practices, and technologies. Since 2012 his practice has explored issues ranging from the aggressive redevelopment of London, to the systemic inequalities of the art world. Recent works include Shadows of the State, which examines the democratic deficit of intelligence gathering, and Wv.B which examines the dark histories of space exploration. He is currently working on a long-term project about computer vision which runs in parallel with an ESRC funded PhD at the London School of Economics. He is also course leader of the MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (online) course at London College of Communication.

Stewart Weir

"I began my journey into the world of photography aged 15 when I received a Pentax ME Super camera from my father for Christmas. I was hooked but drifted away from photography after leaving school. I returned to photography in 1993 after being uninspired by having a ‘normal’ job. I'm self taught and have an attitude of ‘just do it’ regardless of people saying you can't. Over my career I've shot most genres of photography from sport to documentary, portraits, weddings, travel, news, magazine and conflict. I've produced several long term stories ranging from 2 to 10 years."

nick linnett

Leicester

Photographer based in Leicester UK

Zak Waters

London

Photographer, Founder of CAMERA & Course Leader in FE Photography & Multimedia.

Elena Kalyuzhnaya

St. Petersburg

Documentary photographer based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Student of Academy of documentary photography “Fotografika” in Saint-Petersburg. Originally from a small town in the south of Russia, Elena appreciates the authenticity of the rural area and its traditions. The human place in society, PTSD emotions, and life in post-war and problematic regions are the main topics of her work. Elena’s work was published in Dodho Magazine, Takie Dela, Republic, and Regnum publishing. Elena is a silver prizer of Budapest international Contest 2020 in the student category. Also, her work was a part of the Ariano Film festival.

Alan Gignoux

London

Documentary photographer born in the United States and now based in London. Gignoux has been working as a professional documentary photographer with photographic agencies and independently since 2000. He also works as a cameraman on documentary film projects. Recent film work includes “We made Every Living Thing from Water” and “A Letter from Venezuela.” His award-winning work has been exhibited all over the world.

Neal Haddaway

London

I am a documentary photographer/photojournalist and researcher working on topics related to environmental and social justice. My work focuses on human's connections with nature, and society's efforts to protect our planet.

Callum O'Keefe

Bristol

Documentary photographer focused on the relation between people and place. Building the base of my portfolio on live music, he has recently graduated with a First Class Honours in Photography from The University West of England.

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Stories worth seeing

mnngful is a platform supporting independent documentary photography & photojournalism.
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Thanks to passionate storytellers, we learn about matters that otherwise stay neglected. Stories that matter, but have not been covered enough are captured and told by passion-driven photographers and journalists.

They create because they care about the world they live in and tell us about matters beyond our eyesight.Their work is often driven by pure enthusiasm, fuelled by own beliefs and dreams for a better world. That's why such independent work is worth special attention.

mnngful is here to support the meaningful stories they tell.

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