Achilleas Zavallis
Frontline Freelance Register
Erbil, Iraq
I am a freelance photographer, currently based in Erbil - Iraq, with an interest in conflict & post-conflict issues.
Born in Cyprus in 1977 I started taking pictures as a hobby while working in client-service for an advertising agency.
Following the advice of a friend I quit my job and dedicated my self to photography for a year, putting together a portfolio that got me a job with a local newspaper in 2002.
While covering the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and its effects I decided to put my cameras down and volunteered with Medecins du Monde - Cyrpus for a year working in the organization as country coordinator for Sri Lanka.
In 2005 -2012 I was based in Athens - Greece covering breaking news and current affairs for various publications, both local and international, as well as working as a fixer/ researcher for various international news stations.
In 2012 I shifted my attention to the Middle East and based my self in Turkey while covering the war in Syria and its regional implications. During that period I covered the rebel advances into Aleppo and was one of the few western photographers that managed to enter the rebel controlled areas of Damascus, where I remained for a period of four months, reporting and photographing the daily life of the people and the military operations of various rebel groups. During my last trip in Syria I travelled to the north-east part of the country to report on the Christian minority that chose to remain in the area and their preparations to fend off the advance of radical jihadi groups.
Returning in Europe I started exploring the effects of a deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and Central Asia, working on a two-year project that focused on the biggest population movement Europe has witnessed since the end of WW II. Through this body of work I documented what came to be known as the "Balkan Migration Corridor".
- Breaking news
- Conflict
- Crisis
- Editorial
- Interview
- Military embed
- Portrait
- Reporting
- RISC training
- Video capture