Julia Cumes

photographer

NPPA

Brewster, MA, United States

Julia Cumes is a South African born photographer based in New England, MA. She specializes in photojournalism, environmental portraiture, travel and editorial photography as well as fine art photography. Julia was born in South Africa and moved to the United States as a 15-year-old. She first fell in love with photography as a teenager in South Africa when she began shooting black and white film and printing her own work. Since then she has completed a B.A. at Brandeis University, an M.F.A. in writing at Cornell University, a Masters in Photojournalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and has been working as a photographer ever since. Over the course of her career, Julia has photographed for a variety of newspapers, magazines, non-profit organizations, businesses, corporations and private clients. Her work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, National Geographic, the London Times and Washington Post. She has also worked on numerous long term projects and multi media pieces around the world. Her blog, Apertures and Anecdotes features a wide range of photographs and the stories behind them. During the past three winters, she spent time teaching photography to children in Rwanda as well as to tribal Samburu Women at the On'gan Women's Cooperative in Kenya. She also teaches a variety of photography workshops and classes locally on Cape Cod. She was awarded the 2015 "Art Within Reach" grant and solo show for her project "Invisible Selves: An Exploration of Female Identity and Experience" and has had a variety of other solo shows since then. "I strive to create photographs one can't turn away from--photos that are powerful and capture in a unique way this extraordinary world we live in," she says.

2015 - Art Withing Reach Gant and Solo Show, 2014 - Artist in Residence, 2013 - Artist in Redidence, 2012 - Magnum Foundation Emergency Fun Grant Nominee, 2009 - Northern Short Course-2nd place multimedia story, 2000 - Alexia Foundation Award of Excellence, 2000 - Research Grant in Photojournalism, 1995 - Writing Fellowship, 1994 - Sterling Scholar

Arts
Breaking news
Crisis
Editorial
Environment
Events
Interior
Interview
Medical
Portrait
Reporting
Wildlife

German
English

Lalita's Lot

Julia Cumes

Lalita Kamble, 50, is photographed in the doorway of her home with her niece near Darwad, India. Kamble went blind at a young age "I wished I could get married but I knew no man would marry because because of my blindness," she says. Through a dairy program, Kamble now takes care of a water buffalo and makes some income from the sale of its milk. Life for a visually impaired girls in India is far more difficult than that of their male counterparts. While a visually impaired girl can only marry a visually impaired boy, it is considered acceptable for visually impaired boys to marry sighted girls.

Ikiwa's Hijab

Julia Cumes

Ikiwa Abdulla puts on her hijab at her home in Fumba, Zanzibar after a long day collecting shellfish on the low tide flats. Abdulla is a participant in a shellfish program that hopes to teach women in Zanzibar how to cultivate shellfish so that they can provide protein for their families and earn some income in local markets. The hijab has become such a controversial garment in recent hearts and is often seen by Westerners as a tool utilized by men to control and silence women. In it's essence, it is a veil that covers the head and chest, which is particularly worn by some Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. While the west's perception is often negative, many women like Ikiwa embrace the Hijab as a symbol of dignity and grace.

Ikiwa's Hope

Julia Cumes

With a storm brewing on the horizon, Ikiwa Abdulla heads out at low tide to gather shellfish in Fumba, Zanzibar. Abdulla is a participant in a shellfish program that hopes to teach women in Zanzibar how to cultivate shellfish. While women already harvest shellfish, the program will help replenish the already overfished stocks of oysters and clams and promote economic opportunities for women in rural villages in Zanzibar.