Carolyn Drake

Photographer
Carolyn Drake

Photographer Carolyn Drake lived in Istanbul between 2007 and 2012, while pursuing documentary projects in Central Asia. Her work is concerned with the communities, ecologies and economies in a region at a folding point of world power; and with the potential and limits of photography in conveying truth there.

Presenting images from the Muslim Uyghur regions of western China and the post-Soviet countries between Afghanistan, Iran and Russia, Drake will discuss how two long-term projects evolved from a personal journey through the region in 2007. She’ll consider the ways National Geographic assignments helped propel her work, as well as the points where her work diverges from the National Geographic approach.

Drake is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship, the Lange-Taylor Prize and a World Press Photo award. She works on assignment for National Geographic, The New Yorker and TIME. Her first book, Two Rivers, was published in 2013.

As of October 26, 2013

On The Web

carolyndrake.com/
/carolyn.drake.75
@drakeycake
@drakeycake

Share This

Featured Photographs

  • Low-water levels in a reservoir above Nurek Dam in Tajikistan. The water that nourishes the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia comes from melting glaciers and snow in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. During Soviet times, decisions about how to share resources were made by the central government in Moscow. Since becoming independent in 1991, the nations now argue about how the area’s dams should be used. Countries downstream want water to be stored in reservoirs during the winter and released for irrigation in the summer. Upstream countries want to use the water in winter to generate electricity.
    Photo by: Carolyn Drake
  • School children pick cotton in Zhetisay, Kazakhstan. The area was sparsely populated before the Soviet government began building towns in order to launch its massive cotton industry, which now spans all the countries in Central Asia. Water funneled from the Syr Darya river to irrigate the fields is one of the reasons for the Aral Sea’s depletion.
    Photo by: Carolyn Drake
  • In the Tajik village of Akjar, the irrigation canal is the only source of water. Plumbing shut down after the Soviet Union collapsed, so the village relies on dirty water for survival.
    Photo by: Carolyn Drake

You May Also Like

 
  • Exhibit
    The Power of Photography: National Geographic 125 Years

    The Power of Photography: National Geographic 125 Years

    Organized in collaboration with National Geographic magazine, this exhibit celebrates the iconic publication’s 125-year anniversary.

  • Exhibit
    2010 Pictures of the Year International

    2010 Pictures of the Year International

    POYi2010 features very best documentary photography of 2009 from winning photojournalists and visual editors in Pictures of the Year International (POYi).

  • Photographer
    Lynsey Addario

    Lynsey Addario

    An American photojournalist based in London, Lynsey Addario photographs for The New York Times, National Geographic and Time Magazine.

  • Photographer
    Abelardo Morell

    Abelardo Morell

    Abelardo Morell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948 and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1962.

  • Photographer
    David Guttenfelder

    David Guttenfelder

    Photojournalist David Guttenfelder is a graduate from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, African Studies and Journalism.

  • Photographer
    Marcus Bleasdale

    Marcus Bleasdale

    Marcus Bleasdale is a British photojournalist who uses his work to influence policy makers around the world.

  • Photographer
    Martin Schoeller

    Martin Schoeller

    Martin Schoeller’s detailed portraits of everyday people, iconic personalities and political figures have made him a distinctive presence in contemporary photographic portraiture.

  • Photographer
    Joel Sartore

    Joel Sartore

    Joel Sartore is a photographer, speaker, author, teacher, conservationist, National Geographic Fellow and a regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine.

  • Photographer
    Karen Kasmauski

    Karen Kasmauski

    Karen Kasmauski has built her career on the close observation of people.

  • Photographer
    Dana Gluckstein

    Dana Gluckstein

    During her 25-year career, Dana Gluckstein has photographed iconic figures from Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev to Muhammad Ali and Tony Curtis, and produced award-winning advertising campaigns for clients such as Apple and Toyota.

  • Photographer
    Brian Skerry

    Brian Skerry

    Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments.

  • Photographer
    Carlos Villalon

    Carlos Villalon

    Since 2006, Carlos Villalon has been photographing in the Darién Gap, the frontier between Colombia and Panama, where the Pan American highway disappears and gives way to a network of rivers, forests and swamps.

  • Photographer
    Catherine Karnow

    Catherine Karnow

    National Georgraphic photographer Catherine Karnow specializes in culture and people.

  • Photographer
    Christian Ziegler

    Christian Ziegler

    Christian Ziegler is an internationally known photojournalist specializing in natural history and science-related topics. He is a regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine, and has been widely published in leading publications.

  • Photographer
    Fritz Hoffmann

    Fritz Hoffmann

    Fritz Hoffmann is an American photographer known for documentary-style narratives that portray society, culture, the environment and global economics.