Recognized internationally as a photojournalist and documentary photographer, Salgado was born in Aimorés, Brazil and initially pursued a career in economics prior to abandoning this career in 1973 for one in journalistic and documentary photography. Salgado worked in agencies, notably joining Magnum Photos in 1979. He left Magnum in 1997 to open a studio with his wife. Salgado is best known for his images of workers in under developed nations, such as his series of miner from the Serra Peleda mine in Brazil. He has also developed projects based on his concern for the environment; his current project, Genesis, examines people and communities that have not been significantly impacted by modern life. He has been recognized both for his work by the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States, and also for his social activism, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Robert Polidori began his career as an avant-garde filmmaker, but moved to still photography after having completed his M.A. from the State University of New York. There is an emphasis on architectural studies in his works and these highly detailed and evocative images are often shot from an aerial perspective, reminiscent of the Renaissance use of perspective. He is a regular staff photographer with the New Yorker magazine and his work has also appeared in other publications, such as Vanity Fair. Polidori has received international awards for his photography. A recent series of images taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina generated controversy first for an image depicting a victim in their bed, and also when images from the series appeared in an online advertising campaign in Brazil.

Sally Mann is an American photographer best known for her portraits of her children and for landscapes that reference death and decay. Born in Lexington, Virginia Mann began taking photographs using her father’s 5×7 camera when she was attending the Putney School in 1969. In her early career she took photographs for Washington and Lee University, which led to a first solo exhibition 1977 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. A second series, At Twelve: Portraits of Young Women attracted controversy and interest, but it was her third series Immediate Family, which has garnered the most critical attention for this artist. This series is comprised of 65 black and white images of her children, all under the age of 10, and touch of themes of typical childhood activity, as well as broader and darker themes such as insecurity and death. Mann has been criticized both in the US and abroad for a perceived pornographic element of her work, as it includes nude images of the young children. Mann argued that the images were seen through the eyes of a mother, a response that critics agreed with. In her later career Mann has continued to use her original 8×10 camera, as well as a wet plate collodion 8×10 glass negatives technique. Subjects of her later series have included landscape, decomposition and her husband’s muscular dystrophy. 

Edward Burtynsky was born in St. Catharine’s, Ontario and studied at Ryerson University in Toronto and Niagara College in Welland. Early links to his industrial photography can be linked to the General Motors plant in his hometown; he is best known for his large-scale vivid images of industry and nature. His work examines the raw elements of industrial processes in the modern landscape and the resulting images present unexpected moments of beauty. His series Manufactured Landscapes also resulted in a documentary film, and his series have toured internationally and been published in a series of books. A recent series of works included aerial photographs of the oil spill from the Deep Horizon rig. 

Born in Stuggart , Germany, Florian Maier-Aichen studied at the University of California Los Angeles, University of Essen, Germany and Hoegskolan for Fotografi och Film Gothenborg, Sweden. He is known for using both traditional photographic techinique as well as computer imaging in his landscape works. His use of computer imaging to manipulate the landscape, which is often shot from an aerial perspective creates tension in the work and forces the viewer to question the concept of the sublime and beautiful landscape. In 2006, he participated in the Whitney Biennial and his work has been included in many public and private collections. 

Born in 1951 in Hartford, Connecticut, DiCorcia studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and completed an M.A. in Photography from Yale University, where he currently teaches. DiCorcia is well known for both his snapshots and highly staged portraits, which attempt to subvert the banality of the image and inspire the viewer to consider the emotions captured in the image. His staged images reference documentary photography, but also include elements of theatricality and advertising. In his early staged images, he would photograph family and friends so as to make the viewer think the images were spontaneous. The subjects of his later works were often random people, but elements of the setting, such as hidden lights, would be carefully planned and would often lead to an emphasis on a particular expression or unintentional action taking place in the image. Dicorcia’s work has been recognized by several awards and fellowships.

A widely exhibited photographer, Olaf studied journalism before pursuing a career in photography, first in black and white images and then using colour and computer manipulation. His other series are widely varied in subject and include Mature, images of elderly woman in supermodel poses, Royal Blood, white-on-white portraits to rulers who met violent ends, and Separation, a series depicting a cold and disconnected family in a sterile setting. His work is often provocative and his series that frank nude portraiture and staged violence have garnered controversy, but led to highly successful commercial opportunities. He is best known commercially for his work in advertising campaigns for companies such as, Nokia, Levi’s, Lavazza and Microsoft. Olaf has also worked in film, with works being included in and awarded prizes at international film festivals.