VII Photo Agency
VII (pronounced "seven") is a photo agency representing 30+ photojournalists, known for its focus on conflict photography. This collective employs a three tier system: members, non-members and mentorees, titles which reflect the level of service and commitment provided by the company to the photographers.
VII derives its name from the number of founding photojournalists who, in September 2001, formed this collectively owned agency. The original seven founding members, Alexandra Boulat (Boulat died on October 5, 2007), Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey (Nachtwey left in 2011)[1] and John Stanmeyer, were joined by Christopher Anderson in 2002 (Anderson left in 2005), Lauren Greenfield in 2002 (Greenfield left in 2009), Joachim Ladefoged in 2004, Eugene Richards in 2006 (Richards subsequently left in 2008), Marcus Bleasdale and Franco Pagetti in 2007, Stephanie Sinclair moved up from the VII Network in 2009, and Ed Kashi joined directly as a full member in 2010.
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[edit] History
This agency was conceived by Gary Knight and John Stanmeyer in Stanmeyer's house in Hong Kong in 1999, shortly after they both left the photo agency SABA Press Photos which had been sold by its proprietor Marcel Saba to Corbis. Knight and Stanmeyer worked with James Waite and Jay Connors to build the framework of the agency.
VII was officially launched at the Visa Pour l'Image Photo Festival in Perpignan, France on September 7, 2001 by Alexandra Boulat, Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey, and John Stanmeyer.
Four days after the agency was launched, James Nachtwey photographed the collapse of the World Trade Center building in New York. He was soon joined in New York by fellow members, Morris, Haviv and Kratochvil. At the same time, Boulat, Knight and Stanmeyer flew to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thus began the agency's association with covering conflict-related photographic stories.
This group of photographers have documented the following historical events: US elections, Genocide, 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. One of the goals of the founders is the use of innovative methods to distribute and communicate its content, independent of traditional media platforms. In addition to servicing traditional editorial clients, the agency has entered into financial arrangements with NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations), such as Human Rights Watch, and Médecins Sans Frontières, and corporate sponsors, such as Canon USA and Apple.
From its inception until late 2004, the agency was constituted as a British company, VII Photo Agency Limited. The first Managing Editor[2] of the company was Ashley Woods formerly of LookAt Photo Agency based in Zurich who worked from 2001 through until 2003[3]. Woods was replaced by former Magnum employee Jean Bernard Maurel from 2003 to 2005. In early 2005, this British entity was closed down as an operating concern and a new limited partnership was established in the USA, VII Photo Agency LLC[4]. Frank Evers was hired as the Managing Director and served from March 2005 to May 2008. Stephen Mayes was hired in June 2008[5]. In early 2008, the VII Network was launched, expanding the ideals and journalistic mission of VII Photo to include important photographic work by selected non-members, and in late 2008 the agency launched a program to mentor emerging photographers called the VII Mentor Program.
The agency has sales offices in New York and Paris, and a gallery/bookstore in DUMBO, Brooklyn.[6]
[edit] Member list
| Name | Nationality | Status | Active years | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandra Boulat |  FRA |
Deceased (Founding Member) | 2001–2007[7] | |
| Ron Haviv |  USA |
Active (Founding Member) | 2001– | |
| Gary Knight |  UK |
Active (Founding Member) | 2001– | |
| Antonin Kratochvil |  CSK → USA |
Active (Founding Member) | 2001– | |
| Christopher Morris | USA |
Active (Founding Member) | 2001– | |
| John Stanmeyer | USA |
Active (Founding Member) | 2001– | |
| Marcus Bleasdale | UK |
Active (Full Member) | 2008– | |
| Joachim Ladefoged |  DEN |
Active (Full Member) | 2004– | |
| Franco Pagetti |  ITA |
Active (Full Member) | 2008– | |
| Stephanie Sinclair | USA |
Active (Full Member) | 2009– | |
| Ed Kashi | USA |
Active (Full Member) | 2010– | |
| Lynsey Addario | USA |
Active (VII Network) | 2009– | |
| Eric Bouvet | FRA |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Jessica Dimmock | USA |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Tivadar Domaniczky |  HUN |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Adam Ferguson |  AUS |
Active (VII Network) | 2009– | |
| Ziyah Gafic |  YUG →  BIH |
Active (VII Network) | 2009– | |
| Ashley Gilbertson | AUS |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Jocelyn Bain Hogg | UK |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Benedicte Kurzen | FRA |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Stefano De Luigi | ITA |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Seamus Murphy | UK |
Active (VII Network) | 2009– | |
| Maciek Nabrdalik |  POL |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Donald Weber |  CAN |
Active (VII Network) | 2008– | |
| Agnes Dherbeys | FRA |
Active (VII Mentor Program) | 2008– | |
| Don McNeill Healy |  IRL |
Active (VII Mentor Program) | 2008– | |
| Melvin Sevilla | USA |
Active (VII Mentor Program) | 2008– | |
| Anastasia Taylor-Lind | UK |
Active (VII Mentor Program) | 2008– | |
| Giulio Di Sturco | ITA |
Active (VII Mentor Program) | 2008– | |
| James Nachtwey | USA |
Withdrawn | 2001–2011 | Former (Founding) VII member. Now with James Nachtwey Studio |
| Christopher Anderson | CAN |
Withdrawn | 2002–2005 | Former VII member. Now with Magnum Photos |
| Lauren Greenfield | USA |
Withdrawn | 2002–2009 | Former VII member Now with Institute (IAM) |
| Eugene Richards | USA |
Withdrawn | 2006–2008 | Former VII member. Now with Getty Images Reportage |
| Benjamin Lowy | USA |
Withdrawn | 2008– | Formerly with VII Network. Now with Getty Images Reportage |
| Balazs Gardi | HUN |
Withdrawn | 2008– | Formerly with VII Network. |
[edit] Books
http://www.viiphoto.com/books.html
[edit] References
- ^ Nachtwey leaves VII, August 2011, http://pdnpulse.com/2011/08/nachtwey-has-left-vii-photo-agency-prepares-for-expansion.html
- ^ "Peter Howe interviews Managing Editor and VII Members". http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0111/seven_intro.htm.
- ^ "Ashley Woods CV". http://fr.linkedin.com/in/ashleywoodsdirect.
- ^ "NY State corporate records". http://appext9.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.ENTITY_INFORMATION?p_nameid=3085144&p_corpid=3073187&p_entity_name=VII%20Photo%20Agency%20LLC&p_name_type=A&p_search_type=BEGINS&p_srch_results_page=0.
- ^ "VII Press Release 5/28/08". http://www.viiphoto.com/newsletter/VIIPhotoPressRelease.pdf.
- ^ "Company contact details". http://viiphoto.com/contact.html.
- ^ "[1]", VII Photo Agency. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Nachtwey leaves VII, August 2011, http://pdnpulse.com/2011/08/nachtwey-has-left-vii-photo-agency-prepares-for-expansion.html
- ^ "Peter Howe interviews Managing Editor and VII Members". http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0111/seven_intro.htm.
- ^ "Ashley Woods CV". http://fr.linkedin.com/in/ashleywoodsdirect.
- ^ "NY State corporate records". http://appext9.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.ENTITY_INFORMATION?p_nameid=3085144&p_corpid=3073187&p_entity_name=VII%20Photo%20Agency%20LLC&p_name_type=A&p_search_type=BEGINS&p_srch_results_page=0.
- ^ "VII Press Release 5/28/08". http://www.viiphoto.com/newsletter/VIIPhotoPressRelease.pdf.
- ^ "Company contact details". http://viiphoto.com/contact.html.
- ^ "[1]", VII Photo Agency. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
