Samantha Appleton has worked on stories in Iraq, malaria in Africa and fishing communities of Maine. Most of her projects are self-motivated and concentrate on the social and political consequences of conflict and neglect.
She began her journalism career as a writer and became a fulltime photographer after assisting James Nachtwey in 1999-2000. Since then she has been named one of the "30 Under 30" photographers featured in PDN, received the Kodak Professional Award, attended the 2005 World Press Master Class, and won first place from Pictures of the Year for her September 11th feature. Her primary clients are TIME magazine and the New Yorker magazine.
Out of her galleries on her website, I chose the comparatively tame gallery of the Nepali Circus Girls. I had a personal experience with that subject matter when photographing in Chhattisgarh, India. In Raipur, I visited an itinerant circus and persuaded the manager to let me photograph the performers. I spent a few moments photographing Nepali female acrobats but couldn't speak with them unless the circus manager was present. They were shy, downcast and unwilling to say anything...nor even to accept a small tip...within sight of the manager. There was a lot of tension while I was photographing, and my fixer confided to me that the manager had threatned the girls not to speak with me. I may post a photograph or two of these women in a few days.
Samantha Appleton's website .
