James Wardell
Encyclopedia
James Wardell is an English
photojournalist, war photographer
and glamour photographer.
, Durham University
and after graduating in Geography
(BSc
Hons) moved from his home town of Sutton Coldfield
to start work as an advertising executive in 2001 at the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
London
. In 2005, he moved to Barcelona
, Spain
and began working as a freelance photographer. In 2008, Wardell covered his first overseas assignment in Afghanistan
working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
. He has documented a variety of conflicts and social issues, spending time in Afghanistan
, The Bahamas
, India
, Italy
, Northern Africa, Iberian Peninsula
, United States of America shooting pictures of war, social unrest, poverty, and images of socio-political issues (pollution
, crime and punishment
) in Western Europe
and Central Asia
. He is single and currently lives in Barcelona
.
Wardell works for international media agencies, for example Sunday Express where he covered behind the scenes at Cirque du Soleil
.
Whilst on assignment with the United Nations Department on Drugs & Crime he was present during the carbomb attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul
. He also compiled a photo essay on the conditions of orphans living in Kabul´s children´s orphanage that was used to increase charity donations to the institute.
Reflections on photography:
Press Photos
Wardell covered E-Health Week 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. Many international magazines, newspapers (such as El Mundo
) & online media agencies publish his photography. A celebrity photographer, Wardell photographed Whitney Houston performing at a private event at Hotel du Cap Ferrat, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France Daily Mail.
He is internationally represented by Rex Features
, who have archive material of his work ranging from United Nations
activities in Afghanistan
, ITUC work in Haiti
after the 2010 earthquake to street paparazzo coverage of Karl Lagerfeld
shooting a Chanel
clothing campaign in Lower Eastside, Manhattan, New York, USA Karl Lagerfeld shooting for Chanel. During March 2011 he reported back from the second city of Libya, Benghazi for the Birmingham Mail of the second city of England, Birmingham.
Wardell is a member of Entrepreneurs Network Barcelona and has been interviewed by the Catalan
newspaper Avui
regarding his hospitable nature. He worked for Saatchi & Saatchi
, Ogilvy & Mather
and Publicis
between 2001 until 2004 and is a member of Frontline Club
and Entrepreneurs Network Barcelona 2. In 2005, he was one of the founding members of the Gracia Arts Project
.
Since Summer 2008, Wardell has worked alongside Otto Weisser, a former Penthouse
and Playboy
erotic photographer onboard the Fashion TV
Black Diamond Mega Yacht. In Summer 2009, James became an official Fashion TV photographer in Barcelona, Spain - responsible to shoot models in bikinis on the beaches of the Costa Brava and in VIP Fashion TV
parties at luxury beach club Carpe Diem Lounge Club. where he continues to work as their official photographer. Wardell has numerous celebrity clients, including the world champion poker player Scotty Nguyen
in Las Vegas, who he has photographed many times Scotty Nguyen Expekt.com Poker Ambassador. He is also the official photographer of Miss Ethiopia 2009 - 2010 Miss Genet Denboba Ogeto who will be representing Ethiopia in the Miss Earth competition in Nhang Trang, Vietnam in November 2010.
In January 2010, James was contracted by International Trade Union Confederation
& flew out to Haiti
to cover the devastation of Port-au-Prince
and the aid donated by the ITUC. His work was then made available to the 75 million members of the world's largest trade confederation. Wardell is a member of the international Earthship
community.
In March 2011, James flew to cover the revolution & consequent civil war in Libya. He based himself in the eastern city of Benghazi. On March 10 he was working on the front line between Ras Lanuf & Ben Jawad alongside Headlines Today television reporters Gaurav Chitranjan Sawant & Shiv Aroor when their position came under direct attack by a Grad rocket strike as reported in the Live Fist Blog of Shiv Aroor. The rockets missed & they were able to retreat to a safer position unharmed.
James returned to cover the Libyan Civil War at the end of September 2011 flying into Mitiga Airport with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service
. He travelled with Dutch film maker Peter Tetteroo
, took photographs & made video to document the situation at the Abu Salim prison
& Bab al-Aziziya, Muammar Gaddafi's
compound in Tripoli
, a loyalist prison camp in Misrata & the frontline in Sirte
. Mr Tettero later used some of James´s work & it was aired on Dutch Television.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
photojournalist, war photographer
War photography
War photography captures photographs of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.Although photographs can provide a more direct representation than paintings or drawings, they are sometimes manipulated, creating an image that is not objectively journalistic.-History:Photography, presented to the...
and glamour photographer.
Photography
James Wardell attended University CollegeUniversity College, Durham
University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...
, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and after graduating in Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
(BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
Hons) moved from his home town of Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
to start work as an advertising executive in 2001 at the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 2005, he moved to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and began working as a freelance photographer. In 2008, Wardell covered his first overseas assignment in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
. He has documented a variety of conflicts and social issues, spending time in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Northern Africa, Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, United States of America shooting pictures of war, social unrest, poverty, and images of socio-political issues (pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, crime and punishment
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
) in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. He is single and currently lives in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
.
Wardell works for international media agencies, for example Sunday Express where he covered behind the scenes at Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
.
Whilst on assignment with the United Nations Department on Drugs & Crime he was present during the carbomb attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. He also compiled a photo essay on the conditions of orphans living in Kabul´s children´s orphanage that was used to increase charity donations to the institute.
Reflections on photography:
"A photograph is possibly the purest statement of essences," Wardell says. "It's important not to be rigid, to allow a process of discovery to take place." According to James Wardell, a good photo is a photo we can remember months later. The way it is constructed, presented makes it memorable. "It has to do with art and sharing something for a long time". "You really have to revert to a child-like attitude about what you see; how interesting, how marvellous, how extraordinary! Life on earth is hell. There is just too much suffering, and it's non-stop. The only alleviation from the chaos of suffering lies in seeking harmony by finding the majesty and magic that make sense of life. I am a human being first and a photographer second.Being a photographer helps guide me through the human experience". James Wardell during OcéOcéOcé N.V. is a Netherlands-based company that develops, manufactures and sells printing and copying hardware and related software. The offering includes office printing and copying systems; production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display...
photography exhibition.
Press Photos
Wardell covered E-Health Week 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. Many international magazines, newspapers (such as El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
) & online media agencies publish his photography. A celebrity photographer, Wardell photographed Whitney Houston performing at a private event at Hotel du Cap Ferrat, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France Daily Mail.
He is internationally represented by Rex Features
Rex Features
Rex Features Ltd. is a British photographic press agency and photo library, based in London, UK. It supplies a daily service of news, celebrity, features, and stock photos to newspapers, magazines, TV, book publishing, web and all other media in the UK and in more than 35 countries worldwide.- Rex...
, who have archive material of his work ranging from United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
activities in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, ITUC work in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
after the 2010 earthquake to street paparazzo coverage of Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
shooting a Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
clothing campaign in Lower Eastside, Manhattan, New York, USA Karl Lagerfeld shooting for Chanel. During March 2011 he reported back from the second city of Libya, Benghazi for the Birmingham Mail of the second city of England, Birmingham.
Awards, honors and associations
Wardell has exhibited his work across Europe and is sponsored by the multinational printing firm OcéOcé
Océ N.V. is a Netherlands-based company that develops, manufactures and sells printing and copying hardware and related software. The offering includes office printing and copying systems; production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display...
Wardell is a member of Entrepreneurs Network Barcelona and has been interviewed by the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
newspaper Avui
Avui
Avui is a Catalan daily newspaper, based in Barcelona, Catalonia . It is one of the city's newest papers, having been founded in 1976. The editorial line is Catalan nationalist.- History :...
regarding his hospitable nature. He worked for Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
, Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Manhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees.-History:...
and Publicis
Publicis
Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and communications company, headquartered in Paris, France. It is one of the world's three largest advertising holding companies . Its current president is Maurice Lévy. Publicis Groupe S.A...
between 2001 until 2004 and is a member of Frontline Club
Frontline Club
The Frontline Club is a media club near London's Paddington Station. With a strong emphasis on conflict reporting, it aims to champion independent journalism, provide an effective platform from which to support diversity and professionalism in the media, promote safe practice, and encourage both...
and Entrepreneurs Network Barcelona 2. In 2005, he was one of the founding members of the Gracia Arts Project
Gracia Arts Project
The Gracia Arts Project is a publicly supported non-profit organization and non-governmental organization established by Justin Donlon, James Wardell, and on January 1, 2000 in Barcelona, Spain, to benefit all the arts with a view to share information, ideas, collaborate and actively pursue...
.
Since Summer 2008, Wardell has worked alongside Otto Weisser, a former Penthouse
Penthouse (magazine)
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
and Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
erotic photographer onboard the Fashion TV
Fashion TV
Fashion TV is an international fashion and lifestyle broadcasting television channel. It was founded in France in 1997 by its Polish-born president Michel Adam Lisowski, Fashion TV is the only 24/7 international TV network exclusively dedicated to fashion, beauty, glamour and style and has become...
Black Diamond Mega Yacht. In Summer 2009, James became an official Fashion TV photographer in Barcelona, Spain - responsible to shoot models in bikinis on the beaches of the Costa Brava and in VIP Fashion TV
Fashion TV
Fashion TV is an international fashion and lifestyle broadcasting television channel. It was founded in France in 1997 by its Polish-born president Michel Adam Lisowski, Fashion TV is the only 24/7 international TV network exclusively dedicated to fashion, beauty, glamour and style and has become...
parties at luxury beach club Carpe Diem Lounge Club. where he continues to work as their official photographer. Wardell has numerous celebrity clients, including the world champion poker player Scotty Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen
Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship...
in Las Vegas, who he has photographed many times Scotty Nguyen Expekt.com Poker Ambassador. He is also the official photographer of Miss Ethiopia 2009 - 2010 Miss Genet Denboba Ogeto who will be representing Ethiopia in the Miss Earth competition in Nhang Trang, Vietnam in November 2010.
In January 2010, James was contracted by International Trade Union Confederation
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
& flew out to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
to cover the devastation of Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
and the aid donated by the ITUC. His work was then made available to the 75 million members of the world's largest trade confederation. Wardell is a member of the international Earthship
Earthship
An earthship is a type of passive solar house made of natural and recycled materials. Designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, New Mexico, the homes are primarily constructed to work as autonomous buildings and are generally made of earth-filled tires, using thermal mass...
community.
In March 2011, James flew to cover the revolution & consequent civil war in Libya. He based himself in the eastern city of Benghazi. On March 10 he was working on the front line between Ras Lanuf & Ben Jawad alongside Headlines Today television reporters Gaurav Chitranjan Sawant & Shiv Aroor when their position came under direct attack by a Grad rocket strike as reported in the Live Fist Blog of Shiv Aroor. The rockets missed & they were able to retreat to a safer position unharmed.
James returned to cover the Libyan Civil War at the end of September 2011 flying into Mitiga Airport with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service
United Nations Humanitarian Air Service
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Services is a UN common service managed by the World Food Programme . UNHAS provides safe and reliable passenger and cargo air services to the entire humanitarian community especially to remote locations where due to lack of infrastructures and insecurity there...
. He travelled with Dutch film maker Peter Tetteroo
Peter Tetteroo
Peter Tetteroo is a Dutch journalist and filmmaker.Peter Tetteroo has worked as a senior director for world wide broadcasters since 1987.He has travelled to many countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia....
, took photographs & made video to document the situation at the Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison
Abu Salim prison is a top security prison in Tripoli, Libya which was often described as notorious for mistreatment and human rights abuses by human rights activists and other observers before the overthrow of the government of 40 years standing in 2011....
& Bab al-Aziziya, Muammar Gaddafi's
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
compound in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, a loyalist prison camp in Misrata & the frontline in Sirte
Sirte
Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...
. Mr Tettero later used some of James´s work & it was aired on Dutch Television.