Diverse Humanity: An LGBTQ+ Photobook

The photojournalist Misha Friedman is renowned for his efforts to capture life in contemporary Russia, documenting subjects as varied as political corruption, the dangers of coal mining, the tuberculosis epidemic, and the Bolshoi Ballet. In publications ranging from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, and the New Yorker, Friedman's grimly evocative black-and-white images-"intimate, behind-the-scenes photos" (Time)-have been credited with capturing moments of intense pathos, bleak existence, and human dignity. He has received multiple international awards for his "unflinching" lens and his intrepid reporting. For his new collection of photographs, Lyudmila and Natasha, Friedman trains his lens on a gay couple living on Saint Petersburg, offering a series of intimate snapshots of their relationship as it unfolds over the course of a year. Faced with a hostile political climate, financial difficulties, and often unstable living arrangements, the subjects of this stunning book reveal the possibilities for love in the most uncertain of times. With the fabled city of Saint Petersburg as its backdrop, Lyudmila and Natasha powerfully evokes both a vital place and the people who call it home. Lyudmila and Natasha was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).

A richly evocative collection of photographs by internationally renowned photographer Kike Arnal, Bordered Lives seeks to push back against the transphobic caricatures that have perpetuated discrimination against the transgender community in Mexico. Despite some important advances in recognizing and protecting the rights of its transgender community, including legislating against hate crimes targeting transgender people, discrimination still persists, and the majority of the violent attacks against the LGBT community are against transgender women. In the highly personal profiles that make up Bordered Lives, Arnal takes us into the lives of seven individuals in and around Mexico City. He shows them going about their day-to-day lives: getting ready in the morning, interacting with family and friends, and devoting their lives to helping others in the transgender community. Deeply honest, sensitive, and humane, Bordered Lives challenges society's preconceived notions of sexuality, gender, and beauty not only in Mexico but across the globe. Bordered Lives was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).

A deeply personal work of photojournalism from one of Britain's most exciting young photographers working today "The power and intensity of Asafe's work are recognizable from the first instance of setting eyes on his images. The activism that underpins it makes for an even more impactful aesthetic." -Izabela Radwanska Zhang, editorial director of British Journal of Photography For many queer people, exile begins at home. The search for safety and freedom to express themselves drives millions of LGBTQIA+ people across borders. Their stories are full of contrasts-between isolation and community, freedom and nostalgia. In their stunning compositions, photographer Asafe Ghalib explores the identities of members of the LGBTQIA+ immigrant community in Britain with striking beauty and poise. Brought up in a religious family, Ghalib draws from their own experience of leaving Brazil behind to depict the rich lives of their subjects who live at the intersections of multiple cultures. Their work, which evokes black-and-white newspaper photographs and classic portraiture that has been present since the dawn of photography, immortalizes the lives of a community that has been misrepresented for decades. The latest in a groundbreaking series of photobooks that highlight queer lives and communities around the world, Shine invites the viewer to enter the world of Britain's many queer communities and, in doing so, to challenge common misconceptions and prejudices about LGBTQIA+ people. An act of both confrontation and pride, this book is also an exploration of immigration as a human right and, above all, a celebration of the triumphs of a defiant community. Shine was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).