British Journal of Photography returns with its annual talent issue: Ones to Watch. Each year, the magazine asks its global network of industry professionals to nominate emerging photographers. This year’s call-out received over 450 nominations from all corners of the world: from Belarus and Myanmar to Bangladesh, Sudan, Japan, Brazil and beyond. Following over a year of great challenges, our 20 nominees represent a new generation of image-makers who have adapted and innovated with their practice.
On the cover is the work of Brazilian photographer Asafe Ghalib. Arriving in London aged 22, he found himself immersed in a community of artists and denizens, gaining acceptance for the first time. Ghalib began photographing the “characters” he met – drag queens, LGBTQI+ individuals and more – and has continued to do so ever since. Themes of identity are considered by a number of this year’s talents. From Rehab Eldalil’s pursuit of her Bedouin ancestry to Matthieu Croizier’s confrontation with his sexuality, and Sophie Gladstone’s understanding of her complicity in the capitalist consumer culture.
In keeping with the theme of emerging talent, elsewhere, photography students open up about their experiences of studying as they graduate during a pandemic, plus we share our pick of self-published books and dummies. We also take a photographic tour of Cape Town, and visit Chloe Dewe Mathews at her sea-side studio in the south of the UK.
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178 pgs, 28 × 21 cm, Softover, 2021,
