I’m a South African-born photographer based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I’m passionate about storytelling and capturing real moments of human connection and intimacy. I’m particularly invested in stories about women and girls and the struggles they face around the world as well as wildlife conservation and have worked on projects with these themes both locally and internationally.
I first fell in love with photography as a teenager in apartheid-era South Africa when I began shooting black and white film and printing my own work. Since then, I’ve completed a B.A. at Brandeis University, an M.F.A. in writing at Cornell University, a Masters in Photojournalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and have been working as a photographer ever since.
Over the course of my career, I’ve photographed for a variety of newspapers, magazines, non-profit organizations, businesses, corporations and private clients. My work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, National Geographic, the London Times as well as local publications. I’ve also worked on numerous long term personal projects and my work has been widely exhibited on Cape Cod and elsewhere.
My blog, Apertures and Anecdotes features a wide range of photographs and the stories behind them. During the past four winters, I’ve spent time teaching photography to children in Rwanda as well as to tribal Samburu Women at the On’gan Women’s Cooperative in Kenya. I also teaches photography workshops and classes locally and internationally and am a resident photographer at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod where I have a studio/gallery. My next international photo workshops will be held in the Greek Islands in September of 2021 through the women’s travel company, Purposeful Nomad and in Marakesh, Morocco in November of 2021. To see more of my work, please visit my website juliacumesphoto.com.