Brian Atkinson - Professional Biography

Brian Atkinson has worked as a professional photographer for the past 21 years. In that time he has traveled to over 55 countries.

For Canada’s Equinox magaizine he covered stories ranging from refugee returns in Guatemala to the emergence of Eritrea as an independent country. On assignment for Canadian Geographic he has photographed the seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the fishery in the Bay of Fundy, the French shore in Nova Scotia, the wilderness coast of New Brunswick’s Fundy Trail, New Denmark, mirgrant workers in Quebec and a pond hockey tournament with over 120 teams and minus 20 degrees temperatures. In February, 2001, Brian returned to Eritrea to photograph Canadian Peacekeepers patrolling the high desert border between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

During the Kosovo conflict, Brian was contracted to CARE International and illustrated an in depth piece on the war for The Ottawa Citizen. In July 2002, he was back with CARE for three weeks documenting their projects in Madagascar and Mozambique. And in 2004 he travelled to Matagalpa, Nicaragua to cover CARE’s work in that area.

In Ethiopia, Brian worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres at a Sudanese refugee camp and in 2004 went to Haiti for MSF. In Central America he photographed various aid projects for Oxfam, CIDA, The Canadian Auto Workers and several churches. Men’s Journal called on Brian to make a five-day hike into “La Ciudad Perdida,” The Lost City, in northern Colombia.

Brian has shot stills for various New Brunswick film productions and has worked with film crews for the past twelve years on ad campaigns shooting the New Brunswick government’s tourism spots.

Brian has three photography books out: Fredericton, Fantastic New Brunswick and Sustaining the Gaze: When Images Tremble.

For Brian, photography is about people, the chance to live, learn and work with people all over the world, and to help them voice their story.