Anita Bonnarens
documentary photography
The art of photography feeds my soul. It brings me into the present moment, allowing me to find solitude and peace in life's speed and noise. With my camera, I forget about time and reconnect with beingness, expressing what is hard to articulate. I am passionate about observing life. I carry my camera with curiosity, compassion, and humour. Always looking for the unguarded moment, I seek to let the story unfold naturally.
I am Belgian, born in Germany, and have been home in Vancouver, BC, Canada, since 2010. I have been drawn to the art of photography as a form of creative play and self-expression from a very young age. A move from Belgium to Ecuador in 2006, followed by relocation to Canada in 2010, offered me new perspectives to grow as a photographer and taught me the power of visual storytelling. My portfolio is a work in progress, as is my artistic voice. In exploring different fields of interest, I am constantly reinventing and transforming myself, defining characteristics that become more clearly visible in every image I make. My work is a mosaic of images from the past nine years while living on three continents. What started with a preference for Street and Fine Art Photography has grown in different directions. A challenging and inspiring humanitarian photo workshop with The Giving Lens as part of the Tanzania Team 2015 instilled in me a desire to work on more humanitarian photography projects supporting education, women empowerment and human rights. In 2016 I joined Photographers Without Borders, for whom I have been on documentary assignments in Peru (2017), Guatemala (2018) and Kazakhstan (2019).
Powerful images connect people beyond language, culture, and borders, conserve cultural traditions, raise awareness, and move people into action.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations & Communications. Before moving overseas, I worked for a prominent Belgian newspaper and a Dutch leader in Recruitment & HR. I am a self-taught photographer who continues to dedicate myself to honing my craft by taking inspirational workshops and courses as:
Curso Básico Digital & Taller Avanzado at Art School Centro de la Imagen Alianza Francesa, Quito, Ecuador 2006-2010
Commercial Photography with Kevin James Day, Vancouver 2011
Street Photography with Kathleen Hinkel, Vancouver Photo Workshop 2012
The Constructed Image at Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Vancouver 2013
Art History, The Movements that Mattered at Sotheby's Art Institute 2014
Humanitarian Photo Workshop & Volunteering, The Giving Lens, Tanzania 2015
Certificate Visual Storytelling, Photographers Without Borders, Cambodia 2016
Diploma Documentary Photography Projects, Danish School of Media and Journalism, NOOR and World Press Photo, Amsterdam May-October 2017
Certificate Visual Storytelling, Photographers Without Borders, Mongolia 2018