Claire Thomas
Claire Thomas
About
Claire Thomas
Claire Thomas is a photojournalist and fine art photographer from Wales, UK, currently based between London and New York.
A graduate in Politics from the University of the West of England, her photojournalism work is focused on issues surrounding political and military conflicts, human rights, and humanitarian and environmental crises. From within the camps that emerged from the refugee crisis in Europe to the frontlines in the battle against ISIS in Iraq, Claire has covered a range of stories in various countries, contributing images and photo essays to leading newspapers, magazines and news agencies worldwide.
Editorial clients include The New York Times, The Sunday Times, Geographical Magazine, The Guardian, National Geographic Magazine, Greenpeace Magazine, Al Jazeera and Newlines Magazine, among others. She also works regularly with United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organisations including UNDP, UNHCR, Amnesty International, OXFAM and Save the Children.
From fine art to editorial, Claire’s approach to photography is rooted in her passion for storytelling, seeking to reflect the realities of life in a compelling, engaging and artistic way. In pursuit of powerful and honest imagery, her work seeks to convey a concept or emotion that goes beyond the image itself, providing a deeper insight into the stories and a connection with the subjects.
Claire’s work has been shortlisted for a number of awards including Photojournalist of the Year at the 2017 Press Gazette British Journalism Awards, Photo Essay of the Year in the 2018 UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards, the 2018 Amnesty International UK Media Awards Photojournalism category, and Women Photograph 2019 Year in Pictures. Claire has served as a judge on several international photography competitions including the Amnesty International UK Media Awards in 2019, 2020 and again this year, and the 2021 Xposure International Photography Festival Awards.
A keen horse rider, motorcyclist, adventurer and nature enthusiast, Claire has undertaken several independent photography projects in diverse and remote corners of the world, including Alaska, Wyoming, Lesotho, Mozambique and more recently Mongolia where she photographed the iconic Kazakh eagle hunters of the Altai mountains.
She is trained in battlefield first aid and surviving hostile environments and is available for assignments worldwide.
