Experts

The organisation invited local as well as international experts to share their knowledge during the PhotoStories conference in May 2011 and the follow-up edition in September 2011. The multimedia experts gave presentations, keynotes but also took part in panel discussions, hosted (mini) works-shops and participated in practical meetings with photographers .

Adrian Kelterborn
Magnum in Motion

Adrian Kelterborn is the lead multimedia producer of Magnum in Motion (MIM), the multimedia department of Magnum Photos. In Motion assembles visual narratives for online and offline platforms, including screenings in museums, festivals, and workshops. Adrian is born and raised in Basel/Switzerland, he studied film and video at the University of Art and Design Zurich. After graduation in 2005, he directed and produced two documentaries, ‘Acheb in Albania’  and ‘Neue Weltgeschichten/Fondation Herzog.’ Since 2007 he has been living in New York, working for MIM.

Alexandre Brachet
Upian.com

Alexandre Brachet is e-producer and CEO of Upian, is one of the world’s major players in web documentary making and at the intersection of documentary cinema and digital storytelling. In recent years, Upian has produced or co-produced some of the most highly regarded web documentaries, including La cité des mortes, Thanatorama and Gaza Sderot, the project with which Brachet put the interactive documentary on the map. In the spring of 2010, Upian presented Prison Valley, a new kind of interactive road movie: a
journey into the American prison industry, directed by Philippe Brault and David Dufresne and co-produced by French TV channel Arte. Alongside its production activities, Upian is also a successful web agency, creating websites for brands and media. In June 2008, Upian opened a contemporary art gallery next door to its offices. www.twitter.com/abrachet

Projects
Thanatorama
Gaza/Sderot
Prison Valley

Bjarke Myrthu
The original idea for Storyplanet was conceived by Bjarke Myrthu in 2005 and slowly developed and matured into the concept you see today. Before Bjarke launched Storyplanet he co-founded Magnum In Motion. He is also the producer of several award winning online documentaries (The Enemy Within, 2004) and author of the book The Digital Storyteller. Bjarke frequently lectures and conducts workshops in digital storytelling.
www.twitter.com/myrthu

Caspar Sonnen
doclab.org

Caspar Sonnen is a festival organiser and curator specialised in independent cinema and digital media art. As New Media Coordinator of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, he has succesfully developed digital festival strategies and online initiatives. In 2008, Sonnen launched IDFA DocLab, a pioneering platform for digital documentary storytelling and media art. IDFA DocLab is also one of the organising partners of PhotoStories. Besides his work at IDFA, Sonnen is co-founder and programmer of the Open Air Film Festival Amsterdam. twitter.com/doclab

Gideon Mendel
gideonmendel.com

Gideon Mendel is regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary photographers. His intimate style of socially engaged image making has earned him international acclaim winning six World Press Photo Awards, the Eugene Smith Award for Humanistic Photography and the Amnesty International Media Award. In his current practice he is engaged with a variety of projects often involving collaborative work along with a mix of photography and video. He is also addressing the issue of climate change through developing a body of work on the global impact of flooding on the world’s poorest people.

Interesting links
throughpositiveeyes.org
3eyeson.org

Henrik Kastenskov
Henrik Kastenskov was born north of Copenhagen in 1966 in the Shakesperian town of Elsenore, Denmark. A lifelong interest in modern history and journalism combined with a visual talent let to a natural interest in photojournalism and social documentary. Seeing the potential in taking online journalism a step further, he co-founded the multimedia agency Bombay Flying Club together with friend and colleague Poul Madsen in 2005 making the development of online story telling and production of web documentaries his main area of focus. Today Henrik lives in the countryside west of Copenhagen together with his wife, photographer Tine Hvolby, and their three kids. He is the co-founder of audiovisual production house Bombay Flying Club. twitter.com/BombayFC

Jeremy Mendes
jeremymendes.com

Jeremy Mendes is a Vancouver based artist with over 10 years experience working on interactive projects. He specializes in Art Direction, Creative Direction, Design and Illustration. His experience spans — interactive design, motion design, information design, creative conceptual work, storytelling, brand development and advertising. He is currently working freelance on interactive projects with the National Film Board of Canada. These interactive projects truly capitalize on his collective experience — requiring an understanding of story, culture, art and design. And importantly, how these elements are conveyed through interactive experiences. He also continues to pursue contract work in all areas of his expertise.

Jurriaan Esmeijer
submarine.nl
submarinechannel.com

Jurriaan Esmeijer is lead designer and event producer at Holland’s leading transmedia production outfit, Submarine. Spanning film, animation, non-fiction and interactive genres, Submarine boasts a roster of award-winning productions. Esmeijer worked on a wide range of transmedia projects including the multiple-award-winning online experience Collapsus. He’s currently working with renowned documentary director Marjoleine Boonstra on Keep on Steppin, a layered narrative mosaic that reflects on human dignity and resilience. Besides his work at Submarine, he is co-founder and creative director of the Open Air Film Festival Amsterdam. twitter.com/submarinechannl

Paul Moakley
time.com

Paul Moakley has been the deputy photo editor of TIME since  2010. He covers national news and special projects such as Person of the Year and the TimeFrames photo blog. Previously he was senior photo editor at Newsweek and photo editor of PDN (Photo District News). Moakley is an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City as well as a photographer and filmmaker. He lives at the Alice Austen House Museum, home of one of America’s earliest photographers, as caretaker and curator of the museum.

Todd Heisler
toddheisler.com

Todd Heisler is an American photojournalist. He is currently a staff photographer for the New York Times. In September 2010, he won an Emmy as a member of the New York Times ‘One in 8 Million’ team. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his haunting, behind-the-scenes look at funerals for Colorado Marines who return from Iraq in caskets. He was also a member of the Rocky Mountain News staff that won a Pulitzer in 2003 for their coverage of Colorado wildfires. Before joining the staff of the Rocky Mountain News, Heisler worked at various community newspapers in suburban Chicago where he grew up.

Yvo Zijlstra

Yvo Zijlstra (1958) is educated in graphic design. He worked at design collective Hard Werken and worked independent under the name Knockout. Since 2001 he is part of Antenna-Men, a group of media architects based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He does design for both books and multi media. According to Zijlstra design is as a way of storytelling, transformed into either ink or electricity. He did many projects with photographers like Ad van Denderen, Jacqueline Hassink, Carel van Hees, Kadir van Lohuizen, Dana Lixenberg and Geert van Kesteren. Yvo Zijlstra owns an iPad but he prefers to read books and considers the medium bicycle as the acme of interactivity.