Carolyn Drake is a documentary photographer who splits her time between personal work and editorial assignments. She studied Media/Culture and American History at Brown University, where she became interested in documentary, and in the ways that history and reality are shaped and revised over time. Carolyn made a living for many years working for media companies in New York. Turning thirty soon after the World Trade Centers fell, she decided it was time to step outside of her media bubble in search of more tangible connections, and to make an effort to better understand what was happening around and beyond herself. She began to study photography, first as a part-time student at ICP, then as a graduate student at Ohio University. After completing several newspaper and magazine internships, she moved to Ukraine, where she created several award winning photo stories while studying Russian.
Since 2007, Carolyn has been pursuing two photography projects in Central Asia. The first – Two Rivers – is a book which explores intersecting borders, waterways, and cultures in the geographic spaces between Aghanistan, Iran, Russia, and China. The second, still ongoing, is a collage of photos, sketches, and texts about Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. The work explores the boundaries of photography while telling the story of a culture being disrupted and reshaped.
Carolyn is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright fellowship, and the Lange Taylor Documentary Prize, among other awards. She recently relocated from Istanbul, Turkey to Water Valley, Mississippi, and can be contacted by email at carolyn@carolyndrake.com or by phone at +1 240 383 9117.
Website developed by Marty Spellerberg.