Top marks for photojournalism graduate
Wed, 22 Jul 2015 12:51:00 BST
Alex Beldea’s work has achieved special recognition on several occasions and now he is embarking on a Masters degree
AS Europe’s refugee crisis worsens, an award-winning University of Huddersfield student is using photographic skills – honed during his course – in order to create a deeper understanding of its human dimension.
Romanian-born Alex Beldea is newly-gradated with exceptionally high marks from his photography degree course. His final-year portfolio featured studies of Syrian refugees who had come to the UK. The documentary project earned him a valuable bursary from the Association for Photography in Higher Education and it helped secure a Chancellor’s Prize, awarded annually to an elite group of the top-scoring students throughout the University.
Now Alex embarks on a Master’s degree at the University and although he is still based in Huddersfield, he will travel widely in order to visit, speak with and photograph refugees from the Middle East and Africa who have been relocated in various sites around Europe.
Several EU countries have agreed to aid Italy and Greece by taking in migrants who have often made perilous journeys to reach Europe. Alex, aged 23, has made contacts in Austria and Romania. This will aid him in visiting camps and communicating with the refugees.
He is committed to “collaborative” research and photography, meaning that he gets to know his subjects and discusses his project with them.
“It is hard to understand an issue like refugees. I thought the best way to was help them tell their story by working with people who experienced life in Syria and the journey afterwards,” said Alex.
His work with Syrian refugees in the UK led to the award-winning project that he titled Valid for Travel. It combines photographic images and personal testimonies of some of the estimated 3,000 Syrians refugees who have fled to Britain. It has now been published by the British Journal of Photography.
With his Master’s project, Alex widens his horizons. In addition to a photo portfolio, he will also produce a written thesis that explores the concept of collaborative photography.
He intends to continue with his documentary work when he embarks on a career that includes commercial photography, which he experienced during the placement year that was part of his BA degree course
During his studies, Alex has achieved special recognition on several occasions. For example, he was shortlisted for the 2014 International Photography Awards for his photo-document of miners facing redundancy in his home country of Romania.
