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In Arabic, the word "noor" means "light," or "the act of moving towards the light." It's also the name taken by a new agency comprising nine of the world's top photojournalists: Samantha Appleton (United States), Jodi Bieber (South Africa), Philip Blenkinsop (Australia), Pep Bonet (Spain), Jan Grarup (Denmark), Stanley Greene (United States), Yuri Kozyrev (Russia), Kadir van Lohuizen (The Netherlands), and Francesco Zizola (Italy).
As Greene sees it, the name Noor fits with the group's mission to "shed light on the cockroaches," the dark places many would rather not see -- genocide in Darfur, war in Iraq and Chechnya, pollution and Third World conditions in China.
Similar in principle to collectives such as Magnum and VII, Noor is owned and operated by its member photographers, each of whom lends a distinct visual style to documentary photography. Although van Lohuizen and Greene helped spearhead the initial formation, each member, including managing director Claudia Hinterseer, has an equal say in the agency's affairs, and future additions to the group must be approved unanimously.
"We feel we have an advantage by starting an agency now," says van Lohuizen. "Lots of old agencies struggle with their part -- digitizing archives, having too big a staff and overhead. Being new is actually an asset."
Although most of Noor's photographers still work primarily with magazines, the group recognizes that collaborations with NGOs and nonprofits also will be vital to its success. Frustrated with the mainstream media's lack of commitment to issue-driven photojournalism, Greene says, Noor's photographers have no choice but to turn to NGOs to help fund the stories they are passionate about.
For Greene, Noor is as close as it gets to the ideal agency Robert Capa envisioned when he helped found Magnum 60 years ago.
"Each of us brings something to the table," Greene says. "The people in power, they're going to give us the jobs because they know we can get it done. There's not one person in our group who can't rise to the occasion and get the job done. That's what Capa wanted, a group of people ready at a moment's notice to go to hot spots and get the story."
Atlas Press
Atlas Press, founded by James McGrath and Korean photojournalist Sungsu Cho, hark back to the glory days of the 1980s and early '90s when agencies like Sygma, Sipa, and Gamma dispatched photographers to news events around the world.
McGrath, the director of the new venture, learned from industry legends Eliane Laffont at Sygma and JP Pappis at Gamma and Polaris that in the agency business, success derives from hard work and determination.
"You have to be passionate about this business and probably a bit crazy," McGrath says, explaining his 24-7 approach to the business. "It's not uncommon for my wife to wake me up at 3 in the morning and tell me the phone is ringing."
Atlas is built around a core group of photojournalists who have already helped establish the agency's identity as a scrappy upstart. In addition to co-founder Cho, Atlas's current roster includes Aaron Huey, Patrick Andrade, David Y. Lee, Steve Hebert, Dave Yoder, and Donald Weber, winner of a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship, who is featured in our Emerging Photographers portfolio.
"We also rely heavily on contributing photographers to fill in the blanks when news breaks in an area where we do not have a photographer," McGrath says.
Atlas also distinguishes itself by setting its prices with regard to external factors, such as what a photographer went through to get a picture. If a photographer risks his life for a picture -- as Huey did recently for a story on poppy eradication in Afghanistan -- it shouldn't sell for $50. To help support this policy, Atlas has structured its positions to include aspects of both production and sales. "It makes you a better salesperson if you have an intimate knowledge of what the photographer went though," McGrath says. "And it's even better if you actually care about the photographer."
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