Mihaela Noroc's Blog, page 10

Vika and Miroslava, two good friends during the Pride Parade in...

Vika and Miroslava, two good friends during the Pride Parade in Kyiv, Ukraine, last summer. Although they are heterosexual, they’re great supporters of the LGBT cause.

In the past years, different participants at Pride Kyiv were aggressed on the way home by extremist groups. So why would you attend such an event, for a cause that doesn’t even concern you. Because it does concern you, actually. You don’t have to be a queer, to support LGBT causes. You don’t have to be a Muslim, to speak against Islamophobia. You don’t have to be a woman, to support feminism. And so on.

You don’t have to be part of a group, to support its rights. Because we are all part of the same family and we should support each other. More than that, if you don’t act today, your own group might be the one affected tomorrow.

Dear friends, I have great news! Starting from today The Atlas...

Dear friends, I have great news! Starting from today The Atlas of Beauty is also available as a softcover book, in many countries of the world. The softcover version (the one on the right) has the same content as the hardcover (the one on the left) but it’s smaller and cheaper. But no, the softcover is not the low cost version of the hardcover, but a different approach. It’s handier and lighter, so you will be able to carry it easily, seeing and sharing the amazing diversity of the world anywhere, anytime.

Together with my publisher we managed to create something extremely beautiful at an exceptional price. For any book the first days of life are decisive so I would be very grateful if you decide to order today and, in this way, support the continuation of this independent project.

http://theatlasofbeauty.com/Book

A heartwarming moment: Leila holding her son Abtin, on the...

A heartwarming moment: Leila holding her son Abtin, on the streets of Tehran, Iran, last year. Today, I myself hold my one week daughter in my arms, starting this amazing adventure called motherhood. Can’t wait to be back on the road, working for The Atlas of Beauty, this time together with my daughter.

I met Munera on the streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh,...

I met Munera on the streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in March. She was coming from her university where she studies mathematics

While mathematics have theorems and rules, beauty shouldn’t have any. Beauty, as I see it, is much more than what we see in the media. Real beauty has no bounds. Real beauty is intelligence, is kindness, is wisdom, is tolerance. You can find it in Africa, in Asia, in a village, in a skyscraper, in a smile, in a gesture, in an intense gaze, in some wrinkles, in a story. We just have to open our eyes and see it.

I took this photo in Omo Valley, Ethiopia, in 2016. In this...

I took this photo in Omo Valley, Ethiopia, in 2016. In this remote place, you can see communities living as they did thousands of years ago. Her tribe is called Daasanach and has lived in isolation for generations. With the high temperatures here, nudity is not unusual.

Only 100 kilometres away, you can see some women wearing hijabs, on the way to the mosque, and others wearing thin, white veils, on the way to the church. Further away, in the capital, most of the women adopted a modern way of life. The diversity of this fascinating country is one of the things that inspired me to start this project more than five years ago, during my first journey in Ethiopia.

In the meantime I took thousands of portraits in almost 60 countries and 500 of them can be found in The Atlas of Beauty Book, accompanied by fascinating stories. If you haven’t purchased the book yet, now it’s a great moment to do that because it has very good prices on most of the online bookstores.

More than that, in September, a paperback version of the book will be launched in some countries. More details very soon.

I took this photo of Nadia, one year ago, on the streets of...

I took this photo of Nadia, one year ago, on the streets of Chisinau, Moldova.

She told me that in her early 20s she was thinking that those are the best years of somebody’s life. But her early 30s changed her perspective, because they turned out to be even more rewarding.

Each age has its own beauty and while thinking about past and future is important, being in the now, enjoying every second of life, is what matter most, I guess.

That’s an expression. Arpita and her son, in Kolkata, India,...

That’s an expression. Arpita and her son, in Kolkata, India, four months ago. I myself am preparing to give birth in about a month and I’m so excited to continue working for The Atlas if Beauty, together with my daughter.

I noticed her, three weeks ago on the streets of Kyiv, the...

I noticed her, three weeks ago on the streets of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. What’s her story, I wondered.

Grace was born from an Ukrainian mother and an Indian father. She grew up in Ukraine and now studies journalism in Canada. “I feel more like a member of Mother Earth than a particular country.”

Sasaki and Tachibana were walking hand in hand on the streets of...

Sasaki and Tachibana were walking hand in hand on the streets of Kyoto, Japan, when I noticed them in April. Their friendship is truly impressive.

“We are best friends since I was 5 years old!”

These days Japan is affected by terrible natural disasters. My thoughts go to its strong and brave people who so many times needed to overcome such difficult moments.

You hear so many things about Iran, in the media, and almost...

You hear so many things about Iran, in the media, and almost everything is about politics. But first of all a country is its people so let’s get to know them too.

Farnoush studies violin since her childhood. When I met her, last year in Tehran, the capital of the country, she was both nervous and excited because she was preparing for her first concert.