Mihaela Noroc's Blog, page 11

That’s me in Kyiv, Ukraine, a few days ago. My daughter already...

That’s me in Kyiv, Ukraine, a few days ago. My daughter already accompanied me in nine countries in the last seven months and I’m looking forward to show her the wonderful women of the world, in the next years, while traveling and working on The Atlas of Beauty. New adventures are coming!

Nanami and Nene, two loving sisters from Tokyo, Japan, that I...

Nanami and Nene, two loving sisters from Tokyo, Japan, that I photographed a few weeks ago. These days I’m exploring the streets of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

I’m slower, I get tired faster because I’m in my 7th month of pregnancy. But I’m so excited to work on The Atlas of Beauty accompanied by my future daughter and meet the amazing girls and women of the world.

We met on the beautiful streets of Kyoto, Japan, a few weeks...

We met on the beautiful streets of Kyoto, Japan, a few weeks ago. Ever since her childhood Megumi wished to become a nurse and help people in need. Her dream became true a few years ago.


But life has its strange paths. Megumi got paralysed and from a nurse, she became a patient. But her wish of helping people and being around them motivated to study hard and find another meaningful job. Today Megumi works in the human resources department of a company. She found a new way to express her vocation and her love for people

Thousands of people visit the huge Shwedagon Pagoda every day....

Thousands of people visit the huge Shwedagon Pagoda every day. This is the most important Buddhist temple of Myanmar, located in its biggest city, Yangon. In this harmonious place of rituals and meditation, I met this lovely lady, a few weeks ago.

While walking on the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a few weeks...

While walking on the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a few weeks ago, I noticed a symphony of colours in one courtyard. Hundreds of young students wearing splendid saris were celebrating the anniversary of their women’s college. Entering the big gates was like stepping into a painting, no wonder the name of this young woman was Monalisa.

In the beginning, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, will...

In the beginning, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, will overwhelm you with its continuous noises and chaotic traffic, maybe the craziest in the world. But then you’ll discover the small streets and meet the residents of the city and I tell you, I have rarely experienced so much hospitality in a capital.

She’s Upoma, one of the many kind-hearted women that I met there, a few weeks ago. Almost always dressed in colourful outfits, Bangladeshi women were really open to be photographed which is very uncommon in most traditional countries.

But during my journeys around the world I’ve learnt that almost each place is different than what you expect before visiting it. Mass media tends to show the world in two colours, either showing the best of some places, or the worst of others. But like Upoma’s beautiful outfit, our planet has many different colours and nuances.

Emiko was on the way to a concert hall, together with her...

Emiko was on the way to a concert hall, together with her husband, when I met her on the streets of Tokyo, last month.

“He invited me to a Beethoven Concerto and then to dinner.”

Love was in the air, that’s sure, and without it I couldn’t have taken this picture. Initially Emiko refused to be photographed saying she’s old and she’s not beautiful, but her husband convinced her that’s not true at all. And indeed, Emiko is beautiful and most important, Emiko is loved.

I continue my Asian journey with The Atlas of Beauty and these...

I continue my Asian journey with The Atlas of Beauty and these days I’m for the first time in Seoul, South Korea.

I captured this photo yesterday, during the Royal Culture Festival.

The people of Tokyo are known for how much they work every day....

The people of Tokyo are known for how much they work every day. But Sundays are very different. You’ll find yourself surrounded by hundreds of happy families, especially when the sun is shinning.

I captured this sweet moment last Sunday in Ebisu, one of the districts of this huge and fascinating city. Shiori and her seven months daughter, Kanade, were starting a lovely day.

I will spend the next Sunday in another Asian metropolis: Seoul, South Korea.

When I exited the refugee camp, three weeks ago, I just wanted...

When I exited the refugee camp, three weeks ago, I just wanted to scream so the whole world could hear me and everybody could turn their eyes to the tragedy of these people.

In the past years I visited different refugee camps around the world, but I have never seen so much suffering and lack of hope like in Kutupalong.

This is the world’s largest refugee camp, located in Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled from the neighbouring Myanmar, escaping a massacre.

Norizan, a young pregnant woman, was one of them. Deep in her eyes, there’s a reflection of myself while photographing her. She, a refugee in a horrific situation, me, an European with a wonderful life. It could have easily been the other way around and only by chance I’m the privileged one. Looking at the image of myself, in her eyes, I wondered: did I do enough?

U.N. has described the persecution of the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing but like in so many other situations most of the world decided to keep silent.

But we are the world too and we need to do much more. Not only for Rohingya, but for all the people in need out there. We should volunteer more, we should donate for meaningful causes, we should stand against the hate speech and we should never forget that we all could have been Norizan.