Mihaela Noroc's Blog, page 2

Her country is well known for the desert, but she loves the...

Her country is well known for the desert, but she loves the water. Hold your breath! This is the fascinating story of a young woman who dives deep into the sea, deeper than any woman in her country.Salma is from Saudi Arabia and breaks records, but also stereotypes. I photographed her last year in Jeddah, her hometown. Her father is a marine biologist so Salma spent a lot of her childhood under the sea, scuba diving. But she didn’t like scuba so much. She felt constrained by the equipment and for her going under water was about freedom and serenity. So she started free diving. At the moment her record stands at 42 meters depth. Salma can stay about 4 minutes and 30 seconds under water, without breathing. Dear Salma, your spirit and your courage leave me breathless. I hope that more and more Saudi women will have the opportunity to follow their dreams.

Sonali’s work is dedicated to people in suffering. She knows...

Sonali’s work is dedicated to people in suffering. She knows from her own experience what suffering means.We met in March, in her hometown, Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. While photographing her I noticed a scratch on her hand. She told me how twice she wanted to commit suicide. For those around her she always had a perfect life.  She was great at school and that was all that mattered to her family. She graduated from medical bio engineering and had prestigious jobs. But inside of her there were always many struggles. She suffers from bipolar disorder and she had many moments in her life when she didn’t find a motivation to continue. She started to harm herself when she was 11. She took all kind of antidepressants, but that didn’t help much.What helped most was talking about her suffering and listen to other people who were suffering. So she decided to dedicate most of her time to those in need. Today Sonali works for the World Health Organisation and also for SheDecides, a global movement that fights for women’s rights. In the end, I think curing others’ suffering, is the best cure for your own suffering.

That’s me and my daughter Natalia experiencing her first real...

That’s me and my daughter Natalia experiencing her first real winter. Although she’s at an age when she has a lot of trantrums and “No” is her favourite word, all this pandemic would have been so much more difficult without her. It’s harder and harder to travel and finance the project during these tough times, but with Natalia besides me I feel much more determined to continue.Maybe, without the pandemic, we would be somewhere in Africa, traveling and meeting amazing women. But there’s no time for regrets. We need to prepare for what’s next. I see beautiful days on the horizon. The post-pandemic world will be a great opportunity for all of us to make things better. So let’s prepare! I hope my photos and stories from around the world will bring some inspiration.

I noticed Katalin a few months ago, on the alleys of a small...

I noticed Katalin a few months ago, on the alleys of a small village inhabited by ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania, Romania. This lovely woman was holding some herbs from her garden. She was eager to offer them as a gift to another lady from the village.   When I look at Katalin, I see a whole generation of Eastern Europeans who have been through difficult times, but learned to see the beauty of simple pleasures. As children, they witnessed the second world war at its epicentre. Then an abrupt and painful transition to communism and cruel dictators. Then another painful transition to capitalism. But there was also a lot of happiness in their life, because they valued even the little things. Maybe that’s why this small bundle of herbs looks like a treasure in Katalin’s hands.

I photographed Alexandra last year, in New York City. Her story...

I photographed Alexandra last year, in New York City. Her story is about love. Love for nature.   A self taught woodworking artist, Alexandra makes expeditions around the world to gather rare and spectacular species of naturally felled lumber from the depths of various jungles. Then, back home, in New York City, she creates splendid pieces of sculptural and functional art. She believes that the trees in the rainforest are the rulers of the jungle and she feels the responsibility to showcase their beauty through her work, but only after the trees have lived their full life. Everything started in 2009, during a trip to Central and South America. Alexandra visited the rainforest for the very first time and instantly fell in love with it. Fascinated by its beauty and power, but equally worried about its deforestation, she decided to express that through art. Today, besides transforming the wood in splendid pieces, Alexandra is also involved in programs that combat deforestation, while also aiding the reforestation of the jungles with endangered species of native trees.When the hands, the mind and the soul work together in such a beautiful way, humans and nature can truly live in harmony together.

High in the Andes Mountains, in Peru, in a land that once upon a...

High in the Andes Mountains, in Peru, in a land that once upon a time was part of Inca empire, you’ll find some of the most beautiful outfits in the world. Killa, together with other women from her community, weaves and sells these kind of traditional costumes.  I had the chance to meet her one year ago.   Her name means moon in Quechua, her native language. And sometimes the moon is still on the sky, watching her, when she starts the long way to the market, early in the morning. She was close to the destination, when I met, but the long day of work was just beginning.On that small road there were more women, spectacularly dressed, and the scene was looking like a catwalk. Not a common one like those from Milan or New York, but a magical one where the models are also designers and sellers. Yes, you’ll see a a lot of style on a fancy street of Paris, but nothing so genuine as there, in Chinchero, Peru.

I photographed Caitie in Melbourne, Australia, last December. If...

I photographed Caitie in Melbourne, Australia, last December. If you search in the dictionary the word “tradesman” one of the meanings is “skilled worker”. And that’s Caitie’s job. Unfortunatly, in many dictionaries, the world tradeswoman doesn’t even exist.  For hundreds of years certain jobs were only meant for men. But things are changing. Caitie’s speciality is tiling. She explained me that a good tiler needs to be dexterous, patient, meticulous so no reason a woman should feel less fit for this job. Yes, we need more women in politics, top management, science, but also in constructions. Caitie is thrilled when little girls stop on the street, paying attention to her while she works.  Because she loves to inspire more and more girls and women to do this job or any job they dream of. To make it more effective she also started an instagram page about her everyday work.Tile by tile, women like Caitie build a more equal and beautiful world.216,424People reached17,420EngagementsBoost Unavailable9.3K9.3K97 comments316 sharesLikeCommentShare

Oana’s story is a long and painful journey from dark to light....

Oana’s story is a long and painful journey from dark to light.  It was Friday, on October 30. Just like today, but 5 years ago. That terrible day started for Oana like any other Friday in Bucharest, Romania. She went to work and in the evening she went out with her fiancé for dinner. Later, they decided to go to a concert in a club, because the band’s lead vocalist was a good friend.  They were enjoying the performance when the hell came down to earth. It was 10:32pm when a fire broke out in the club. There were around 400 people inside and all rushed to escape through the only tiny exit.  In that chaos many of them fell down, so the exit was soon blocked. Those who were already outside started to pull them out.   Oana was far from the exit and the fire was already everywhere. Her fiancé covered her with his arms to protect her and somehow they managed to get out.  150 people were injured in that terrible fire and 64 died. Many of them, like Oana’s fiancé, were real heroes who saved lives while losing their own. Oana lost her consciousness when she arrived at the hospital. She stayed in a coma for 40 days while her chances to survive were around 5%. Miraculously she woke up. But then she found out that her fiancé passed away and her recovery will be a hard and uncertain process. But she still had a huge motivation to fight for her life: two loving parents next to her, determined to save their only child no matter what.Together they spent months after months in hospitals, never losing hope. Oana went through dozens of surgeries. In time she became immune to different anaesthetic drugs, so many of the surgeries were performed without a general anaesthesia. The doctors were amazed by Oana’s recovery. This incredible woman was beating the odds. After two years of immense struggles she started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Oana had to relearn to use parts of her body, to use her hands without fingers and to reintegrate into society. But in her new life even the impossible is possible. Today she is working again as an IT business analyst and she travels as much as she can. In parallel she started a blog about her experience. Through it she wants to inspire people to feel beautiful, despite all imperfections. And our world needs this so much!To me Oana is a superhuman, the kind of woman who can teach us a million things. Her fiancé would be so proud of her. He was a superhuman too. I take this opportunity to pay a tribute to him and to all the victims of that terrible fire.

I met this lovely, elegant lady last year on the old streets of...

I met this lovely, elegant lady last year on the old streets of Palermo, in Sicily. In this traditional part of Italy, most people are very dedicated to their families and to their faith in God. Giovanna lost her mother when she was only 10 years old, during the Second World War. So she had to take care of her four younger brothers from a very young age. Later, she had herself three children. When I met her she was very worried about one of her daughter’s health, who was suffering from a critical disease.  Giovanna’s life was a carousel of ups and downs. She lost family members, she lost friends, but she never lost her faith and her elegance. I guess that faith helped her finding the strength and hope, while elegance gave her a sense of normality during difficult times. When we said goodbye, after our short encounter, she took my hands in hers, she looked at me with kindness and told me something in Italian. I think it was “May God bless you.”

Maybe no police force in the world had faced so many challenges...

Maybe no police force in the world had faced so many challenges as the one from Medellin, in Colombia, during the Pablo Escobar times. That’s when Nataly grew up and decided to fight for peace and justice. Nataly’s father was a police officer too. She was only four years old when her dad was murdered while on a mission against Pablo’s Escobar cartel. Today Nataly is a captain in the Colombian police. She has 60 subordinates, most of them men. It must be much harder for a woman to gain the respect of such a team, but Nataly has prepared for that since she was a little girl. Things are better today in Medellin. And that’s also because courageous people like Nataly and her father fought for it. We call these kind of people brave and courageous, but I also like to call them beautiful.