Berta Tilmantaite is a journalist and photographer from Lithuania. Her work, which focuses on social issues, human rights, the environment and the connections between humans and the natural world, has received a whole host of awards. Berta is the cofounder of NARA (a multimedia platform for documentary projects and NYLA podcast) and has created work for publications including National Geographic, Al Jazeera, WIRED, Rhythms Monthly and China DIalogue, among others. Her projects have been exhibited all over Europe and screened at film festivals from Portugal to Pakistan. It was her series “First Photograph” which Berta spoke to us about – the project which took her around Colombia and Ecuador making portraits of people that didn’t have a single photograph of themselves. The result is not only a multicolored celebration of cultural diversity, but it also raises questions about body image, poverty and our relationship with technology.
