Dana Popa

Dana Popa is a Romanian based photojournalist. I first encountered her work when I saw her series 'Not Natasha' a photographic series she crafted after spending time in the Republic of Moldova - the poorest country in Europe - and investigating the sex industry.

I really appreciate the way she manages to not only investigate and document her experience, but how she is able to incorporate emotional nuances in her images through composition and other stylistic choices - color, depth of field, etc.

Her work is also a testament to photojournalism, whilst many often refer to it as a dying medium I think she draws attention to why its important, with her images documenting a patriarchal culture and a unique perspective that might have otherwise not been observed. Throughout her images it is clear that she really worked to understand her subjects, with her photographs serving as deeply personal portraits of the women and their environment.