Meryl Meisler was born in 1951 into a Jewish family and grew up on Long Island, New York. She began photography in the 1970s, inspired by her dad's family photos, Diane Arbus and Jacques Henri Lartigue. In 1975, Meryl moved to New York City, studied with Lisette Model, and worked as a freelance illustrator. In those years, she assiduously frequented Manhattan nightclubs, where she witnessed the disco explosion. During these wild evenings, she danced and photographed the city's nightlife.

In 1979, she became an art teacher in the NYC Public Schools, where she photographed street life in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and other neighborhoods where she taught. Throughout the years, Meryl Meisler also documented the lives of those closest to her at family dinners and festive gatherings.

After retiring from the public schools, Meryl began releasing and promoting her decades of unseen work. She published her first monograph in 2014, A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick (ed. Bizarre), followed by Purgatory & Paradise SASSY '70s Suburbia & The City (Bizarre 2015), New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco (Parallel Pictures Press, 2021) and STREET WALKER ( Eyeshot, 2025). Meryl lives and works in Woodstock and NYC, continuing her photographic memoir begun in 1973 – sweet and sassy, with a pinch of mystery. CLAMP and Polka Galerie represent her work.

Rhiannon Adam is a queer, Irish photographic artist, working between London, New York, and South Africa. She was educated at Central Saint Martins and at the University of Cambridge, and is the author of three books, including Big Fence / Pitcairn Island, and Polaroid: The Missing Manual. 

Her research-led, long-term projects feature complex narratives relating to social injustice, outsider communities and abuse of power through the oft-close relationships between utopia and dystopia, fact and fiction. Her documentary practice is rooted in the study of cause and effect, turning her lens to the micro in order to reflect on the urgent macro issues of our time. 

While rooted in photographic image-making, these explorations harness the power of archive material, video, audio, and interrogate the inherent nature of the photographic medium itself. 

In 2021, Adam was chosen as one of the eight crew-members (all creatives) on the first civilian lunar orbital mission, dearMoon. However, in June 2024, the project's funder (Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa) abruptly canceled the mission. Adam is now working on a chapter-based self-reflexive project, Rhi-Entry, which deals with the fallout, and a body of work in South Africa.

J. Sybylla Smith brings a concept development lens to her work as an independent curator, podcaster and consultant. Her mission is to amplify the work of women photographers and highlight underrepresented narratives with an intersectional lens. 

In 30+ solo and group exhibitions, Smith features 115+ photographers in worldwide venues including the U.S., Mexico, Columbia and Japan. Her Concept Aware® podcast engages a global audience in over 80 interviews with international photographers, curators and visual culture writers. 

Her creative framework, Concept Aware®: How You See & Why It Matters, provides specific tools to visual artists to bring their abstract ideas to fruition in image, text, exhibition and book form. She consults with emerging and seasoned professionals to refine ideas and contextualize their work. Collaboratively she develops portfolios, writes content, produces projects, creates exhibitions, and completes book proposals. 

Smith guest lectures and teaches workshops on Concept Aware® at educational institutions and arts organizations. `A published author she writes for publications on contemporary photography, visual culture and creativity. An avid portfolio reviewer she enjoys jurying photo exhibitions and awards. 

Sandra M. Stevenson is an award-winning writer, visual editor, and curator who recently joined Education Week as Managing Editor, Visuals and Immersive Experience.

Before joining EducationWeek, Sandra was Deputy Director of Photography at The Washington Post, where she managed a team of picture editors covering International, Climate, and Health + Science. Previously, she served as Associate Deputy Director of Photography at CNN, overseeing picture editors responsible for curating the home screen, editing stories and newsletters, and producing special projects. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Editor at The New York Times, where she supervised digital photo editors on the news desk and contributed to visual content for Race/Related and Gender. She also played a key role in exclusive projects such as Overlooked and This Is 18.

Sandra earned a BA in English from Syracuse University before spending four years at NBC. She then became the program coordinator for the Black Filmmaker Foundation, where she was deeply committed to helping people of color enter the film industry at various levels.

She later returned to the news industry, joining The Associated Press, where she spent eight years advancing from photo assistant to overseeing photo news coverage for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Debra Klomp Ching is the co-owner of the Klompching Gallery (est. 2007) in Brooklyn, New York. The gallery specializes in the exhibition and sale of contemporary fine art photographs. Artworks by its international roster of artists can be found in the collections of MoCP, George Eastman Museum, LACMA, MOMA and Victoria & Albert Museum among many others. In addition to owning and operating the gallery, she is a freelance consultant, writer, curator and educator. Her writing has been published in several publications, including being a guest editor for Photography Quarterly (issue No. 99) and the commissioning editor/publisher of (re)collect – Jonathan Shaw (2006). She is a regular judge for photography awards, including the LensCulture Emerging Talent Award (2017), San Francisco Bay International Photography Show (2018), and the Arnold Newman Portrait Award (2018). Debra Klomp Ching is also an Adjunct Faculty member at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), the co-founder of the Fresh Annual Photography Exhibition and the Rhonda Wilson Award.

IG: @debraklompching @klompchinggallery

Anastasia Samoylova is an American artist (b.1984, Russia) who moves between observational photography and studio practice. Her work explores notions of environmentalism, consumerism, and the picturesque.  Her exhibition, 'Floridas: Anastasia Samoylova and Walker Evans,' is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, October 14, 2024 - May 11, 2025. 'Adaptation,' a career-to-date monograph of Samoylova's work, was published by Thames & Hudson.

Recent exhibitions include the Nasher Museum of Art, C/O Berlin, Fundación MAPFRE, George Eastman Museum, Chrysler Museum of Art, and Kunst Haus Wien. In 2022 Samoylova was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Perez Art Museum, Miami; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; and Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. Publications include FloodZone (Steidl, 2019), Floridas (Steidl, 2022), Image Cities (Fundación Mapfre, 2023), and Adaptation (Thames & Hudson, 2024). 

Paris Chong is the Gallery Director of the prestigious Leica Gallery Los Angeles. With over two decades of experience as a Curator she has represented galleries and artists at events including Photo LA, Photo SF, Paris Photo and Paris Photo LA in addition to promoting Leica Gallery Los Angeles at international shows such as Art Basel and Photo Paris.  Ms. Chong has also served as a respected and sought-after portfolio reviewer for The International Photography Awards (IPA), Les Recontres d’Arles, The Palm Springs Photo Festival (PSPF), reFocus Awards, OpenWalls Arles, Photoville and the ongoing Meet the Curator portfolio reviews for Leica Akademie USA.  

With her extensive involvement in the art community, Ms. Chong’s duties over the many years have also seen her coordinating both intimate and large group events at Leica Camera’s flagship store in West Hollywood. Celebrated artists range from the legendary Henri Cartier Bresson and Sebastiao Salgado to contemporary powerhouse names such as Neal Preston, Julian Lennon, Lenny Kravitz, Maggie Steber, Mary Ellen Mark and Ralph Gibson to name a few.   

Ms. Chong has also found time to give back to the community on multiple levels such as serving as a Board Member for The Foundation for The Aids Monument (FAM), a non-profit formed to secure funding for a memorial monument in West Hollywood and The West Hollywood Design District (WHDD).   

Further to her philanthropic side, Ms. Chong also Curates still life photography showings for The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) at its historic Hollywood headquarters.  

Sandra Cattaneo Adorno (b. 1953, Rio de Janeiro) started photographing in 2013 at the age of 60 and has since achieved extensive recognition for her work.  Her inventive practice revolves around street photography as a way of questioning reality and representation.  Guided by a profound sense of curiosity, Cattaneo Adorno pairs insight and playfulness to reflect through images on both society and personal memories.

The experimental approach Cattaneo Adorno adopts while photographing is mirrored by the techniques she employs to exhibit her work, ranging from the use of innovative inks and materials to her most recent exploration of the possibilities of connecting stills and projections, visuals and sound.  

Cattaneo Adorno has worked closely with Radius Books to create monographs that could expand the poetic possibilities of her photography: The Other Half of the Sky (2019), Águas de Ouro (2020), Scarti di Tempo (2022) and Ten Years (2024). 

In April of 2024 Cattaneo Adorno launched her solo exhibition during the 60th Venice Biennale, organised by the European Cultural Centre.  She is represented by She is represented by Robert Mann Gallery in New York.

Ashly Stohl is a photographer based in Los Angeles and New York.  She is also the co-founder of Peanut Press, an independent photobook publisher. 

Ashly was born and raised in Los Angeles. She earned a BS in chemistry from UCSB, but spent more time with the creative crowd from Brooks Institute of Photography. After college, she returned to L.A. and put her science education to use, creating award-winning educational websites for NASA’s Mars Program Office.

She embraced photography as an escape from the demands of being a mother, yet motherhood is the inescapable lens through which she views her subjects. She examines community as an extension of the family, and believes that the families and people create for themselves can be as revealing as the ones to which they were born.

Ashly has lectured at institutions including The Penumbra Foundation, Columbia University, George Washington University, and SPE National.  In 2015, she published her first book, Charth Vader, and it became a viral sensation. Her second book, Days and Years, was published in 2019. Ashly and now lends her experience to other photographers, publishing through Peanut Press.

www.ashlystohl.com

instagram @ashlyleostohl 

A graduate of the Paris School of Business, Sophie Muret began her career as a consultant in leading consultancy agencies. In 2019, her photography was first exhibited in Arles, France, marking the beginning of her artistic recognition. Through her distinctive and singular vision, she rapidly expanded the scope of her artistic endeavors.

In 2020, with the opening of Gallery La Belle Étoile in Arles, her artistic journey took a significant step forward. That same year, she conceptualized In-Corpus Photography, a framework that became the foundation for her first festival, launched in Arles in 2021. The festival’s mission is to raise awareness of the relationship between the body and the self while promoting contemporary international photography. Through this platform, Sophie Muret brings together artists from around the world, fostering dialogue and creative exchange.

Nina Welch-Kling is a New York City-based photographer. The German native combines her background in architecture and design with her passion for roaming the city streets to guide her often mysterious photographic depictions of everyday life. Welch-Kling earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in Interior Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990 and a Master in Architecture from The University of California, Los Angeles in 1993.

In 2020, Welch-Kling was a recipient of the LensCulture Critics’ Choice Award as well as a finalist in the LensCulture Street Photography Awards. Welch-Kling's work has been included in multiple international photography exhibitions as well as numerous magazine and online publications including The Guardian, British Journal of Photography, Dazed, Musée Magazine, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and TheModernMet.com. Welch-Kling’s work is included in the book Women Street Photographers, edited by Gulnara Samoilova published by Prestel. In 2021, she was one of eight women named a Hasselblad Heroine. Welch-Kling's first monograph, titled Duologues was published by Kehrer Verlag in the Fall of 2022.

Sehin Tewabe is a 27 year-old professional photographer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the current Winner of Women Street Photographers Artist Residency. A self-taught artist with a background in Accounting, Sehin has always had a natural passion for photography. Growing up in a large family, she was surrounded by joyous moments that she felt needed to be preserved. This desire to capture the beauty of everyday life led her to pick up a camera and turn fleeting moments into lasting memories, deepening her love for photography in the process.

Sehin specializes in street, portrait, and documentary photography, focusing on capturing authentic scenes and expressing her perspective through creative composition and natural light. She has participated in various photography events, including art sales and international exhibitions such as Addis Foto Fest, led by Aida Muluneh, and her recent street photography and documentary exhibition in Cologne, Germany. Additionally, she co-founded Ethiopia's first photography-centered gallery nine months ago, where she has successfully led six exhibitions.

Mary-Irene Marek, VP of Marketing at Leica Camera USA.

Mary-Irene Marek is a seasoned marketing executive with a deep passion for the photography industry and a career dedicated to serving its vibrant community. With a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts, she began her professional journey with the Eastman Kodak Company, where she developed a keen understanding of the evolving visual media landscape. Immersed in a period of rapid technological advancement, she embraced the shift from analog to digital, recognizing early on the transformative power of new tools and platforms in shaping the way photographers and filmmakers create, share, and connect with their audiences.

Her expertise expanded as she took on a leadership role at Adorama Camera in Manhattan, overseeing a team of filmmaking and photography professionals. In this capacity, she played a pivotal role in shaping marketing strategies, building industry partnerships, and fostering engagement among creatives and professionals alike. Her forward-thinking approach helped position the retailer at the forefront of innovative storytelling and content production, ensuring that photographers had access to the latest innovations and educational resources to elevate their craft.

Now, as Vice President of Marketing at Leica Camera USA, Mary-Irene continues to drive community and brand growth, leveraging her deep industry knowledge and strategic vision. She remains committed to empowering photographers, filmmakers, and visual storytellers through impactful marketing initiatives, educational programs, and community-driven efforts. Her ability to anticipate industry shifts and champion emerging technologies enables her to craft compelling campaigns that resonate with both seasoned professionals and the next generation of creatives.

Exposure Salon began as an idea in early 2024 during a casual restaurant conversation between NYC street photographers Carol Dronsfield and Liz Jang. Since then, it has evolved into a dedicated space where women photographers of all disciplines and experience levels can connect face-to-face.

Exposure Salon fosters a supportive environment for sharing work, engaging in lively and informative discussions about photography, and providing inspiration—all within a safe space.

Since its inception, Exposure Salon has featured several artists, including Sonia Goydenko, Colleen Cavanaugh, Linda Hacker, Jeanette May and more.

Gulnara Lyabib Samoilova is an American photographer with over 40 years of experience in documentary, street, and fine art photography. She graduated from the International Center of Photography in 1994 and worked as a staff photo editor and photojournalist at the Associated Press.

Throughout her career, Gulnara has received numerous awards for her photographs, including first prize from the World Press Photo. Gulnara's work is part of collections at the Museum of the City of New York, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and New York Historical Society.

She is the founder of Women Street Photographers, an online and in-person global community, as well as an artist residency in New York City. Additionally, she is the author of the best-selling book Women Street Photographers (2021, Prestel) and a portfolio book (2023, Peanut Press). With her vast experience and expertise, Gulnara has organized and curated over 30 successful exhibitions in four continents, including the first Women Street Photographers Festival in New York City. The festival, sponsored by Leica Camera, features group and solo exhibitions, grants, panel discussions, and photo walks. In addition to her curatorial work, Gulnara is also an inspirational speaker, guest judge (Lens Culture, Lucie Photo Book Prize, UNESCO) and portfolio reviewer (Arles Les Rencontres de la Photographie, PhotoNola), and a LOBA nominator.