VII elects two new members
VII Photo has elected Marcus Bleasdale and Franco Pagetti, bringing the total number of members in the agency to 11.
Following the recent VII Seminar in Pasadena, the members of VII met for two days to consider over 100 submissions for membership – a record figure, said the agency.
According to its constitution, only 14 members can be in VII at any given time. "We are thrilled that Marcus and Franco have agreed to join VII," said VII chairman Gary Knight. "For the past decade, they have both demonstrated an indefatigable commitment to some of the most important stories of our time. They are also close friends and colleagues, and we look forward to having them join the VII family."
Marcus Bleasdale has spent more than eight years covering the brutal conflict within the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the work was published in his book One Hundred Years of Darkness. He is widely published in the UK, Europe and the USA in publications such as The Sunday Times magazine, The Telegraph magazine, Geo, New Yorker, Time, Newsweek and National Geographic magazine. Marcus has received acclaim for his work, including several first prizes in the POY and NPPA awards.
Franco Pagetti has covered the conflict in Iraq since January 2003. Since then, he has been based almost constantly in Baghdad, mainly on assignment for Time magazine.
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© Franco Pagetti/VII
Pagetti has been a news photographer since 1994, and most of his recent work has involved conflict situations in such as those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and East Timor.
He has also worked on assignment for Newsweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Stern. His work has been published in Le Figaro, Paris Match, The Times, The Independent and DAYS Japan magazine.
The original VII Photo members were Alexandra Boulat, Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey and John Stanmeyer. They were joined in 2002 by Lauren Greenfield, in 2004 by Joachim Ladefoged and in 2006 by Eugene Richards. On 5 October 2007, Alexandra Boulat died after suffering a brain aneurysm earlier in the year.
