March 8 marks International Women’s Day, the UN-recognised push for equality between the sexes. This year’s theme for the occasion is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow,” which focuses on how women around the world are contributing to sustainability efforts and more specifically, the fight against climate change. And that’s something that we at Bamboo Scenes can get behind.
Bamboo Scenes Team, Madelon de Grave, Mei Ming Leung, Gayatri Bhaumik
Bamboo Scenes was created by our fearless female founder, Madelon de Grave. But, not content to just be a female-founded operation, Madelon assembled a team of strong, creative professional females to push the company to its greatest heights. Case in point? The majority of the Bamboo Scenes team are women, from our manager, Mei, and designer Michelle to our admin whizz, April, and editor, Gayatri. We’ve also got Celine Jill leading our video production team (yes, she is behind the RAW by Bamboo Scenes snippets you see on Instagram every Friday!), Arpita managing our website, and Lowind, Hannah and Joannah handling our marketing. Then, of course, we have our four incredibly talented female artists, who account for 50% of our collective of photographers.
We like to think we’re doing our part for gender equality—and sustainability—through the choices we make as a company. We only work with local craftsmen to create our high-quality photography art prints and frame them in handmade frames. And, to ensure there is no wastage, all our prints are made to order and strictly limited to just 50 pieces of each image in our collection. And, as if that weren’t already a good start, we use 100% certified organic Hahnemühle fine art paper to print our images.
We like to think we’re doing our part for gender equality—and sustainability—through the choices we make as a company.
As much as we think our team of women is amazing, we wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day by introducing you to some of the most extraordinary women photographers in the world. These are the women who inspire us and our company every day, and we hope you find them just as compelling.
Annie Leibovitz
Hollywood Portfolio, 2016, Vanity Fair, by Annie Leibovitz
American photographer Annie Leibovitz hardly needs any introduction. Known for her dramatic, quirky, and iconic style, Leibovitz is a prolific portrait photographer who can turn her hand to pretty much anything she wants. If you’re flipping through the latest issue of Vogue and see a spread featuring the latest Hollywood It girl, Leibovitz probably shot it. In fact, Leibovitz has such a reputation in the industry that she’s probably one of the few people who can convince some of the world’s hottest celebrities to take on the roles of Disney characters for fantasy-themed shoots. Most recently, she published her book “Wonderland” and exhibited at the Hong Kong outpost of Hauser & Wirth gallery.
Leibovitz is a prolific portrait photographer who can turn her hand to pretty much anything she wants.
Sarah van Rij
December 2020 issue, Vogue Italia, by Sarah van Rij
A Dutch native who now splits her time between Amsterdam and the fashion capital of Paris, Sarah van Rij is a sought-after photographer. Although she’s developed a captivating photography style that focuses on street and narrative scenes, she’s equally adept at more commercial efforts. In fact, when the world’s top brands and publications need a photographer in Europe, she’s often the one they turn to. Grab a copy of Vogue Italia, The New Yorker, or ID or check out the latest advertisements by Hermès, Chanel, or Dior, and Sarah may just have been the one behind the images.
Sarah van Rij is a sought-after photographer who developed a captivating photography style that focuses on street and narrative scenes, she’s equally adept at more commercial efforts.
Cath Simard
Spirit & Land, 2021, Canadian Rockies, by Cath Simard
Across the pond, Canadian photographer Cath Simard has developed a reputation for taking evocative images of the nature and wilderness of her homeland. Pulling triple duty as a landscape photographer, digital artist, and educator, Simard blends her love of the outdoors with her passions for photography and art. Check out her works in art or nature-focused publications like Sony Alpha Universe, DP Review, Art of Visuals, Open Skies Magazine, and Patagonia Journal. You may even be inspired to book one of her multi-day workshops and expeditions—after all, who wouldn’t want to traipse across the Andes, Iceland, or the Canadian Rockies with a professional photographer to show them how best to capture the landscape? Best of all, Simard is well ahead of the NFT game—her work, “The Genesis” sold out on SuperRare.
Cath Simard has developed a reputation for taking evocative images of the nature and wilderness of her homeland. She blends her love of the outdoors with her passions for photography and art.
Hillary Younger
Foggy Fagus, 2015, On Landscape, by Hillary Younger
Few of us could go to Tasmania, Australia and now be wowed by the island’s rich natural landscapes. So it’s no wonder, then, that Hobart native Hillary Younger went from self-taught photographer to talented landscape photographer, educator, speaker, and Haida Ambassador. Younger began her journey in 2007, having been influenced by two other Tasmanian landscape photographers, Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis. Now, her work is featured on Australian Geographic and On Landscape and she’s inspiring a whole new generation of nature-focused shutterbugs.
Hillary Younger went from self-taught photographer to talented landscape photographer, educator, speaker, and Haida Ambassador.
Candida Höfer
Palazzo Ducale Mantova III, 2011, Mantua, Italy, by Candida Höfer
One of the grande dames of female photographers, 78-year-old Candida Höfer was born in Germany in 1944 and attended the Cologne Academy of Fine and Applied Arts before beginning her career as a portrait photographer for local newspapers. She also trained under famed German conceptual artists and photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, becoming one of their first students to use colour in her images. With a strong focus on architecture and interiors, Höfer developed a reputation for her striking interior photography that focussed on large, empty spaces. Over the years, she has exhibited around the world from the Kunsthalles in Basel and Bern and New York’s Museum of Modern Art to Toronto’s Power Plane and Venice’s Biennial.
With a strong focus on architecture and interiors, Höfer developed a reputation for her striking interior photography that focussed on large, empty spaces.
Lorena Darquea
Ranch, 2018, San Francisco, United States, by Lorena Darquea
Combining her love of architecture and photography, Ecuadorian photographer Lorena Darquea learned her trade in Mexico, Helsinki, and New York before collaborating with numerous international publications, including ArchDaily, Elle, The New York Times’ T Magazine, Rizzoli, and Arquine. Darquea’s career highlights include her installation at the Time Space Existence exhibition at the 2016 Venice Biennale and her work “PLANOS” which was exhibited at the 2019 Bienal de Arquitectura de Latinoamérica.
Lorena Darquea learned her trade in Mexico, Helsinki, and New York before collaborating with numerous international publications.
Bamboo Scenes’ Female Artists
‘Golden Days’, 2017, Victoria Harbour, by Elaine Li & ‘Martini’, 2017, Kowloon, by Sharon Liu
At Bamboo Scenes, we’re proud to be working with some seriously talented female photographers and we’d like to take a minute to introduce you to them properly on International Women’s Day. With a devoted Instagram following, Elaine Li uses her camera to capture the spirit of the cities she travels to with powerful urban photographs—she’s also bullish on NFTs. Celebrating the elegance of the female form and the urban density of Hong Kong, May N Kasahara’s collection depicts a shapely woman’s body against the strong, straight lines of Hong Kong’s building, creating empowering images of women in the city. Another Bamboo Scenes artist who’s fallen down the NFT rabbit hole, Vivien Liu channels her training in architecture to create captivating, strong photographs of urban scenes all over the world, displaying her deep knowledge and appreciation of architectural design and structure. Finally, turning a female lens of Hong Kong’s urban jungle, Sharon Liu’s photographs offer a woman’s finess that flirts with and glamorises the skyscrapers and skylines of the city.
At Bamboo Scenes, we’re proud to be working with some seriously talented female photographers: Elaine Li, May N Kasahara, Vivien Liu & Sharon Liu.
‘02/ Sai Ying Pun, Dina’, 2016, SYP, by May N Kasahara & ‘Pink Matter’, 2016, Victoria Peak, by Vivien Liu
Of course, we’re not forgetting the wonderful men on the Bamboo Scenes team. Our wonderful male artists include Kevin, Kelvin, Gideon, and Jeremy—but while we love them and appreciate their hard work…this is a piece about International Women’s Day!
Do you want to learn more about our art? Check out the full Bamboo Scenes collection here!