American photography generated a wealth of great artists. Some of them are very well known, but it may not be the case for most. Working in documentary photography may make things even tougher. Kathryn Obermaier is a freelance photojournalist currently based in New York.
She has been working in many locations, and is currently working with an NGO in India documenting the lives of the students at the Ashray School in Varanasi. And I recommend you to visit her web site. But what has caught my eye is her work about Cheerleaders, a most American landmark.
Obviously, I was not the only one to notice this documentary series, since Kathryn was chosen for the Associated Press award for this project.
In my story about Cheerleaders, I follow a competitive high school team in Upstate NY. They travel throughout the States competing. This photo was taken as they were announced as the winners at a competition in Connecticut. I choose to follow cheerleaders because of the combination of sport and pageantry, these girls are between the ages of 15 to 18 and are still developing who they are, I found the moments surrounding the competition to be beautiful, and honest.
Kathryn Obermaier