About
Emmy Schoorl is a Dutch freelance travel photographer and writer, based in Shanghai. She studied law and marketing and then worked in various permanent and free-lance positions in the corporate sector. These included luminous roles in international sales for a publishing company, assisting the set-up of an internet company and working as an international business development manager. Then in 2003 she made the life-changing decision to dedicate her life to her three passions: photography, writing and travel.
Born with a travel passion, she has ventured to very remote places in Asia over the past 7 years. Journeying with her camera in hand she likes to capture the emotion and passion in people’s lives. Important themes in her work include portraits, ethnic minorities, the lives of monks, pilgrims & nomads, faith & symbolism, daily life.
Driven by a natural curiosity about people, Emmy follows the ‘paths less travelled’ to explore unique and extraordinary communities. She has an exceptional ability to cross the boundaries of language and culture to capture the personal stories of those she meets. With an open approach and a smile, she puts people at ease and gains their trust, finding openings to their personality, innermost feelings, life and home.
Emmy is most interested in portraiture. She sees photography as a means of unveiling the essence of a person’s life and presenting it in a broader perspective. She said ‘I prefer to visit remote places that have been relatively untouched by industrial development in order to photograph those whose culture and traditional way of life reflect a deep authenticity or bond with the past. I look for the intangible spirit of that particular place that, for those who live there, represents their daily landscape.’
She is also fascinated by people who live in very difficult circumstances. ‘This interest has brought me to diverse places from the desolate landscapes of Tibet where nomads survive extreme weather and environmental conditions to the dumpsites of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, where people live, eat and work. In spite of these difficult circumstances, people can still be so humourous and incredibly hospitable. I try to reveal how they live their life and show their extraordinary ability to survive’.
Emmy’s photographs are the result of an authentic and honest desire to locate the universal experience of survival and of life itself.
