Beauty is everywhere. As photographers, we know this intrinsically. We see beauty in places the world might overlook – the rusty underside of a wall, the discolored textures of broken glass exposed to the elements, a salty, dry old river bed…beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder.
What is beauty though? Is it in high cheekbones, a strong jawline, long hair, symmetrical features…is it all of it? None of it?
Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc is looking for beauty around the world. Two years ago, she left her “boring job,” took her backpack and camera and started to travel the world with her savings. Mihaela began taking portraits of “natural women” in their various cultures to show that beauty is diverse and our differences is what makes women worldwide, beautiful.
I want to photograph women from each country of the world, to show that beauty is everywhere.
Miheala has traveled to 6 of the 7 continents in 37 countries. Through “Brazilian Favelas, rough neighborhoods of Colombia, in an Iranian mosque, on the Tibetan Plateau, in the biggest Buddhist temple of Myanmar, in the Amazon Rainforest, but also in fancy areas of Oxford, in downtown New York or in the suburbs of Sydney,” Miheala looked for women with natural faces, not a lot of makeup, if at all, and worked on capturing women she meets on the streets or through social media. Focusing on women in her age group in this project, she hopes to one day photograph women in other age groups as well and continue her mission to be “a mirror of our diverse societies and an inspiration for people that try to remain authentic.“
Showing that beauty is indeed everywhere and transcends makeup, wealth, race and social status, Miheala is demonstrating to the world that a women’s beauty comes, not from a trend, nor from an airbrushed, overly fluffed, painted, teased and coiffed cover girl, but from diversity.
Miheala will be beginning a new quest this June to new adventures and new places. After that she will have enough images to publish her images of beauty into a book. To support her quest check out her IndieGoGo campaign here, where you can choose her next destinations. To read more about it, click here. Find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
CREDITS: Photographs by Mihaela Noroc are copyrighted and have been used with permission for SLR Lounge. Do not copy, modify or re-post this article or images without express permission from SLR Lounge and the artist.
[Via So Bad So Good]
