Akre, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Gulstan, a Kurdish-Syrian refugee in Gawilan refugee camp, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Mawat, As Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Mohammed [20] and Alan [14], refugees from Qamishli city in Syria, at Bardarash refugee camp in Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Shepherd in Al Qosh, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Children play in the Euphrates near Kefal during the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq.

Women queue at the entrance to Zeynab's Hill in Karbala, Iraq. 

Imam Hassan Qazwini prays in his home before iftar, the evening meal that breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Juvenile orangutans hold on to Emmy, a keeper at SOCP's orangutan quarantine centre in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Well over 200 orangutans have been returned to the wild as a result of this work, and two entirely new wild populations of this Critically Endangered species are gradually being established, as a back up “safety net” for the remaining wild population, increasing the likelihood that at least some orangutans will survive in Sumatra’s forests in the future.

An Asian elephant stands visibly traumatised, chained to a temple pillar following a six-hour procession. It was paraded through the streets of Varanasi, noisy with crowds and rocketing fireworks, in the build up to Diwali, the festival of lights. The elephant was swaying and its bloodshot eyes swirled, as its owner looked on anxiously. There are an estimated 3,600 domesticated Asian elephants in India, belonging either to the government, wealthy families or temples and used in festivals throughout the year. They are an endangered species, their wild counterparts under threat from habitat loss and conflict with humans in agricultural areas.

An Iranian nurse prepares a mammogram machine in Qom, Iran.

Mariam Eastman at home in Dearborn, USA.

Khushboo is from the Musuhar caste, one of the most marginalised communities in India. The threat of child marriage and trafficking is critically high amongst these communities. Female empowerment organisations like Nari Gunjun provide support, safe houses and education for young girls. Khushboo now lives at Nari Gunjun's boarding school in Bihar and has won nationally in karate.

On the road in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq exploring lesser seen parts of this wild and beautiful region, and the communities that live among it all. While walking in Choman province we came across people on foot at every turn.

An Iraqi father and son on the road from Najaf to Diwaniyah. Local families in this region are Date farmers. The dusty roads are lined with Date palm trees, modestly built homes and livestock roam through what is known as 'Palm jungle'. Before the war with Iran in the 1980s, Iraq was the largest exporter of dates in the world, producing 1 million tonnes of them annually. Saddam Hussein's military campaigns and subsequent decades of neglect destroyed the industry, cutting yearly production to 420,000 tonnes.

Chalunka village is one of four Balti villages located in the far north of Ladakh, the Union Territory of India-administered Kashmir. In 1947, these villages came under the occupation of India at the end of the Indo-Pakistani war. Families evacuated Chalunka village as it was located on the agreed cease-fire line between India and Pakistan. It’s not easy to reach these four small village located in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh region. On one side flows the Shyok River and on the other side are the high peaks of the Karakoram mountain range.

Akre, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Bardarash refugee camp, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

A rural pilgrim route in Al Hillah, Iraq at dusk. Pilgrims continue to walk late into the night, some walking from as far as Basra to reach Karbala. [2017]

This is Ghazale. She’s 19 years old and receiving an eye test at a hospital in Qom, Iran. She has a message, “I must believe I am a powerful woman. It is my heart that makes me powerful and I cannot doubt it”.

Al Qosh, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.