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Hi, I'm Rick Bajornas, a professional photographer based in Istanbul with international experience shooting for the United Nations and major brands. I thrive in fast-paced environments, delivering compelling images and meticulous metadata to support public dissemination, archiving, and storytelling across digital and print platforms. My career has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to field assignments in Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and beyond. I have built and managed large image databases, collaborated with editors on photo selection, and led workshops to develop visual storytelling with aspiring photographers.…Hi, I'm Rick Bajornas, a professional photographer based in Istanbul with international experience shooting for the United Nations and major brands. I thrive in fast-paced environments, delivering compelling images and meticulous metadata to support public dissemination, archiving, and storytelling across digital and print platforms. My career has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to field assignments in Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and beyond. I have built and managed large image databases, collaborated with editors on photo selection, and led workshops to develop visual storytelling with aspiring photographers.

Rick Bajornas

Photographer, Videographer, Image Editor, +2

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Hi, I'm Rick Bajornas, a professional photographer based in Istanbul with international experience shooting for the United Nations and major brands. I thrive in fast-paced environments, delivering compelling images and meticulous metadata to support public dissemination, archiving, and storytelling across digital and print platforms. My career has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to field assignments in Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and beyond. I have built and managed large image databases, collaborated with editors on photo selection, and led workshops to develop visual storytelling with aspiring photographers.…Hi, I'm Rick Bajornas, a professional photographer based in Istanbul with international experience shooting for the United Nations and major brands. I thrive in fast-paced environments, delivering compelling images and meticulous metadata to support public dissemination, archiving, and storytelling across digital and print platforms. My career has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to field assignments in Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and beyond. I have built and managed large image databases, collaborated with editors on photo selection, and led workshops to develop visual storytelling with aspiring photographers.

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Rick Bajornas, a professional photographer based in Istanbul with international experience shooting for the United Nations and major brands. I thrive in fast-paced environments, delivering compelling images and meticulous metadata to support public dissemination, archiving, and storytelling across digital and print platforms.

My career has taken me from UN Headquarters in New York to field assignments in Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and beyond. I have built and managed large image databases, collaborated with editors on photo selection, and led workshops to develop visual storytelling with aspiring photographers.

Skills

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Illustrator

Experience Level

Adobe Photoshop

Expert

Adobe Lightroom

Expert

Adobe Illustrator

Expert

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

Freelance Photographer at New York (Freelance)

January 1, 2014 - November 14, 2025

Freelance assignments from UN, UN agencies, country missions, and commercial clients such as Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti.

Photographer - United Nations Headquarters at United Nations Headquarters

January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2014

Provide photographic coverage of the UN's work at HQ and in the field; travel with the Secretary-General; input in image selection for public dissemination; acts as Photo Editor; conducts research and metadata captioning/archiving.

Freelance Photographer at New York

December 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012

Freelance assignments for UN and UN agencies (UNFFS, UNWomen), commercial clients (Baccarat, Mercedes-Benz) and Sipa Press.

Photographer - United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) at UNAMI

December 1, 2010 - December 1, 2010

Documented activities of UN and UN agencies in Iraq; created and managed image database of 20,000 images.

Freelance Photographer at Lebanon

December 1, 2008 - December 1, 2008

Developed photo essays on topics including the South’s cluster bomb crises, Italian UN peacekeepers in Zibqin, Tyre’s fishing community, and life in south Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps.

Instructor - Lens on Lebanon at Lens on Lebanon

December 1, 2008 - December 1, 2008

OSI-funded photographic workshops in Tebnine, southern Lebanon, in Bourj al-Shemali and Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camps; introduced camera handling, photo editing and visual storytelling.

Photographer - UN Peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) at UNMEE

December 1, 2006 - December 1, 2006

Provided principal photographic coverage and documentation of the Mission’s activities; proposals, writing, photographing, editing and distribution of photography for publications and events.

Photo Processing Clerk/Photographer at United Nations Headquarters

January 1, 2005 - January 1, 2005

Photographed and prepared digital images for UN's permanent photo database; scanned, color corrected and retouched images for digital archiving.

Digital Technician at Magnum Photos

December 31, 2004 - December 31, 2004

Managed digital photo database and online library for international distribution; film/print scanning and retouching for exhibitions, publications and websites.

Production Team at Al-Liquindoi Photography Workshops

December 31, 2005 - December 31, 2005

Assisted workshop director in producing photographic workshops with Magnum, VII and Noor; organized and processed negatives, prints and digital files for participants.