Nichole was born in New York and graduated from Tufts University with a degree in political science. She began her career in Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, focusing on regional issues related to identity, conflict, and human rights. Nichole aims to create photographs and films that demand consideration for the lives of those represented—their joys, challenges, and ultimately their humanity. Amidst our fractured present existence, she believes that a well-told story can cut through the noise, deepen empathy, and inspire a more conscious world. The primary focus of Nichole’s work is on humanity’s fraught, intimate, and ultimately unbreakable connection to the natural world. In 2016 Nichole began her body of work entitled Where Our Land Was, supported by The GroundTruth Project, which investigates the human consequences of significant environmental change in Somalia. She is currently exploring the vital role the Congo Basin plays in the ecological balance of our planet as a National Geographic Explorer. As climate change advances, sustained photography must illuminate the complex and multifaceted problems underway, evoke the power and beauty of the world we share, and remind us all of our collective responsibility to fix what we have broken.
“In order to change the world, we have to first understand it as it is. Documentary photography is a window into lives, places and experiences beyond ourselves. It can broaden our perspective, inform our choices, and, at its best, act as a bridge to connect us to one another.” – Nicole Sobecki
