GEORGE NICKELS

George Nickels is a freelance photojournalist and has been working in South East Asia and Europe since 2011. The primary focus of his work is covering social conflict and humanitarian issues. Currently based in the United Kingdom, he is a member of The Frontline Freelance Register. Born in Oxfordshire, England in 1982, he is a self-taught photographer, with work published in leading newspapers, magazines and media outlets worldwide.

George is motivated to record and communicate the personal testimonies and experiences of the people he meets. His in-depth photography and editorial provide an often un-reported aspect of current affairs and news. He explores the reasons for past and present conflicts, and exposes human rights issues. George has worked on a number of personal projects, such as documenting the political situation in Asia, with particular focus on the Cambodian national elections in 2013 and the2014 coup d'é·tat in Thailand. For publications such as SouthEast Asia Globe, and Vice, his photography provided an insight into the current contrasts between the political parties, and the reality of the voters and their rights.

The ever-present threat of landmines in South East Asia is also a primary focus for George. For the past five years, he has built up a large body of work documenting the continuing effects of landmine and UXO’s, and the work of demining organisations such as The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and Apopo. He works on a one to one basis with Khmer deminers, highlights their training and techniques used in the field. An integral part to the story is the vast number of people who have been physically and mentally injured; his photographs often reveal their history, struggles and ultimately their resilience to survive. His research has lead to photo essays published in Vice, The Huffington Post, Discovery News,The Atlantic, Life Force Magazine, Quest L'édition du soir, Defence World, Geographical Magazine, El Mundo and DFID (United Kingdom Department for InternationalDevelopment) to name a few.

In 2014, his work ‘Perfect Soldiers’ was also selected for a collaborative exhibition entitled ‘Documenting Cambodia’ presented by NGOInsider, and his project covering MDR’s (mine detection rats), ‘Training for theK5 belt’ was selected for the Impact Project and was screened at The Foreign Correspondents Club at the Angkor Photo Festival in 2015, in October 2016 he was part of a touring exhibition with Tim Page entitled ''Resilience'' commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords in Cambodia which was shown at The Constable Gallery and the Foreign Correspondents Club Phnom Penh.

Since 2014, George has also been working on a personal long-term project covering migration, human trafficking and the effects the modern day slave trade is having on Cambodian communities, their lives and environment. His interviews and documentary photography  has been published in The Telegraph and he has worked on assignment for The Guardian, The European Union, The European Journalism Centre and Europe Aid. His work is also featured on the front page of the East West Centre and the Stanford University WSD Handa Centre’s 2015 report on evaluating the presence of human trafficking in SouthEast Asia, ASEAN.  Part of this project was featured in a collaborative exhibition held at The Guardian offices in London entitled "Faces Of Slavery". His work was featured in The 2018 Global Slavery Index and in 2019 his photographs were shown at the 2nd International conference "Cross border cooperation on Labour Migration and Human Trafficking between Cambodia and Thailand: from policies framework to the implementation”,. 

In 2020 his work documenting Eastern European migrants living in slums throughout Paris whilst on assignment for Premiere Urgence International was chosen by The Global Institute for Tomorrow to represent France celebrating unsung heroes of the pandemic and published in their 4th Edition book entitled  The Other One Hundred healers, his work was also shown in a joint exhibition at the Hong Kong Baptist University. 

Most recently  his work covering poor sanitation and the effects that poverty has on children in South East Asia was nominated both in 2022 and 2023 for UNICEF photographer of the year.