Paula Bronstein

Biography

Paula Bronstein studied photography at the University of Colorado and Salzburg College in Austria, then focused on photojournalism at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she earned a fine arts degree. Her career started at the Providence Journal Bulletin, followed by twelve years at the New Haven Register and the Hartford Courant. She became a staff photographer for the Chicago Tribune in 1996 and later worked for The Register-Guard in Oregon.

Since 1998, she has been based in Bangkok. She joined Getty Images in June 2002, covering conflicts and news across Asia, including Kashmir, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Pakistan. During the 2007 APEC meetings in Australia, New South Wales Police pushed her to the ground while she photographed protesters, smashing her camera lens and causing minor bruising; she demanded an inquiry. In the 2014 Hong Kong protests, police arrested her on suspicion of criminal damage after she climbed onto a private vehicle to photograph clashes in Mong Kok on October 17.

Police said the driver complained and she refused to get down; Bronstein said such climbing is standard for photojournalists in war zones. She was released the next day after posting 300 Hong Kong dollars bail.

Awards

Bronstein received the John Faber award from the Overseas Press Club. In 2006, she won first prize in China's International Press Photo contest for "Earthquake victims in Kashmir." She was runner-up for Photojournalist of the Year (large markets) from the National Press Photographers Association in 2010 for her photograph of heroin addicts in Kabul.

That year, she was named Photographer of the Year by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand for her coverage of the Thai political crisis. In 2011, she received the FotoEvidence Book Award for "Afghanistan: Between Life and War" and was a nominated finalist for the Breaking News Pulitzer Prize with Daniel Berehulak. In 2017, she won first prize singles in Daily Life at World Press Photo.

Did You Know?

• Bronstein's book includes a foreword by Kim Barker, an essay by Christina Lamb titled "Afghan Women," and an afterword by Bronstein.
• She was arrested during the 2014 Hong Kong protests and released after posting bail of 300 Hong Kong Dollars.