Heidi Bradner

Heidi Bradner was born and raised in Alaska. After graduating from the University of Alaska, she interned at The Juneau Empire and other Alaskan publications. Bradner is participating in a series documenting the great Russian rivers that flow north through Siberia, an eight-year project organized and produced by Objective Reality organization in Russia ( www.photographer.ru ). Her ongoing work about the war in Chechnya since 1994 has received many awards, including the Leica Medal of Excellence. A new project documents the lifecycle of the Nenets, Arctic nomads in Siberia who migrate with their reindeer herds high above the Arctic Circle.
She started photographing the Nenets and other cultures of the Russian North as a personal project. Bradner is working now at the invitation of Russian colleagues on a project documenting the great Russian rivers that flow north through Siberia. The project portrays these rivers as key lifelines in the history, economy and cultures of Siberia. The first phase of this work was exhibited as part of a group exhibition at the museums of Krasnayarsk and Novosibersk cities in Siberia. Another northern project by Bradner documents the Bering Strait area of Russia and Alaska, where she is from.
The series documenting the Nenets nomads, Arctic reindeer herders, was awarded a World Press Feature Story in 2003, a Missouri Pictures of the Year 2004 Award of Excellence and a Photo District News "Best of Photography 2004 Annual" Award. She is working on a retrospective about ten years of the war in Chechnya for 2004. Bradner is now based in London and works internationally.