Brian Palmer

I am a visual journalist and educator currently living in Richmond, Virginia. I moved here in 2013 with my wife and coproducer Erin Hollaway Palmer to complete Make the Ground Talk, a documentary that brings to life a historic black community in Virginia uprooted during World War II to build a naval base that’s now a top-secret US military installation, Camp Peary. 

I strive to tell stories in pictures about people and situations that might not otherwise be told, with integrity, professionalism, independence, and compassion.

My photos have appeared in the New York Times, Fortune, US News & World Report, Politiken, ColorLines, Die Zeit, and other publications. I photograph for nonprofit clients, including the League of American Bicyclists, North Star Fund, the Writers Guild, Museum of the Moving Image, and Race Forward. I have written essays and news articles for Mother Jones, Huffington Post, Pixel Press, ColorLines, the Nation Investigative Fund, the Root, and other news outlets. Before going freelance in 2002, I was was a CNN correspondent. Prior to that, I was Beijing Bureau Chief for US News & World Report, during which time I photographed for many of my articles.