With a portfolio that ranges from photos of buzkashi in Tajikistan, to a three-year-old girl who weighs 14 lbs in Niger and to a woman with tuberculosis in the Republic of Georgia, freelance photographer Thatcher Cook chronicles the everyday lives of people living in developing countries.
On Wednesday, Cook began his talk by showing a photograph of himself receiving his first camera. At that moment, Cook said that he began using "the camera as an excuse to enter situations."
Cook began working with international aid organizations by photographing the lives of people affected by natural disasters or man-made disasters. His photography has taken him to places like Uganda, Niger, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and China.
Associate Professor of Russian Raymond Miller has long wanted to showcase Cook's work of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
He helped organize the event with assistance from the Visual Arts department and the Lectures and Concerts Committee.
"Any event that illuminates this region and teaches people about it is valuable," said Miller.
"So I hope that Thatcher's talk pique[d] people's curiosity and interest."
-Compiled by Noelani Rosillo.