About
“I’m not a specialist – I’m a generalist. I can shoot anything and everything… but my favorite subject is people, so Street, Travel, and Portrait photography hold a dear place in my heart… documenting ‘normalcy’ and making the normal look extraordinary that’s where the challenge lies within.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, educator, mentor, speaker, chief photographer, TV show host, and content creator
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer, Educator, Mentor, Speaker, Chief Photographer, TV Show Host, and Content Creator Essdras M Suarez, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, has had an illustrious career spanning over three decades in the field of photography.
For 20 years, he served as a photojournalist for renowned newspapers, honing his craft and capturing compelling stories.
After his tenure as a newspaper staff photographer, Essdras became the chief photographer for a photo startup called Million Eyez for two and a half years. He currently works as a freelance photographer and holds positions as chief photographer and instructor at EMS Photo Adventures, LLC, the workshop, and mentoring company he founded in 2017.
Through EMS Photo Adventures, he shares his knowledge and experience, helping aspiring photographers enhance their skills and gain recognition. This is achieved through local, national, and international group or one-on-one private workshops, as well as virtual webinars, all conducted by a team of world-class, award-winning photographers and instructors.
When asked about his approach to photography, Essdras simply says, “I am Photography.” He elaborates, “As a newspaper photographer, you are expected to excel in various genres such as travel, documentary, street, architectural, food and product photography, portrait photography, and more. I have honed my skills across these areas.”
He moved to Alexandria, VA in 2015, where he continued his editorial and commercial freelance work, covering selective news assignments and events.
As a TV personality, Essdras has been the host for “Enfoque Natural,” a show where he explores various regions of Panama and engages with local cultures. The episodes have aired in August and November 2022, and March 2023, with a new season in the works.
Additionally, Essdras is a respected speaker and educator in photography. Since the early 2000s, he has been a sought-after speaker and workshop instructor, both nationally and internationally. His expertise in photojournalism, particularly in Latin America, led him to serve as a United States Department of State Expert Speaker and as an adjunct professor at the Boston University College of Communications. He has also delivered talks at prestigious institutions like MIT, Harvard, Northeastern University, and the University of Florida, among others.
He has also given virtual talks for Road Scholar Virtual Learning series and has done the same for the Smithsonian Associated online virtual talks.
Essdras M Suarez is regularly invited to speak at prestigious conferences and conventions, including YPO/WPO, Bombay’s Tech Fest, TBEX, ETC, and NECCC Annual Photography Conferences, and XPosure in Sharjah, UAE. He has conducted workshops and led photo programs in numerous locations worldwide.
His many accolades include a 2023 International Center for Journalism lecturer, a 2023 XPosure International Photography Festival judge, receiving the keys to Panama City in 2021, and being a finalist for the Dearmoon Project in 2020. He’s also written columns for the American Photographic Society of America Journal and has been a judge for the “Travel Photographer of the Year” contest.
Essdras M Suarez was born in Panama City, Panama, and moved to the United States in 1985. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1993 with a degree in journalism, specializing in photojournalism. In 2010 he was awarded the Alumnus of Distinction Award by the UF College of Journalism and Communications.
He is married to Sara Suarez, a seven-time Emmy-winning TV journalist and news director.
Essdras is an accomplished martial artist and fitness enthusiast who created visYoga® and has undertaken an extensive physical-fitness challenge, completing over 1,800 days of continuous workouts as of January 2024 and counting…
Contact Information:
• Email: essdrasmsuarez@gmail.com
• Secondary Email: emsphotoadventures@gmail.com
• Website: essdrasmsuarez.com
• Company Website: emphotoadventures.com
• Mobile: +1 617-838-7662/ 857 222 5587
Essdras has been a guest speaker and has taught workshops nationally and internationally
In 2020 he was named an official social media influencer for Nikon Latin America for the mirrorless Z7 digital camera
In 2018 and 2019, Suarez had exhibits at the Xposure International Photo Festival in the UAE, with special permission, taught Street Photography workshops
As a USDOS Expert Speaker in Photojournalism specializing in Latin America, he routinely presents to Panamanian photographers
During his time in Boston, MA, he was an adjunct professor at the Boston University College of Communications and gave talks and presentations at other institutions of higher learning such as MIT, Harvard, Northeastern University, and the University of Florida
He is routinely asked to speak at meetings and conferences such as
Essdras received the keys to the City of Panama
YPO/WPO – premier leadership organization of chief executives in the world
TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) – the largest conference and networking event for travel bloggers, online travel journalists, new media content creators, travel brands, and industry professionals
ETC (Educational Travel Conference) – the world’s only conference dedicated to addressing the needs of those involved in educational and specialty travel
He has been a guest speaker a couple of times to the NECCC (New England Camera Council) Annual Photography Conferences, in Amherst MA
He has taught workshops and lead photo programs locally and internationally for the past decade: Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ireland, Israel, Peru, Croatia, Sharjah/ UAE, Tanzania and Kenya
Throughout his career, Suarez worked in over 60 countries while covering a myriad of assignments. He continues to be a full-time, freelance photographer focusing on documentary-style event coverage, editorial assignments as well as corporate story-telling photo essays.
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Among his many news coverage assignments throughout his career are the Columbine High School shooting, the war in Iraq, and the Columbia Shuttle disaster, the bloody ousting of Pres. Jean Bertrand Aristide in Haiti and the Indonesia Tsunami. The evacuation of the Israel Gaza Strip settlements, the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the Boston Marathon Bombing to name a few.
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Among his more unique assignments was a trip to Romania in 2009 to document first shipment of radioactive material being shipped from this former USSR satellite country back to Russia. The program was a joint venture between the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Russian Federation, the Romanian Government and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
After moving to the Alexandria, VA he continued to be a freelance for the Washington Post and for ZUMA Press Agency. In 2021 he covered the US Capitol Attack on Jan 6. In 2017 he was the only photographer to get images of congressman (R) Steve Scalise after he was shot during a baseball practice in Alexandria. He more recently covered the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and that of Civil Rights leader John Lewis passing among other national news.
Suarez has also earned awards with his Travel, Portrait, Business, and even Product Photography. His images have been published in National Geographic, Time Magazine, New York Times and Washington Post, and many other national and international publications.
NikonZ 7 Latin America Influencer
He was featured in March as the cover story in Street Photography Magazine
he taught Street Photography workshops at Xposure International Photo Festival.
He has had articles published in the Photographic Society of America Journal, the biggest association of photographers in the US: “Where to crop and not to crop the human form” and “Street Photography, timeless classics.”
he had two exhibits featured at Xposure International Photography Festival: An Eye on Cuba, and A life in Images
Spot News Pulitzer (Boston Marathon Bombing), Boston Globe Editorial Staff
Spot News Pulitzer (Boston Marathon Bombing), Boston Globe Editorial Staff
1st Place features category from the Association of Newspaper & Editors
Headliner Awards for International Photojournalism and Feature
Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism award
Varied awards from the Boston Press Photographer’s Association
Spot News Pulitzer (Columbine Shooting), Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff
Robert F. Kennedy International Photojournalism Award
Varied awards from the Colorado Press Association
- I was born and raised in Panama, raised by my grandparents and Uncles. I would sit for hours in one of my uncle’s drugstore pouring over magazines. My favorite was National Geography. I learned from an early age there was a big world out there and that I wanted to see it. This planted the seeds for my wanderlust and my career
- I started studying Journalism at the University of Florida, specializing in magazine writing with minor in Zoology. But words were not my expression – I needed to find another way. A chance meeting with the then- Photo Director of the Nat Geo at my school ignited my passion for photography. I switched my major and ended up getting an internship with Nat Geo out of that meeting. During this internship, I spent time in the jungles of Panama, Costa Rica and Columbia – I was truly home. I was hooked.
- I interned for Fort Lauderdale and Rocky Mountain News. RMN hired me after 18 months and it was with it I won my first Pulitzer covering Columbine.
- I went on to win several other national awards including the Robert F. Kennedy Intl. Photojournalism Award for “Osveli’s Journey” – a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy who died after being smuggled into the US and his journey back home to be buried
- My next professional station was with the Boston Globe. I was there for 12 years.
- I covered the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003, the Indonesian Tsunami aftermath in 2007, a project called “Crossing Divides” – a look at life in 8 different countries – winning numerous awards for my work
- I got my second Pulitzer prize as part of the team that covered the Boston Marathon Bombing
- Street photography and travel photography – documenting “normalcy” making the normal look extraordinary.
- I have a life-long passion for fitness and have about 20 years of martial arts training and 20 years practicing yoga.
- I have a black belt in Ninpo Taijutsu.
- I created my own style of yoga – visYoga – in 2008 and taught it for 6 years in Boston. I now teach it in Alexandria, VA. as well as teaching online classes through Wellness Blueprint .
- I also own a couple of US Patents on a man’s and woman’s yoga pants with knee pad inserts.
- I’ve been married for 26 years to my first love, Sara. No kids.. for I am the kid
