Phil Borges

Phil Borges (born 1942) is a humanitarian photographer.

Borges has been a humanitarian photographer since the 1970s with his notable works being photographs of Tibetans who fled to Nepal, including the Dalai Lama. He found inspiration from Ron Zak who encouraged central themes through 'bodies of work'. This led to Phil Borges's signature style of black and white portraits with the subject's skin toned in. His largest influences were Irving Penn and Edward Curtis.

Among several humanitarian efforts are: a project called "Enduring Spirit" for Amnesty International, which is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and "The Gift", documenting dental, cleft-lip and burn marks surgery for underprivileged children done by volunteer American doctors. Perhaps most ambitious is BRIDGES to Understanding, a project "that connects children worldwide through digital storytelling".fact|date=December 2007

Notable Works

Books:
*"Enduring Spirit"
*"Tibetan Portrait"
*"The Gift"
*"Women Empowered" (Inspiring Change in the Emerging World)

Collections:
*Spirit of Place

External links

* [http://www.philborges.com/collections.html Official Phil Borges website]
* [http://www.bridgesweb.org BRIDGES to Understanding site]
* [http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=p_borges lecture/slideshow Phil Borges presentation] at the 2006 TED Conference