Based in San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Email marissaleshnovphoto@gmail.com
Cell +1 925 915 7204
Available to travel by car or otherwise
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Marissa Leshnov is a Black and Russian American photographer based in Oakland, California. Through her soft and intimate portraiture, her work explores the complexity of intersectional identity and belonging in the American West.
Marissa's photographs have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic and TIME, among other major national and international publications. Commercially, she has worked with Apple, Google, Nike and more.
She believes that images have the power to shape public imagination and views photography as an act of political importance, emphasizing the need for photographs that add depth and nuance to existing narratives. As a lifelong student of photography, she often references the visual vocabulary of Black image-makers who came before her.
She is proud to be a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo, and Authority Collective.
CLIENTS INCLUDE
Apple 〰️ Athleta 〰️ Bloomberg News 〰️ California Sunday Magazine 〰️ Essence 〰️ Google 〰️ The Guardian 〰️ Insider 〰️ The Los Angeles Times 〰️ The Marshall Project 〰️ National Geographic 〰️ Natural Resources Defense Council 〰️ NBC News 〰️ The New York Times 〰️ The New Yorker 〰️ Nike 〰️ NPR 〰️ San Francisco Chronicle 〰️ Smithsonian Magazine 〰️ Society Magazine 〰️ TIME 〰️ V Magazine 〰️ The Verge 〰️ Wall Street Journal 〰️ The Washington Post
AWARDS & EXHIBITIONS
2024 Excellence in Journalism Award, Society of Professional Journalists Northern California
2023 American Photography 39
2022 Monument Lab Documentarian-in-Residence
2022 IWMF Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program Fellow
2022 SECA Art Award Nominee, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
2021 "My Park Moment" exhibition, Photoville
2021 Photoville Visual Story Award
2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
2020 "Good Trouble" exhibition, MINT Gallery
2020 Ones to Watch, Atlanta Celebrates Photography
2020 "Say What You Want to Say" exhibition, Los Angeles Center of Photography