Roger LeMoyne studied film and Music at Concordia University in Montreal, toured Canada with a band and worked in film and music before turning to photography. Since the 1990’s, he has been documenting the human condition, conflict, human rights issues and international aid in over 60 countries worldwide.
His work has appeared in publications ranging from Paris Match, LIFE, Time magazine, Macleans Magazine, Canadian Art, Colors, l' Actualité, the Globe and Mail, ROB, Communication Arts, GEO, Canadian Geographic, National Geographic, the Walrus. Other venues such as Unicef annual reports, the International Conference on War-Affected Children, Visa pour l’Image, Contact (Toronto), Gijon (Spain) and Zoom (Quebec) photography festivals. His first book, “Details Obscurs” --a look at the effects of contemporary conflict on civilians-- was published in 2005 and won prizes in France, the USA and Canada.
His images have garnered more than 50 awards internationally, including the AJIQ photo of the year 2022, National Magazine Award 2020, 2014, 2009, the Michener-Deacon Fellowship (2013), a Canada Council for the Arts Grant in 2013, Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec grant in 2009, the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize (Duke University) in 2007, the “World Understanding Award” from POYi (Missouri School of Journalism) 2006, The Bayeux-Calvados prize (du public 2005), the Alexia Grant in 2004, World Press Photo in 1999.
He has been a judge on the National Magazine Awards multiple times, Pictures of the Year International, the News Photographers Association of Canada and was a nominator for the World Press Photo Education's Joop Swart Masterclass.
His images are in the National Archives of Canada, the Library of Congress, the CIDA photo-library, the UNICEF photography archives, and other private collections.
He has mentored young photographers through the Canadian Association of Journalists (2022) Missouri School of Journalism and other organizations.
A freelancer his entire career, his pictures are distributed by Getty Images and Redux Pictures of New York. He lives in Montreal, Canada, with his wife, a physician, and their two children.
“My primary concern is to document geo-political change in a way that differs from the standard photography generated by news media.
I am trying to visualize the idea that everyone views the world through their lens of history, culture and experience. What should be common ground often looks completely different to different people because of those inherited filters.
I look for a kind of cross-current in a photograph. I don't want it to be about just one thing, one idea, one emotion. Rather, it should be a place where multiple, often contradictory, impressions overlap. This usually leads to some fairly dense, complex images. Nor do I seek to have a singular style or way of working, as "style" can very quickly become a trap. I prefer to explore the medium of photography and seek out different ways of seeing. If there is a constant, it might be a hunger for empathy. More than anything, I would like viewers to empathize with my subjects.” - RL
