Claire Thomas is an award-winning Welsh photojournalist, fine art photographer, and writer based between the UK and Egypt. Her work focuses on visual storytelling that explores political and military conflicts, social justice, cultural heritage, and the ways people live in connection with their environments and animals. She is particularly drawn to documenting traditional ways of life shaped by the rhythms of the natural world, an interest that has taken her to some of the most remote and resilient communities on Earth.
Raised in a rural village near Carmarthen in South Wales, Claire developed a love for horses from an early age, which led her to work as a horse wrangler in Wyoming, USA. There, surrounded by vast landscapes and working animals, her passion for photography began. Soon after, she first travelled to Ghana in 2008 on a volunteer project supporting women living with HIV/AIDS. The humbling experience marked a turning point that inspired her to harness photography to spotlight urgent global issues. She has since returned to Ghana many times, most recently with a grant from the Pulitzer Center in 2025 to report on women accused of witchcraft and banished to remote “witch camps” — a story she had been following for over 15 years since that first visit.
Claire holds a degree in Politics from the University of the West of England. Her photojournalism has since addressed armed conflict, displacement, human rights, and environmental injustice. From the frontlines of Iraq to refugee camps in Europe and West Africa, her images and words have offered powerful, human-centered narratives for international publications including The New York Times, The Sunday Times, National Geographic, Al Jazeera, Geographical Magazine, the BBC, Newsweek, More to Her Story, and New Lines Magazine, among others. She also works regularly with UN agencies and NGOs such as UNDP, UNHCR, Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
From 2016 to 2019, Claire was based in northern Iraq, documenting the complexities of the region’s conflict, recovery, and cultural life. While much of her work has focused on war and displacement, she also seeks out stories of survival, tradition, and identity — often in overlooked or misunderstood communities. Her storytelling combines raw reportage with an artistic sensibility, aiming to foster empathy and challenge dominant narratives.
