Jon Vidar

User Bio

Jon Vidar is a freelance photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He is a regular freelancer for the Associated Press and his work has been published by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today and NEED Magazine - among many others. His work has received honors from Getty Images, the National Press Photographers Association, FotoweekDC, and Microsoft. In 2009 he was named one of eight fellows for the prestigious Academy for Alternative Journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has used his photography and multimedia skills during travels spanning six continents and his work is currently represented by ZUMA Press.

Jon Vidar also serves as the Interim Executive Director and the Director of Near East Operations for the Tiziano Project. The Tiziano Project is a not-for-profit that provides the technology and training necessary to help youth and aspiring journalists in underrepresented regions tell their own stories. In 2007, Jon helped this project establish their first base of operations in Kigali, Rwanda and in the Summer of 2008, he piloted a two-week long multimedia workshop in Northern Iraq. Jon recently helped the project secure a $25,000 grant from Chase Trust to conduct a three-month program in Iraqi Kurdistan during the summer of 2010.

He holds a Master of Arts in Communication Management from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.