"Create image before pressing shutter button" ©
Bio, Awards & Achievements
Osman Karimov is a Visual Strategist and Senior Political Photographer with over twenty years of experience across high-level politics, major sports events, photojournalism, and fine art photography.
He began his photography career in Azerbaijan, earning recognition as a staff photographer for the State Telegraph Agency and an official photographer for the Presidential Pool. His work has received international awards and acclaim, alongside recognition for his fine art moonscapes.
Subsequently based in Ukraine, he continued his work in political photojournalism. Between 2013 and 2019, he documented pivotal historic events for global media, including the Revolution of Dignity on Kyiv’s Independence Square and the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war in eastern Ukraine
Highlights
His work has been published by major international media including "the New York Times", "National Geographic News", "The Washington Post", "The Guardian", "The Times", "Newsweek", "Der Spiegel", "CNBC", "TASS" and others. He has hundreds of editorial photo publications across Getty Images, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and REUTERS feeds
Osman's political portfolio reflects extensive experience working with more than 50 Heads of State around the world since 2006
Karimov held an acclaimed solo exhibition, “75 Shades of Oleg Lyashko”, dedicated to the parliamentary leader, capturing five years of the politician's life across work, home, and rest. Blending fine art with political photojournalism, all works were sold at auction upon the exhibition's closing. The project received widespread coverage across Ukrainian national media (Kyiv, February 2018)
Featured speaker for the masterclass “Night & Moon Photography” under the auspices of Nikon Ukraine and NPS (Nikon Professional Services) (Kyiv, Dec 2016)
REUTERS "Picture of the Year 2014": His photograph taken in Mariupol (eastern Ukraine) during a military operation was selected for REUTERS’ curated list of the best international photographs of the year (Picture of the Year 2014, UKRAINE, Jan 2015)
His Supermoon photograph taken in Kyiv was included in a selection of the world's best Moon pictures in an Associated Press article (Aug 2014)
Created political image photography and led visual campaign coverage for the presidential candidate and parliamentary leader Oleh Liashko (resulting in 3rd place nationally and 2nd place in the international electoral district, Jan–May 2014)
Covered the Ukrainian Revolution (Euromaidan) in Kyiv, as well as the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine in Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for global media (2013–2019)
The only photographer representing Azerbaijani mass media accredited to cover UEFA EURO 2012 (European Football Championship, Poland–Ukraine, June 2012)
Official photographer for European Commission President José Manuel Barroso during the EU delegation's official state visit to Azerbaijan (Baku, Jan 2011)
Three-time recipient of the “Best Agency Photographer” award by the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency (2008, 2009, and 2011)
Awarded a Certificate of Honor by the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan for outstanding contributions to the growth of national photography (Baku, Jan 2008)
Named “Best Photographer of the Year” in the Media category by the Azerbaijan Photographers Union (Baku, 2008)
1st Prize at the “21st Century Photos World News Agencies” International Photo Contest during the World News Agencies Summit (Estepona, Spain, Oct 2007)