From the peaks of Machu Picchu to the slopes of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the golden pagodas of Burma, there is no far-flung destination that Jocelyn Augustino won’t visit with her cameras. A freelance photographer based in the Washington, DC area since 1992, Jocelyn has combined her passion for photography and her fascination with politics to work for political campaigns with mayoral all the way up to presidential candidates nationwide.
Inspired by the master photographers who worked for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s, Jocelyn also wanted to document history. She discovered that outlet by deploying with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue teams as they responded to numerous natural disasters nationwide. Jocelyn documented the important work the agency carried out after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. Her work for the agency, spanning over 16 years, is now part of the historical record in the National Archives.
“As a freelancer in the Washington, DC area, I have had a multitude of opportunities that would not have been possible had I landed somewhere else. The political arena has allowed me to work with sitting presidents, hit the campaign trail, and shoot influential business and political leaders during moments historical and mundane. The incredible opportunity to deploy to disasters with FEMA has allowed me to see America at her most tragic moments, while witnessing the incredible determination of her people.”
The spark that ignited her interest in photography began with a desire to stay a few months past her set departure from her junior year abroad in Paris, France. A photography course at Parson’s School of Art in Design in Paris and Jocelyn fell in love with photography. After an inspiring photo project documenting a person living with AIDS in the late 80s for a documentary class, she returned to participate in a summer program at Parson’s in Paris and her journey into photography was decided.
Jocelyn holds a BA in International Relations from Simmons College in Boston. A native of Gardner, Massachusetts, Jocelyn worked for daily newspapers in Massachusetts (Fitchburg Sentinel, Gardner News, and Worcester Telegram) before moving to the Washington, DC area. Jocelyn’s work has appeared in publications worldwide including Time Magazine, The Guardian, USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and Rolling Stone Magazine.
