Abbie Trayler-Smith

Born in 1977 and grew up in South Wales. Whilst studying for her law degree at Kings College, London she began taking photographs for the student newspaper with her first camera: a second-hand Minolta given to her by her parents. Completely self-taught she began working for the Daily Telegraph on a regular basis after graduating in 1998.

Five years on she has completed a huge variety of assignments: from the final burial of Haile Selassi in Ethiopia to the forgotten war in Sudan, the famine crisis in Malawi and anniversaries at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii and the Falkland Islands.

Most recently she covered the tsunami and re-visited Banda Aceh one year on. She has visited Iraq post-conflict, photographed the Rwandan killing fields for the ten-year anniversary and reported on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan with the veteran journalist Bill Deedes. She has also visited Afghanistan with the acclaimed writer Irvine Walsh.

• 2002 Prime Minister Tony Blair presented Abbie with a special award for the Young Photographer of the Year at the Picture Editors Guild Awards 2002.
• 2003 she was nominated in a record four categories, including Photographer of the Year.
• 2006 The Guardian Weekend Photography Prize, Commended.
• 2006 The Press Photographers Year Awards (shortlisted: News and Photo Essay)
• 2007 AoP Awards 2007: Finalist in Documemt.