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A young Kosovar Albanian boy jumps into an artificial lake outside Gnijljane, Kosovo, June 25, 1999. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. © Joachim Ladefoged / VII.
Members of the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad on their Lexington campus grounds in Kentucky, United States, Aug. 23, 2005. There are an estimated 3 million cheerleaders in the U.S. and cheerleading is a staple of American high school and collegiate sports. The University of Kentucky cheerleading squad is the best in the country; the team has won the national championships 14 times in the past 20 years. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Kosovar Albanians sleep in a plastic tent in one of the refugee tractor camps in Kukes, Albania, near the border with Kosovo, April 8, 1999. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Albania and Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Moroccans look across the ocean towards Europe near the city of Tangier, January, 2002. Tangier is the northern-most city in Morocco and the last stop for most refugees heading to Europe in search of a new and better life.
When the conflict peaked in February and March, the staff at local mental hospitals fled from Vlora, Albania. In April, the nurses returned, but the residents continued to live in terrible conditions. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
High school students seen volunteering and helping prepare dinner for refugees at the Maha Vidyalaya School in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, Jan. 5, 2005. As the devastation of the Dec. 26 tsunami grew clear, the school was quickly converted into a shelter for 585 refugees coming from the destroyed villages on the island's east coast. After two decades of ethnic fighting between the Sinhalese majority and the separatist Tamils, soldiers on both sides united in helping the island's tsunami refugees. But throughout the aid missions, a sense of tension hung in the air between the two groups. Every day, doctors arrived at the school and worked 12 hours a day helping the sick and wounded. Volunteers helped with a variety of tasks from cooking to logistics. But at night, the Tamils sealed the borders preventing even emergency aid from arriving. There are hopes that the horror of the Tsunami and the cooperation between the two warring factions to help the survivors may contribute towards a lasting peace in the region.
In a forgotten corner of rural Kenya, nearly 70,000 refugees live in a cramped UN camp, with only a handful of officials to help them. The number of new refugees has been growing steadily as hundreds of mostly women and children fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Sudan arrive daily. Many of them are wounded. With the imminent threat of food shortages, tensions between the different nationalities and tribes are reaching a boiling point. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Synchronized Swimming For 16 summer days, athletes and corporate sponsors from around the world met in Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games. Rumors of venues not being ready and threats of terror seemed to fade away after the opening ceremonies kicked off the global celebration of sport. Athens, Greece August 25, 2004 Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
In early April, a new heavily-armed police force has begun to the patrol the streets in Vlora, Albania, taking over after the old police force was thrown out of the city in early January. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
A portrait of a sex worker under her mosquito net in her bedroom in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, Aug. 15, 2005. She shares a tiny compound in Kinshasa with eight other prostitutes; here they live, eat, sleep and have sex with their clients.
Kosovar Albanian refugees try to get the last bread thrown from an aid truck in the biggest refugee camp in Kukes, Albania, in April 1999. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Albanian schoolkids look out of a window reflecting the Serbian side of Mitrovica, a city in northern Kosovo badly affected during the Kosovo War, in 2000.
The Shinjuku district. Tokyo, Japan. April 2004.
Albanian schoolkids look out of a window reflecting the Serbian side of Mitrovica, a city in northern Kosovo badly affected during the Kosovo War, in 2000.
A boat is seen going to check lobster traps, LaPoile, Newfoundland, June. 28, 2003. For generations, families in fishing communities have survived off the bounties of the ocean. The family trade is passed from father to son, but it is a way of life that has now all but vanished and only a few fishing communities remain.
Workers at a government-run slaughterhouse in the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, walk past a butchered head swimming in its own blood.
A young man searches for the dead in the fishing village of Mullaittivu, Sri Lanka, Jan. 5, 2005. The village was one of the most devastated areas of Sri Lanka in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami that struck parts of Asia.
Members of the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad practicing their routine on their Lexington campus grounds in Kentucky, United States, Aug. 24, 2005. There are an estimated 3 million cheerleaders in the U.S. and cheerleading is a staple of American high school and collegiate sports. The University of Kentucky cheerleading squad is the best in the country; the team has won the national championships 14 times in the past 20 years. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
A young man seen searching for the dead near the fishing village of Mullaittivu, Sri Lanka, Jan. 5, 2005. The village was one of the most devastated areas of Sri Lanka, with more than 2000 people are believed to have died in this town alone.
Young people gather at the famous Bund waterfront boardwalk in Shanghai, China, Dec. 8, 2004. In Shanghai the centuries-old traditions of the east are bathed in the neon glow of the west.
Athens, Greece - Olympic games 2004 14/08-2004 Cycling Road. Men's road race. The Italian winner Paolo Bettini after he won gold.
Quiet Please! Absolute silence is required during play at the Dubai Desert Classic, at the Emirates Golf Club. Some spectators stand with signs to remind others of the rules. In one of the biggest shocks in European tour history, the tournament, on one of the world's most interesting golf courses, was won by a relatively unknown Dutchman, Robert-Jan Derksen.
Residents burn a sofa at a gypsy-like trailer camp in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany, Jan., 1993. The trailer camp is home to a wide variety of people with alternative lifestyles. The residents live a bohemian if not alternative lifestyle; some of them are homeless, others radical activists. None work full-time and most of their day is spent hanging out, drinking and partying. Many of the residents survived thanks to their monthly welfare cheque. lifestyles.
Contestants at the Danish Bodybuilding Championships in Roskilde, May 5, 2001. The world of bodybuilding is, for some, a surreal vaudeville sideshow. For its participants it is a passionate way of life.many of the competitors sleep with the fake sun tan.
A man stands with an umbrella near a tree in Albania. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Street scenes in old Sanaa, Yemen reflected in a car window, April 24, 2002.
Young people are seen relaxing on their school holiday, LaPoile, June. 28, 2003. For generations, families in fishing communities have survived off the bounties of the ocean. The family trade is passed from father to son, but it is a way of life that has now all but vanished and only a few fishing communities remain.
Local fishermen prepare their nets for a day of fishing on the ocean in Tahiti, French Polynesia, Oct. 27, 2003. Beyond being a source of food and a major draw for eco-tourism, the symbiotic relationship with the ocean gives the local Polynesian people a venue for sport and a lifelong playground where the temperature never drops below 24 degrees Celsius.
Contestants at the Danish Bodybuilding Championships in Roskilde, May 5, 2001. The world of bodybuilding is, for some, a surreal vaudeville sideshow. For its participants it is a passionate way of life.
A golfer tees off in the Dubai Desert Classic, at the Emirates Golf Club, May 17, 2003. In one of the biggest shocks in European tour history, the tournament, on one of the world's most interesting golf courses, was won by a relatively unknown Dutchman, Robert-Jan Derksen.
A couple kisses in a pedestrian tunnel under the city in Shanghai, China, Dec. 8, 2004. Shanghai is a frontier city that separates one world from another, where the centuries-old traditions of the east are bathed in the neon glow of the west.
The Shinjuku district. Tokyo, Japan. April 2004.
Members of the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad practicing their routine on their Lexington campus grounds in Kentucky, United States, Aug. 23, 2005. There are an estimated 3 million cheerleaders in the U.S. and cheerleading is a staple of American high school and collegiate sports. The University of Kentucky cheerleading squad is the best in the country; the team has won the national championships 14 times in the past 20 years. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
Fassli Veisllari was killed by a stray bullet in Berat, leaving behind his wife and three kids. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Albania and Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. Photo by: Joachim Ladefoged / VII
A young Kosovar Albanian boy jumps into an artificial lake outside Gnijljane, Kosovo, June 25, 1999. After the 1997 collapse of Albania's economy, widespread looting and ethnic conflict broke out in Kosovo, a majority Albanian province in southern Serbia, which led to the mass exodus of thousands of ethnic Albanians in 1998 and early 1999; nearly all of these 850,000 refugees returned to Kosovo starting in mid-1999, many seeking revenge against the Serbs. © Joachim Ladefoged / VII.
Location
Aarhus, Denmark
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Joachim Ladefoged

Contributing Photographer

Joachim Ladefoged (b. 1970, Denmark) is one of the most inventive and creative photographers at VII, revered by his colleagues. Ladefoged photographs everything with the same inventiveness and diligence, whether sports, war or commerce. His highly accomplished career has seen him master complex, violent news stories, commercial assignments, daily news, and rich, vibrant, and spectacular feature stories. Joachim is credited with being one of the driving forces behind the new wave of Danish photojournalism.

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