grrlstories is photographer joanna pinneo's exploration into the lives and struggles of teenage girls. joanna received both a nikon documentary sabbatical grant and a grant from the blue earth alliance to complete work on this rather large-scale project. the site contains more information about the project's goals, as it transcends a photo essay and becomes an educational tool.
[link via an email from rachel lacour niesen, whose site is also worth checking out.]

photography was born 176 years ago. Joeseph Nicephore Niepce is the father. He started it with an image on a pewter plate coated with bitumen. this image of the french countryside is still beautiful and relevant nearly two centuries later. it will remain preserved. what are we doing to insure that our work will be here for future generations?

stony brook, new york. navajo nation. eau claire, south carolina. san juan, texas. chicago, illinois. yaak valley, montana. delray beach, florida. north pacific coast, alaska. san francisco, california. ithaca, new york. western, north carolina. philadelphia, pennsylvania.
some big name photographers and writers paired up together to work on a national documentary project together. indivisible: stories of american community explores life in america through the struggle and change of 12 communities.

for those interested in a sweet presentation and cool photos, check out the newly designed SCNPA website, that'd be the south carolina news photographers' association for those curious folks. it's all flashy courtesy of the hard work and long hours put in by mark "webmonkey" adams.

eric larson is a rising star.

i was just looking through in-public.com at some really nice street photography. and toally geeking out over images like the ones by narelle autio. if this makes you as stoked about photography as it does me, then you're going to love the work up at oculi. it's the photo agency narelle started with some friends. wowee!

go team!! aphotoaday listserv members josh ritchie and david holloway have some pretty cool stuff up in pixel press' 9/11 gallery. [note: scroll all the way down, they're both close to the bottom.]

all the photos were taken over a one year period. all the photos are taken from the same spot -- three meters from the corner of oxford street and edgeware road in london. all the photos are of pedestrians who happened to cross paths with photographer simon hoegsberg.

Some of you may not be aware of the bill that John Conyers introduced to the House. It is titled the "Freelance Writers and Artists Protection Act of 2002."
It's very important to freelance photographers in this country that this bill become law.
From the Graphic Artist Guild website, they say this:
On Tuesday, April 23, 2002, Congressman John Conyers, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Chris Cannon introduced a bi-partisan bill on behalf of freelance writers, illustrators, and photographers, which addresses the disadvantage independent creators' face in the marketplace due to the ever-increasing media consolidation. Freelance Writer's and Artists' Protection Act of 2002 would grant independent creators an exemption from anti-trust law, allowing them to negotiate collectively with these clients. Doing so could be potentially considered price-fixing under current anti-trust laws.
 If you would like to send a message regarding this bill to your representative in Congress, that can be easily done. Please ask them to support Representative Conyers' bill, the "Freelance Writers and Artists Protection Act of 2002."

prior to the release of his new book "the photographic life" next month, sam abell talks about the pursuit of the perfect picture on the digital journalist website. it offers you a rare glimpse inside the mind of a photographer, providing internal dialogue that allows some insight into his work, and the images before THE image, as well as the process that led up to some classic national geographic photographs.

first, the publisher of the boston phoenix said that the video of daniel pearl's last minutes alive, and then the beheading that followed is, "the single most gruesome, horrible, despicable and horrifying thing i've ever seen." and now the paper wants to show it to the world. it's going to be an interesting first amendment battle, as well an entertaining philosophical one.

i'm convinced handheld magazine is dead. or maybe it's just hibernating. but being stuck on issue 3 for over a year now is like listening to a scratched enya cd. {sigh -- i'll save you from me expanding on the analogy.} i digress, at least there's a new magazine to occupy my time with instead.

The NYT once again proves that cool ideas and creative thinking are more important than buttloads of resources when it comes to multimedia.