congrats to all of the southern short course winners. and specifically to fellow APADers:
Jason Frizzelle, East Carolina University -- 2nd place Southern Student Photog of the Year
Grant Blankenship, The Macon Telegraph -- 3rd place Sports Action
Chris Curry, The Peoria Journal Star -- HM Sports Feature
Ross Taylor, The Durham Herald-Sun -- 2nd place Product Illustration and 3rd place Sports Picture Story
Scott Strazzante, The Chicago Tribune -- 1st place Feature Picture Story.
[note: i'll fill in those wins with links as soon as the pics are up on the web. also, if i forgot anyone -- my apologies. i scanned the list quickly. hit me up with an email and i'll gladly list you.]

Each day as the earth revolves toward sunrise members of a select human species awaken to observe the world with three eyes instead of two. They are the press photographers of the world, men and women who write the visual biography of man on earth. -- Howard Chapnick, "Truth Needs No Ally"

here's a very cool interactive map that tracks where journalists are in iraq. [thank you debby coleman]

it can all be summed up in one word -- passion.

thanks to an email from the newark star-ledger's aristide economopoulos, i was reminded to check out aphotoadayer ben lowy's pics from the sunday morning grenade attack at the 101st airbone's camp pennsylvania in kuwait.

why cnn left baghdad: 'We didn't want to push our luck'

there's good stuff on the web coming from st. petersburg times photographer john pendygraft. he's been keeping a first-person account of life in and around iraq, where he is embedded with the hmm 365 marine helicopter squad from new river, nc. the journal is filled with photos from his adventures, stories of work playing poker with the boys, transmitting from the dessert, and sand being the biggest enemy.

i was just looking at vii's special report on the iraqi crisis and magnum's iraq coverage to get me motivated this morning. wow.

in case you were wondering which papers are the ones people WANT to work for, the answer is simple: the ones that look good. the ones that respect photography. these are the ones that design pages around pictures and run well-deserving images big for impact and to make a statement. examples: there are some beautiful, beautiful, beautiful pages displaying some absolutely amazing work that won in the picture editing categories in this year's best of photojournalism contest. congrats to all the winners!

here's an interesting article about who's staying and whose leaving iraq. and why.

in need of some inspiration? the folks at poy have finally put up the winning portfolios for newspaper and magazine photographers of the year.

there's a great new home for documentary storytelling on the web that was launched today -- blueeyes magazine. it's idealism and passion at its finest. and it's highly recommended.
"the mission of the magazine is to publish the best new and innovative work from photographers who strive to visually understand, celebrate, and change this world we live in."
and according to the birth announcement i got for john loomis' new baby, "the magazine is devoted to publishing project work, documentary photography or otherwise, that is new and innovative. the first issue features the great work of photographers kenneth dickerman and travis hartman, and their projects on the israeli/palestinian conflict and kansas city jazz, respectively."
online publications like this are a labor of love and they need your support to continue to grow. if you have a project that the world needs to see, don't hesitate to contribute. if you just love looking at pictures, don't hesitate to bookmark the site and check back often. they promise new to publish "feature stories and essays from home and abroad, from any photographer who uses their cameras with passion and a point of view while recording the world around them" once every two months. now go give 'em some love.

"This moment in time the whole game was before them, thought out in their head. Their hopes where high and their shoelaces tight. Despite the nerves and the apprehension deep in each of their guts, they were winners. At that moment they were winners."

check out a few new galleries now gracing the aphotoaday site: michael william banks, alex boerner, nicole frugé and mark sypher.
also there are a few updated ones worth browsing: jen friedberg, chip litherland and john loomis.

"Take a look at photographer and location lighting guru Neil Turner's site. It's full of practical tips and explanations of lighting techniques for photojournalists. He'll also be speaking at the Southern Short Course at the end of March. I found the technique section the most useful but the opinions section also has some interesting anecdotes from his experiences as a shooter."
[blog via an email from jacquelyn martin. thanks jackie!]

Fascinating look at photographer Martin Schoeller's recent shoot for Outside Mag's Sherpas of Mount Everest story. Especially interesting if you like to see how other photogs work and what gear they ply their trade with. [Link is a big Quicktime movie and should launch into a player window - Outside Mag story link is here]

pdn's 30 photographers to watch for 2003.

a stunning showcase of street photography. take a look around the galleries, but if you are rushed for time and can only do one, make sure you see the work of trent parke for a shot of inspiration.

Winners of the 60th annual POYi awards were announced today.

meet two changed women, linda and sally.

for all you leica lovers out there, here's the latest offering from the M series. The brand new Leica MP is set to replace the M6 for lovers of the fully mechanical rangefinders. happy drooling...