wichita (kansas) eagle photographer travis heying recently spent 67 days in a iraq. a sample of his images, as well as portions of a journal he kept while in the desert, are online now.
[thanks to mike shepherd for mentioning this.]

there's a lot of community involvment/enrichment/activism through photography out there. people are beginning to grasp the power of photography by using cameras as a medium for reaching people and letting people reach out. the results are two-fold. allowing someone to express themselves on their own terms through a visual medium, that we can then learn from and grow with.
the unseen america project gives cameras to people who aren't generally represented in the media and publishes the results.
in a similar vein was a project called inside out, where 40 disposable cameras were given to homeless people in budapest. each participant was asked to take pictures of whatever they felt to be interesting or important in their everyday experience and later interviewed about the results.
and there's also the on-going, picture this projects, a not-for-profit organization of volunteer photographers and community members dedicated to supporting and creating projects that use photography to build skills and encourage creative expression and self-esteem. they primarily work with people with little access to the medium who would benefit from photography, especially kids at risk.

"since 1986, bradley clift has explored suburban drug addiction, the lure of children and drugs and alcoholism among both our elderly and our young. he has produced nine projects in the last twelve years . . . all have had enormous response and impact on the subjects, the communities and the readers."
some people shoot one, big, heavy, emotionally-draining story during their entire career. then there's bradley clift, who's devoted his career to covering the faces of addiction.

Eastman Kodak, one of the oldest names in the photo business, is in the process of trying to reinvent itself. As it continues to dominate a shrinking film market, the Rochester, N.Y.-based company is betting big on digital photography.
(follow the link to listen to the NPR story)

congrats to all of this year's CPOY winners!

photography is expensive. no doubt. but there are some ways to take cheap and cool photos and to minimize the costs by finding alternative ways to take pictures, develop negatives and have some fun in the process. i'm itching to try the xerox transfers.

in defense of patrick schneider offers up the other side of the debate about one north carolina photojournalist's ethics. and even though it's an interesting read from a point of view i hadn't seen before -- i can't say that i agree with all of it, especially statements like this: the importance in the gesture of the two firemen in the picture below is what that image seems to be all about, not the background. for any judges to have made an issue about the background and disqualifying the image as an alteration is unacceptable, is not to have understood the nature of image making and the significance of what patrick schneider actually did. he not only saw when he took the image, but he continued seeing afterwards, something that seems to have completely eluded the ncppa people in their utter confusion of what the new tools of this century bring to photography.

There's a new issue of Blueeyes Magazine online, and in it are two essays about entertainment and personal experience -- one from Morten Nilsson about young dancers looking for perfection in Denmark and the second from Brian Harkin about his former rock band, The Texas Chainsaw Mass Choir, and their summer touring.

Photographer Tomas van Houtryve posted a pretty comprehensive "Safety Manifesto" to the list in response to fellow a APADer being injured at a protest recently. There's some valuable information in it, and I thought I'd pass it along: Kathryn's recent brush with a bullet has inspired me to write a few words about safety. After I was shot with a rubber bullet in 2001, I seriously re-thought about risk and safety in the field. My hope is that you guys would think about this very seriously now, rather than waiting until after an incident, like Kathryn and I did. First we have to accept that photojournalism IS dangerous. News often involves violence, chaos, disaster, and unpredictability. Foreign travel brings a whole slew of other dangers into the picture including disease, bandits, and lack of infrastructure. (I have contracted typhoid fever and giardia, suffered from food poisoning, been bitten by a monkey, attacked by a stray dog, struck by lightning, threatened at gunpoint, and pelted with rocks and bottles... to name the most memorable experiences.) One problem is that there is a degree of machismo and competitiveness ingrained in the photojournalism culture. Robert Capa is the patron saint of this attitude with his famous war photos and quote, "If your pictures aren't good enough, then you aren't close enough." Capa was killed by a land mine in Indochina. The second problem is the pressure from bosses and editors. The management of the top news organizations are always pushing photographers to get better pictures under tighter budget constraints. They are concerned with sales and headlines, not necessarily your safety. Freelancers are likely to put similar pressure on themselves to survive in this competitive profession. The risks are very real, and it would be naive and foolhardy to be in this profession without understanding that. However, I am not trying to scare anyone away. Risks and fear can be managed. We don't have to fatalistically accept danger, or run away from it. But, we want to increase our chances of survival, we have to be smart about it. There are many other far riskier jobs out there. We as photographers could benefit from taking a look at them. Do firefighters run into fires without safety equipment? Do pilots head off on a voyage without extensive planning? Do motorcycle racers fly around the track with no helmet? Then why do photographers regularly encounter similar risks with minimum planning or safety equipment? Kathryn was at a violent protest where live arms were available without wearing a bulletproof vest. Many of you have probably covered a riot without a gas mask or covered a wild fire in flammable clothing. Some suggestions: 1. Research the risks you are could possibly encounter where you work. You need to know how to react before you hit the scene, so study up before the crisis rather than depending on pure luck once you are deep in the shi'ite. You could start by asking the veteran photographers at your paper what they have covered. a) Local newspaper photographers should prepare themselves for fires, riots, accidents, police shoot-outs, and regional natural disasters. If you live near hurricanes or earthquakes or tornados, you should know how to cover and survive them. In you live near a major metro area than you should also be prepared for terrorism. There are a lot more people pissed off at Americans right now than there were in 2001, so be prepared for it. b) traveling photographers need to take into account sanitation, disease and infrastructure. What are you going to do when you break your leg in a rural Peruvian valley that only has witch doctors? Get your vaccination shots, learn your first aid, and make sure your health plan will cover you BEFORE you leave. c) Wire service and major newspaper photographers need to be prepared for a wider range of dangers. Civil unrest, volcanoes, disease outbreaks, and wars are not out of the question. If you plan to cover these types of assignments it is essential that you demand that your employer give you the proper safety training and equipment first. I have been flown into very sketchy breaking news situations with only a few hours notice. AP gave me only ten days notice before I was sent to Afghanistan. It is too late to learn what to do in a mine field once you are already in one. 2. Buy the right equipment or demand it from your employer. a) If you are near any type of fire you should not be wearing synthetic clothing. If it comes in contact with flame it will melt to your skin and burn rapidly. Wildfires, urban fires, and riots where folks are tossing Molotov cocktails all fall in to this category. Bring bottles of water with you, and a gas mask or wet rag for smoke. b) I carry a small first aid kit in my camera bag at all times. It includes the normal bandages, medicine for weird stomach problems, and a clean hypodermic needle (in case I need an injection in a scummy 3rd world hospital that practices needle recycling). c) Bulletproof vests come in different classes depending on the type of weapons you could encounter. The vests that see most cops wearing in the U.S. will only stop bullets from a pistol. If you are going to a war zone or any situation where rifle fire is possible, you need a vest with ceramic plates to stop high velocity rounds. This type of vest weighs up to 40 pounds, so you should practice with it before you get in the field. 3. Always have an escape plan. This is critical. Before you go to a protest, a riot, or a disaster you need to think about where you can go if things turn too ugly. If I am going to a protest that could get sketchy, I will look for a building or side street where I could always retreat to. There might be a church or a store that will let you in, but it is too late to ask once they have already bolted their doors. Park your car where it has a clear means of escape from fire or chaos. 4. Take responsibility for your own safety. As I mentioned earlier, your editors or bosses may pressure you into risky situations. Do not trust your safety to them or rely on them to keep you alive. Do your own research and make your own calculations. You are the one in the field, so they have to respect your judgments. Don't let other people's attitudes towards their safety affect your own. Be wary of competition from colleagues, macho attitudes, or the fatalistic attitude towards death that is present in most developing countries. .... Finally: doing the research, having the right equipment, and calculating your own risks will give you confidence in the field. You will be able to manage your fear (rather than just react to it). Good luck and stay safe. ===== -Tomas P.S. Here are some helpful online resources for journalist safety:
Committee to Protect Journalists
Centurion Safety classes
Reporters Without Borders
World Health Organization (for the vaccinations needed around the world)