Erin and Jeff Youngren are photographers in San Diego who own two other brands – Clove & Kin and Bauman Photographers – in addition to their own wedding photography business. If anyone should have “no time to blog” it would be them. Yet they have made it work and in a way that makes them known among clients and in an industry they lead.

I spoke with them about the need to publish a blog, how they approach it, how they even personalize and of course find time to make it all happen.

The Youngrens, are presenting their ideas about blogging through a ShootDotEdit webinar on August 13th at 10 am PST.

I recommend you sign up for it right away. Like other ShootDotEdit webinars, I trust this one will also be extremely valuable to you and your business.

If you have any specific questions for The Youngrens, please use the comment section below to ask. I'll be happy to relay them to Erin and Jeff before the webinar begins.

Michael Howard, a wedding photographer based in Nashville, Tennessee founded Musea, an online proofing solution for busy photographers.

Instead of establishing the same old basic business model that tonline proofing systems have followed, where a photographer pays the host a monthly sum and also surrenders a portion of the sales profits as commission, Michael chose to dedicate 2% of the 16% commission he receives towards Water.org. Plus, he eliminated monthly fees!

Among the topics Michael and I covered when we recently spoke were his intentions to start Musea, the new offering called Musea Lab and lastly the intimate conference he calls Musea Gathering that will take place from February 22nd through February 25th in San Francisco.

Want to learn more about how Musea is serving serious photographers like you? Listen to the many podcast interviews Michael has conducted with industry leaders.

MUSEA Gatherings are for those photographers that want to bring more intimacy into their work. Weddings and portraiture photography trends currently put much of the focus on amazing locations and the people are often interchangeable. Gatherings take a different approach by encouraging photographers to find vulnerability, connection and humanity in those we document.

PLEASE NOTE: For the next 24 hours, you can apply to win a seat at the Musea Gathering. Enter the scholarship giveaway now!

I love winning contests, especially if money is involved. Money, that I can put towards my business in some way. I just got word that Inspire Photo Retreats and ShootDotEdit are working together in offering a special grant for photographers just like you.

So this is the email I received:

“We are happy to announce Inspire Photo Retreats is collaborating with one of our Community Sponsors, Shoot Dot Edit, to offer a business professional, Craft & Vision grant at our 2015 retreat!

Inspire Photo Retreats is committed to helping professional photographers at all levels, grow their business and master their craft. Shoot Dot Edit shares these same values and we couldn't be more excited to offer this unique opportunity with them!

We will be funding the grant by the amount of purchases of Shoot Dot Edit's “Unlimited Plan”. They will generously allocate a portion of the proceeds to funding the grant which will be given to one of our attendees in 2015. The grant will be awarded at Inspire Photo Retreats 2015 in Portland, ME, at The Westin Portland Harborview Hotel. Please feel free to share this with your colleagues. We hope you take advantage of this amazing opportunity. We look forward to seeing you in 2015.”

Please note that this special offer ends on June 30, 2014 … that's 3 days from now folks! To be eligible you must be an Inspire Photo Retreats? ticket holder and be present at the event in Portland.

To enter the drawing for this grant, click the graphic above and use the code “Inspire2014”. I hope to see you at Inspire, to congratulate you on your winning this grant!

David H. Wells is more than a photojournalist. He is a teacher, an avid blogger and even after years of experience creating powerful photo essays or personal projects, he is still an enthusiastic student learning the medium of video to further his goals.

Over the years of running into him at conferences or workshops he is teaching, David and I have become friends. So, when I heard he was teaching a course called “Create Powerful Photo Essays and Personal Projects,” on CreativeLive, I wasted no time to contact him via Twitter and then email to set a date and time to chat about it.

Here is the link to the personal project David mentions in the video that he is currently pursuing in India.

Are you pursuing a personal photography project? Have you completed a photo essay you want published here on Tiffinbox? If so, I want to know about it. Comment below with a link or more information. I might choose to interview you.

Lastly, don't hesitate for even a second to take David's course on CreativeLive, if you are interested in creating a photo essay or a personal project. You get to watch for free while CreativeLive is broadcasting it live from Seattle. In the event you miss it, you can always buy the course, download it and watch it in its entirety whenever you want.

I have added this course to my calendar and I'll be watching and learning from a photojournalist who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to producing a body of work that speaks of the larger issues humanity faces. I hope you will join me in checking out “Create Powerful Photo Essays and Personal Projects.”

When Canadian photojournalist Louie Palu and co-director Devin Gallagher launched a campaign on Kickstarter to fund their film Kandahar Journals, it was very quickly funded. Still, the duo are looking to raise even more money for their project.

To date, there are 290 backers who have donated $29,000+ for the completion and distribution of this film about Louie's experiences as a photojournalist in Afghanistan.

Louie and I sat down to chat about the project. Here is that conversation:

Now today more than ever, we need to examine conflict and the policies driving it.

With only 12 more days to go, the campaign could use your financial support to get this film distributed even more widely than originally planned. As I said and as I believe, it's only through dialogue and exploration of other cultures can we approach peace, reconciliation and perhaps even an end to the war in Asia.

Louie Palu, Devin Gallagher and a small crew of other collaborators have risked life and limb to unwaveringly bring home this poignant story. Now it is our turn to honor them by supporting Kandahar Journals, before the campaign ends.