Via Melanie Light

“At PixelPress our intent is to encourage documentary photographers, writers, filmmakers, artists, human rights workers and students to explore the world in ways that take advantage of the new possibilities provided by digital media. We seek a new paradigm of journalism, one that encourages an active dialogue between the author and reader and, also, the subject.”

Fred Ritchin's PixelPress is a gold mine for documentary photographers. Touching photo essays such as this one by photographer Theo Rigby bring poignant context to a war gone bad. If you have a body of work that you want to see published, send Prof. Ritchin a note.

Want to see fashion, art and celebrity photography collide? Check out the work of the Dutch duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Their work is now being compared to that of Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. So, they are hot!

Chitra Divakaruni wrote in saying that her latest book Queen Of Dreams has been chosen as Barnes & Noble's online book choice for November. She invites you to be a part of “spirited book club discussion” on the Barnes & Noble website.

Anyone read this book yet? I am still working on Suketu Mehta‘s book.

Please refrain from calling me a slow poke.

Via Mediabistro.com

You may not know the name Gary Trudeau. But it is quite likely you know his cartoon strip, Doonesbury. Well, the strip is unabashedly anti-Bush/Cheney.

Needless to say I am huge fan as I find his quality of satire to be really top notch. But apparently divergent viewpoints have no place in the American psyche. The comic strip which felt the ire of Republican readers in several newspapers across the country had already been dropped for his portrayal of the bungled war in Iraq. Now this. Toe the party line, or you will get dropped like a hot potato (or is that “potatoe,” Mr. Quayle?)

Despite what Dubya says about bringing the country together, I am afraid, very afraid of things to come.

Hold on a second, someone is knocking at my door …

Thanks to Sree Sreenivasan for introducing me to Joshua Newton, a Cochin-based blogger, writer and a photographer.

While Mr. Newton wears three hats (or more), what's special about him is that he excels in all three. Truly gravity defying!

His blog is a sheer pleasure to read. It's not just his wit or his command of the English language, but also his sense of style that is very impressive. Take this recent post for example. I loved the way he ended it.

I recommend you subscribe to his webfeed as I have. You may just learn something new, in a new and interesting way.

Via Sree Sreenivasan

No, not John Kerry or George W. Bush. Anish Shroff. Anish, who?

Shroff is a contestant on ESPN's DREAM JOB, a shot at becoming a SportsCenter anchor.

At 12 tonight go to this site and vote for our desi brother.

Represent. Power to the people.

Unlike so many photographers who parachute into a wedding for 8 hours (because their contract says so) and produce the most banal of images, what I am trying to do is to pursue photojournalism at weddings; to visually narrate events on a very special day for two people or two families that will be cherished forever.

If I seem preoccupied, I am. I have been honing my wedding photography skills. One way to do so is to shoot as many weddings as possible. At the end of November, I will be photographing a wedding engagement. I hope to be photographing a wedding in Los Angeles in early December. Then beginning in May of next year, as the wedding season takes off, I hope to be on my toes all the time. If you know of anyone looking for a wedding photojournalist, have them email me please. I would be happy to help them out. And I do pay a referral fee of $100 when my services are contracted.

I am also reaching out to those who are seasoned professionals in this very special genre. I'll be in Philadelphia on November 17 and 18 to attend The Foundation Workshop called “See, Shoot + Show: The Unforgettable Image.” The workshop will be held in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. Joseph Victor Stefanchik and Huy Nguyen will be leading these workshops. If you are in or near one of these cities and are interested in wedding photojournalism, do check it out. The cost is $250 (if you pre-register). This shorter workshop is sponsored by the Wedding Photojournalist Association.

Both Stefanchik and Nguyen also offer a four-day course that runs from February 14-17 in Dallas, Texas.

Via Sean Hintz

On the eve of what could be a real spectacle, here is something that should get you into the political mix.

Blueeyes Magazine has launched issue number nine. It's all about the Presdidential election. 51 images, in 3 essays, says Editor John Loomis.

Via Steve Outing

It's generally thought that the majority of people outside the United States would prefer that John Kerry win tomorrow's presidential election. Now Globalvote, a non-partisan, London-based website not sponsored or connected to any political party, has released the outcome of its worldwide virtual voting. Kerry beats George W. Bush with a whopping 77 percent.

I am not sure how “scientific” all of this is, but it isn't rocket science to know that Mr. Bush isn't popular at home, nor is he liked beyond our borders.

If you can legally vote tomorrow, please get out of your house, find your polling precinct and do the right thing.

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.” – Mahatma Gandhi