Fotovision is a new Bay Area nonprofit created to support photographers interested in documenting their world. The curriculum fosters an environment in which photographers can create and edit a body of work and then learn to fund and distribute it. Special workshop projects will focus on the creation of books as well as in-depth photo projects in the Bay Area.

Coming up to teach at FOTOVISION in October is one of my favorite documentary photographers – Eugene Richards. Wish I could go!

Robb Hill, a friend of mine from my days at Indiana University and an incredible photographer in his own right, recently attended one of “Gene's” workshops at The Maine Photoworkshops. Robb was kind enough to pick up Gene's new book, Fat Baby, on my behalf. I'll post my review of it here real soon.

Back to FOTOVISION – it's directed by the legendary Ken Light whose book Witness in Our Time you should all read. The book gave me a much needed wake-up call about the often romanticized lives and choices of documentary photographers. It's not for the weary.

Apple will be at Visa Pour L'Image, the world's premier photojournalism convention, from August 28 to September 12, 2004.

Adobe is doing the right thing, says Rich Glickstein on Aphotoaday.org.

The idea behind Adobe Digital Kids Club is something we should embrace: educating the next generation of the visual journalists. Granted, Adobe's aim is to do so through the use of digital equipment, and ultimately their product, but they're taking a progressive step stirring the pot and getting people excited about photojournalism through a new image recording medium.

We could all learn something (new) from this site. Bookmark it!

Via NY Arts

The role of photojournalism today is to allow the viewer a up-close and somewhat personal look at subjects that are detached from the publics' everyday life, and to shed light on pressing issues. Visual language has become the main method of this intimate communication between subject and viewer, because words do not seem to be as effective or powerful anymore. This direct communication is extremely apparent at “Unbroken: Photography Subjects Speak Out,” a non-profit show at Denise Bibro Gallery in Chelsea.

The show is a collection of images from various projects done by the independent non-profit group Photovoice, whose outreach program sponsors training programs for people in need from underdeveloped nations around the globe (mainly children and minors) in photography and journalism. The projects of Photovoice incorporate the spirit and mind of the populations, allowing them to photograph themselves, determining the way they are depicted. This is a twist on traditional photojournalism, in the way that it is transforming the subject into the creator. These images serve as vehicles not only for knowledge, as many of the participants of Photovoice have aspirations of becoming professional photographers and journalists, but also for freedom, as many reside in refugee camps or nations where their basic freedoms have been taken away. The result is a collection of images that are not only aesthetically beautiful, but powerful and informative images of the world that is easily forgotten.

From the PhotoVoice web site:

Often seen only as subjects in photojournalism, Afghani and Vietnamese street kids from Kabul and Ho Chi Minh City, young Bhutanese refugees in Nepal and mentally and physically disabled students in Bogota, Colombia, use the medium of photography to “speak” about their lives. The result is a unique and powerful exhibition that captures the essence of hope, determination and the human will to survive. In Ho Chi Minh City, they sell lottery tickets. In Kabul, it's walnuts. In both cities, poverty has driven children to spend long days at dusty roadside tables to earn mere pennies. In Nepal, Bhutanese teens in packed refugee-camp classrooms have a near-perfect attendance – education is their only hope out of their transient circumstances. And in Bogotá, mentally and physically disabled students strive to present their vision in art and photography. The photographs in Unbroken have emerged from three PhotoVoice projects: Street Vision (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), Bibin (Kabul, Afghanistan) and The Rose Class (UN run refugee camps in Nepal). A fourth project, linked to PhotoVoice, is a collaboration between students at K'ipay, a school for the mentally and physically disabled in Bogotá and New York artist, Anna Lise Jensen. There will also be an auction and exhibition of well-known photographers who support the organization.

Via Sarah Bachman:

Child Labor & the Global Village: Photography for Social Change is raising money to send its 7th photographer to Central America. We've already sent 6 photographers to India, Nepal, Cambodia, Peru, Burundi, and Haiti. The next one may go to Central America. Their stories about children working, surviving, going to school, and growing up have been featured in newspapers (L.A. Times), magazines (Rangefinder, PDN), and radio (NPR). Help us send out the 7th photographer!

I have mentioned Julia Dean here on Tiffinbox more than a couple times. She is a a documentary photographer in her own right. She is also a wonderful teacher. Her workshops in Los Angeles are life-changing experiences. Her project to document the lives of children and the problems they face around the world have lit a fire under 11 enterprising photojournalists. But they all require your financial help to complete this project.

Will you help? To find out more on how you can support this important and worthwhile photo project, click here.