© 2010, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

One of my favorite contemporary documentary photographers, Shelby Lee Adams,  has been featured in the March 2010 issue of Smithsonian Magazine.

I have previously written about him and his Appalachian Portraits. He was accompanied by a writer who wrote about his Capturing Appalachia’s “Mountain People.”

© 2010, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

TOKYO, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Ricoh Co., Ltd. has announced the start of the Ikuo Tatsumi Photo Exhibition: “Run! Shoot! In the World’s Marathons” from February 3, 2010. This is an exhibition of works chosen from among those submitted during the July-September 2009 public submission period. Entering marathons in Tokyo and six other major cities (New York, Vancouver, Berlin, London, Roma and Seoul), from the course Ikuo Tatsumi shot photographs of scenes and people that gave his heart pause as he ran. Over 120 photographs are to be exhibited.

These fresh and vivid images of roadside and course scenery are presented from a new viewpoint: that of the runner. Energized by the vigor and smiling faces of these photographs, viewers will be ready to go out and run themselves. There are plans to also present a special selection of photographs of the Tokyo Yumemai Marathon, in which participants run on sidewalks following traffic rules, and photographs of marathons in Okinawa, which have a festival atmosphere.

At Ricoh, our ambition is for RING CUBE to be not only “a place to display and appreciate photographs,” but also a gathering place for people who want to both enjoy photographs and express themselves through photographs and a place that expands the possibilities of photography. We will continue to hold exhibitions presenting the works of a wide range of photographers, both professional and amateur.
Ikuo Tatsumi is a journalist. After stints as a Kyodo News reporter at locations such as Maebashi, Sendai and Sapporo as well as in the Foreign News Section at the head office, he served as Phnom Penh bureau chief and was assigned as a video and news desk journalist at the Tokyo MX television station. He is currently an editor of audio-video news at the head office. Tatsumi has written many newspaper and magazine news articles, including photo-illustrated overseas reportage, and he has also produced many video reports. Tatsumi has completed over 40 full marathons. He continues to run in marathons throughout the world, holding a compact camera in one hand and taking photographs along the way.

At marathons held in major cities abroad, there is a festival atmosphere both on the course and alongside it. The runners, cheering spectators and volunteers all have leading roles in this festival. It was my ambition to hold this kind of marathon in Tokyo, and I also wanted to communicate to people the fun of running together. That is why I got involved in activities to promote the holding of the Tokyo Marathon, and it is also why I began taking photographs while running in marathons around the world. On these 42.195 km journeys, I encounter many people, who give me strength to keep running. I hope you too will enjoy these encounters with such people, these instants of the heart dancing!

[Exhibition Details]

Name:         Ikuo Tatsumi Photo Exhibition: “Run! Shoot! In the World’s
Marathons”
Photographs:  Over 120
Sponsor:      Ricoh Co., Ltd.
Dates:        February 3 to 14, 2010  *Except days the gallery is closed.
Place:        RING CUBE Gallery Zone
Address:      San-ai Dream Center 8F/9F, 5-7-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
(Reception desk 9F)
Tel:          +81-3-3289-1521
Times:        11:00 to 20:00 (to 17:00 on final day)
Closed:       Tuesdays
Entrance fee: Free
URL:          http://ringcube.jp/

© 2010, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

Bruce Davidson Photo Pledge Courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards

LONDON, November 20/PRNewswire/ –

- Sony World Photography Awards and UNICEF Mark the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Jemima Khan Photo Pledge - Alison Tilbe © UNICEF

Jemima Khan with child - Alison Tilbe © UNICEF

The World Photography Organisation and UNICEF are launching a global initiative to raise awareness of children’s rights and mark the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on 20 November 2009.

Jonathan Torgovnik © courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards

Carol Storey/UNICEF

Together, the World Photography Organisation and UNICEF, supported by Sony, are calling on people around the world to pledge one photo, accompanied by a written pledge, portraying one of the five fundamental children’s rights:

    - The right to survival;
    - to education;
    - to health;
    - to protection from harm, abuse and exploitation;
    - and to be heard

Cat Deeley Photo Pledge- Sharron Lovell © UNICEF UK

Cat Deeley with child - Sharron Lovell © UNICEF UK

World renowned photographers Reza, Mary Ellen Mark, Bruce Davidson, Carol Allen Storey and Jonathan Torgovnik have already made photo-pledges along with celebrity UNICEF Ambassadors including David Beckham, Jemima Khan and Ewan McGregor who have pledged powerful images personally chosen from field-trips they have taken as part of their role.

Jonathan Torgovnik Isabelle & Jean-Paul

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989 and established a set of fundamental rights for all children and young people that protect them against violence, discrimination and harm. Today, the CRC has been signed by almost every single country, making it the most widely ratified human rights agreement in the world.

Ewan McGregor Photo Pledge - Wendy Zych © UNICEF UK

Great progress has been made in the past 20 years, including improvements to under-five child mortality and falling numbers of children working in hazardous labour. However, major challenges remain. Between 500 million and 1.5 billion children experience violence annually; 150 million children aged between five and 14 are engaged in child labour and more than 1 million children are detained through justice systems around the world at any one time.

David Turnley/UNICEF

Astrid Merget, Creative Director, World Photography Organisation said: ” The World Photography Organisation is privileged to work with UNICEF on this initiative which aims to use the powerful medium of photography to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). We consider it our obligation to use the powerful tool of photography to communicate important global issues each year and are fortunate to be joined in this effort by so many amazing supporters “.

David Beckham with child - David Turnley C UNICEF

Ellen Tolmie, Senior Photography Edtior, UNICEF said: “UNICEF is thrilled that the Convention of the Rights of the Child has been chosen by the World Photography Awards this year as the focus of its annual campaign. Inviting young people from around the world to participate offers an opportunity for children’s visual expressions to be seen internationally. Additionally there is a possibility of winning participation in a photography workshop with their peers in a developing country.”

James Nesbitt Pledge Photo - Georgina Cranston © UNICEF UK

Everyone has a shared responsibility to uphold the values and promises made to children in the CRC. Amateur and professional photographers can show their support by making photo-pledges via http://www.worldphotographyawards.org where they will receive details of how to enter. All photo-pledges will form a special online exhibition showcased on the World Photography Awards website. Selected images will also be exhibited alongside the UNICEF Ambassadors’ images and those taken by World Photography Academy Members at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Festival in Cannes, April 2010. These images will then go on a global tour with the awards’ touring exhibition. Everyone who submits a photo will receive emails suggesting actions they can take to change the policies and practices that deny children their rights.

Ewan McGregor with child - Wendy Zych © UNICEF UK

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

OAK PARK, Ill., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In Our Own Backyard, a non-profit organization of photojournalists committed to social reform, announces the launch of a new poverty awareness campaign, AmericanPoverty.org. In partnership with Catholic Charities USA, the campaign will be carried out by preeminent photojournalists, with the support of writers, filmmakers and advocates.

“Our photographs show that deep poverty isn’t an abstract idea, isolated to the Third World,” said project director Steve Liss, a twenty-five year veteran Time Magazine photographer. “The face of poverty is right here in the U.S., it’s in our workplaces, our neighborhoods, right in our back yard.”

“We are very pleased to be working with Steve Liss and the renowned group of photographers who are visually capturing the face of poverty in America,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA. “Their poignant photographic portrayal is a stunning tableau of the poor who live among us, and a permanent reminder of the need for our work to reduce poverty in this country.”

An analysis of 2008 census data released last month by the National Academy of Sciences concludes that one in six Americans – 47.4 million people – lived in poverty last year. Sixteen million Americans, one third of them children, lived in severe poverty. Millions more are counted among the working poor, living paycheck-to-paycheck. More than two million families face foreclosure as a result of our mortgage lending crisis and devastating job losses.

To shed light on this growing issue, world-renowned photographers have joined the campaign including:

  --  Jon Lowenstein - Associate Director and 2008 Alicia Patterson Fellow
  --  Eli Reed - legendary Magnum photographer, author of the defining
      "Black in America"
  --  Brenda Ann Kenneally - winner of the 2009 Getty Grant for Editorial
      Photography
  --  Danny Wilcox Frazier - author of "Driftless: Stories From Iowa,"
      winner of the Honickman Book Prize
  --  Stephen Shames - author of "Outside the Dream" and founder of the LEAD
      Uganda Foundation

  --  Carlos Javier Ortiz - recipient of the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Award
      for Journalism

AmericanPoverty.org will host an ongoing series of photography exhibits throughout the U.S. including eight in early 2010 as part of Catholic Charities USA’s Centennial Celebration. AmericanPoverty.org will also create a summer grant program for student journalists and offer ongoing support for photojournalists documenting efforts to fight poverty. “Photography is a powerful tool to help personalize the injustice of poverty,” said Liss. “Our goal is to ignite a passion for activism, particularly among America’s youth.”

In partnering with Catholic Charities USA, AmericanPoverty.org joins an organization of more than 1,700 local Catholic Charities institutions nationwide to provide support for the poor regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. Over the past 100 years, Catholic Charities agencies have worked to reduce poverty by providing vital community services ranging from health care and job training to food and shelter.

For more information visit http://americanpoverty.org/.

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

NEW YORK, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ — Photographer Kate Engelbrecht brings the world of American teenage girls into focus with The Girl Project, a provocative series of photographs and interviews investigating the complex lives of the modern teenager.

The project was born of her own curiosity about American girlhood and the glamorization of female adolescence in the mass media and on television dramas such as Gossip Girl, The Hills, and NYC Prep. “I was seeing an entire generation of American girls, soon to be American women, being universally misrepresented,” said Engelbrecht. Determined to understand the experience of average teenage girls and to correct public misconceptions, Engelbrecht began reaching out to girls between the ages of 13 and 18 across the United States and sending Kodak disposable cameras by mail for them to photo document their everyday lives.

The Girl Project features young women from different cross-sections of society. Some live in urban cities while others are from rural hometowns; they vary in ethnicity, race, religion and age, yet the collective pressures of modern society echo through their self-portraits. Girls responded to Engelbrecht’s questionnaire with dreams of becoming artists, photojournalists, and psychologists while others hope to be lawyers, travelers, and fashion designers, but they share a desire to make a difference in the world and be influential in the lives of future generations of women.

With The Girl Project, Engelbrecht has delivered a profound commentary on the vicissitudes of growing up today — revealing the girls’ common struggles and celebrating their original triumphs while they cope with new levels of responsibility and expectations of maturity. Garnering astounding support and immediate success, Engelbrecht now receives approximately 400 camera requests each month and will continue to promote the project until 5,000 cameras are distributed. The Girl Project was exhibited at SCOPE Miami in 2008.

Kate Engelbrecht has spent the last seven years working primarily with families and children and her work has been published in PDN and Time Out New York. Outside of photography she has worked on several freelance research and writing assignments for the Oxygen Network and in her free time loves to travel, read and cook.

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Tuesday’s dedication of the just-completed $180 million NC Cancer Hospital on the Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina featured the opening of a specially-commissioned photography exhibit, “The New Face of Cancer Care”, showcasing the work of local photographers Tamara Lackey and Rachel Garrison, of Tamara Lackey Photography studio. Tamara and Rachel were charged with photographing 55 patients, doctors, scientists, staff and survivors over the past few months, with the goal of celebrating the strength and courage of those who fight cancer everyday. Their images and their stories, brought to life on large wall-sized canvas portraits throughout the hospital lobbies and entrance areas, serve as inspiration to all who come through in various stages of their journeys.

(photos after the jump)

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

“We are so gratified to have had the opportunity to work on this project,” states Lackey. “I find it heartening, the sheer number of smart, dedicated, passionate individuals who are banding together not only to care as well as possible for those with cancer, in such a variety of ways – but who are also doing whatever they can do to fight cancer with such a determined force.”

Of her experience during the time she spent photographing subjects, Garrison shares, “The amount of thought and attention to detail put into this building is, in itself, very inspiring. Seeing the expressions of people who entered the hospital for the first time and stood, admiring the architecture and breathing it all in, signified how naturally healing it feels. During this project I came to understand that this group of doctors, nurses, staff, and patients, at various stages in recovery, truly functions as a team. I was particularly moved by occasions when we had an overlap in sessions and participants struck up conversations, sharing hugs and words of encouragement.”

For more information about Tamara Lackey Photography, visit www.tamaralackey.com or contact the studio at 919.484.8000 or studio@tamaralackey.com. Additional details about “The New Face of Cancer Care” can be found at www.newfaceofcancercare.org/about-the-exhibit.

Tamara is an award-winning photographer who has received national recognition in her industry, appearing repeatedly in Rangefinder Magazine and Professional Photographer Magazine and speaking regularly at seminars and conventions in the U.S. and abroad. Tamara’s work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Vogue, O Magazine, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Living, Elle, and Parenting Magazine. Her photography has also been showcased on The Martha Stewart show and her book, “The Art of Children’s Portrait Photography”, is one of the top-selling books in the field. Senior Associate Photographer Rachel Garrison has a fresh eye for detail and a strong passion for capturing the unique experience of individual’s relationships and interactions with each other. She has a natural ability to establish meaningful, personal connections with her subjects which help her in creating beautiful, relaxed portraits. Rachel’s work has been showcased in a variety of publications, including The Knot Weddings Magazine, Our State Magazine, Carolina Parent Magazine, Premier Baby & Child. At the Tamara Lackey Photography studio, located at the Southpoint Renaissance Center, Tamara and her associate photographers blend photojournalistic capture with classic portrait techniques to create fresh and artistic imagery, often described as moving, soulful and expressive.

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 17, 2009 — Acclaimed documentary photographer Phil Borges and CARE, a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty by empowering women and girls, are continuing a successful multi-year collaboration with today’s launch of the Women Empowered Project. Using Borges’ photography and video, The Women Empowered Project spotlights some of the issues that women and girls in the developing world face while demonstrating practical, proven solutions to fighting global poverty.

The new website, which was built in conjunction with liveBooks – a San Francisco-based Internet service for professional photographers — includes three mini-documentary films: Learning to Lead portrays the transformative power of education and leadership for girls and women; Vigilantes de la Vida shows how childbirth can lead to heartbreak rather than happiness when adequate maternal health care is not available, and Strength in Numbers illustrates how African women can turn tiny amounts of money into sustaining capital through village savings and loan programs.

These three issue areas – maternal health, education and financial services – are signature examples of CARE’s work to combat poverty. Additional support during these critical moments can help put women and girls’ on a pathway to success. Each of the three video vignettes includes supplementary information about CARE’s work to address each issue, details about related policy and advocacy topics, and opportunities to share the content with others.
“Through this new endeavor, we hope to continue the momentum we have gained through our partnership and continue to raise awareness about the unique position women hold,” said Valenda Campbell, CARE’s senior photo editor. “Despite the inequity women face, they unite their families and communities and when they are able to make the most of three key windows of opportunity in their lives, they can create lasting change for themselves and everyone their lives touch. These are stories that people must hear and understand.”

Beginning in March, 2008 and working through the fall, Borges visited CARE programs in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. In each region, specifically Malawi (microfinance), Peru (maternal health) and India (education), Borges met with and filmed his subjects to not only capture how discrimination and social injustice affect women and their families and fuel the cycle of poverty, but also how CARE is helping to change the systems that hold people back, and why empowering women is the key to lasting change.

The Women Empowered Project is the latest chapter in an ongoing collaboration between CARE and Borges. In 2007, Borges released a traveling fine art exhibit, a companion book, Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World, and a multimedia feature telling the story of one woman’s efforts to transform her community.

“My partnership with CARE not only allows me to bring attention to the social issues I am concerned about, but to focus my work on creative solutions to those issues” Mr. Borges said.

The Women Empowered Project, which was developed in conjunction with liveBooks and the Fifty Crows Foundation is built on the liveBooks Photojournalism platform that provides cost-effective, web-based tools for photojournalists to display their work.

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)

Dust storm. Rajasthan. India 1983 © Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

Featured Artists: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Bruce Davidson, Thomas Dworzak, Elliott Erwitt, Paul Fusco, Constantine Manos, Susan Meiselas, Steve McCurry, Eli Reed, Alex Webb

Santa Fe, NM (PRWEB) July 6, 2009 — VERVE Gallery of Photography is pleased to present Magnum, our summer exhibition. Magnum features a collection of renowned images produced by photographers from the illustrious cooperative Magnum Photos. Magnum Photos is a member-owned cooperative known for photographs that chronicle the world, its peoples, events and personalities.

The first wave of American troops lands at dawn. June 6th, Normandy. Omaha Beach. France. 1944. Robert Capa © 2001 By Cornell Capa

Magnum Photos was formed by a small group of photographers including Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour at the end of World War II. Each founding photographer had been scarred by the war, and they shared a collective desire to see and photograph the post-war world, as well as to document the changes that resulted from World War II. Magnum Photos reflected the founders’ fierce independence in both personal and professional realms. This idiosyncratic mix of reporter and artist continues to define Magnum Photos as its members report what they observe of the world in a manner that reflects both a powerful individual vision and superb creative achievement.

The Magnum Exhibition is on view at VERVE Gallery from June 26th through August 22nd, 2009. The Opening Reception is from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on Friday evening, July 10th, at VERVE Gallery.

Constantine Manos will give a Slide Show about his work on Thursday, July 9th from 1:00 – 2:30pm. Mr. Manos will also give a Gallery Talk about the Magnum Photos Agency on Friday, July 10th from 3:00-4:30, followed by a Book Signing for his “Greek Portfolio” publication, all held at VERVE Gallery.

Susan Meiselas will give a Lecture on Saturday, July 11th starting at 2pm followed by a Booksigning. Paul Fusco will also give a Lecture on Friday, July 17th starting at 2pm followed by a Booksigning. Both events are held at the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium, 113 Lincoln Avenue in Santa Fe, and are co-sponsored by VERVE Gallery, The Photo Archives/Palace of the Governor’s and Photo-Eye Books. Admission is free. Seating is on a first come first serve basis. Limited seating available.

The Magnum exhibition features the following photographers:

Henri Cartier-Bresson
Robert Capa
Bruce Davidson
Thomas Dworzak
Elliott Erwitt
Paul Fusco
Constantine Manos
Susan Meiselas
Steve McCurry
Eli Reed
Alex Webb

View the Exhibition

“Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson

© 2009, The F Stops Here. All rights reserved. (Jessica D. Korman)