Wednesday, August 29, 2007

New on MediaStorm: Finding the Way Home


By now, the initial images are familiar: rows of city blocks flooded past the horizon, crowds outside the Superdome begging for help, hundreds stranded on highways looking for somewhere to go.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana on August 29, 2005, the story is no longer about leaving. It's about coming home. For many, that process has not been easy. Tens of thousands of houses still remain empty, a majority of them belonging to the poor. In New Orleans alone, most of the 77,000 rental units have not been rebuilt.

As staggering as the numbers are, though, they cannot do justice to the emotional turmoil left in the hurricane's wake. Just what does it take for a family to start over? How does one survive not only the loss of a house, but the very real economic hardships of paltry insurance payments and lack of jobs, housing, and so many basic needs.

Photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally, originally on assignment for The New York Times Magazine, documents the seemingly endless struggles some families face as they set about Finding the Way Home: Two Years After Katrina.


MediaStorm

...and the last time I checked the cost of the US involvement in Iraq, it was, $456,106,134,100 making Katrina even more tragic.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

New Book: WHERE WAR LIVES


In 1993, Paul Watson was a photojournalist for the Toronto Star working in Somalia. In Mogadishu, he took the photograph of the body of the dead American soldier, Staff Sgt. William David Cleveland, being dragged through the streets. It was a picture that both changed the US and earned Paul the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News.
This book is Paul Watson's personal and historic journey from Mogadishu through Rwanda to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Read Toronto Star story.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

TIFF Announces Line-up

Toronto International Film Festival, Sept 6 - 15, announced their full line-up today.
Details on the TIFF site, but the CBC.ca story gives a good overview.
....and don't forget about Darfur/Darfur nightly projection.

Monday, August 20, 2007

CNN Special GOD'S WARRIORS

For 3 nights, Christiane Amanapour will be reporting on God's Warriors.
The website offers added insight to the shows.
Monday, August 21 - 9pm - Jewish Warriors
Tuesday, August 22 - 9pm - Muslim Warriors
Wednesday, August 23 - 9pm - Christian Warriors

CNN must think quite highly of the series, as it is bumping Larry King Live :)

Sunday, August 19, 2007

pdn PHOTOPLUS Expo



Annual event sponsored by PDN. Takes place in New York, but can be well worth the expense.
Registration allows free access to the tradeshow. Workshops and Special Events cost per session. Offers worthwhile networking opportunities.
Details

Monday, August 13, 2007

Multimedia: Crisis in Darfur Expands (E)

Crisis in Darfu Expands by Travis Fox and the Washingtonpost.com
Multimedia working at its best offering accessible, powerful and engaging visual resources for World Issues teachers.
The site offers panoramic images showing a 360 degree perspective of scenes and situations, short videos, resources offering historical and present context, as well as regularly updated information about the region.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Missing AP Photographer in Iraq

The Associated Press says one of its Iraqi journalists, photographer and news contributor Talal Mohammed, has been missing since July 28 and may have been kidnapped.

article on PdnOnline.

Committee to Protect Journalists lists all journalists who have been abducted, jailed, injured or killed in Iraq this year.

TIFF to Show DARFUR/DARFUR Projection


Brian Boyle/ROM

The Toronto International Film Festival will be spilling out of cinemas and into Toronto galleries and exhibition spaces this year.

Nine video installations and multimedia projects will be displayed throughout the city in conjunction with the festival, running Sept. 6 to 15.

As part of the program, images from war-torn Darfur will be projected on the Royal Ontario Museum's new Crystal addition, and the Power Plant will be devoted to an exhibit of the works of Italy's Francesco Vezzoli.

The DARFUF/DARFUR exhibit features photos by former U.S. marine Brian Steidle and photojournalists Lynsey Addario, Mark Brecke, Helene Caux and Michal Safdie.
Media Release

article on CBC.ca

A Vanity Fair story, including projection pictures of DARFUR/DARFUR

Monday, August 6, 2007

INDEXG Saturday Night Projection





Saturday, August 11
6:30pm - Free Admission
The Quest For Land
Photographs of John Vink
Curated by Robert Black

Cambodia is essentially a rural society with 80% of its citizens making a living from farming. The possession of land is essential for survival for a vast majority of them. The constant migrations of hundreds of thousands of people within and outside the country during the years of turmoil from the last 50 years, the destruction of land registry during the Khmer Rouge regime, and the spectacular economic growth since stability has returned to the country have triggered a general and ruthless scramble for land....
Complete details

50 Gladstone
Toronto
... just north of Queen St W...basically across the street on Gladstone from the Gladstone Hotel

The Digital Journalist


The August issue of the online Digital Journalist is now posted.
This month's image gallery includes the 'Best From Visa Pour L'Image' and a video interview with the heart and soul of Visa, festival director Jean Francois Leroy.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Visa Pour L'Image




The Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan, France is the preeminent festival of photojournalism.
View dozens of exhibitions of photo stories you are unlikely to see elsewhere. View amazing 3 story high outdoor projections. Have the opportunity to meet, one on one, with editors and agency representatives who assign and publish work. All in the south of France, where the weather is wonderful and the cafes are even better.
A festival every photojournalist should experience at least once.

Noorderlicht Photography Festival


The 14th annual Noorderlicht International Photography Festival takes place in Groningen, The Netherlands
September 16 through October 28
The theme of this year's festival is 'Act of Faith'.

PDN Photojournalism Editorial Issue


August is the Photojournalism / Editorial issue of PDN.
Check out the featured articles in the issue.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Distorted Picture (E)

The American Journal Review has published this article. A useful resource for the classroom, and a fascinating read.

Distorted Picture
Thanks to Photoshop, it’s awfully easy to manipulate photographs, as a number of recent scandals make painfully clear. Misuse of the technology poses a serious threat to photojournalism’s credibility...

Recommended reading and has some wonderful links including this site showcasing many of the classic examples of clandestine manipulation - showing both the original and the tampered image.

One of the classics...

Thursday, August 2, 2007

iReports on CNN


Watching CNN last night, their coverage of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis offered mostly images shot by non professionals submitted via iReport.
Have a look at the non pro and pro shots.
CNN - iReport
Washington Post Camera Works
Time
Newsweek - MSNBC

...and here is an interesting article on PDNonline about Newsweek buying some of the first images of the bridge collapse from a student who was quickly on the scene with his camera. Today, Newsweek gave him an assignment.

I had to smile when I read the response he gave to the last question...

PDN: Did you think you were shooting these for any particular publication, or did you know they'd be of some value?
Worrall: No. I just did it because I figured someone would want to see them and at the very least I would post it on Facebook or something, share it with friends anyway. I was just purely shooting to document the event.


Yes, today there is always Facebook.

INDEXG Saturday Night Projection




Saturday, August 04, 2007 6:30 pm, free admission
Photography by Oculi (Australia)
Curated by Robert Black
Tamara Voninski, Dean Sewell, Tamara Dean, Nick Cubbin, Nick Moir

In 2001, nine award-winning photojournalists, united by their commitment to documentary-storytelling, formed Oculi.com.au. This unique photo agency reveals real lives and real stories that are overlooked by the mainstream media.
Complete Details

50 Gladstone
Toronto
... just north of Queen St W...basically across the street on Gladstone from the Gladstone Hotel

Interview with Spencer Platt (E)



Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images

Getty Images CEO and Co-Founder Jonathan Klein recently sat down with Getty Images photographer Spencer Platt to discuss what it is like living a life behind the lens. This year Spencer received first place honors at the prestigious 2007 World Press Photo Award in Amsterdam for his image of a group of young Lebanese driving through a South Beirut neighborhood devastated by Israeli bombings. In his career at Getty Images, he has covered subjects such as 9/11, the Southeast Asia tsunami and the war in Iraq. His work has appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, Stern and the LA Times.

...and if you would like to read more concerning the controversy about this World Press Photo of the Year, click on PDN and Speigel Online.