Photojournalistic

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has just released a campaign short based on the work of photographer Brian Sokol. In the brief production, A-listers such as Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington, and Neil Gaiman recite the rhythmic poem “What They Took With Them" by Jenifer Toksvig. The poem, along with the accompanying video and still imagery, urges us to sign the #WithRefugees petition to help ensure that refugees across the world have the basic necessities needed to rebuild their lives: education, a safe environment, and work opportunities.

Living in a world full of real problems and being a creative person is a challenge. It’s a big challenge until you step to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the annual Burning Man festival, where the world turns into the most surreal place you could ever imagine. This happened to photographer Victor Habchy and over 70,000 other people for the largest outdoor festival dedicated to "Da Vinci's Workshop" this year.

A photograph that does not tell a story, is a lifeless picture – it’s a failure to capture the viewer and therefore, his heart. One single photograph can inspire a person if a photographer knows how to tell a good story. Because photographer Paul Choy wanted to find out the truth for himself behind media headlines, and because he wanted to tell the individual stories of each refugee, he set out for the refugees’ camps in Calais and Greece with his camera. The result is the ‘Faceless, Forgotten’ – a photo essay and a documentary about the struggles of refugees.

"This is what we have to create if we want to sell." Ruben Salvadori, an anthropologist and photographer, spent months in East Jerusalem, where he initially went as a conflict photographer. Soon, however, his anthropological training kicked in, and he found a subject that was more interesting to him personally: the photographers themselves.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. This statement is proven true in the recent New York Times video. Reporter Deborah Acosta was walking around New York City when she found an odd trail of old Kodak slides. The trail lead to a big bag full of slides, notes, and letters addressed to a woman named Mariana Gosnell. Who threw away these photos? Who was Mariana?

The recent fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge has sparked numerous protests and calls for change, fueled all the more by other recent high-profile cases. In particular, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained more and more traction. One photographer took a remarkable image that helps capture the current climate surrounding police and race relations in the United States.

Searching for a photo of Christ the Redeemer on Flickr returns 26,615 images. How many photos are taken facing away from the landmark? Probably not a lot, which is why Oliver Curtis’ series of photos explores the other side of famous destinations.

In his eight years photographing the president, Pete Souza has taken an estimated two million photos. In that time, he has seen the president as a leader, a family man, and a human being, documenting not only his time in office, but much of his personal life as well. Souza's perspective on his work is both fascinating and enlightening.