Photojournalistic

National Geographic contributor and wildlife photographer Steve Winter just created what might be one of the most striking photos I can remember seeing in recent memory: A 125 pound mountain lion, staring straight into the camera, with the background illuminated by the lights of downtown Los Angeles.

Whatever type of photography you focus on, I doubt there are many of us that aren’t mesmerized every time we pick up and thumb through a copy of National Geographic magazine. Over it’s lifetime, it's become synonymous with capturing images of people, places and wildlife that show us the undiscovered or hidden side of our increasingly homogenized world.

Some people go through life and aren't sure how they can take their photography to the next level of giving back. There are many programs and non-profits such as Help Portrait and Operation: Love ReUnited, but nothing that you can say you did or created. Well these 16-year-old brothers decided they would do just that and create something worth remembering.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 was met with a lot of skepticism, and sparked yet another battle in the megapixel war. But for a cell phone, it's hard to deny that the photos look pretty darn good. Now when you think of National Geographic you think of incredible photographs of rarely seen places and people.

"Do you think we could do these photos that I found on Pinterest?" If you are a wedding photographer, or even a family photographer, it is more than likely you have heard this phrase before. My friends, Troy and Aimee Grover, extremely talented photographers in Southern California, decided to write up a post for future brides that shares the photographer's perspective on Pinterest, along with tips for brides. It's a fantastic read. With their permission I wanted to share some of the key ideas with our readers here.

Imagine never having the keepsake of a photograph as a memento of your family. This is a common reality for many in rural areas and third world countries and Portland-based photographer Joni Kabana aims to do something about it. She founded “Prints for Prints: A Global Rally for the Printed Photograph,” a non-profit that auctions photographic prints to raise money so that people in rural areas can have their own family portraits.

"Those of us that are lucky enough to survive, we get to come here and be at this museum and do this opening." 'Lucky enough to survive' is not a mantra that many photographers have to deal with - and yet these photographers have worked under this burden and have done so brilliantly. In this video, we get a small glimpse at some of the things they've seen - and it is powerful.

There are many great photography books out there but this is a list of five of my all-time favorites, the ones routinely jockeying for space on my nightstand even though I’ve read or pawed through them numerous times. Each is a continual source of inspiration and provides welcome insight into the thought-process behind successful imagemaking at the highest level.

Last night, National Geographic Traveler announced the winners of their 25th annual photo contest, and as you can imagine, the images are nothing short of amazing. The prizes weren't bad either - the winning photographer received a 10-day Galápagos expedition for two - so one could assume there would be a lot of competition. The contest received over 15,500 entries. Of those, here are the top 11...

Ami Vitale is an award-winning photojournalist who has traveled across the globe covering assignments for major publications.

Vitale's bio states that her work has been exhibited around the world in museums and galleries and published in international

When scooping other sources, being the first is king. Everyone knows that and the race is constantly moving faster and faster to do so.

There has been some buzz around companies like CrowdMedia, Scoopshot, Rawporter and Blotter whose sole purpose is to get imagery out to major news outlets that have been scraped off of Twitter and Instagram.

It’s very easy to get used to the option of being able to “spray and pray” – shoot a nearly obscene amount of photographs and hope for a few that meander over the line to above average. I know I can be guilty of this sometimes – modern shutters are both a benefit and a crutch. So I issued myself a challenge: go out and shoot without looking.

In what may be one of my favorite 30(ish)-minute commercials ever, Canon 'introduces' one of the greatest living photographers, Don McCullin, to the world of digital photography. McCullin is old-world; he's charming and sweet and sad-eyed and every bit as British. McCullin's shaman into the digital realm is Jeff Ascough - Canon Ambassador and all-around stellar wedding photographer.

Only 2 years passed since the 2011 Egyptian revolution where president Mubarak was replaced by president Morsi, and this week the people of Egypt decided to make another change and oust the elected president in what is now known as the largest political event in history of mankind. Over 14 million people flooded the streets of Egypt this week to protest against President Morsi, and Tahrir Square came to life once again.

Combining her love for landscapes and risk taking, photographer Jody Macdonald is able to capture some of the worlds most gorgeous landscapes, from 20,000ft in the air. By paragliding, Jody photographs some of the worlds most beautiful places, with a perspective previously unseen, and the results are stunning.

After a horrible decision to fire an entire photo staff on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times media writer Robert Feder, released a Facebook statement from a memo sent out by managing editor Craig Newman. It seems that in the next couple of days, editorial employees will be starting "iPhone Photography Basics."

In surprising news out of Illinois today, the Chicago Sun-Times has let go of all staff photographers and will be hiring only freelancers moving forward. The estimated 20 photographers found out about the move this morning.

Think Tank launched “About A Photograph,” a video series that features stories from photographers about the photographs they have created.

The videos are co-produced by Think Tank Photo co-founders and award-winning photojournalists Kurt Rogers and Deanne Fitzmaurice. Each video will feature some of the world’s leading photographers recounting the stories behind these images that captured global attention.

When you think group shots, what lens immediately comes to your mind? Often, the initial reaction to a "group picture" is to reach for the widest lens in your bag. It's a safe option that makes sure you'll fit everyone in the frame. It could be said group shots are more about accounting for everyone who was present rather than being a work of art. However, if you care about the quality of images you're creating, maybe your widest option shouldn't be your default.

On May 20th, one of the deadliest twisters in known history touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. The Tornado caused catastrophic damage to homes (over 13,000 of them were destroyed), infrastructure, schools and a hospital. Take a look at these powerful images showing the aftermath of the deadly Tornado as found on (the new) Flickr.

As any wedding photographer knows, one of the most nerve-wracking events is when a guest completely destroys the picture perfect moment you've been hired to capture. Whether they stand up in the aisle during the first kiss, take photos with their ipad in front of your camera, or inadvertently cause half the family to look off to the side during posed family portraits, wedding photo bombs can be a real headache. Wedding photographer Corey Ann's suggestion is having an "Unplugged Wedding".

Photojournalists prepping images for competitions often walk a fine line between the enhancement of a photograph and outright alteration. Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen, winner of the 2012 World Press Photo Award, has denied that his winning image of two dead Palestinian children in a funeral procession, is a forgery. A forensic image analyst named Neal Krawetz came forward on Monday with an allegation that the image is a composite, an egregious manipulation that may invalidate the award. Yesterday, World Press Photo issued a statement verifying the authenticity of the image.

Motley Crue bassist, Nikki Sixx is a recovering addict. But cameras, he says, are his new drug. He has been a musician, a writer and a radio host. His new passion is photography. To be honest, I was pretty surprised by his images. They are empathetic, penetrative and incredibly personal. He has teamed up with Leica to photograph a two-part interview series.

WARNING: GRAPHIC It's incredibly difficult for many people of the world to have a point of reference on this type of tragedy, but this image my be one of the most tragic images that I have seen in recent memory. It is both devastating and incredibly heartbreaking. The image is of a male and a female, embracing in their final moments. The couple hasn't been identified, nor is their story known. They were found about 2am buried under fallen concrete with blood coming from the man's eye like a tear.

When I imagine the president of the United States, what comes to mind first is the campaign trail and all the national decisions he's involved with. It's hard to picture what the day to day of the presidential life brings. This collection of pictures of former president George W. Bush does a fantastic job of capturing the in between moments that show how normal presidents are.

Jim Colton of the National Press Photographer's Association is publishing a three-part primer on the Perfect Portfolio on the NPPA web site this week. While the series is tailored to emerging photojournalists, all photographers could take a few tips away from the series. With advice from award-winning photographers as well as photo editors, art buyers and curators, the primer explores the fundamentals of editing, sequencing and presenting your strongest work.

You submit your assignment images each year as a staff photojournalist at a major newspaper and never place in the prestigious Picture of the Year International competition. Then, years later as a freelance photographer, you win first place for a body of work that was undertaken solely as a personal venture. This is the story of Bob Croslin's self-assigned "Grounded," a portrait project of injured birds undergoing rehabilitation at a sanctuary in western Florida.

Jeff Bridges has been nominated for six Academy Awards and has won once (for 'Crazy Heart'). He can now add another honor to his list of awards. This week at the 29th annual Infinity Awards, he is being nominated for his photography. 'The Dude' has been shooting on-set images of the films he has worked on since 1984, and his work gives us a peek at a world most people never get to see.

If the guy wasn't already talented enough, now Brad Pitt is showing off his ability to shoot photos of his gorgeous "wife" and family using black and white film. The photos are quite spectacular and give us all an interesting insight into his life behind closed doors. You will want to see these.

Al Jazeera English just premiered the first episode of their new show, "The New African Photography." Following a time of great turmoil for Africa, the show centers on the changing image of the continent as told through the eyes of photographers. The goal is to ultimately replace the images of famine and war that often come to mind and with images that redefine what Africa is becoming today.

The Overseas Press Club of America is an organization who recognizes photojournalist and photographers for exceptional reporting in the photography medium. Since 1939 the OPC has seeked to maintaining an international association of journalist working abroad and here in the United States. Last night, they awarded 4 different photographers with awards of exceptionalism.

...pretty outstanding and powerful photos. Every single image that was awarded the prize was taken by photographers covering the war in Syria. What's particularly unique about the winner of the "Breaking News" category was that there was not a solitary winner; the award was shared by five photographers.

Photojournalist David Eulitt recently completed Punching Back Time, a series of photographs that features senior athletes who at seasoned ages, strap on gloves and spar in the ring.

The boxers were participants in the 2nd Annual Ringside Masters Championship boxing tournament, a competition for amateur boxers ranging in ages from 35 to 75.

National Geographic has been the pinnacle of photography for 125 years now. They have continued to set the standard for inspiring the world with their photographs. For the longest time Nat Geo was one of the only ways the world was able to visually share each others cultures. Its fascinating to see how society has changed over the century. Here we look back these beautiful shots from the past 125 years. Thank you Nat Geo for revolutionizing photography.

Sometimes, I find it difficult to motivate myself to go out and just shoot for the heck of it. Unless it is a project I've planned, or a client shoot, I often find myself making excuses for not going out to shoot.

I haven’t been able to decide if this is my inner lazy shining through, or if I am subconsciously convincing myself that “There is nothing good to shoot today, I’ll go tomorrow.” but it is a counter productive habit that I decided I needed to break.

Recently, a professional photographer decided to share his years of experience in print with other photographers around the world. However this experience isn't shooting techniques, or how to interact with those involved with the shoot. Instead, this focuses on the pay scale you can expect from each publication, and its asking for you to help submit your experiences too.

Last spring, I met a group of 4 cyclists planning a 35 day epic adventure from coast to coast across the US. Their goal was to cycle over 100 miles a day, resting only one day a week, in order to raise awareness and funds for the poor and needy in Burundi, Africa. I decided it would be awesome to tag along and film their journey.

Photoshelter recently released Pricing Your Work: Magazine Photography, with insights from Wonderful Machine's CEO Bill Cramer. The free guide provides photographers with tips on how to handle fees and expenses, terms and conditions photographers should have in their agreements and examples of contracts used in real situations.

In this guide, Bill Cramer touches base on some of the important highlights giving