Committing to a photography project takes passion, dedication, and it always takes money.  Self-funded projects are proof of a photographer's dedication to the story they want to tell the world.  I want to focus on two extraordinary projects that are pushing forward right now, projects you can help to see the light of day.

Marissa Roth has been photographing woman in war zones for 28 years.  She has brought her work together into "One Person Crying: Women and War," and a Kickstarter campaign to help with the expense of producing a traveling exhibition of the work. As Roth says,

"The consequences of war for women in countries, cultures and communities that are directly affected by it, have often been overlooked. My main hope for this project is to show that war doesn’t discriminate how it metes out pain or suffering, that women are basically the same everywhere in how they endure war and live with its aftermath into their post-war lives."

From Serbia to Vietnam to Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, Roth has photographed and interviewed women to hear their stories and record them for others to hear.  The project is now finishing, and The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles will be debuting a major exhibition of this work on August 16th, with 88 black and white photographs.  But Roth is looking to take this project further, and bring it to audiences everywhere.  That's how important it is.

You can help make this happen here:

Jason Florio and Helen Jones-Florio are passionate explorers who have made The Gambia, Africa their particular focus.  In 2009 they walked the length of the country.  WALKED the length of the country, a total of 930km!  This time out they are going on a river journey, a 1000km journey through three countries: Guinea, Senegal and The Gambia, following the Gambia River.

The Florios want to create a modern-day account of the people, societies, and life along the length of one of Africa’s last, free-flowing, major rivers. There have been rumors that the river is to be dammed, and the Florios want to try and document the people and environment before it happens.

They plan on traveling by canoe and foot through the homelands of over seven different tribes.  The journey will,

"begin at the source of the river, where it trickles out of the Fouta Djallon highlands, of Guinea, on into hippo-abundant Niokolo Koba National Park, Senegal, and finally into The Republic of the Gambia - following the same course as the early gold and slave traders had done century’s ago – to the 10km wide mouth of the river, where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean." 

To fund their expedition the Florios are reaching out for sponsors and donations of money and equipment through their website, and where, for just $25 you have a chance to win a print from Jason Florio. 

"An Exchange – print draw: Just $25/£16 puts your name in the hat and you could pull out one of Jason Florio’s fine art photography prints – Deadline 31st August 2012"

You can read more from Jason here. And follow their journey here and on Facebook. 

And please consider donating  here

These photographers are working hard to tell stories not being told anywhere else.  And it's important to support these independent endeavors.  I have and I hope you will join me.  The returns are going to be fantastic!

Come On Girls, Let's Take PIX!

She's young!  She's blonde!  She's cute!  She's the embodiment of women photographers!

There’s been blowback against Nielsen and PDN on FB and Twitter for their proposed new magazine, PIX, aimed at women photographers.  And more here and here .

With stories like:

"Smudge-proof makeup tips for long days behind the camera"

"Seasonal Flats: these flats will keep your feet covered, comfortable and cute while you're on photo shoots,"
and stories on wedding photography and photographing newborns, you might think you had traveled back in time.  It’s easy to think that, but what really gets my blood boiling, is that once again, women are being marginalized.

Yes, we may be half of the population (and yes, we hold up half the sky), but why do we need to be singled out?  And why, once again are we being told that shopping is an integral part of a profession?  We've been bombarded by TV shows about weddings, wedding dresses, wedding as competition, by “Bad Girls Clubs,” and fame through Internet sex tapes; by the recent rape “jokes” of a so-called comedian, and by major magazine stories like TIME’s “Are You Mom Enough?” (to single out just a few).  It's as if there never was a feminist movement.

And for every strong woman in the public eye there is a story commenting on her hair, her looks, why she’s a bitch, or how nice her clothes are.  All of MSM is responsible, but they are not alone.  The “girlization” (I didn’t make that up) of females in our society has been going on for a while now.  And as much as I love the craft world, and the attention to décor and design, they focus so much on “cuteness.”  Since their primary audience is women, they also take part in making all women seem only focused on shopping and the home.  They make women seem non-threatening and they put women in their place.

"If you love to snap photos, chances are you're pretty creative and artsy about the rest of your world too," writes Pix's Editor-in-Chief. "It's important to you that your business is modern and cool, you've always got an eye out for hip clothing and accessories, and looking professional and shooting well are top priorities." 

In the past year photographers have been kidnapped, assaulted, and killed.  Women photographers have had to defend themselves against claims that they shouldn't shoot what they do.  Will “smudge-proof makeup” or “luminous lenses” help in Syria?  Ask Lynsey Addario, or Stephanie Sinclair, or Kate Brooks, or any number of women what they think. Do you think Margaret Bourke-White was worried about her mascara when she photographed Buchenwald? When did selling clothing and accessories become a cash cow for a photography-focused media company?

When we look around, all we see are efforts to defame and marginalize women.  It’s not just the Taliban who keep women down.  Republicans around the country are proposing and passing laws to keep women pregnant; to keep them without access to healthcare or child care or jobs training, or anything that might help propel them forward. Rape is still used as a tool of war.

This is such a blatant attempt to jump on the selling bandwagon, to appeal to young women who are obsessed with what they wear and with buying the perfect things they use, women who "take pictures" of pretty things.  Not woman who are professional photographers, or who aspire to be.

Is this the best Neilsen can come up with to make more money?  Have they run out of contest categories?  It makes photography seems like just a flirtation, and not a means of giving voice, and certainly not a real career. In this struggling economy, just making a living as a photographer is hard enough, now you have to worry that your makeup is right?

Surprised?  No.  Disgusted?  Yes.  Think this is going to stop anytime soon?

Silverheads from Sari Goodfriend

Many photographers have personal projects they work on, whether to counter the work they do for pay, or to continue something that is close to their heart but might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It doesn’t seem to be hard to find things to photograph, but often there seems to be little thought given to subject matter.

Anyone can photograph a dog, but can you offer us a new way of looking at the dog? Coming up with a unique idea that can set you apart as a photographer is a culmination of several key things: personal curiosity, intense observation, creative inspiration, and purposeful thought.



What I love about Sari Goodfriends’ “Silverheads” project is both its delightful premise and it’s respect for her subjects. While most of society and most of the media ignore woman after they’re in their mid-thirties, Goodfriend not only delights in older women, but also elevates them in a classic way that makes me so pleased.

By focusing on the beauty of not only their hair, but also the women themselves, you cannot help but be drawn to them. I love the way Goodfriend has created diptychs and triptychs, showing the women full on and from the back. It is like looking into a three-way mirror to see a person from all angles.

Too often the work I see is very familiar—-young women in bored or stunned poses that focus on either their beauty or their sexuality. Sari has chosen what seems to be a simple conceit, and yet it is as fresh as any portraiture I have seen recently, and certainly some of the only portraiture I have seen that celebrates women without prejudice, without judgment, and certainly without hair dye.

See more of Sari's work here.