Adobe is doing the right thing, says Rich Glickstein on Aphotoaday.org.

The idea behind Adobe Digital Kids Club is something we should embrace: educating the next generation of the visual journalists. Granted, Adobe's aim is to do so through the use of digital equipment, and ultimately their product, but they're taking a progressive step stirring the pot and getting people excited about photojournalism through a new image recording medium.

We could all learn something (new) from this site. Bookmark it!

Via NY Arts

The role of photojournalism today is to allow the viewer a up-close and somewhat personal look at subjects that are detached from the publics' everyday life, and to shed light on pressing issues. Visual language has become the main method of this intimate communication between subject and viewer, because words do not seem to be as effective or powerful anymore. This direct communication is extremely apparent at “Unbroken: Photography Subjects Speak Out,” a non-profit show at Denise Bibro Gallery in Chelsea.

The show is a collection of images from various projects done by the independent non-profit group Photovoice, whose outreach program sponsors training programs for people in need from underdeveloped nations around the globe (mainly children and minors) in photography and journalism. The projects of Photovoice incorporate the spirit and mind of the populations, allowing them to photograph themselves, determining the way they are depicted. This is a twist on traditional photojournalism, in the way that it is transforming the subject into the creator. These images serve as vehicles not only for knowledge, as many of the participants of Photovoice have aspirations of becoming professional photographers and journalists, but also for freedom, as many reside in refugee camps or nations where their basic freedoms have been taken away. The result is a collection of images that are not only aesthetically beautiful, but powerful and informative images of the world that is easily forgotten.

From the PhotoVoice web site:

Often seen only as subjects in photojournalism, Afghani and Vietnamese street kids from Kabul and Ho Chi Minh City, young Bhutanese refugees in Nepal and mentally and physically disabled students in Bogota, Colombia, use the medium of photography to “speak” about their lives. The result is a unique and powerful exhibition that captures the essence of hope, determination and the human will to survive. In Ho Chi Minh City, they sell lottery tickets. In Kabul, it's walnuts. In both cities, poverty has driven children to spend long days at dusty roadside tables to earn mere pennies. In Nepal, Bhutanese teens in packed refugee-camp classrooms have a near-perfect attendance – education is their only hope out of their transient circumstances. And in Bogotá, mentally and physically disabled students strive to present their vision in art and photography. The photographs in Unbroken have emerged from three PhotoVoice projects: Street Vision (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), Bibin (Kabul, Afghanistan) and The Rose Class (UN run refugee camps in Nepal). A fourth project, linked to PhotoVoice, is a collaboration between students at K'ipay, a school for the mentally and physically disabled in Bogotá and New York artist, Anna Lise Jensen. There will also be an auction and exhibition of well-known photographers who support the organization.

DJ101 – Learn to be a disc jockey. Rekha, watch out!

Bhowmick's photography, all in black & white, clearly springs forth from somewhere deep within; not a knee-jerk reaction to what he just sees in front of him. The images in the gallery section of his site, especially Mirrors of Mumbai, are thought-provoking and sometimes tinged with irony. They also provide a very interesting and refreshing look at a bustling city that most tourists take for granted. The multiple reflections result in quirky juxtapositions of the classic clashing with the modern. With each image, the viewer is asked to look deeply by gently peeling away the onion skins of life. Some may make you even cry.

His email to me had the simplest and perhaps most striking mission statement I have read in years: “i'm a software professional and have a passion for photography.” Enuff said. Check out the rest of his portfolio here.

Via Aag News

The Censor Board of India recently banned Rakesh Sharma's internationally-acclaimed documentary – Final Solution. An online petition has been created by Anand Patwardhan to protest against the ban. The petition asks Central Government to intervene and revoke the ban immediately. As you may already know, under clause 6 and 9 of the Cinematograph Act, the Central Government is empowered to overturn any decision/ recommendation by the Censor Board.

People who have already signed the petition include Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Vijay Tendulkar, Shyam Benegal, Javed Akhtar, Aparna Sen, Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Vishal Bhardwaj, Mansoor Khan, Arundhati Nag, Sanjana Kapoor, MS Sathyu, Lekh Tandon, Dr Asghar Ali Engineer, Ram Puniyani, Yogendra Yadav, Sunil Khilnani, Harsh Kapoor and Teesta Setalvad among others.

Please extend your support by signing the petition online by clicking the following link Please forward the petition details to people in your mailing list asking them to sign and circulate the petition widely. Those who have seen the film – please add your comments!

Final Solution ( India; 2004; Digital Video format – miniDV; 209/148 minutes).

Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 – July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. The film documents the Assembly elections held in Gujarat in late 2002 and records in detail the exploitation of the Godhra incident (in which 58 Hindus were burnt alive) by the right-wing propaganda machinery for electoral gains. It studies the situation after the storm and its impact on Hindus and Moslems – ghettoisation in cities and villages, segregation in schools, the call for economic boycott of Moslems and continuing acts of violence more than a year after the carnage.

Final Solution is anti-hate/ violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it.”

Awards:
Wolfgang Staudte award and Special Jury Award (Netpac), Berlin International film festival.
Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Documentary, HongKong International film festival.
Silver Dhow ( Best Doc category), Zanzibar International film festival
Special Jury Mention, Munich Dokfest.
Special Award instituted and given by NRIs for a Secular and Harmonious India (NRI-SAHI), NY-NJ, USA.