After 5 games and many more practices, my 2011 stint with Monterey Trail Mustang football is complete.

I settled into my home away from home in Elk Grove, CA August 2nd, exactly one month after I relocated from DC to Sac. I reached out to a number of high school football programs in and around Sacramento looking to continue my interest in documenting the sport at this level. Soon after my initial feelers, I got a call from head coach, T.J. Ewing. He thought my work was pretty cool and said he’d love to have me come out. So I did.

The coaching staff was awesome and the kids were an excellent bunch of hard working, determined and accountable young human beings. Although the team finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs, it was great to document their journey. Enjoy and see you next season!

James Estrin of the New York Times Lens Blog asks for your participation in the latest worldwide project “Picturing 7 Billion”.

On behalf of The New York Times Lens blog, I would like to invite you to join us in a project called Picturing 7 Billion.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that the world’s 7 billionth person was born on Oct. 31, 2011. Babies born this week come into a world that is changing rapidly.  While it’s hard to envision what it’ll be like when they are adults, we can show them what the world is like today.

This is where you come in. We are asking for your help in creating a photographic time capsule for these children. Before you take your picture, think about what you want them to know – 20 years from today – about the world into which they were born.

Make a photograph that documents how we live today and send it to us. We are looking for photographs taken between Oct. 31 and Nov. 11, not from your archive. We’ll publish a large selection on Lens and present prints to the families of the children Lynsey Addario photographed on Oct. 31.

Use this form to submit your picture. Please send us only one. Include your full name, the place and time the photo was made and a little bit about the image. Photos should be no larger than five megabytes, ideally at least 1,000 pixels wide. In keeping with photojournalistic standards, please keep Photoshop to a minimum.

Best,

Jim

The Progress Film Company, based in Brighton, UK, documented the widespread rioting which hit London earlier this month. Their film listens to reactions, debates and discussions from the community residents and provides a powerful insight into the thoughts and reasoning of those involved and affected.

The idea for the documentary came from Progress shooter/editors Josh Thompson and Liam White, who found themselves absorbed in the 24 hour news coverage of the escalating trouble in London last week.  The lure of the action proved too much and so they packed a Canon 5D MkII kit and jumped on the first train to Clapham Junction.  Upon stepping out the station onto the High Road, they were immediately engulfed in chaotic scenes of looting, vandalism and violence.

Josh and Liam worked quickly and quietly, with one person taking the camera out of their bag and shooting while the other kept watch.  By remaining relatively discreet they were able to capture scenes of missiles being thrown at police, rioters breaking into shops and looting, as well as violence aimed towards members of the public who tried to intervene.

After seeing one photographer assaulted and having his camera smashed, they started shooting with an iPhone4 and a Flip UltraHD from the heart of the action, walking through the looting crowds as they smashed their way in and out of high street shops.  Again they worked quickly, passing through each area swiftly before regrouping.

Upon reviewing the footage with the Progress team that evening, it was quickly agreed that they should keep shooting despite having no clear story or news agenda.  Josh and Liam returned to Clapham the next morning to document the reactions of those involved in – and affected by – the riots.  We wanted to listen to the discussion on the street rather than present a story or show the chaos that the news was broadcasting. A 5D mkII allowed us to get close to those involved without intimidating them and once we’d started shooting, a crowd gathered to join in the debate.

Upon reviewing the new footage it became increasingly clear that there was a message on the street that the news broadcasters did not seem to be focusing on. Residents were talking about the inevitability of something like this happening.  With an editor in the studio running through the footage with a detached view, we were able to build a story that focused on the issues rather than getting too involved with the initial violence.

With that in mind, we spent a further two days shooting in other affected communities around London such as Croydon, Tottenham and Hackney, asking members of those communities affected “why has this happened?”  The answers to this question were far from clear-cut – racially, politically, economically or otherwise – with fingers being pointed to far reaching issues that in some cases go back generations.

Our aim with the editing of this film was to keep the feeling of discussion open – we used the camera to listen rather than to enforce an agenda, so in turn we chose to keep away from cutaways during the narrative of the film. Sim from Audio For Media (www.audioformedia.com) composed a soundtrack for the piece that added a cinematic edge to the interviews – we we’re worried about it being to overbearing for an observational documentary but he bridged the gap perfectly.

What develops on screen is a very powerful insight into communities that we all thought we understood, but in reality know very little about.

Detroit-based photographer Tim Fuller traveled to Nicaragua where he documented a mission trip.

As many of you know the biggest thing I photograph is sports, which would make me a sports photographer.  However, when it really comes down to it, I am a photojournalist. I love telling stories with photographs, whether I am photographing a sporting event, a wedding, etc.  Recently, I had a new opportunity to photograph something I had never photographed before, but something I have been wanting to do for a very long time.  I traveled down to Nicaragua where I documented a mission trip.

Months ago I was planning on going to Nicaragua to participate in the mission work, but God had a different plan for me because I was asked to document the trip.  I gladly accepted, and I could only hope the pictures would do some good for these people.

Continue reading and see more photos on Tim’s blog.

Sacramento, CA-based photographer Michael Starghill recently documented and shot portraits of a summer basketball league in Washington DC.

Well, I had a grand plan to spend all summer in Barry Farms photographing the ins and outs of the Goodman League but that plan was curtailed when I moved to California early in July. I did spend a good amount of time there in June and was even successful in shooting some portraits of the players. Ironically, the day I hopped on a plane, John Wall (DCs biggest basketball star) showed up and dropped 41. Oh well…at least I was able to shoot these portraits.

See more photos on Michael’s blog.

Justin Maxon is raising funds for a photographic project and a rally for meaningful change in Chester, PA, a town close to his heart and plagued with violence.

I step foot into a familiar place, with ragged cushions and a dark stained carpet. Scattered children’s toys. This landscape is comfortable, but the sounds coming from within are alien. A clash of familiar faces. A poison cocktail of screams. High-pitch crying mixed with deeper bass roar. A young woman holds a kitchen knife, threatening her baby’s father. Family pries them apart. Knife falls, then her fists fly in repetition. He never strikes back. She picks up an empty beer bottle, swings at his head. It’s deflected. I’m a breath’s distance away, heart pounding, witnessing.

Continue reading, see more photos, and help Justin fund his project here.

DC-based freelancer Jenna Isaacson is working on a photo project that aims to visit thrift stores all over the United States.

The “All Thrifty States: Documenting what America Throws Out” photo project aims to visit thrift stores in all 50 states, documenting the scenes and objects found along the way. The mission will be to explore the experience through two lenses– a socialogical standpoint and a visual one.

By sociologically, we mean– if you only visited a thrift store in each state and no where else, what would you deduce about that region? Is it old? Is it young? Is it rich? Is it poor? Is it playful? Is it religious? Is it diverse? The things we clear our lives of make their way onto those shelves, and it becomes a picture of the community that surrounds it.

By visually, we mean it will be thoroughly photographed and documented. From unique scenes, people, objects and visions of thrift stores, both abstract and literal, that tell the story of Americans.

The goal is to create a fun, tangible, TRAVELING platform to inform people about the things they throw out, what it says about us.

Learn more about Jenna’s project here.

Based out of Mumbai and New York, NY, fine art documentary photographer Azhar Chougle shot stills of special New York subway entrances.

The New York city subway always felt like a teleport to me. Descending down the stairs from a concrete jungle and emerging at the edges of urban existence. The Last Exit is a conceptual documentary series exploring the very edges of the subway system.

See more images of The Last Exit series on Azhar’s Website.

Washington, D.C.-based freelancer Michael Starghill photographed the newly elected Rushern Baker III.

On December 6, I had the wonderful opportunity to shadow Prince George’s County Executive-Elect Rushern Baker III and document him during his inauguration day.  Access is an amazing thing. Politicians often have two (or more!) personae, one for when the red light is on and another for the everyday living of being a public figure. With the latter, there are moments when they can let their guard down but are still aware that blunder-capturing technology might be lurking. I was fortunate enough to be behind the scenes during family and isolated moments and tasked with the challenge or preserving this memorable night. The great thing about this very long assignment (7am – 1am) is that I became more invisible to the subject as the day wore on.

To see more images from the series visit Michael’s Blog.

New York City-based freelancer Mae Ryan spent four months photographing the Sisters of Charity in New York.

Founded in 1809, the Sisters of Charity community was once the largest order of nuns in New York. For years they were the Catholic pillars of New York; they founded St. Vincent’ s Hospital in 1849, taught at a majority of catholic schools and served as nurses throughout the metropolitan area.

However, their influence and numbers have dwindled in recent years. In 1960 there were over 3,000 sisters in the order, while today there are just over 300 and no one has joined the community for the past five years. 80 of the oldest members of the community reside in the Convent of Mary the Queen, a nursing home for retired sisters in Yonkers, NY.

As I got deeper into the project some of the sisters divulged to me their fear of death and the unknown, while others spoke of finally uniting with Jesus. Over the course of the four months that I worked on the project three sisters died and the reality of their dwindling population became a reality for me as well.

Each woman has her own room, la-Z-boy chair, TV, shared bathroom and small closet for all of her possessions. Many of the women can no longer take care of themselves and must rely on the full time staff for their daily needs. The sisters fill their days with group

exercise, bingo, crafts and prayer as they linger in life before death.