We’re excited to announce the winners of our documentary photo contest judged by Eric Draper.

Winner: Laurynas Komža

• Induro CT113 carbon fiber tripod and BHL1 low profile ballhead, valued at $518
• PhotoShelter Standard Membership, valued at $360
• AdoramaPix 10″x10″ 26-page Photo Book, valued at $80
• Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 35 optic, valued at $400
• Think Tank Airport 4-Sight Rolling Camera Bag, $250 value

They’re all so close in physical world, but they’re thinking different universes.
“Silent Reality” by Laurynas Komza. I took this picture during our trip to Berlin. I woke up first and saw everybody sleeping. The car was in the parking lot. It wasn’t comfortable but when one is young one doesn’t need the comfort.

Runner-up: Arman Petrosyan

• Graph Paper Press Forever Plan, valued at $299
• Bay Photo Metal Print with a Float Mount Block, valued at $120
• CarrySpeed FS-Pro sling strap, valued at $80
• Custom SLR ProDots, valed at $10

“Lights” by Arman Petrosyan

People’s Choice (highest voted photographer): Andrea Sarabia

• SpinLight 360 Event Modular System, valued at $100
• Beta Shell Bombproof Protection for your camera, up to $88 in value
• Custom SLR Glide One Strap System, valued at $60

“En la boca del León (In the lion’s mouth)” by Andrea Sarabia. Curious what you can find in the mouth of a lion! Carnival anniversary, Lautaro city, Chile.

Honorable mention: Steven John

• Tenba Messenger Bag

“Matanza” by Steve John. This photograph is from an ongoing personal project on traditional Matanzas in New Mexico.

Chris Rusanowsky (b.1990) is a freelance photographer and aspiring photojournalist. In the early years of his life, Chris has been exposed to a lot of different ways of life. Traveling since he was six of age Chris spent most of his childhood moving around the United States with his mother and sister. This cemented Chris with his first relationship with art and self-expression. His grandmother later on gave Chris his first camera and would take him out to photograph their adventures. Chris in his young career has been photographing a wide range of subject and has worked with many West Coast companies such as: Famous Clothing, Golden Lucille, KFI Radio, LA Fashion, Loupe Magazine, Eccentric Symphony and many more. Ha has also been published in Loupe Magazine in 2010 for his photo essay about graffiti artists as well as awarded and published as a finalist in The Photographers Forum Magazine, Best of Photography 2010. In Early 2011 Chris decided to take his documentary projects to the next level by flying international to the Philippines to document modern day poverty. Chris is attending school in photojournalism in his hometown of Pennsylvanian where he is working on long term projects and providing commercial wedding services.

In February of 2012 I took a trip to document poverty in Manila, Philippines for 32 days. Upon my arrival to Manila I felt an overwhelming feeling of the growing city. From the first step onto the streets, to the time of making my return home I had witnessed beautiful people living in poverty.

My project starts at a city dump site, a place the locals call “Smokey Mountain”. It was named after the thick, white soot that filled the air. There was a highly compacted muddy road condensed with huts on each of side of it, leading me to a community of huts made with abandoned materials. The people of Smokey Mountain have been forced to live around the dump site to search through trash to find recyclables as a means of income. Surrounding the homes were a large row of charcoal shanties, where these men, women and children from the age of six worked 24 hours a day. These huts had no foundation and could have collapsed at any time. The smoke from the charcoal billowed into the air, leaving a burning sensation in the back of my throat from which I could only describe as acrid. The children did not know anything more than this isolated place of poverty. They try to live a normal childhood, playing in the waters that flowed next to a shipping harbor.

A boy by the name of Reynixon Roysales has been living in Smokey Mountain since the age of six, along with his Mother, Father and Sister. He spends his days rummaging through piles of garbage in hopes of acquiring plastic to afford a meal that typically consists of instant coffee and rice as well as looking around the house for abandoned duck eggs to eat. The hope of a future keeps the spirit of this boy alive.

After the death of his aunt Reynixon, his family left to attend their relatives funeral for one week. When they arrived back home, the house had been broken into and looted. Everything of value was stripped from them. After being left with absolutely nothing, Reynixon and his family had moved to live at his cousin’s who owned a house “which had no roof”. After 2 years of living at his cousin’s, Reynixon started to work with a church in Manila.

At the age of 20, Reynixon had against all odds broken away from poverty to start a new future as a pastor. In 2001, he valiantly returned to Smokey Mountain to provide the food that these children so badly needed. Surpassing any expectations he had for himself in his future, Reynixon established The Malaya Kids Ministry. This Ministry located in the heart of Smokey Mountain has helped the community by finally providing the electricity, education and nourishment these children deserved for so long.

The boy who had experienced scraping the bottom of the barrel for leftover food never gave up hope and had returned to this extremely harsh environment as a righteous man with a highly benevolent intent, lending his hand out to these children who would’ve been otherwise left behind.

NYC-based photographer Michael Anthony Schmidt has been documenting the commuters and tourists on the Staten Island Ferry.

The Staten Island Ferry began operation in 1817. It runs from St. George, Staten Island to The battery in Lower Manhattan. Back and forth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, transporting approximately 75,000 passengers per day. The ferry is free of charge so it is traveled by commuters who are from all walks of life. I am one of these passengers and these photographs illustrate what I see, or more accurately what I’m offering to show you.

I have always been interested in people watching. I like to analyze others and try to understand them, or what it might be like to step into their shoes and have a glimpse into what their world is like. There is a diverse range of people who commute on the ferry including doctors, lawyers, city workers, students, tourists, the homeless and those who are just looking for a short romantic journey.

Continue reading and see more photos on Michael’s website.

Breck Sargent studied photography at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and is currently working in Boston as a freelance wedding/commercial photographer. Breck also does freelance retouching and has done work for Rue La La, Converse, Saucony, PUMA, Life is Good and other major brands. In his spare time, Breck enjoys playing the guitar, traveling, singing Cambodian karaoke and restoring vintage scooters.
 

In 2003-2004 I worked as a volunteer in the Cambodian Community of Oakland, CA. I grew up in small town, USA and at the time was very unaware of the amount of culture and the things the Cambodian people went through during the Pol Pot genocide. I heard so many stories of pain and loss. Fading memories of bad times, which in a way can be a good thing, but also fading were the good memories, and no photos to help bring back that nostalgia.

I met with many Cambodians that told stories of loved ones passed, but no photos remained. Most records were destroyed, and a surprising amount of Cambodians that survived don’t know their true birthdate. It wasn’t until I got back from my first trip to Cambodia in 2006 that I had the idea to take family photos in some of the poor, lesser traveled areas of the country. After keeping the idea in the back of my mind for years, I saw the opportunity for it to happen through a Kickstarter campaign. You can see a small selection of my personal work in Cambodia here and help spread the word/back my project on Kickstarter.

Atlanta-based photographer David Walter Banks recently traveled to Florida for work and has decided to start a personal project documenting his own view of the state.

This most recent trip led me throughout the state, from the magical world of Disney to a small town’s big parade to the sunny shores of South Beach with a great little circus thrown in to top it off.  These early visits on this new project have been broad swaths, whereas the next couple trips will be based around specific events and gatherings.  I feel as though I’m just now beginning to gain an understanding of the topic I will be grappling with, but I’m excited with the nearly endless prospects of images out there waiting to be found.

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

]]> http://thephotobrigade.com/2013/01/florida-sense-of-place-by-david-walter-banks/feed/ 0 http://thephotobrigade.com/2013/01/england-your-england-by-matt-hopkins/ http://thephotobrigade.com/2013/01/england-your-england-by-matt-hopkins/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:12:08 +0000 admin http://thephotobrigade.com/?p=13311 do_sud_thumb("http://thephotobrigade.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/mark.jpg","England Your England – by Matt Hopkins")

 
Matt Hopkins is a filmmaker based in Brighton, UK. He co-owns The Progress Film Company and is currently working on his debut doc feature (ADivorceBeforeMarriage) amongst other paid commissions.
 
 

England Your England is a short film documentary series from UK based filmmaker Matt Hopkins.  The project uses powerful and inspiring character portraits joined together to discuss what defines us as individuals, as communities and as a nation.  The series is currently made up of 4 films, Patrick – the ageing community hero who struggles with what the future holds, Richard – the wandering piano tuner who sleeps rough by choice, Mark – the former gangster looking for redemption and Leon – the premier league footballer who battles with depression.  Each of the films tell an individuals story, but combined they deliver a message that documents the daily struggle to exist and prosper.  Hopkins will be releasing one further film every month to the project during 2013.

The shooting style is discreet yet cinematic, with Hopkins spending time with his subjects and picking up shots where appropriate.  Most of the work is shot on the Nikon D800 with old Nikkor prime lenses.  The film Leon was shot on the Red Epic, but the series will continue on DSLR for the foreseeable future.

You can view the project here or follow us on Vimeo.

Kendrick Brinson and her husband David Walter Banks were hired to together work on a story for Atlanta Magazine’s South Issue about Sunday church services in the greater Atlanta area.

It’s not often that both David Walter Banks (my husband) and I are hired to work on a photo story together. We work together so often on personal projects (rural America), editing, and when we travel, but it’s rare that we get to for a deadline assignment for a magazine. This project was a real treat.

Atlanta Magazine worked with us to brainstorm ideas for a photo series for their South issue. We settled on Sunday church services in the greater Atlanta area. David and I headed to a few churches together and a few alone.

My favorite part was listening to the beautiful varied singing at each church.

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

Hilton Head Native Islander Eddie Grant reflects on the encroaching development as he works the garden behind his mother’s home. New town homes are being built right up to her property line.

DC-based photographer Pete Marovich has launched a campaign on Kickstarter to fund the completion of his ongoing project about the Gullah/Geechee people of the Sea Islands.

The Gullah people are direct decedents of slaves who were brought to the islands from West Africa. After arriving in America, the Gullah created their own community steeped in religion and African traditions. They are known as Gullah in North and South Carolina and Geechee in Georgia and Florida.

When slavery was abolished in 1863, the Gullah people of the Sea Islands remained on the land after slave owners abandoned the area. They continued their traditions – making sea grass baskets, burying their dead by the shore, farming vegetables and fruits and living life simply. Having lived this way for decades, the Gullah are believed to be one of the most authentic African American communities in the United States.

But development is now taking over these once isolated lands and consuming the Gullah way of life.

The Gullah/Geechee Coast extends for hundreds of miles between Cape Fear, N.C., and the St. Johns River in Florida. In 2004, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Gullah/Geechee Coast one of the 11 most endangered placed in the United States. “Unless something is done to halt the destruction, [the] Gullah/Geechee culture will be relegated to museums and history books, and our nation’s unique cultural mosaic will lose on of its richest and most colorful pieces,” states the National Trust Website.

Read more and help Pete fund his project on his Kickstarter page.

Hudson Valley, New York based photographer Richard Beaven shares photos of his project “Flock”, which explores the network surrounding a farm in Columbia County, NY.

“Flock” is an exploration of the network surrounding a single farm in Columbia County, New York.

The structure of agriculture is undergoing profound transformation. Twenty two million American workers produce, process, sell and trade the nation’s produce however only one fifth live on farms.

In the nineteenth century more than 70% of the US population was directly employed in the sector. Now it is less than 3%. Job forecasts show moderate decline over the next ten years. Nine out of ten farms are family owned and operated. As happy a picture that this paints it masks the reality that younger people are drifting from farm lives into cities to find jobs in newer economies and older farmers are selling land to make ends meet.

To feed an expanding population yields continue to increase with the help of science and allied industries are consolidating in search of efficiencies. Traditions are giving way to new approaches. Farms are employing less fixed personnel directly but draw on a wider range of the community. Local food movements, young farmers, activist groups, ‘foodies’, agritourism, volunteers and community members are reigniting opportunities for farming. This partly in response to the rise of “Big Ag’” and a growing need to connect with our sources of food.

‘Flock’ includes more than sixty portraits. Each person is shown out of context, against a neutral background, asking that the viewer imagine the role each subject plays in the extensive network of involvement.

See more photos on Richard’s website.

Turkish photojournalist Sait Serkan Gurbuz and American writer Caroline Trent-Gurbuz recently launched their documentary photography project, “A Shrinking Community: Vakifli, Turkey’s Last Armenian Village.” The project was supported by a grant sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America in Ankara, Turkey.

While Turkey is a diverse country with a multitude of minority groups, Vakifli, its last Armenian village, is slowly disappearing. With most of its younger members living in Istanbul and abroad, this ethnic community of a mere 130 villagers has lost the promise of endurance. Its members are only getting older, and the community has not seen a single village wedding, a milestone of youth, in 16 years.

Our project focuses on the members of this small but tight-knit community. The villagers generously shared with us their personal lives, their pasts, their ambitions and their losses. Whether the village will survive in the next 50 years is unknown. My photographs and Caroline’s articles, however, will remain as a testimony to these people with modest dreams and big hearts.

Learn more about the project on Vakifli.com and Facebook.