Featured Exhibit/March 9, 2009

Jon Lewis Puts a Face on Climate Change in Kiribati

Australian photographer Jon Lewis' Portraits from the Edge: A Face to Climate Change documents the I Kiribati, islanders in the Equatorial Pacific whose homes are slowly being lost to rising sea levels due to climate change. Lewis' photos provide an intimate view through close-up portraits and photos of these endangered people going about their daily lives. Lewis puts a very human face on this global problem.

Storm surges, freakish waves, salination of fresh water wells and lands, unpredictable weather and tidal increases are all contributing to the Republic of Kiribati's physical demise. Approximately 30-40 years is all they have left. Where will they migrate to? Who will host them? No policy from the UN or industrial nations has been offered to solve this collective responsibility.

"Jonny Lewis has always managed to make his photographs look like he's just met the people in them. This is because he spends days, weeks, months with them, sharing meals and causes. He's done it again with these portraits from Kiribati, but never have a people exuded such courage and spirit in the face of the imminent loss of their homeland."
                               Peter Emmett (viewer comment)

View the Exhibit

Inside Digital Photo Radio Features SDN
Scott Shephard, host of Inside Digital Photo Radio, interviewed SDN Founder Glenn Ruga about the site and documentary photography. Listen here. A podcast can also be downloaded free from the ITunes store.

SDN Applauds Lift of Ban on Photos of Soldier Coffins
SDN issued a press release last week applauding the new Pentagon policy that lifted the ban on photographs of coffins returning from the battlefield, provided the surviving families give consent. SDN Founder Glenn Ruga said, "The ban amounted to government censorship of the media...these images if done respectfully, only add to documenting the honor of soldiers...the photographs also ensure transparency in government and that visual information is available on casualties of war to inform future generations." Read the press release

SDN Participates in Nieman Foundation Conference at Harvard
SDN Founder Glenn Ruga and Communications Director Barbara Ayotte presented SDN to participants in the "Aftermath: Journalism, Storytelling and the Impact of Violence and Tragedy" conference sponsored by the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. SDN Advisor Lori Grinker also presented her photographs on Iraqi refugees and war survivors. For more information on the conference, click here.

Steve Walker Joins SDN Advisory Committee
SDN welcomes Steve Walker of New York to the Advisory Committee. Steve is a consultant and educator with a unique blend of experience and skills in education, non-profit management, political advocacy, and government service. As a consultant, Walker focuses on helping non-profits become more effective and efficient in achieving their goals and on helping school districts and educators better prepare their students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. A former US diplomat who resigned from the State Department in 1993 to protest Clinton Administration policies toward Bosnia, from 1993-8 Walker helped lead a successful campaign to raise awareness of the genocide in Bosnia and coordinate Congressional, grassroots, and other efforts to stop the genocide.

Getty Announces New Grants to Benefit Photographers, NGOs
Getty Images has announced two new "Grants for Good" of $15,000 each that will be awarded to two photographers who are "creating compelling imagery to raise awareness about the issues and work of a nonprofit they admire." The deadline for applications is April 15. Getty says winning photographers can use the money to support their work for a non-profit agency, or they give the money to the non-profit and do the photography for them as a volunteer.

Judges who pick the winners will include Christopher Phillips, of the International Center of Photography, and Lesley Martin of the Aperture Foundation.

The winners will be announced at the Cannes Advertising Festival in June. To apply, photographers are asked to submit a short written proposal outlining the shoot plan, a supporting portfolio of work, their resume, a profile of the non-profit with whom they will partner, and a statement of the organization's support for the application. All materials are to be submitted digitally through the new Getty Images Grants website.

Visit SDN at Photoshop World in Boston
Visit SDN at the Photoshop World Conference, March 25-27, 2009 at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA. Complete conference information.

SDN and Social Networking
SocialDocumentary is now on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Follow our tweets at Twitter; become a fan of SDN on Facebook, join our new SocialDocumentary group on LinkedIn.

About SocialDocumentary.net
SocialDocumentary.net is a new website for photographers, NGOs, journalists, editors, and students to create and explore documentary websites investigating critical issues facing the world today. Recent exhibits have explored oil workers in the Niger River Delta, male sex workers in India, Central American immigrant women during their journey north, and Iraqi and Afghan refugees in Greece. Click here to view all of the exhibits.