SocialDocumentary.net

SPOTLIGHT/February 12, 2012  

  

Carole Alfarah

Photograph by Carole Alfarah. Mahomoud Majdal, a 29-year-old artist.  

 

Over the Table: Syrian Activists Share Freedom and Fears

Photographs and interviews from a Damascus Cafe by Carole Alfarah  


"Everything has changed in Syria, forever. Eleven months ago, Damascus seemed to be stable and far from any "spring storms." Now, the sense of tension and change is filling up the air.

 

"In the heart of Damascus, there is a place which looks like a coffee shop. but if you dig deeper, it is more than a place where you can just have your morning coffee then walk away!   

 

"The majority of the café habitués here are from the enlightened Syrian class, young artists, intellectuals, bloggers and university students; and some of the "curious-type." This place is well-known for being the summit point of Syrian activists, but basically it is more like a platform where they can express themselves freely."    

 

Carole Alfarah is a freelance photographer based in Damascus and she is interested in covering human and social issues and political events in the Middle East region. 

 

View the exhibit and read the interviews.


Other Recently Added Exhibits

Mariusz Smiejek

Qalandiya - who rules the checkpoint 

Mariusz Smiejek
The Qalandiya checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem

Anita M

Transplant: The Fight Against Leukemia

Anita M
"Blood cancer decided to enter our life in December 2008 and everything was turned upside down. Newly married with many plans for our future, we had no other choice but to fight for his life."

Amiran White

A Legacy of Suffering

Amiran White
In December 2009, the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi, India, released a report acknowledging what those living in the shadow of the old Union Carbide pesticide factory already know: their water and soil are highly contaminated.

Eric Alverne Anderson

Jornaleros/Day-Laborers

Eric Alverne Anderson
Entering the U.S. across the Mexican border is a journey as harrowing and dangerous as any sea-crossing a century ago--in many cases ending with as much danger as it began.

Tracy Thomas

Occupy Oakland

Tracy Thomas
This series was shot on the day of the General Strike when thousands of people showed up to march in support of the movement following the brutal attack by riot police on Iraq War Veteran Scott Olsen.

Daniel Yermoshin

Occupy Wall Street: 10.08.11

Dennis Yermoshin
"Some people would donate food and clothes to help the protesters, others would sing and hold hands in prayer, many simply observed, some would ask questions and take handouts, I decided to just take pictures."
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Guatemalan Forced Migration
Photographs by Manuel Gil

Manuel Gil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Manuel Gil. Juana and Angelina. 

 

Juana (aged 101) and Angelina (aged 82), the oldest midwives in La Gloria. Juana and Angelina have played a critical role in assisting hundreds of women receive immediate aid when giving birth. This became critical during the treacherous exodus from Guatemala into Mexico in the early 1980s. Without immediate access to potable water or medical aid, these two women were central in making sure that those women who gave birth, and their children, survive despite the lack of basic resources.   

 

View the exhibit.  


Lost Aral Sea
Photographs by Yusuke Suzuki

Yusuke Suzuki 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Yusuke Suzuki. Abandoned fishing boats lie on the bottom of the dried Aral Sea in Moynak, Uzbekistan.

 

The Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once one of the world's largest lakes. Aral means "Sea of islands"- there used to be more than 1,534 islands on the lake. The Aral Sea had a great importance for the fishing industry, especially with respect to the high numbers of fish population and species. The Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. By 2007 it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes. By 2009, the south-eastern lake had disappeared and the south-western lake retreated to a thin strip at the extreme west of the former southern sea.  

 

View the exhibit.  


Rough Living:
The spectacle of poverty among Ugandan children
Photographs by Carol Allen Storey

Carol Allen Storey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Carol Allen Storey. Members of the Dustbin tribe rounded up in a predawn raid by police, who agreed to release the boys with the proviso they return the following day for further questioning. They never returned.  

 

The impoverishment of Africa has propagated the continent with an emerging underclass of runaways and orphans. They roam the back streets, living rough, existing on a diet of rotting foods, and addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and theft. Their future is bleak. Africa is staggering under the load of this emerging new tribe. The habitual poverty, lack of self-esteem, motivation, and stifling boredom is endemic in their daily life. Children as young as five, living in a sub-human environment are a breach of children's rights as guaranteed by the United Nations Charter for children.

 

This photo essay illuminates the children's breathtaking resilience, spirit, and courage. it expresses their aspirations and their indomitable ingenuity managing the madness of their lives.

 

View the exhibit.  


In Their Own Words:
Occupy Movement 
Photographs by Jake Warga

Jake Warga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Jake Warga.     

 

"In Their Own Words" is an Occupy portrait series. Participants were asked to write their message on clipboards then scanned and placed next to their portrait taken in the field. 

 

View the exhibit.  


Occupy the Rose Parade, Pasadena, California
 

Photographs by Scott H. Hopkins

Scott Hopkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Scott H. Hopkins. "We the People" U.S. constitution banner being carried down the parade route.  

 

The Tournament of Roses Committee authorized the Occupy the Rose Parade to march as the last float, number 44, in the annual Rose Bowl parade. The marchers assembled at Singer Park at 7 am. The permit was for 500 people but thousands of people came and marched along the route in front of the stands still packed with spectators. There was a huge 70-foot Capitalist Octopus and a large banner of the United States Constitution where protestor's put their signatures at the bottom. There were Occupiers from San Fernando, San Diego, Fresno, Oakland and many other places taking part in the march which ended at a rally at Pasadena City Hall.

 

View the exhibit.  

SDN News

SDN Congratulates Samuel Aranda, Winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2011         

Samuel Aranda The international jury of the 55th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Samuel Aranda from Spain as the World Press Photo of the Year 2011. The picture shows a woman holding a wounded relative in her arms, inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen on 15 October 2011. Samuel Aranda was working in Yemen on assignment for The New York Times. He is represented by Corbis Images.

"In the Western media, we seldom see veiled women in this way, at such an intimate moment. It is as if all of the events of the Arab Spring resulted in this single moment - in moments like this."
                                      Nina Berman, Photo of the Year Juror

 More information>>
 

'Occupy!'  

A slideshow curated by Nina Berman at Fovea Exhibitions


February 11 to March 4, 2012

 

Fovea  

Fovea Exhibitions is pleased to present 'Occupy!', a photographic slideshow curated by Nina Berman and featuring the work of photojournalists Noah Addis, Nina Berman/Noor, Todd Bigelow, David Butow/Redux, Alan Chin, Stephanie Keith, Yunghi Kim, Yuri Kozyrev/Noor, Andy Kropa, Erica McDonald, Mark Ovaska and John Trotter.  

   

Fovea Exhibitions 

143 Main Street, Beacon, NY
www.foveaexhibitions.org 

  


The Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography Now Accepting Applications

The Michael P. Smith Fund For Documentary Photography (MPS Fund) was created by the New Orleans Photo Alliance to honor the life and work of Michael P. Smith, one of New Orleans' most legendary and beloved documentary photographers.  The MPS Fund awards one $5000 grant annually to a Gulf Coast photographer whose work combines artistic excellence and a sustained commitment to a long-term cultural documentary project.

 

Both emerging and established photographers residing in the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are eligible to apply. The subject matter for the proposed project is not limited to the Gulf Coast region.

 

Submissions for the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography 2012 grant will be accepted from February 1, 2012 to March 30, 2012. To apply.   



Two Exhibits Open at Photographic Resource Center in Boston 
February 9 - March 24, 2012 
PRC Gallery, 832 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA

Global Health in Focus 
Photographs by Kristen Ashburn, Dominic Chavez, and David Rochkind

David Rochkind 

Photo by David Rochkind. A doctor visits a patient at the Group of TB Hospitals in Mumbai during daily rounds. Mumbai, India.

This exhibit focuses on three of the greatest health challenges the world community faces today: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and access to clean water. Through arresting images, photographers Kristen Ashburn, Dominic Chavez, and David Rochkind document the heavy toll that global health issues take on the developing world. Their poignant photographs invite us beyond the grim, faceless statistics and bring us in close contact with people-mothers, fathers, children-confronted by enormous hardship. Read more.  

 

Recovery

Photographs by Willard Traub

Recovery is a photographic meditation on affliction and rehabilitation by Willard Traub. The work reflects the artist's own experiences battling a rare form of blood cancer, drawing on the strength of his talents as a photographer. Recovery began when Traub was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and examines his treatment, hospitalization, and recovery process. The images, combined with personal prose and poetry, provide an intimate and hopeful commentary on a disease that signifies much larger life issues. Read more. 

About SocialDocumentary.net
SocialDocumentary.net is a website for photographers, NGOs, journalists, editors, and students to create and explore documentary exhibits 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.