Rising Photographers / I

Humans face new parts of their spirit throughout each crisis in their lives; aspects which may not have that much of a chance to express themselves throughout routine life. During a crisis, a person having lost normalcy, imagines that they have lost the light by which they create an image of the world around and recognize it, so they see themselves in the darkness. Although not all humans stay in the darkness. They search within themselves instead of depending on the source of light which lights up their life, the world and path.

Have a safe spring break, I said to my photo students at Furman University on a Wednesday in early March 2020. Then I said something like, Please don't bring that virus back into our classroom when you return, at which point most of us chuckled because it seemed so farfetched, even to me. One week later, I began to plan for my black and white film/darkroom class and digital photography to go online due to the Coronavirus; my students weren't returning to campus.

Indonesia's Sumatran orangutan is under severe threat from the incessant and ongoing depletion and fragmentation of the rainforest. As palm oil and rubber plantations, logging, road construction, mining, hunting and other development continue to proliferate, orangutans are being forced out of their natural rainforest habitat.

Jose Zurita was a photographer's photographer - he was more interested in making images than exhibiting his work or the attention that comes with publication. Originally from Bolivia, he settled in Greenville, SC, where he worked as a Rehabilitation Specialist for adults living with mental illness. Most days, when Jose left his job at 5 PM, he directly hit the streets with his camera making portraits of strangers he encountered along his path – poignant images of underserved populations. That's how Jose was – someone who wanted to validate others that frequently go unnoticed.

The common imagery of the prison life is fed by the photographic and cinematic depiction that nearly always represents the male population. In the era of the #MeToo movement and of a resurgence of the female voice I have decided to investigate what incarceration is like for a woman: the maternity, the relationship with family and partners, the harsh condition with other cell-mates of different countries and cultures

Photography is a powerful visual art medium. It can convey emotions, sensations, deep perception of the moment. Now, imagine that the photo is made from the air and shows an absolutely breathtaking view? Wouldn't it inspire and energize even more? Breathtaking, inspiring and energizing - that is exactly how our planet looks from above! And that is the kind of aerial images I look for, when I am on my photo trips.

The Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar, who are subjected to discrimination and human rights violations and have been stripped of all rights including citizenship, are now living in IDP or internally displaced person camps.

To capture this religious practice taking place under lockdown, Canon has partnered with Jordanian Canon Ambassador and two time Pulitzer prize winner, Muhammed Muheisen and Dubai-based photographer Reem Falaknaz

This photographic project has been inspired by the events that followed the rapid spreading of the COVID-19 among the Italian population, which started at the end of February 2020.