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Ada Figaro, a young homeless mother, photographed for a multimedia piece by Bill Frakes for Do1Thing. © Bill Frakes

This Valentine’s Day (Saturday, February 14, 2009), photojournalists, videographers, editors, writers, and volunteers are working in 18 locations nationwide to tell the stories of homeless teens. Their work will be uploaded in real time to the Do1Thing website, where many of their images and multimedia presentations are already available. One of my favorites is “Portrait of Perseverance” by Chris Stanfield, which tells the story of  22-year-old Sakina Lockhart, who made it all the way through college while living in shelters or hallways of rundown motels.

Do1Thing was conceived after photographers donated their time to shoot portraits of 346 foster children, 150 of whom were consequently adopted. Realizing the power photography could have to mobilize people around an issue, Najlah Hicks and Pim Van Hemmen decided to shine the light of visual storytelling onto several social issues affecting children and teens.

This is a model I think we’re likely to see cropping up more and more. It reminds me of the RAVEs that the ILCP does, sending a bunch of photographers into a threatened area to create a cache of images and other content that can be used to draw media attention to the issue. Both websites are also rich resources, giving people many options for how to help, and undoubtedly counting on the top-quality content there to drive potential donors and advocates to the site.

It also doesn’t hurt to have huge names associated with the project, like Do1Thing does. Of the more than 130 photographers, editors, and videographers signed on, here are just a few heavy hitters (although every participant deserves to be recognized for his or her contribution): Nina Berman, Bill Frakes, David Leeson, Tyler Hicks, Ed Kashi, David Hume Kennerly, Martin Schoeller, Vincent Laforet, Jimmy Colton, Stephanie Heimann, Bob Sacha, and pretty much every VII photographer.

Check out the Do1Thing website to see how you can join this prestigious group and other ways to help the more than 1.3 million homeless youths in the country through this initiative.

Fine art and portrait photographer Michael Jang tells some great “breaking into the biz” stories in this video interview from our Photographers in Focus series. While still in art school, he used a letter from his teacher and some creative subterfuge to crash big Beverly Hills parties — and make the images that launched his career. We wanted to make sure you got a chance to see it if you haven’t already.

Michael is in San Francisco like us, so we thought we’d check in and see what he’s been up to lately. He’s excited about his recent conversation with aspiring photographers at the University High School here in town. Check out the San Francisco Chronicle story about his visit to the school as well as a collection of his very early family photos, which have just been acquired by the SFMoMA this year. Michael also gave us some bonus video footage of him speaking at a Photoshelter panel discussion.

“Don’t lose sight of why you want to be a photographer and your love for photography,” he advises. “If you can make good pictures, people will find you.” His point — that the real issue is not how to make money, but how to make great pictures — might not be the most popular, since it’s not the easy solution, but judging from the applause after Michael’s comments, it needs to be said more often.

An image of Obama looking very Sinatra-esqe at the DNC. © Alan Chin

I think I react strongly to this idea that BAGnewsNotes is becoming more like the traditional media. Alan is right in one respect because, as the (political) blogosphere becomes more established, the sites start to look more like traditional media with their own large audience and advertising base. For sure the blogosphere, which was not much more than an opposition space in the past, is fast becoming institutionalized with its own built-in biases and conventional wisdom.

But even though it’s a political blog and has an openly liberal slant, I think BAGnewsNotes is different because of its agenda as a reader and defender of images. What I mean is, I’m ultimately more interested in understanding and showing how the media, the government, the Right, and, yes, the Left (especially with the Democrats in power now) capture and frame visuals.

So, what I’m reacting against and am always looking to illustrate is how the establishment, whichever one, is setting the scene.  Although I was chosen by the Democratic party to cover the Democratic Convention, for example, I still think that the more inside I get, the more I am able to present an outside perspective of what’s going on.

I believe when you see political images, I think they’re hardly ever innocent. And I think you can say they’re almost never used purely for informational value. My readers understand that now, and that’s what I try to illustrate. In my mind, media and political images serve much less as objective information than commercial fodder, infotainment, or provocations often playing on fear, social conflict, or the salacious. More »

A wedding image by SAS Becker. ©SAS Becker

Q. How can you assess when is the right time to make the transition from part-time to full-time wedding photography?

A. It is extremely important that you be ready to deliver a professional product when you make the switch from weekend shooter to pro. You really are only as good as your last job. You have time to bone up on the business end of things, but your images are your reputation. Go out on as many jobs as possible as a second photographer. Then you’ll have time to learn but not the pressure of being a lead. Your knowledge of your equipment should be second-hand. Practice at home in every conceivable lighting condition until you feel comfortable with any challenges that may arise. Look at the other work in the marketplace and ask yourself if yours measures up. Then, if you feel confident with your skill and vision, go for it!