“In a war, the normal codes of civilized behavior are suspended. It would be unthinkable in so called normal life, to go into someone’s home, where the family is grieving over the death of a loved one, and spend long moments photographing them. It simply wouldn’t be done.”

In 2009, the founders of Collective Lens will travel to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to showcase the cultures, issues, and charitable organizations of third world countries. No matter where you live, there are many stereotypes and assumptions about other cultures that often prohibit one’s ability to make a personal connection. By showing the differences and similarities between cultures, we believe that more people will be encouraged to reach out to their neighbors across the globe.

Two years ago, Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in the elevator of her building. Politkovskaya was a journalist who was well-known for covering Russian governmental abuses and, in particular, the wars in Chechnya.

Links from around the web relating to photography and social change

James Nachtwey has now revealed the results of his work over the last year as part of his TED Prize wish.

James Nactwey’s TED Prize will be announced on October 3rd during a worldwide event on seven continents.

PhotoCastNet has an interview with Zoriah, a war photographer recently stripped of his privileges to document the war in Iraq. Similarly, The Big Picture (boston.com) has a photo essay of the war in Iraq, now 5 years running.

Scott Kelby is selling autographed copies of his new book in support of Springs of Hope, Kenya. 100% of the proceeds will go towards the important work of this organization.

As photographers, we are often in the unfortunate position of taking from subjects less fortunate than ourselves without giving anything back.

Zoriah is a freelance photojournalist who recently lost his permissions to be an embedded reporter due to his reluctance to remove controversial photos from his blog.