When A Picture Is More Than Just A Picture: How to Organize Your Own Charity Photography Auction

Eric’s Note: I am pleased to feature this article by Colin Corneau, a Brandon, Manitoba based photojournalist and street photographer. A few months ago he organized a charity photography auction, and wanted to write this article to share his experiences. Also check out his past article on this blog on why he shoots street photography solo here. 

Colin: We all know the pleasure of creating a photograph that we really like, and the pleasure of one that other people like, too. But it’s not often that a photograph can reach the level of making a difference to other people – occasionally, a photojournalist will produce an image that inspires others to positive action or someone will make a photograph that alters how we all think about something.

Those photographs are few and far between though, and a lot is left up to chance. But there is a way that you can help your photographs hit that higher level – an auction whose proceeds go towards a charity.

Support “Theatre of Life”: An Introspection On Society & Technology by Tomasz Lazar

Eric’s Note: Tomasz Lazar, a very talented young street photographer recently has had the honor of being chosen by the  jury of Emphas.is to present his project “Theater of Life” alongside with such great photographer as: Kadir van Lohuizen,Lynsey Addario, Christopher Morris, Paolo Pellegrin, Tomas van Houtryve, Laura El-Tantawy, Carolyn Drake or Joao Pina. Now he is trying to gather money for next part of my “Theater of Life“. With Emphas.is you can get access to the entire process of developing the project, tracking his every step from planning to research to the travel diary.

Tomasz: Theater of life is a very personal project about life – how I perceive of it. It is an exploration of surrealism in everyday life. Theatre of life is an essay that is a combination of my experiences and thoughts about what surrounds me.

Donate to “Waiting for Haiti”: A Project To Help Smaller Charities Support People like Renaldo

Waiting for haiti

Eric’s Note: “Waiting For Haiti” is a long-term photography project by photographer Robert Larson that aims to help raise awareness and money to support smaller charities in Haiti. Read the story of Renaldo Fevilien, one of the friends that Robert befriended while in Haiti- and the horrific atrocities that he suffered. *Note that many of the photographs in this post are incredibly graphic and may not be safe for work.

Robert: This is Renaldo Fevilien.

Renaldo and I met during my last trip to Haiti. Our mutual friend Jeanmary Michel introduced us the night I arrived. We were watching The Boondocks and drinking whiskey. I remember looking at Renaldo sitting there with this I.D. card / bottle opener around his neck, and wearing his sparkly clean Lugz. My first impression was “damn thats a big son of a bitch!”.

The Street Collection: A Sale of Affordable Street Photography in Support of PhotoVoice

Eric’s Note: Hey streettogs, I wanted to share this great opportunity hosted by Photovoice, a charity that combines social advocacy and photography! If you have ever wanted to give back to the community (while obtaining some great street photography prints) – check it out! More info below :) 

Photovoice: Leading practitioners from across the world have come together to offer their work in an online sale to raise money for the charity PhotoVoice. The Street Collection includes beautiful, dramatic, comic and moving images that capture the energy and idiosyncrasy of everyday life on streets across the globe. Over 300 prints will be available at just £100 each. This is a unique opportunity to buy outstanding street photographs at an affordable price. Many of the prints available are well known but have never previously been available for purchase.

Street Photography Fundraiser for Japan

Momoko Onodera prays at an evacuation center as she talks about her husband who died in the tsunami on March 18 in Kesennuma, Japan. A potential humanitarian crisis looms as nearly half a million people who have been displaced by the disaster continue to suffer a shortage of food and fuel as freezing weather conditions set in. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Words cannot express the pain and suffering that the Japanese people are currently experiencing. With recent numbers stating that the number of dead and missing is above 25,000— it is one of the worst calamities in Japanese history. There are already many street photographers on the web who are taking their part such as the Flickr group “Charity Print Auction Japan“. Considering that they are already doing their part in donating images to fund raise, I say that we take a different approach: let’s donate hard-cold cash.

Photo Essay: Students of Phoenix High’s Photography Class

Written 2010, December 14th:

Currently I am teaching a photography class to under-privileged students in Los Angeles at a high school named Phoenix High. These are the students that I ran my campaign for camera donations for (which you guys helped donate to). Teaching photography to these students is the high point of my week, as I love to interact with them and also see their passion for photography. Not only that, but it seems that photography is a wonderful outlet for them to express themselves creatively and also use as an escape for the difficult situations that many of them live in. You can watch a video I made on YouTube.

Although I wasn’t able to take portraits of all the students, I wanted to write a short photo-essay about them. I hope you can enjoy their stories as well. Also if you were wondering, I shot these photos all with my old Contax IIIa rangefinder with my 50mm 1.4 Zeiss Sonar lens with some cheap Kodax 400 Max film. I love the look and feel.

Eddy

Now don’t judge Eddie by his appearance by his rapper-inspired sideburns and punk-inspired gauge earrings. He is shy and quiet in demeanor, and doesn’t say much. However when given the opportunity to speak, he shows great insight into photography and life. He is always enthusiastic to be in my class, and although shy– is always wiling to contribute to class discussions.

You can see some of his work on Flickr.

Inspirational Video: Spreading The Love of Photography to Under-Privileged Youth

In October of 2010, I asked the community to donate old digital point and shoot cameras to the Phoenix High Photography Class that I am currently teaching to under-privileged high school youth. To say the least, the response was overwhelming. The first few days I already got donations from Cydney Alexis and Jason Paul Roberts. However on the third day, a talented Swiss street photographer by the name of Jonathan Murray generously donated 11 brand-new Canon Powershots to the class.

You cannot believe how ecstatic I was. Wanting to record the students’ expression, I decided that I wanted to film a short documentary (which was directed with great help from my beautiful girlfriend/manager Cindy Nguyen). Not only that, but she really “set the mood” in the video to give you the fuzzies in your heart. Anyways– please take a few minutes to watch the film and we both would love to hear your feedback!

The Sukhee Chung Photography Foundation is also currently fundraising for 20 used digital point and shoot cameras for another photography program in Los Angeles lead by my friend Terry Kim. Please check out the Facebook Event for more information. Also please spread the word by posting this on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social networking site you use! Thank you so much for the love and support!

Announcing the Sukhee Chung Photography Foundation

The Sukhee Chung Photography Foundation

Introduction:

I had dream, well two.

The first dream that I had was creating a scholarship foundation named after my beloved mother, Sukhee Chung.

The second was spreading my love of photography, especially to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds who didn’t have access to it.

It then struck me like a lighting bolt. Why not create my own foundation for photography that helps under-served students and name it after my mother?

Thus the Sukhee Chung Photography Foundation (SCPF) has been born.

Want to help under-privileged high school students learn photography? Donate your old point & shoot camera today!

Students from the Phoenix High Photo Class
Students from the Phoenix High Photo Class. (Pictured: Giovanny, Rafael, Jose, Tyler, Ashley)

See the Phoenix High Photo Class Website here: http://phoenixhighphotoclass.wordpress.com/

Hey guys,

Some of you may not know, but I am teaching a digital photography class to a high-school class of 25. The school is located in Los Angeles (near Venice) and is called “Phoenix High.” The majority of the students are from lower socio-economic status neighborhoods and under-privileged backgrounds, and struggling to make it through school. Although their lives are tough, they find a lot of inspiration and joy in photography. Therefore, I am currently trying to get donations for old point and shoot cameras (11 to be specific) for the students to use.