In this episode are joined by Laura Wood. Laura is photographer and educator based in South York Shire. She is mum to two young boys, with motherhood and daily life inspiring much of her photography. Laura finds catharsis through self portraiture by taking feelings and emotions out of head and heart and holding a mirror up to herself by way of the camera. This process has given her a tangible way of dealing with everything from sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety to overwhelming love and gratitude. This outpouring of feelings into art has connected her with photographers around the world who share her experiences. These connections told Laura there was a need for further equality and for marginalized voices to be heard more loudly in the industry. So she co-founded a photography community called Phlock Live with her sister Sarah.

Laura joins us to tell us us a bit more about how her photography practise has evolved into what it is today.

Sophie Otiende describes herself as a feminist, teacher and survivor advocate for human trafficking. She has been working with grassroots organizations for the past ten years. Her main roles have been in organization development, project management and resource mobilization. The past five years, Sophie has been working with HAART Kenya as a Programme Consultant. She was responsible for the management and coordination of the protection program, development of curriculum on human trafficking and policies and resource mobilization for the organization.

Tune in to hear Sophie explain why ethical storytelling is extremely important to think about.

Alex is a Maori photographer who loves photographing anything that is raw and real. She's an award winning published photographer based in the gyro Tonga Cook Islands, which is a tiny nation in the Pacific Ocean. She is extremely passionate about her native and indigenous culture, nature, and environmental issues.  

In this episode Alex talks about stories being represented in a truthful and honest way.

After completing his BA in Criminal Justice with a minor in Philosophy from Ferris State University, Damari McBride decided that his passion for helping and empowering people would be better served through photography and storytelling. McBride relocated to Asia where he spent four years improving his photography and enhancing his abilities as an artist, educator, and human. Combining philosophy, photography, and current events, Damari has made it his mission to challenge everyday people to learn about the world around them and how they can be actively involved with improving our communities.

Damari travelled to South Africa to photograph a story about looking beyond the gun at anti-poaching where he discovered some ugly truths about the cycle of violence. How do we look beyond the gun at the problem of anti-poaching?

A virtuous mind and voice in conservation photography and one of the most influential conservation photographers in the world, Cristina Mittermeier has been hailed as one of the most important outdoor photographers of her generation.

Cristina first discovered her insatiable passion for the natural world, both above and below the surface, as a Marine Biologist working in the Gulf of California and the Yucatan Peninsula in her native Mexico. From there, it didn’t take her long to realize that she could make a more significant impact on how people see the world, and connect to it, through the lens of her camera than she could with data on spreadsheets.

Cristina has worked in more than 120 countries on every continent in the world. Her work is about building a greater awareness of the responsibility of what it means to be a human. It is about understanding that the history of every living thing that has ever existed on this planet also lives within us. It is about the ethical imperative—the urgent reminder that we are inextricably linked to all other species on this planet and that we have a duty to act as the keepers of our fellow life forms.

National Geographic magazine photographer Ami Vitale has traveled to more than 100 countries, bearing witness not only to violence and conflict, but also to surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” In 2009, after shooting a powerful story on the transport and release of one the world’s last white rhinos, which was featured on a recent National Geographic cover, Ami shifted her focus to today’s most compelling wildlife and environmental stories.

She is a founding member of Ripple Effect Images, an organization of renowned female scientists, writers, photographers and filmmakers working together to create powerful and persuasive stories that shed light on the hardships women in developing countries face and the programs that can help them. She is also on the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation.

Join Photographers Without Borders as we explore how photography and storytelling can help create a bit of the healing we all need on this episode of Storytelling for Change.

Bryce Evans is an artist of catharsis and Founder of The One Project, a private mental health community focused on therapeutic photography. He teaches, writes and speaks around the world about the healing power of photos for your mental health. He's also an award-winning photographer, artist, marketing consultant and community builder that's worked with top international brands focused on making a positive social impact.

River is a two-spirit Caddo, Lenape, and white artist and youth-worker. Their work consists of collage, photography, videography, beading, and they are learning how to be in relationship with Caddo pottery.

River understands photography as a place in time together, a little room to help a friend, a relative, an elder, feel seen, beautiful, or listened to. It's about moment-making and reflection, comfort and co-creation.

When thinking about the erasure of Native peoples on our own lands, combined with the persistent invisibility of queer Indigenous people even within our own communities, this work feels important considering community health, language, and storytelling.

Ultimately, River just wants their art to make a path for the youth and the ancestors to be whatever they want to be, whatever they always wanted to be.