Fruitville Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida 2005

Chip Litherland (b. 1977, USA) is an award-winning photographer based in Sarasota, Florida.  A graduate of the fine arts school at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Chip went on to develop the skills of community photojournalism through internships at the Greeley Tribune, Longmont Daily Times-Call, The Gazette in Colorado Springs, and The Dallas Morning News.  He took his current position as a staff photographer at the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune seven years ago, where he has developed his vision.  That vision, which is fueled by an addiction to color and strong, graphic compositions, has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, Best of Photojournalism, Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, and the National Press Photographer’s Association.  He is currently a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and ESPN the Magazine.

About the Photograph:

“My main goal is always to find a photo that transcends any assignment.  This photo was simply from a local elementary school during a field day of sorts – celebrating the reached goal of the students in a reading program.  In the grand scheme of things, not a huge deal to the world, but in the world of these kids it was.  As a community photojournalist, I’m often thrown into situations and events over and over (and over) again, year after year, and trying to making something new and telling is always the challenge.   I take it as such and try to make the most compelling image I can.  As for this image, I was scanning the crowd, when I saw this kid jammed up against the fence.  I framed it up tightly to reinforce the claustrophobic feeling the scene already had, leaving the focus on the little things like the body language of the young girl, the row of little legs, the Spider-man shirt, and obviously his face.  For me, it sums up elementary school – and the mindset of being trapped at school itself.”

Austin, Texas

Lance Rosenfield (b. 1972, United States) is a freelance photographer based in Austin, Texas. In addition to shooting editorial and commercial assignments for clients including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and United Way, he concentrates on personal work such as ‘Thirst for Grit’ in which he presents the life and times of modern-day small-town rodeo cowboys in Texas. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in Texas and California and group shows in Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, and New York. Lance was selected to the Eddie Adams Barnstorm Workshop in 2007, was a finalist in the 2009 Emerging Photographer Grant awarded by the Magnum Foundation, and is a 2010 Black & White Magazine Spotlight photographer. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Austin Center for Photography and is a founding member of Texas Toast Photo Show.

About the Photograph:
“In their semi-itinerant ways, hauling from one small-town to the next across the wide expanse of Texas, rodeo cowboys find late-night roadside diners for hot meals and a break from the long road. When I returned to Austin in 2006 after eight years in California, I wanted to undertake a personal project in which I could reconnect with my home state of Texas. I stumbled onto the world of rodeo and latched on.  The lives and community of the rodeo riders struck me as fascinating in their camaraderie and wayfaring lifestyles.  Not only do these men live up to their folk-legend reputations, I found that many of them live in big cities like San Antonio and carry jobs in the construction and oil industries.  They identify themselves as rodeo cowboys through and through, and it seems they can live no other way. As 44-year old bronc rider Jeffrey Miller says, My greatest fear right now in life other than not making it to Heaven is having to retire from rodeo.  This is an on-going project and I have formed friendships with a number of the characters in the story, namely the two finishing a meal in the photo above.”

Blessing of the Animals. Los Angeles, California 2009

Morgan Hagar (b. 1975, United States) is an independent documentary photographer based out of Los Angeles, California. He studied at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California and was the first to graduate from the renowned Visual Journalism program. While in school he held a staff photographer position at the Santa Barbara News-Press and shortly thereafter became Photo Editor at the Ventura County Reporter. Since then, he has devoted much of time to personal projects, which have garnered awards and international recognition. His work has been shown in various print publications and throughout the web as well as in solo and group exhibitions.

About the Photograph:

For years I have dedicated a great amount of my time and effort traveling throughout the world to cover topics that interest me personally. Many of those topics included the problems of other nations, other peoples. More recently, I have turned my focus inward, to my home, my backyard, to America. If there is great change afoot in America, like so many speak of, I feel now is the perfect time to document this nation and its culture. This image was produced while photographing the “Blessing of the Animals,” a tradition held in downtown Los Angeles by Cardinal Roger Mahony. Here, two girls wait for their chance to dance for the thousands of onlookers that came out that day. There was a small parade, local food and dancing much like any festival held throughout the country. I was not on assignment, I was just curious to learn about a small part of my city’s culture, its history and share that knowledge with others. That, to me, is true documentary photography.