Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez

Poverty, a poem by Fred Taban

Poverty, a poem by Fred Taban, recorded last week in South Sudan. 

Fred is a theology professor at the Episcopal Church Sudan Seminary in Kajo Keji County, Sudan. He has been a refugee for most of his life. When Fred speaks of poverty he know the subject well. I will share more of his extraordinary story here next month.

-Stephen Alvarez

Halloween Carnival, Sewanee TN

St. Bartholomew Orphanage , Sudan

Ok, enough gloom and doom about Sudan. There is plenty to be pessimistic about there. Anytime I look at the big picture I get plenty depressed. But sometimes the small scale is sometimes much more encouraging. 

 St Bartholomew's Orphanage in Kajo Keji takes care of 90 Sudanese war orphans. Orphanages on the whole are depressing affairs invoking images of right out of Dickens, but not this one. It is run by Sudanese war widows who LOVE these kids. They are cared for as family. Children are the future, whatever future South Sudan has. 

-Stephen Alvarez

dreaming of home

I am, or at least should be on my way home from Sudan right now. I love my work and traveling, but maybe even more than that I love coming home.

-Stephen Alvarez

cell phone Juba, South Sudan

I returned to Kampala last night from South Sudan. Some trips I win, some trips Africa wins, Africa won this round. I am beat from 2 weeks of driving on non existent roads and interviewing people with little hope for the future. 

It is astounding to be with people of great faith -I was largely among Sudanese Christians this trip- but who are largely pessimistic of the future. I guess that is what 20 plus years of continuous war does. How can you think of something else when war is all you have known?

Flying home tonight, but I have to get a DC photo week presentation together on the plane and organize my Atlanta photojournalism seminar talk. Life looks like the refrain from a Warren Zevon song till Christmas. 

Cheers,

Stephen Alvarez

-Kampala

which camera to buy? Canon 5D Mark II vs Canon 7D

5d MK II vs 7D

I got an email from Chile last week asking which camera to buy the Canon 5D Mark II ($2739) or 7D (in stock here) ($1700) . The truth is that I really cannot say. They are different cameras and do different things.  It really depends on what you need.  I have just gotten back to Kampala from shooting in South Sudan with both cameras sided by side so here is a BREIF out line of the differences. But first let me say that they both preformed flawlessly in the the hot, dusty conditions along the border.

War Is Only Half the Story Vol. II from the Aftermath Project

The new Aftermath Project Book, available (here), costs only $20 plus shipping. What an incredibly simple way to support photography. You can continue to take your favorite photographer out for a cold one, but this comes to your house and your clothes don't smell like cigarettes the next day. 

I posted on Wed about the Aftermath Project, which awards grants to photographers working in post conflict situations, finding the narratives that frame the work for peace and recovery. Founder Sara Terry puts it this way: "I believe what we hold up in our culture - the stories we tell ourselves - are in fact the people we become."

War is Only Half the Story Vol II features the project's 2008 winner Kathryn Cook ("Memory Denied: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide") as well as work by special first finalist Natela Grigalashvili and finalists Tinka Dietz, Christine Fenzl and Pep Bonet.

spear-fisherman, Palau

Boredom, Abkasia

There are lots of reasons to shoot photos, love, regret, passion... I shot this image out of complete boredom.  Not that Abkasia is a boring place, it is in fact fascinating, but I spent a month in the mountains waiting on a team of deep cavers to emerge from breaking a world depth record. It was beautiful, and dull. So one evening as yet another glorious black sea sunset rolled across the sky I shot this image of my assistant Alan Cressler hiking up toward base camp.

-Stephen Alvarez

Aftermath Grant Applications Due Nov 2

The Aftermath Project is now accepting applications for two grants of $20,000 USD each for working photographers covering the aftermath of conflict. Applications must be received by November 2.

Submission guidelines can be downloaded (here.)