Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez

Congo at 50 by Stephan Vanfleteren

Stephan Vanfleteren's portraits of 50 Congolese as the country turns 50 (here) on the BBC.

Strong portraits.

-Stephen Alvarez

Sewanee, TN
 

Observation Deck, Tour Montparnasse

 The observation deck of Tour Montparnasse.

Stephen Alvarez

Paris

Road Trip, Spain from France

 I made a sort of pilgrimage to the Pierre St Martin col. It was near this pass that modern cave exploration was born in the 1950's with the descent of Pierre Saint-Martin, the first truly deep cave in the world. Back to Paris today...

-Stephen Alvarez

Pau

Road Trip

Out of Paris and on a road trip through southern France for the last week. Made it as far as the Spanish border and headed north again. Just what the Dr ordered after 2 months underground in Paris.

-Stephen Alvarez

Pau, France

 

Burn announces the "emerging" photographer grant recipient

Burn announces the "Emerging" photographer award. Davide Monteleone wins for his excellent work on the Northern Caucasus (here).

It is a wonderful project, but take a look at the finalists (here). There are some other established, heavy hitters on board. I find it incredible that such great work is being done in such a bad economy. Literally there are only a handful of assignments being handed out by magazines and newspapers. The internet, which is a fantastic delivery platform, has yet to provide sustainable economics for documentary photographers. Thanks to Burn for help filling in the gaps.

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

Juba, South Sudan

 A refugee from Torrit in Juba South Sudan

South Sudan and Uganda have been on my mind a lot lately. For one,  Bashir has been in the news. He can not attend the Word Cup in South Africa without being arrested, and Uganda has told him not to come to African Union summit in Kampala this July for the same reason (here).

I think that is all good news for the people of Sudan But there is another reason this has been on my mind. 

Feast Day by Zisis Kardianos on Burn

 Look at Zisis Kardianos' Feast day on Burn (here). It is a beautiful, lyrical essay.

-Stephen Alvarez

Paris

a few weeks with the Leica x1

Tour Montparnesse, Paris

Ever since I went digital in 2005 I've missed my Leica M6. It was quiet, compact and I never felt under gunned using it. For years I've been searching for a digital camera that fits that niche. The digital Leica Ms (8 and 9) have been too big and unreliable for me and none of the other compact cameras I have tried have been high enough quality.

Is the Leica X1 the answer to my needs?