"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead, American anthropologist

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August 2007

Ladies!
I am super psyched to have 3 new new photo stories added to the Spotlight section. This month's photographers are not only international, award-winning photojournalists, but they are shooting stories that cover regions and situations that have been largely underreported.

I am very proud to be showing photojournalist Jean Chung's most recent work from Afghanistan, as she has recently won the CARE International Award for Humanitarian Reportage. She shares with us an intimate story on a young Afghan mother giving birth and dying from the complications associated with it--a situation that is all too common for women in Afghanistan.

The second Spotlight feature comes from a wonderful emerging documentary photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind. Anastasia documented a small band of Kurdish guerrilla fighters called the Peshmerga Force for Women who make up a third of the PKK--a pretty surprising fact! Her story comes at a time of relevance as the PKK's presence in northern Iraq remains a critical issue in Turkish politics.

Our final new story is shot by social documentary photographer Rena Effendi, who has been a winner of the Fifty Crows International Fund for Documentary Photography competition and was selected as one of PDN's 30 Emerging Photographers. Rena 's series of images focus on the internally displaced people in her own country of Azerbaijan. Her images give a voice to the widely forgotten about refugees and their inhuman living conditions that persist.

Cheers,
Serena

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May 2007

Hey Ladies,
I am proud to be launching version 1.0 of the new Photobetty.
All the women showcased in this issue of Photobetty have one thing in common: they are exceptional women. Through their independence, passion, and commitment to a cause, they have found great stories and images. These photos not only open our eyes to the world, but invite us to see through each photographer’s unique perspective!

The Spotlight section will continue to feature a body of work that motivates and means something to the photographer. Featured is Ami Vitale, Gabriela Bulisova, and the Eve Photographers Collective.

Ami is a renowned photojournalist whose portfolio on Africa is not just " a bunch of colorful images”. Rather, it is a glimpse of her devotion to understanding and immersing herself in the cultures that she photographs.

Gabriela’s body of work is an ongoing project focusing on the everyday life of the individual affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

Lastly, we have a portfolio of the Eve photographers, which is made of six women photographers from around the globe. Their one goal was to unite as a community of documentary photographers and to push each photographer to put her most powerful work out there.

The Singles section remains to be a section for a single amazing image. Amy Thompson’s image is not only eye catching, but it's an image that draws us into the bigger picture of girls receiving education in rural Morocco.

In Charge has been a section generally for women in the photo business who inspire us all whether it be as photo editor or photographer. To start us out is Lynn Johnson, an amazing documentary photographer/activist whose stories have been told in such a way that we feel as though we are walking in her subject’s shoes. I have an audio interview with her, along with her images from her recent project on hate crimes in the US.

Before You still highlights historical women photographers. We have Esther Bubley’s work who was one of the early female photographers shooting for Life Magazine. Esther was truly one of the first female photographers to make a living and be successful at shooting freelance for magazines.

One more thing before this intro gets old. Check out the Photobetty listserv for some every day talk about photo stuff. The Photobetty listserv is just an inkling of what the Photobetty community can become. So, lets rock it!

- Serena Stucke

stephanie

Stephanie and Serena enjoying a shisha in Beruit