Aurora photographer Callie Shell’s unique access to President Barack Obama and his family has allowed her to again photograph captivating, private moments from the first 100 days in office.  Shell was interviewed by the Today Show on Thursday, April 23, 2009 and her photo essay Obama’s 100 Days: Behind-the-Scenes Photographs has been featured in the May 4th, 2009 edition of TIME Magazine and as an online feature on the magazine’s website.  To view the entire photo essay online, visit http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1893255_1874076,00.html.

Toughest Job in the World
Obama gathers his thoughts during a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. He often spends several moments in silent reflection before making a decision. Read the rest of this entry »

Aurora photographer Dan Patitucci will have two images, including the cover, in the 2010 calendar by Deutscher Alpenverein, the German Alpine Association.

View more work by Dan Patitucci at Aurora Photos.

Kiss, a portraits series of people blowing kisses by Aurora Photographer Holly Wilmeth has run in three international publications.  The images depict people of all ages and races from around the world engaged in an internationally recognized gesture of love.  The series has appeared in Germany’s Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (April 5th, 2009), Welt Kompakt (April 7th, 2009) and Bella Magazine (April 24th, 2009) and in the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine  (February 8th, 2009).

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Images of US troops in Afghanistan by Aurora photographer Rafal Gerszak, who has been embedded with them since 2008, were featured in the Picture Story section of Saturday Times Magazine in the UK on April 11, 2009.

“Over the past year Rafal Gerszak has been photographing American troops in Afghanistan, capturing the ennui and brutality of life on the front line.  As Barack Obama commits 21,000 more troops to the region, war reporter and ex-soldier Anthony Loyd sees echoes of Vietnam in the images, and describes the slow-burn strain of combat in a far-flung land.”

Gerszak photographed the 101st Airborne Division, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Delta Company, 4th Platoon in Khost province.  Here soldiers shelter from the cloud of dust stirred by a Chinook helicopter preparing to extract them during Operation Pirates Cove in Sharmal district. February 2, 2009.

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The second in a series of spots in The Sunday Times Magazine SPECTRUM of London, images by Munem Wasif of Agence VU brings attention to the dire situation brought on by the rapid closing of jute mills in Bangladesh, appeared in the March 29th, 2009 edition.

MASS SACKINGS: Bangladesh is the world’s biggest exporter of jute — the soft vegetable fibre used in ropes and hessian sacks — but the industry is suffering. Seven out of eight jute mills in the Khulna region have closed, as manpower is replaced by machinery. This exception, the Crescent jute mill, remains open, but money to buy raw jute is fast drying up. Workers here have not been paid for weeks, and many protest daily.

To view more images by Munem Wasif, visit Aurora Photos.

Aurora Photographer Lisa Wiltse has been awarded First Prize for the Still Photo Sports Feature category in the Best of Photojournalism 2009  Contest, put on by the National Press Photographers Association.  View other winners here.  Her story Enrique’s Playground was also selected for the PDN Photo Annual.

 Tondo is a section of Manila separated from the rest of the city by the heavily polluted Pasig River. It is one of the most densely populated regions of the world with approximately 65,000 people per square kilometer. Legions of child rag pickers make a life searching streets for old pieces of cloth, plastic, paper and any other recyclable materials that they can sell. The children and the rest of the crushingly poor live in conditions that are unfathomable. Children who do this work suffer from health problems such as tuberculosis and scabies as well as injuries caused by scrambling over rubbish tips and skips.

To view other images by Lisa Wiltse, visit Aurora Photos.

The photo essay High Seas Border Patrol  by Aurora Photographer Todd Bigelow for TIME is featured on Time.com.  Todd followed the increasing efforts of the US Border Protection Agents who work from the ocean and the air as they guard the California coast off San Diego.  View the complete photo essay here.

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Aurora photographer and Vice President Corey Rich will appear in a new ad for the Nikon D90 running in the Dutch edition of National Geographic Adventure. The ad not only employs Corey’s images to show the quality produced by the camera, but also includes an interview with him discussing what it takes to climb and photograph the Midnight Lightning route on the world-famous Columbia Boulder in Yosemite National Park.  View the web link to the English ad campaign and see Corey’s 360°-perspective of the Columbia Boulder here.

To view more work by Corey Rich, please visit Aurora Photos and Aurora Select.

PORTLAND, Maine – April 1, 2009 — Aurora Photos agency founder, Jose Azel announced the launch of the Green Collection, a new compilation of Aurora imagery comprised of eco-photography. To celebrate the collection Aurora will provide a discount incentive to customers licensing images from the Green Collection between April 1 and June 31, 2009.

“Adding timely and relevant green imagery to Aurora’s already strong collection is a welcome move.” Michelle Jackson, founder of Snap Indigo remarks. “The need for these types of important photographs will be around for years to come.”

“Organic, recycling, fuel-efficient, sustainability,” chants Azel, “Are some of the buzz words that you constantly hear. This collection addresses the need of earth-conscious advertisers, green-living magazines, corporations and environmental organizations that need the visuals to go with their messages.”

 

View the Green Collection here.

Companies today need to align themselves more closely with the evolving expectations of consumers as they associate themselves with social responsibility, particularly on the environment. Marketing research shows that US consumers connect with “socially responsible” and “environmentally friendly.” (88% say these as words describe them “well”, 39% as “very well”) The top issue consumers care about globally? Protecting the environment
(92% of those surveyed). -1

Aurora’s Creative Director, Peter Dennen, explains: “Our mission is to create the most comprehensive, high-quality collection that spans the gamut from cutting-edge journalism to thought provoking, conceptual visuals. We will explore the many facets of how human behavior affects global change in our natural world and strive to rise above the visual clichés that currently populate the stock industry. Our core roster of environmental and creative photographers will continue to define new ways of seeing ‘Green’.”

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1- Conscious Consumers Are Changing the Rules of Marketing. Are You Ready?
Highlights from the BBMG Conscious Consumer Report
The second annual Edelman goodpurpose study

http://goodpurposecommunity.com/study.html#section3