Volunteer your photojournalism skills

Volunteering abroad: let me count the ways. Thankfully we’re not at a loss for programs that connect globally-minded volunteers to communities that could use assistance. But while I was looking through several programs listed recently on TravelWritersNews.com, one stood out as an option I hadn’t thought of before: volunteering as a photojournalist.

It makes sense—plenty of charities need on-the-ground documentation, whether capturing the destruction of a hurricane or following the progress towards rebuilding a community. The photos become helpful for everything from applying for grants, to creating educational materials, to improving public awareness.

Charity Guide links to several programs, including One World Photography and Idealist.org. Some photojournalism experience seems to be required, but I think it’d be worth looking into—some programs might be more flexible.

And in other photography news, if you have a favorite photo that you’ve taken, you might be interested in pitching it to the photo contest run by World Traveler (Northwest’s in-flight mag). The winner gets to travel to a photo shoot for the tv travel series “Rudy Maxa’s World,” and contribute his/her own photos from the trip to the inside front cover of the episode’s DVD. They’re selecting two winners: one amateur, one professional. Be sure to enter by October 1st.