September 1, 2011
Which one of these folks does not belong? Staff photographer Melanie Stetson Freeman poses with children from the Nyabitare Primary School in Ruyigi, Burundi, June, 2006. Photo by Abraham McLaughlin/staff. I remember arriving at this school right before classes started for the day. All the young students were in the courtyard running around with that manic kid energy that just escalates in crowds. Of course, the minute I lifted up my camera, I was mobbed. Rather than trying to create order, I handed my camera to my colleague and joined the group. Soon after, the school bell rang and the children headed in to their classrooms where I was able to photograph them in a more-controlled state. The school was built by UNHCR. It has 21 classrooms with about 50 kids in each class. After fleeing the conflicts, massacres and destruction in their country, refugees were returning home to Burundi. Most of these children are refugees who recently returned home from neighboring countries. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Which one of these folks does not belong? Staff photographer Melanie Stetson Freeman poses with children from the Nyabitare Primary School in Ruyigi, Burundi, June, 2006. Photo by Abraham McLaughlin/staff.

I remember arriving at this school right before classes started for the day. All the young students were in the courtyard running around with that manic kid energy that just escalates in crowds. Of course, the minute I lifted up my camera, I was mobbed. Rather than trying to create order, I handed my camera to my colleague and joined the group. Soon after, the school bell rang and the children headed in to their classrooms where I was able to photograph them in a more-controlled state.

The school was built by UNHCR. It has 21 classrooms with about 50 kids in each class. After fleeing the conflicts, massacres and destruction in their country, refugees were returning home to Burundi. Most of these children are refugees who recently returned home from neighboring countries.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

3:11pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw4fzo235
September 1, 2011

For most children in the Northern Hemisphere, September means a new start at school. And while dress codes and classrooms vary, multiplication tables and youthful intensity do not. Here’s a selection of images taken by Monitor photographers of young students around the world.

Alfredo Sosa- Director of Photography & Multimedia

(Source: csmoniitor.com)

10:33am  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw4fv7917
(Notes: 4)
  
Filed under: school photography monitor children 
September 1, 2011

Since Jimmy Carter is visiting Cuba to talk about economic relations, we thought you would be interested in these photos [view full gallery] taken by Alfredo Sosa, the Monitor’s Photo Editor, last November.

Read coverage of Carter’s visit on CSMonitor.com

10:26am  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw4fv45jj
(Notes: 6)
  
Filed under: cuba jimmy carter news photos economy havana 
August 29, 2011

A free clinic funded by the Surmang Foundation, an American NGO, is located on the Tibetan Plateau, China. The foundation is the first foreign NGO to be registered in Quinghai Province.

Click on the photos above to see a larger version

Check out the full photo gallery on CSMonitor.com with more pictures from the clinic and surrounding area.

All photos by Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

11:52am  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw4dwffwk
(Notes: 9)
  
Filed under: Photography Landscape News 
August 24, 2011
Doctors check out baby Sonazongmu, 7 months old, and her mother, Demba, at their free health clinic in Jherekhe, Tibetan Plateau, China. The clinic is funded by the Surmang Foundation, an American NGO. This area, one of the most isolated in China, is beautiful, but incredibly poor, with one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. About 20 percent of babies do not live through their first year.  Sonazongmu was one of the calmest babies I’ve ever photographed. She never fussed or cried, despite being poked by two doctors while two foreign journalists and their translator watched. I love the expression on her face! Click here to check out my photo gallery with more pictures from the clinic and surrounding area. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Doctors check out baby Sonazongmu, 7 months old, and her mother, Demba, at their free health clinic in Jherekhe, Tibetan Plateau, China. The clinic is funded by the Surmang Foundation, an American NGO. This area, one of the most isolated in China, is beautiful, but incredibly poor, with one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. About 20 percent of babies do not live through their first year. 

Sonazongmu was one of the calmest babies I’ve ever photographed. She never fussed or cried, despite being poked by two doctors while two foreign journalists and their translator watched. I love the expression on her face!

Click here to check out my photo gallery with more pictures from the clinic and surrounding area.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

3:38pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw4aimkh4
August 2, 2011
Ichiro Monakata, 78, still mans his store - the same one owned by his grandmother - despite the high radiation levels in his small village of Okubo, Japan, which is within the 20-to-30-kilometer zone from the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor that started leaking radiation into the surrounding area after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant. In late June, I was working with staff writer Peter Ford in the nuclear zone and tsunami-ravaged coast of Japan. We were both depressed by all the damage, so meeting Mr. Monakata cheered us up. I call him ‘the cutest old man in Japan.’ His smile is infectious. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Ichiro Monakata, 78, still mans his store - the same one owned by his grandmother - despite the high radiation levels in his small village of Okubo, Japan, which is within the 20-to-30-kilometer zone from the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor that started leaking radiation into the surrounding area after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant.

In late June, I was working with staff writer Peter Ford in the nuclear zone and tsunami-ravaged coast of Japan. We were both depressed by all the damage, so meeting Mr. Monakata cheered us up. I call him ‘the cutest old man in Japan.’ His smile is infectious.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

4:52pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw3uvho6r
August 2, 2011
A child’s notebook lies near a burned out home in Eldoret, Kenya, which suffered widespread violence after 2007 elections. Some staff photos and videos from the upcoming “My Africa ” by Monitor Africa bureau chief Scott Baldauf.  As I said in my prior post, this body of work reflects a long commitment to the continent and countless hours of work. Alfredo Sosa- Director of Photography & Multimedia

A child’s notebook lies near a burned out home in Eldoret, Kenya, which suffered widespread violence after 2007 elections.

Some staff photos and videos from the upcoming “My Africa ” by Monitor Africa bureau chief Scott Baldauf.  As I said in my prior post, this body of work reflects a long commitment to the continent and countless hours of work.

Alfredo Sosa- Director of Photography & Multimedia

10:05am  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw3unrlf2
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: africa photography Rwanda Kenya south africa congo rape 
August 1, 2011
Monitor photographers have been visiting the continent of Africa for decades.  Next week the Christian Science Monitor weekly magazine will feature Africa and the myths that we hold about this very complex continent.  I was very excited to revisit the work we have done in the last decade and give it a new outlet.  For better or for worse, many of these works are as relevant today as they were when we produced them.  One of the things that I do not like about photojournalism, is that our work seems so perishable.  We put our heart and soul into stories, work insane hours, just to see it pushed aside by the new story of the day.  In many ways, I wish to go back to the stories, when the world has moved on to the new “crisis du jour”, and take a deep look at people and the great stories that develop with time.  I think of places like Haiti, where the world focused so much right after the earthquake.   Now we all pretend/expect/wish that things are OK. But are we looking? I hope you enjoy this preview of what’s to come next week. Alfredo Sosa - Director of Photography & Multimedia

Monitor photographers have been visiting the continent of Africa for decades.  Next week the Christian Science Monitor weekly magazine will feature Africa and the myths that we hold about this very complex continent. 

I was very excited to revisit the work we have done in the last decade and give it a new outlet.  For better or for worse, many of these works are as relevant today as they were when we produced them.  One of the things that I do not like about photojournalism, is that our work seems so perishable.  We put our heart and soul into stories, work insane hours, just to see it pushed aside by the new story of the day.  In many ways, I wish to go back to the stories, when the world has moved on to the new “crisis du jour”, and take a deep look at people and the great stories that develop with time.  I think of places like Haiti, where the world focused so much right after the earthquake.   Now we all pretend/expect/wish that things are OK. But are we looking?

I hope you enjoy this preview of what’s to come next week.

Alfredo Sosa - Director of Photography & Multimedia

12:31pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw3tziuor
(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: photography africa journalism congo kenya burundi rwanda 
July 25, 2011
People attend a memorial service for the 5,500 people from Ishinomaki, Japan, confirmed dead or still missing after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed coastal areas.  On my recent trip to Japan, I mostly photographed the physical aftermath of the tragedy: flattened coastlines, carefully separated piles of debris, untouched towns abandoned to radioactivity. But the human toll of the tragedy was immense. I fought to keep control of my emotions during this memorial – while the Japanese remained stoic. I admire their strength and was reminded that most cultural differences are only on the surface. Inside, we all feel the same. By Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer

People attend a memorial service for the 5,500 people from Ishinomaki, Japan, confirmed dead or still missing after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed coastal areas. 

On my recent trip to Japan, I mostly photographed the physical aftermath of the tragedy: flattened coastlines, carefully separated piles of debris, untouched towns abandoned to radioactivity. But the human toll of the tragedy was immense. I fought to keep control of my emotions during this memorial – while the Japanese remained stoic. I admire their strength and was reminded that most cultural differences are only on the surface. Inside, we all feel the same.

By Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer


4:16pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw3p77u94
(Notes: 1)
  
July 8, 2011
A woman stands in front of the Madrid stock exchange during a demonstration calling for a tax on financial speculation and the abolition of tax havens.  Andrea Comas/Reuters Some photos invite a humorous take on an otherwise serious situation. Check out our readers’ funny captions at this link and check out our Facebook page to add your own captions and comments.  Joanne Ciccarello, assistant photo editor

A woman stands in front of the Madrid stock exchange during a demonstration calling for a tax on financial speculation and the abolition of tax havens.  Andrea Comas/Reuters

Some photos invite a humorous take on an otherwise serious situation. Check out our readers’ funny captions at this link and check out our Facebook page to add your own captions and comments.

 Joanne Ciccarello, assistant photo editor

12:33pm  |   URL: http://tumblr.com/xpw3e5cy7q
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: news photo photojournalism 
Liked posts on Tumblr: More liked posts »