Both Sides Now... (A Day in Photography)

Two very different stories on today's newswires speak in their own ways as to the power of photography to move and affect our lives. One involves a NBC news reporter covering the plight of Americans affected by our recent economic downspin and the other involves the Queen of England... It turns outs that Anne Curry of  the Today Show & Dateline NBC is quite an avid photographer, having used her Leica M8 in her various worldwide assignments & incorporated the images into her reports. She did just that again last night as a Dateline report called "America Now - Friends and Neighbors" aired, resulting in much buzz and acclaim this morning. Ms. Curry traveled to Ohio where as NBC quotes: "the hardworking poor, with deep traditions in mining, manufacturing and military service, are increasingly seen in food pantry lines angry and ashamed. It also poses the tough question that many Americans are unexpectedly facing: How do you choose between paying your bills and feeding your kids?". The images are quite moving and work seamlessly to bring home the urgent issues at hand. To see a slide show of Anne's work and to see the full episode, you can click onto the following link from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38382773/ns/dateline_nbc-america_now From the other side of the "pond" comes word that none other than the British Royal Family has decided to share their family photos with the world by opening a Flickr photostream page! The Queen and company launched the account to stream the latest images of royal engagements as well as contain historic photos from their extentive archives. Each member of the Royal Family will have their own page as well as snapshots of the queen's recent visits to Canada and New York City. A "behind the scenes" collection shows the royal household at work during a state banquet as well. If you have a Flickr account, you can type in "Royal Family" in their search engine to find their page (although they they might find it odd that we spell "flickr" without the "e"!). Yes, these stories covers a very WIDE swatch of society, yet speak powerfully of the power of photography to move us, inform us and grab our attention.  Hope you've enjoyed them...