Holy Men: Varanasi, India by Joey L

Varanasi is the epicenter of Hinduism, its Holy City, its Rome or Mecca.  In his series, Holy Men: Varanasi , India, Joey L finds these wonderfully expressive faces of holy men, women and boys in his gorgeous portraits.

“BEYOND” is an exclusive documentary featuring photographer Joey L. Set in Varanasi, India. The documentary by filmmaker Cale Glendening follows Joey and his assistant Ryan as they complete their latest photo series- “Holy Men.” Almost every major religion breeds ascetics; wandering monks who have renounced all earthly possessions, dedicating their lives to the pursuit of spiritual liberation.Their reality is dictated only by the mind, not material objects. Even death is not a fearsome concept, but a passing from the world of illusion. Created by: Cale Glendening, Joey L., Ryan McCarney Directed by: Cale Glendening Edit/Color: Chris Dowsett, Cale Glendening, Joey L., Megan Miller, John Carrington Graphic/Titles: James Zanoni Original Score: Stephen Keech,Tony Anderson All Photographs: Joey L. Guiding/Translation: Raju Verma, Tejinder Singh Special Thanks: Jesica Bruzzi / BH Photo, Kessler Crane -- Varanasi, India:Beyond Trailer https://vimeo.com/55249039 http://www.caleglendening.com http://www.joeyL.com

Living Off the Grid in Europe by Antoine Bruy

Photographer Antoine Bruy’s ongoing series, “Scrublands,” grew up in urban France and began documenting the off-the-grid culture with his camera from Spain to Switzerland to Romania,

Bruy:

“Most of the farmers had been living in big cities and I really respect their decision to say, ‘This is not my thing and I can't live this way anymore.’ I think there are a lot of people thinking this way but few making the steps to change. I was interested in how they managed to live another way.” 

Portraits of Homeless People by Lee Jeffries

Safe-taught photographer Lee Jeffries is a Manchester-based accountant. 

Lee on how he started his black and white portrait series after being told off harshly by a young homeless woman he was trying to shoot on the streets of London:

"I was incredibly embarrassed and was faced with a decision – walk away, or go and apologize. I chose the latter and her story and subsequent images I took of her changed my approach to street photography forever.” 

via DeMilked

3 - 50 days 50 meals

It is actually a project to share a meal, meet and learn about 50 strangers all around the world. It is still in the process. Looks like it is in Day 20 or so. ​

50 days 50 meals

4 - Olympic Athletes in Training

London 2012 is nearly here. This set of photos had some surprises for me. I didn't know that Women's Boxing was making a debut. I hadn't really thought about how few athletes some countries are able to support and how much long and pride get put behind those few athletes. ​

via The Big Picture

5 - The World is Where We Live [video]

Pairing images together is a little bit like writing an analogy. Pairing videos together is like writing a metaphor: the points of comparison bleed almost entirely together. 

The World Wildlife Foundation has this new promo video which clearly is interested in removing the barriers in our own thinking between the world and the natural world.​

WWF YouTube