Derelict barn, Dartford, Kent, 2007

In 1936 the writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans were commissioned by Fortune magazine to produce an article on the lives of poor sharecroppers in the American South. The ethos of Roosevelt’s New Deal produced a whole series of collaborations between writers, photographers, artists, composers, choreographers and ethnologists, encouraged and funded to portray the lives of everyday American life in all its regions and cultures. The article eventually led to a book which was published in 1941, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, now regarded as one of the great books of the 20^th century. In his introduction, Agee wrote quite specifically on the relationship between the words and the images: ‘The photographs are not illustrative. They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, fully collaborative.’

The subject of how writers and photographers work together is, not surprisingly, something which deeply interests…

Photo by contributor Roshni Ravi, a 24-year-old mental health professional based in Bangalore, India. She is interested in the exploration of existential ideas of hope, happiness, meaning, presence and being in therapeutic practice. Roshni also lives with a diagnosis of clinical depression. She finds negotiating her roles as both a mental health service provider and user an empowering and challenging experience. Her photographic work reflects her idiosyncratic attraction towards birds, the rain and bright colours. When she is not obsessing about life’s eternal quest for meaning, she enjoys baking, dancing and watching wildlife.

About this photo: “I was sitting atop an elephant when I took this photo, on a cold winter afternoon in Kaziranga, Assam. It was the last photograph I took that day. I return to it often, thinking how perfectly real it is, the lone soldier, heaven, earth and everything in between, everything revealed and ultimately alone.”

The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) has announced a Patrol Supervisor Response to Critical Incidents Seminar to be held during the 31^st Annual Tactical Operations Conference & Trade Show,  Sept. 21^st – 26^th, 2014 at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in Mobile, Alabama.

Sgt. Fred Farris

This 16-hour seminar, taught by Sgt. Fred Farris of the Lenexa (KS) Police Department, is designed to provide patrol supervisors with the information and tools needed to manage a critical incident prior to the arrival of SWAT. Legal issues, scene management and small team tactics can give the patrol supervisor tools needed to manage a critical incident scene, as well as respond to unfolding events prior to the arrival of SWAT.

Registration for the 2014 Conference and Trade Show is open to all active law enforcement officers. Active members of a state tactical association receive a $50 discount…

By Michael Snyder

The basic necessities in life just keep getting more expensive.  On Tuesday, Hershey announced that the price of all of their chocolate bars is going to go up by about 8 percent.  That is particularly distressing to me, because I am known to love chocolate.  But if it was just chocolate that was becoming significantly more expensive perhaps that would be okay.  Last month, it was coffee.  J.M. Smucker, one of the largest coffee producers in the United States, announced that it planned to raise coffee prices by about 9 percent.  And Starbucks has announced a bunch of price increases across the board on their coffee products.  Of course we could all survive without chocolate and coffee, but as you will see below just about every food category is becoming more expensive.  If this keeps up, could we eventually see armed guards in grocery stores…