There is a wonderful story featuring the FSA photographers work on the NY TIMES Lens Blog. This blog is a must-read for all photographers, as it’s always inspiring and features work from the best photojournalists working around the world.
The photographs from the FSA photography collection in the Library of Congress are valuable because they provide insight into a bygone era, the way things used to look. That is the same as photographs of today, and I am interested in similarly collecting a series of photographs that depict ordinary things in ordinary life.
While war and major conflict is given a front page and a top spot on the TV news, the smaller struggles and the real issues that Americans have to deal with are often unseen. We don’t mention mental illness because there’s a stigma against people who are suffering from it. Or look at rape or abuse victims–no need to draw any extra attention to their story, it’s sad enough. Or someone who can barely afford to feed their family, but goes to bed hungry themselves, no one has to see that–and no one does.
Shining a light into the darkness reveals truth, and with truth comes change. So, this project is dedicated to the photographers who document the big fights–war, famine–but also those who seek out the small ones, even in our own neighborhoods, and give them a venue to be seen, a voice to be heard, as well.
Roy Stryker 
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