A new grant for socially conscious photographers could make a dream documentary project a reality for one lucky applicant.
As Erick Danzer was slogging through Indonesia covering illegal logging operations, an idea came to him. He would create a $5,000, one-year grant, now called the Photocrati Fund, to facilitate a humanitarian or environmental project in an era when news agencies are scaling back.
Danzer founded the for-profit philanthropy Frontier Digital Media in Colorado. Its revenue is currently based on the sale of Wordpress themes specifically designed for photographers. The idea of the Photocrati Fund is to take the financial burden off of documentary photographers who have ambitious projects they'd like to pursue.
"You usually have to front the costs of a lot of photo trips," Danzer said. "It gets kind of expensive. You have to really minimize costs and then you piece together sales. You sell some things to stock agencies, you try to put together a few magazine stories."
The Photocrati Fund is accepting submissions through March 3. Applicants for the grant are restricted to a one-page project statement, a limitation Danzer values from earning two Fulbright Scholarships. This requirement forces entrants to be succinct and organized.
The presiding judges are highly respected photographers: Steve McCurry, famous for his portrait of an Afghan girl; Art Wolfe, renowned for his nature photography; and "the Indiana Jones of photography," Michael Nichols. The judging committee is looking for a photographer they are confident will be self-motivated.
"For a lot of humanitarian and environmental photography," said Danzer, "your technical and creative mastery of the camera is just one small part of producing great imagery."
Photocrati is awarding $4,000 in June and the final $1,000 will be given after the submission of 20 to 30 photos and a final report. During the project, the recipient can expect some assistance from Danzer's organization. "They'll have access to us and any advice or resources we can provide for them," he said.
Danzer is considering options to highlight honorable mentions on the Photocrati site. There is also some thought being given to soliciting field reports or blog entries from the grant winner. The announcement of the recipient is being timed to this year's LOOK3 symposium of up-and-coming photographers for additional exposure.
Photo by Erick Danzer
