Photo by @farshadusyan
“i use photography as a tool for social change,” says farshad usyan (@farshadusyan ), a 25-year-old photojournalist from northern afghanistan. “i am interested in people’s stories, cultures, livelihoods, struggles and how they overcome them, and my photography depicts the everyday challenges that my country faces. many people outside of afghanistan only know it through media covering the war, but do not know what we face in our everyday lives — how women are still being mistreated, how many children are still laborers and how climate change is affecting our agriculture. i believe that photojournalism is a way to promote change because images touch people and compel them to act.”
watch our story to see photos of everyday life in afghanistan.
Photo by @safromabove
any gnomes down there? “this spot has always been a favorite of mine,” says drone photographer bo le (@safromabove ). “it looks like a magic garden out of a fairy tale.” #whp🌲
Photo by @thebookfamilyrogerson
“we like that almost everything in this photo came from a tree — except for our daughter, martha,” says melissa rogerson (@thebookfamilyrogerson ), who set up this scene at home in the uk.
follow along to see more of our favorites from last weekend’s hashtag project, #whp🌲.
Photo by @nicholettat
on #earthday, you:
a) went barefoot ✔️
b) wore shoes
#whp🌲
Photo by @blnlove
nature > concrete in this #whp🌲 submission from berlin.
Photo illustration by @blondieandbears
inspiring ❤️ for mother earth, one play date at a time. #whp🌲
follow along to see more of our favorites from last weekend’s hashtag project.
“when people show you who they are, believe them.” this is the advice from maya angelou that singer, songwriter and now coach on “the voice” (@nbcthevoice ) kelly clarkson (@kellyclarkson ) wishes she would have received in 2002, when she was coming up in the music business. “i love my team,” says kelly. “it’s nice to be able to work with artists who are in the same shoes that i was once in. i would have loved to have had someone who understood how to navigate not only a competition but the industry after, helping me along the way.”
we’re behind the scenes with kelly at #thevoice. tune in to our story now. 🎶
Photo by @tollydollyposh
“when it comes to ethical fashion, people have this image of h**p and unfashionable fabrics in their mind,” says 17-year-old ethical fashion blogger tolmeia gregory (@tollydollyposh ). the british-born, italy-based teen is clear this needs to change. “there’s so much more to it than that. it just means caring about your clothes and where they come from.” “we’re a lot more aware these days of where our food is coming from. we care about it because we eat it every day. why do we not care about our clothes, because we wear them every day? we all wear clothes. we all have an impact. not everyone can make different choices about fashion straight away, but just being aware is an important step. ethical fashion can be fashionable. it can be stylish. eventually, i’d love to have my own sustainable label — thinking about people wearing my designs is exciting to me.” we’re celebrating #earthday with tolmeia gregory. head to our story now to see more.
Photo by @bentibbettsphotography
mountaineering, photography, drawing — it all came together for british photographer and alpinist ben tibbetts (@bentibbettsphotography ) at university. “i was studying history of art and fine art, and to pay my way, i was working as a climbing instructor,” says ben, who now lives part of the year in france. just beyond his doorstep, he’s spent the past few years climbing all 82 of the european alps’ peaks that are 4,000 meters or higher and is publishing a book detailing the journeys’ technical routes, historical context and personal stories. “the routes range from easy to really quite hard alpinism, and i’ve climbed every single one of them,” says ben, who took photos of the mountain landscapes throughout his expeditions. “being in these mountains is humbling. it’s so beautiful, delicate and majestic — and we all need to do our bit to keep it like it is.” today on our story, join ben on an alpine expedition. 🌬
Featured photo by @rubenslombardo
in honor of #earthday, the goal is to take photos and videos inspired by the natural world for #whp🌲, like this purple beauty from rubén lombardozzi (@rubenslombardo ).
get outside. whether you hike in a city park or escape away to a lake for the weekend, show us how mother earth comes to life in your corner of the world. pull back your images to show the grandeur of the landscape. include people in the frame for scale.
look for ways that nature emerges in everyday urban scenes — think vines crawling up an old brick factory building, or birds perched along the balcony railings overlooking the farmers market.
follow the light. the sun gives the world a magical glow, especially in the early morning blue hour or the late afternoon golden hour.
project rules: please add the #whp🌲 hashtag only to photos and videos shared over this weekend and only submit your own visuals to the project. if you include music in your video submissions, please only use music to which you own the rights. any tagged photo or video shared over the weekend is eligible to be featured next week.
Photo by @one_armed_chef
in 2011, british photographer giles duley (@gilesduley ) stepped on a roadside bomb in afghanistan and lost both his legs and an arm. “i was told i’d never walk or work again,” he says. “but one morning i woke up and said to myself, ‘from this moment on, i will never think about what i can’t do, but i will excel at the things i can.’”
once he was back behind the camera, giles turned toward his second love: cooking. coining himself the one-armed chef (@one_armed_chef ), giles shares photos of meals from his own kitchen, and those he prepares with refugees and families living in conflict areas. “food is a great way to build relationships,” says giles. “when you share food, you become friends. too often refugees or those living in conflict areas are portrayed as helpless. i see individuals who need support and help, not sympathy. so cooking with families, eating together — i think it shows solidarity.”
watch our story to meet giles and see some of his culinary creations.