Telling stories with pictures

The latest batch of students to complete the London College of Communication online MA Photojournalism & Documentary Photography course are showing their work in London this week so I thought I would highlight a few of their projects.

The students are drawn from a global pool, with 13 countries being represented by the 21 students who graduated, with many producing films, highlighting the shift by some photographers to the moving image. But whether the final product is a still or a film, the essential ability to draw together visuals that convey a story or provide a connection to a place, remains at the heart of the work.

The photograph at the top of the page is by Cinzia D'Ambrosi and is part of a strong set of pictures that depict the lives of those who find themselves living in temporary accommodation in the UK.

D'Ambrosi writes "The project highlights hidden human layers within the housing crisis and it reveals the effects that poor housing has on people. The goal is to humanise the housing crisis by allowing the viewer into the lives of those experiencing it, away from the general understanding of the issue in numbers and statistics."

Here is a selection of other work on show:

Ross Paxton

A General History of Timeless Landscapes by Ross Paxton takes us on a tour of tourist hotspots in England, Scotland and Wales, each one pictured from the top of an open bus, boat or tram. It is an engaging series, that is worth a long look. He writes: "Each image is formed from a 'circular' guided tour in which the passengers become subjugated in a frozen world that gazes back at them."

Gerry Fox

Beneath the Wind by Gerry Fox is a video exploring a year in the life of an expat in Borneo.

Gianluca Pardelli

Gianluca Pardelli has produced a large body of work from the Caucasus region. He writes: "The people I had the honour to meet and the stories I collected along the road are the most precious gifts I brought home from my journeys and the memories of these encounters form the tiles of an immense mosaic I have tried to recompose in the pages of this book. This is my personal unworthy homage to the Caucasus and its people, to the women and the men, the elders and the children living in the place where I first fell in love. There, where the mountains are."

Hanna-Katrina Jedrosz

Hanna-Katrina Jedrosz's pictures show the Prisoner of War (PoW) camps where the photographer's grandmother was held having fought as a teenager against the Nazi occupation of Poland as a member of the Polish Underground Movement.

You can see more pictures from the series on the MA website and read the background to the piece. Please do as it helps shape how you see the pictures.

Julia Johnson

Working with her father, who served in many parts of the world, Heroes and the Aftermath by Julia Johnson looks at the lives of ex-service personnel and the support available to those that need it from various charities working in the field.

Monica Alcazar Duarte

Your Photographs Could Be Used By Drug Dealers is a series of pictures by Monica Alcazar Duarte, the title being drawn from a conversation she had with a soldier in Mexico while asking for his permission to take his photograph. She studied life in two neighbouring towns on the Pacific coast of Mexico and hopes to convey something of the feeling of the place.

Phil Le Gal

Phil Le Gal writes of his work: "The project Days of Mercy attempts to decode the practice of ancient religious rituals deeply buried in the heart of Brittany and equally in Bretons' psyche. With a church congregation losing its appeal it is feared the next generations might not be able to perpetuate these century-old practices."

Rosa Verde

Basketball is Life by Rosa Verde looks at how the sport connects a slum in Kenya, a park in Barcelona and an academy in Gran Canaria.

Stefania Mizara

Stefania Mizara's Democracy Game Over consists of a series of pictures from Greece, mixing personal images with those of the unrest in the country during a time of financial crisis.

Raphael Alves

When the Waters by Raphael Alves looks at the relationship of people with the waters in Amazonia, especially in Manaus, the largest and most populous city in the Amazon region.

More of the students' work can be seen on the Where We Stand website and at the London College of Communication, Elephant and Castle from 9 to 17 May.