© Harley Weir / TEST Magazine

Harley Victoria Weir is a 22-year-old fine art graduate of Central Saint Martins, and a regular contributor to Vice Magazine and Citizen K.

This shoot aptly named “Cat Power” is an editorial spread for TEST Magazine. Harley explains, “we ended up using two of the neighbor’s cats who were lovely but very shy and spent the entire shoot hidden under the sofa. So we ended up with very little presence of cats in the shoot but I suppose too much of a good thing is bad anyway.” See more of Weir’s work here and check our more of the spread at TEST Magazine.

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All photos © Lynda Churilla. Above: Longboard Afternoon, Ditch Plains, 2010

Lynda Churilla’s atmospheric black and white photographs invoke thoughts of endless summers—a perfect salve for the January cold enveloping most of the country. Made in locales like Islamorada, Florida and Montauk, New York, where sun and waves are often the primary concerns of the day, her images show the beauty and energy of simpler pursuits. Churilla is exhibiting her work through February 20, 2011 at Robin Rice Gallery in New York City. (more…)

© Sara Forrest. Above: Portrait of a Sudanese refugee family in Kansas City, KS.

This image is part of a series on the refugee farmers and their families living and working under the “New Roots for Refugees” program in downtown Kansas City, Kansas.  The program was designed to help mostly female refugees from all over the world put down, literally, “new roots” in Kansas City. As a refugee coming to a new country, they often do not know the language yet, but have the skills to farm and thus have a way to become integrated into their new community and the local economy, one crop at a time.

New York City based photographer Sara Forrest shoots lifestyle, fitness and documentary photography.  She recently returned from Ethiopia, where she spent three weeks covering stories about women suffering from obstetric fistula. To see more of her work click here.

© Henry Jacobson.

Henry Jacobson is a photographer/filmmaker based in NY. The image above is part of his “fashion for peace” project. In 2008, while shooting the documentary “Fambul Tok” with Sara Terry in Sierra Leone, Jacobson met Adama Kai, a Sierra Leonean fashion designer, trained at Parsons, who chose to return to Freetown to start her own line rather than work for a US label. That started Fashion for Peace, where Jacobson works with designers in post conflict countries, creating content (still and video) for them to use freely to build their business, and to promote their work in the developed world.

Jacobson just completed a video & still shoot with fashion designer Ata Omerbasic in Sarajevo, Bosnia (”I Remember”, coming soon) and wrapped the film in Sierra Leone. To see more of Henry Jacobson’s work click here.

© Jimmy Williams.

While on a typical commercial assignment, James, a retired golf caddie, started belting out a simple blues rendition of the song Stardust… High up in the sky the little stars climb, always reminding me that we’re apart… a favorite tune of his late wife. James was not a musician by trade, but his soulful interpretation of the melody overcame the shakiness of his pitch. James’ delivery was innate. The emotional connection created while taking this portrait stirred my desire to continue with a series. Today, I’ve photographed over thirty like-souls in a series I call “Music Makers”.” – Jimmy Williams

Click here for an audio/visual narrative on the project.

The Music Makers series returns to North Carolina this week for a solo exhibit at UNC’s Center for Study of the American South. Opening reception, October 14th 2010, 5-7pm.