The demands of the photojournalist are different from what they were five years ago, they are different from what they were a year ago, 6 months ago and, yes, even just yesterday. That is how fast the technology of the industry is changing and that is how fast a documentary photographer must adapt and reinvent him or herself to the changing world and to the cosmic shift in how photographs are produced, disseminated and shown.

As many lament the decline of the bread and butter outlets for photojournalism; the magazine, the newspaper, the book. A whole new vista has opened up that is ready for the taking. Rather than bemoan what was, it is now one of the most exhilarating times to be a photo documentarian. Developing photographers today are casting about searching for creative ways to sustain their craft and remain forces for good and agents for change. In today’s world, photographers have the power to drive the future.

But photographers cannot and must not work in a vacuum. Collaborative efforts; be they in meshing stills with film and audio or taking a social scientist and wordsmith with you on a shoot; all add up to engaging with the subjects to tell their story with a relevancy that informs and compels the viewer to formulate an opinion.

Thomas Friedman wrote in an Op Ed piece recently, that “it was refreshing to know that the world keeps minting idealistic young people who are not waiting for governments to act, but are starting their own projects and driving innovation.” These young minds have said to him “the world needs ideas to change things, because the conventional way of thinking is not working anymore.”

So, our photographers today must seize this moment to step out of the box and frame their work in a new dimension that enhances their exposure while at the same time insures their economic profitability. These new models are being created as we speak. There are innovations yet to be discovered. There are stories yet to be told.

The Alexia Foundation is committed to being in the forefront of supporting this dramatic evolution in documentary photography and most importantly, we support those photographers who seize the moment and take that leap forward to the future.

In the now famous words of a now famous American, “Yes, we can.”