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Photography can act as a mirror of the real world, it can promote something that isn't entirely truthful or it can provide a mask, a barrier if you like to what's really there. It can also be more about the photographer than those depicted.

Photographer Monica Fernandez's latest project depicts women as they prepare to go out, in the midst of what could be called their "beauty rituals". The photographs show the mask being applied and yet much of what's in the frame reveals something about Monica herself.
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But these are not strangers, Monica has a connection to each one, she said:

"Being connected to the women photographed was very integral to the ethos of the project. Without actually being in the photographs, I feel this work is quite a self-portrait.
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"In a way, I wanted to be part of these pictures, but I didn't want to position myself externally as a National Geographic style 'documentary photographer capturing the reality in a bathroom'. I wanted to say, we are in this together."Ìý

As with all photographs of people you are revealing a moment of someone's life to the gaze of others. As Monica knows her sitters there is an ongoing conversation about the work:

"The pictures are not posed or retouched, and I believe the magic happens because of the trust established between the women photographed and I. It is socially tempting to think that I could integrate some celebrities in this project in a future, but the ethos is very much about misidentifying the celebrity culture and glorifying the ordinary divas of everyday.
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"Nevertheless, as I plan to continue this project, it is very possible I might integrate initially 'strangers' who might become good friends throughout the process."Ìý

But is the "ritual" something all the women want to do? Or is it something that society has enforced, or maybe it has just become second nature and there is no way out?

"The moments of silence, of reflection, of 'self-assessment' against the mirror were such a revealing part of the project. I hope I transmit this duality with the relationship of the women always against their reflection.
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"Although quite often, I felt religion and society were playing a big part in 'a decent life, a decent look'. I actually realised deep down, most of these women were getting ready for themselves or their girlfriends.
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"They looked at their wrinkles as open books full of experience and they looked at themselves with dignity and sense of humour, overall feeling happy about who they are. They do not buy magazines that make them feel ugly.
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"But this is it, 'happiness does not sell', this is why there are not many images of them (happy women aged 45-65) in the media. It's all about age being a problem; let's create needs, let's create solutions, let's create money. This is why this project, coming from women, says 'enough'; enough of treating the image of women like fast food."

In your latest project, Look at Me! Images of Women and Ageing, you are asking for people to upload their own pictures, how can they do that?

"As part of the project, there is going to be a series of workshops, talks and a publication. Apart from sharing my images, I wanted to show the work of 'strangers' taking part. I want people to feel warm and celebrate the important women in their lives. You do not have to be a celebrity to feel beautiful.
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"The mechanisms to upload pictures are either through the Facebook Group (Domestic Glamour) or emailing them to the website, where I will upload them.

"Initially I thought of doing a list of tips of how to take these types of images ('place yourself by a mirror side, look for the reflection'...and so on) but I thought let's see how other people address the subject."

Any submissions so far?

"Yes, the first submission we've had is of a husband who has photographed his wife putting her contact lenses in and has also captured the conversation they had, providing text with the images."

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• - What's this?

Each week we ask our readers to submit their photographs on a set theme, time the subject was rural.

You can see the ones I have selected here.

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Thanks as ever to everyone who submitted their photos and congratulations to those whose were selected.

If you'd like to see one of your pictures on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ website then take a look at the upcoming themes, grab your camera and start shooting.

Next week's theme is: Flight

Interpret this in any way you see fit and send your pictures to us at yourpics@bbc.co.uk or upload them directly from your computer.

Please include the word "Flight" in the subject line of your message.

The deadline is midnight GMT Tuesday 25 January 2011, and remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.

We will publish a selection of your photos this time next week.

If you want to plan ahead, you can see a list of the upcoming themes here.

Files should be sent as JPEGs. They shouldn't be larger than 10Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine, or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across.

Please see our terms and conditions, but remember that the copyright remains with you. The pictures will only be used by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ for the purposes of this project. Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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• - What's this?

Along with many other professions photographers are looking to find new income streams. For photojournalists this means looking beyond the traditional funding models where assignments came from mainstream publications, NGOs or are self funded in the hope of future sales.

The internet now provides photographers with a direct route to the audience, and it's this path that some are now looking to utilise and crowd source the funds. So what does that mean? Well, put simply, photographers offer up a project or issue they wish to tackle and ask for donations.

Sounds crazy? Not so. Look at the to see some of the projects under development.

However, there is a new name on the block, and that is , which, according to its website:

"Is a new and innovative platform for photojournalism. It proposes a unique bond between photojournalists and their audience and in the process aims to create a new financial model for photojournalism in the 21st century."

Emphas.is was founded by, among others, freelance photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa and photo editor Tina Ahrens.

So how will it work? What sets it apart from other crowd funding sites? Karim was keen to make the point that they are not inventing something new. As can be seen crowd funding is working for many people, including a number of serious photojournalists who are established names, including .

What Emphas.is does is to bring it all into one place and to focus solely on photojournalism and by doing so offers everyone a chance to get the best possible backing.

Photographers will be able to submit proposals for projects and stories they wish to cover, along with a proposed budget. These ideas will then be studied by a group of reviewers who will critically assess each idea, and only those they feel can succeed will then be promoted on the site and start to seek funding.

The photographers work will be presented to the reviewers anonymously and online. They won't know who else is looking at the work so can't discuss it, this should ensure a fair and open process. Those deemed to be sound proposals will go on the site and hopefully attract backing.

The others will be rejected and detailed feedback offered to the photographers as to why they didn't cut it. The feedback will allow photographers to explore the weak spots in their proposals and maybe re-submit in a new form, or perhaps in some instances come to realise the idea just didn't stand up in a commercial world.

Projects that make it to the site will then be open for donations. Anyone can offer funding, but Emphas.is will also work with NGO's and of course accepts funding from other interested sources.

The connection to NGOs is indeed vital, as not only are they able to offer support, as they do now, but they can also offer a focused mailing list and contacts of those already interested in a particular issue.

But what do individual sponsors get for their support? Karim told me that it's not about just offering a free print, signed or otherwise, this is about being in on the back story.

You could say it's a way of monetising the down time, though that might not sit kindly with some who view photojournalism as a way to right wrongs. Yet every project has to be funded in someway and photographers have to live too.

Photographers will have to commit to offering their backers a dialogue, details of how the project is proceeding, where they are, anecdotes from the trip and the mechanics of getting to the source, logistics and so on. So for those interested in becoming photojournalists, or those who feel they want to get a different story to the crafted one that may eventually appear in publications, this will appeal.

Karim noted that:

"Emphas.is does not have editorial control; the photographers will show how they got to the source of a story and offer their view of the reality on the ground. Photojournalists have a different take on the news, and lots to share with the public. This could be a point of view for example, or perhaps thoughts on the kindness of those met in the course of the assignment, be they rebels or whatever. This is not something you get via the main stream media...We do journalism and that is about communications, which means talking to the public"

That said, they are not looking to be a distribution channel for the final work, photographers will of course still seek to find publications to run the stories.

One thing that is offered is insurance, Karim told me that in his 12 years of working he had been insured for only one week of that. It's a dangerous profession for those covering the world's hotspots and anyone supplying financing will probably feel better knowing that the photographer has some cover. Karim said: "We are doing what freelances can't afford to do, and we are in a good position as we have numbers and can buy in bulk."

Will it work, I see no reason for it not to, and it could be the first step on the way to reaching a new audience.

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The birth of a child is undeniably an important moment in our lives, yet the experience varies depending on the location, culture and many other factors.

Photographer Alice Proujansky has been exploring the culture of birth for a number of years, initially as an artist but now as a freelance photographer who has worked for clients including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Here Alice talks about her project and approach:

"In 2006 I was working as a teaching artist in an inner city school, saving up money for a trip to an under-resourced hospital in the Dominican Republic. Since then I've become a full-time freelance photographer, and I've continued the project by photographing collaborative care in Massachusetts, a midwifery-based practice in the Navajo Nation, and a Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) clinic in Lagos, Nigeria.
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"Birth is a universal experience, but one that varies depending on birth attendants, access and culture. It can be frightening, difficult, powerful and beautiful.
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"My approach involves a lot of research. I read about rates of Caesarean and VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean), about maternal mortality and numbers of midwives, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommendations and WHO (World Health Organisation) statistics, and then I find a way to get where I want to photograph.
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"Access depends on the culture that I'm photographing. Navajo and Hopi people tended to be less willing to be photographed, while Nigerians often said 'snap me!' When I ask permission to photograph I explain my project if we speak the same language. If we don't, I find someone to translate for me or I point to my camera and lift up my eyebrows - it's pretty clear what I'm there for. It's important to be respectful and to know when to make jokes and when to be quiet, when to be forceful and when to disappear.
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"I spend a lot of time waiting: for patients to arrive, for mothers who want to be photographed, and for labour to progress. I watch cop shows with families and joke around with nurses, I look for quiet pictures, and I eat snacks and write. It's hard to wait so much, but it's part of the work.
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"It's an honour to see a baby's entrance into the world, and an inconceivable process every time. Intellectually I understand what's happening of course, but it's hard to grasp that suddenly there's a new human in the room, and the strength of the mothers and the knowledge of the birth attendants is often remarkable. One experience I really loved was drifting in and out of sleep in a chair next to a soon-to-be grandmother in Massachusetts, together with the expectant, resting family; working and waiting for the baby together.
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"On the downside, some birth attendants are rude and dismissive to their patients, and I get angry when members of staff do not have the equipment and training that they need. Birth is a critical experience, but it doesn't need to be so dangerous. The first Cesarean section I saw was a little shocking - I hadn't seen an operation before and the hospital's sanitation was severely lacking - but I reminded myself that I was there to make pictures and tell a story.
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"I shot with a Leica and black and white film in the Dominican Republic, and I've used Nikon SLRs for the rest of the project. Lighting conditions can be challenging: many times the rooms are dark and the patients and I don't want a flash disrupting everything, so I use a fast lens and look for available light. The majority of the project is photographic but I did add audio during my most recent trip, to Lagos."

This is an ongoing project that will in time develop into a fascinating document and one that will provide a visual glimpse of the varied experiences of mothers around the globe.

Here are a few more of Alice's pictures

You can see more of .

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• - What's this?

The New Year is well and truly underway, so this week we asked you to share your photographs on the theme of back to work.

You can see the ones I have selected here.

It's an interesting mix, but I particularly liked Lizzie Pridmore's photo montage shown above, where she photographed and time stamped each cup of tea she enjoyed on her first day back in the office.

Thanks as ever to everyone who submitted their photos and congratulations to those whose were selected.

If you'd like to see one of your pictures on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ website then take a look at the upcoming themes, grab your camera and start shooting.

Next week's theme is: Rural

Interpret this in any way you see fit and send your pictures to us at yourpics@bbc.co.uk or upload them directly from your computer.

Please include the word "Rural" in the subject line of your message.

The deadline is midnight GMT Tuesday 18 January 2011, and remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.

We will publish a selection of your photos this time next week.

If you want to plan ahead, you can see a list of the upcoming themes here.

Files should be sent as JPEGs. They shouldn't be larger than 10Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine, or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across.

Please see our terms and conditions, but remember that the copyright remains with you. The pictures will only be used by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ for the purposes of this project. Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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To kick off the new year here's a selection of photographs taken by readers of this blog on the theme of celebration.

Thanks to everyone who submitted their photos and congratulations to those whose were selected. Here's to a great year of photography ahead.

If you'd like to see one of your pictures on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ website then take a look at the upcoming themes, grab your camera and start shooting.

Next week's theme is: Back to work

Interpret this in any way you see fit and send your pictures to us at yourpics@bbc.co.uk or upload them directly from your computer.

Please include the word "Back to work" in the subject line of your message.

The deadline is midnight GMT Tuesday 11 January 2011, and remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.

We will publish a selection of your photos this time next week.

If you want to plan ahead, you can see a list of the upcoming themes here.

Files should be sent as JPEGs. They shouldn't be larger than 10Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine, or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across.

Please see our terms and conditions, but remember that the copyright remains with you. The pictures will only be used by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ for the purposes of this project. Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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• - What's this?