Awe-inspiring photography by Alejandro Tapia.

Help us select the 200 finalists by casting your vote for your favorite photos. Or enter your best photos. Submission deadline is October 31st.

Astonishing photography by Oliver Dibben.

Only a few weeks to go. Get your entries in by Oct 31st.

Awesome photography by Alejandro Tapia.

Have you voted for your favourites yet? There are two roads to becoming a finalist. Half are chosen by a panel of judges and the other half are chosen by being the most loved through public votes. Be a part of the selection process and vote for your favorites at The Open.

Striking photography by Keith Manning.

Have you voted for your favourites yet? There are two roads to becoming a finalist. Half are chosen by a panel of judges and the other half are chosen by being the most loved through votes. Be a part of the selecting process and vote for your favorites at The Open.

Andrew applies what he learned about perspectives and angles during photography class by looking upwards to take a snapshot of a building near his home in the Lower East Side. 

Photo by Andrew, age 13.

100cameras identifies children living in unjust conditions and gives them cameras to document their lives. Their photo narratives are used to raise awareness and capital to meet physical needs and empower sustainable growth within their community. 100 cameras has completed 3 projects thus far: Sudan, NYC and Cuba.

Get involved by signing up for their emails to stay in the loop, purchasing a print to help change a community, donate cameras, dollars or skills and share the stories of 100cameras photographers with your friends.

Awesome street photography by Leanne Staples.

There are two roads to becoming a finalist. Half are chosen by a panel of judges and the other half are chosen by being the Most Loved through public voting. Be a part of the selection process and vote for your favorites at The Open.

UPDATE: Photographer Known: Irving Underhill

Thank you Gyula Rusinczky

Photographer unknown. We’ve made it somewhat of a rule not to post anything unless it can be properly credited, but some moments in time and some photography deserve to be shared and continually enjoyed. Please contact us if you can source the artist behind the lens for this photo so we can adjust our post.

via wikipedia.

We couldn’t be more excited about our new friends 100cameras and we’re honored to announce them as our charity of choice for 2012 and with much hope, far beyond that.

When The Open was only a seedling of a thought many months ago, we knew exactly what we were looking for in a partnering charity. A group of individuals who would give opportunity to the underprivileged through the means of photography. When we stumbled across 100cameras, not only did they fit our wish list perfectly, but their philosophy and approach deeply resonated with our team on such a level that we immediately reached out and were received with open arms.

Through photography, 100cameras provides children with a creative platform to share their lives from their own perspective. They begin by identifying underserved communities locally and abroad that are home to orphans, at-risk children, children without rights and children who lack access to basic healthcare or education. Then with donated cameras in hand, they travel to the area and teach children how to capture and tell their story. 100 cameras then sets out to sell the prints through online print sales, web campaigns and a series of photo exhibition events. 100 % of that money is given back to the partner organization in that child’s community.

They’ve completed 3 recent projects so far; Cuba, South Sudan and NYC. Let’s help them do more. Here’s what we can all do:

• purchase a print from their site to help change a community
• donate cameras, dollars or skills
• host a Snapshot fundraiser
• share their stories and spread the word