Documentary photojournalism in pursuit of peace and justice.

When I first drafted my resume after college, my career goal was “documentary photojournalism covering social justice issues.” Though that hasn’t become the summary of my overall career, it’s still an important part of my vocation. After a few failed attempts at newspaper photo jobs, I landed an internship at Sojourners magazine as their News/Internet Assistant in 1999. After my year as a volunteer, they hired me full time as their Web Editor and I’ve been there ever since. I’ve enjoyed the mix of skills needed for that job as it’s evolved over the years, but have never forsaken my first vocational love: photography.

Even though most of my work has been in web design and blog and e-mail newsletter editing, I have sought out various photojournalism projects over the years, including trips to Honduras, Uganda, Colombia, Israel, Palestine, Zambia, the post-Katrina Gulf Coast. (This photo is a self-portrait taken after a foray with some wire photographers–who loaned me a spare flak jacket and helmet–in the West Bank.) That, combined with duties as the in-house photographer for Sojourners, shooting many interviews and events, has kept my passion for photojournalism going.

I suppose my post-college dreams of traveling the world as a self-employed freelancer or elite agency photographer have faded a bit. But only because I’ve been able to do much of that world travel, covering the issues I care about deeply–without sacrificing the stability of my D.C. community and relationships. Because that is the one thing that has remained constant throughout the ebbs and flows of my photographic endeavors: the desire to tell stories that call us to action on behalf of the marginalized and oppressed–and all the while doing so in a way consistent with my personal faith,  values, and integrity.

-Ryan Rodrick Beiler