After years of working in Beijing, photographer Boris Austin had an urge to reconnect with what was happening in his native Britain. He returned to London in January and found athletes training for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

At 15, Maria Sardari wanted an iPod for Christmas two years ago. Her mother insisted that she get a camera instead. Although she had never taken photography seriously before, she devoted herself to taking a picture every day for a year and learned as she went along.

When Jon Jones visited Yugoslavia in 1990 to photograph a student demonstration, he saw the building tension in the country. He never thought the unrest would develop into a full-scale war. Twenty years later, he looks back on what became the most deadly conflict in Europe since World War II.

What many accomplish in Photoshop or with hours of cutting and pasting, photographer Mark Hartman found in the streets of Panama: A mishmash of colors, shapes, images and letters. When workers shred expired outdoor advertisements, the vinyl remains left behind provide an artist effect.

Photographer Pep Bonet has been documenting the transformational effects of microcredit loans, which are often provided without collateral or credit history, on poor women around the world since 2010. The project has taken him to nine countries on three continents.

French-American photographer Jonathan Alpeyrie is only 33 years old but he’s captured the violence of 10 wars. Syria, he says, was the most intense, dangerous and unpredictable experience he’s ever had. He spent a week taking pictures, using the rebels’ homes and the dark of night to conceal himself.

When Nancy Borowick met 9-year-old Nadya Rodena in an orphanage in Russia last year, she was drawn to her. The American photojournalist didn't let language barriers stand in the way of getting to know the child, who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

When Julia Kozerski began losing weight in 2009, she started an intimate, “brutally honest” self-portrait project, “Half,” documenting the process and her progress. She photographed her unclothed, changing body and found the process consoled her.