inmates

Inmates at San Quentin prison are being given the opportunity to learn film production in a scheme backed by Hollywood.

My name is Pep Williams, and I'm a photographer from Los Angeles. I recently shot a project with the help of Leica called "Out of Bounds." I'm one of the few photographers allowed to shoot inside a California state prison.

"Finding Freedom" is a new art book collaborative project between Brandon Crockett, a community volunteer and advertising copywriter, and the renowned photographer Sandro Miller -- yes, the same one that recreated iconic photos with John Malkovich. The book features poetry and portraits from residents at a Chicago halfway house -- individuals who have recently left prison and are attempting to reintegrate with society.

Due to the evaporation of funding that supports mental health facilities, many prisons across the United States have been given the extra duty of treating those who are mentally ill. These patient-prisoners are often trapped within the systems with no where else to go for better treatment.

Trapped is a project by Minneapolis, Minnesota-based photographer Jenn Ackerman that shares the experiences of these prisoners through gritty black-and-white photographs.

Prison visiting rooms are often home to large-scale paintings that are enjoyed by only a few. Often created by the inmates themselves, the artworks serve as the photographic backdrops of a portrait studio as inmates pose in front of them for pictures that are given to loved ones as mementos.

Since these intricate drawings are generally only seen by inmates, visitors, and employees, photographer Alyse Emdur decided that she wanted to document them for a wider audience. She spent years creating a project titled Prison Landscapes, featuring photos of these idealized backdrops that, for a moment, transport the inmates to faraway places.

Prison is no cake walk -- and rightfully so. Inmates of maximum security prisons have often done terrible things, things that in some states are still punishable by death. But is there a fate worse than death?

Photographer Cosmin Bumbut was given the opportunity lead a photo workshop in one …