Since Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi hurled his shoes at President Bush, footwear has become an integral part of rallies around the world. You Witness contributor Roshan Norouzi shows us the shoe effect during a protest in Tehran against Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

View this week’s You Witness showcase here.

With this well-composed shot, Fiona Brophy captures the emotions of a young girl anticipating a dive.  The diver’s parallel position to the waterline adds directional movement to this still image.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

Conan Whitehouse has used flash to freeze the movements of this Bboy during a competition in Sydney.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

You Witness contributor Jeff Bachner tells the story of following his passion of photography.

My journey to change careers started in November of 2005. My wife had been very ill for about a year. The stress of dealing with that and the everyday pressures of running a high volume luxury automobile dealership became overwhelming and I lost my job. I needed something to help keep my sanity during the remainder of my wife’s recovery.

Amazingly, life always gives you what you need if you just open your eyes and look for it. I received an email from Kodak informing me that they were introducing some new products in the Soho area of Manhattan. In addition, they had hired some top pro photographers to give lectures that they called “Master Classes.”

The first lecture I attended was given by famed tennis photographer June Harrison. We struck up a friendship and June eventually became my mentor. The most important advice she gave me was to take photos every day. That’s exactly what I did.

A few months later I was rehired by the dealership where I previously worked. It soon became clear to me that my prior enthusiasm for the automobile business was gone. I felt that photography might fill that void if I could just figure out a way to make a living in the field. So, with encouragement from my mentor, I kept shooting, developing my eye for composition, and my skill with the camera. Part of my education was looking at what other photographers were doing. That’s how I found Reuters’ website and discovered You Witness News.

During the next year I started to submit photos. In July of 2007 I managed to secure a press credential for the Coney Island Summer Concert Series. As I snapped my photos I observed how other photographers were working. One in particular, Steve Mack, impressed me with his professionalism. I watched him pull out a laptop, edit his photos, and start submitting them to his agency. He was kind enough to answer my questions and explain his work flow. At that point I was hooked and knew that photojournalism was going to be my niche. The following week I was back with my laptop and started submitting my images to You Witness News.

You can’t imagine the elation I felt when I saw my first photo published in the You Witness News Weekly Showcase. Then, week after week, my photos continued to appear. It gave me validation of my photographic skill and the confidence I needed to keep going. Other photographers I spoke with thought I was crazy to keep submitting my work without payment* but, instinctively, I saw it as an opportunity to build a portfolio that would prove invaluable in securing paid work.

My instincts were right. Using my You Witness portfolio I secured a press credential for the AVP Volleyball Tournament in Coney Island in August, 2007. I felt that my work was good enough to sell so I sent emails to local newspapers and Volleyball enthusiast publications. Although all of them wrote back saying they already had people covering the event, Brooklyn Paper editor Gersh Kuntzman expressed an interest in seeing my work saying that he was always looking for photographers. When I sent him my You Witness portfolio he responded that he couldn’t pay anything close to what I was probably used to getting. Well, I’d never received a penny for any of my photos so, whatever he offered was fine with me.

We signed a Freelance Agreement and I started to receive assignments which I completed in my spare time. I was still working full time at the car dealership but that ended when I found myself unemployed again in December, 2007.

February of 2008 I got a call from the NY Daily News offering to purchase my photo of Miss Brooklyn, Leigh Taylor-Smith that they’d seen on the front page of the Brooklyn Paper.  During the next few months the Daily News purchased other photos I submitted to them and Photo Editor Mike Lipack eventually offered me a Freelance contract. It’s a dream come true that I don’t think would have been possible without You Witness News.

View a showcase of Jeff’s images here.

*Any You Witness images that are used on the Reuters pictures wire are paid for.

Daphne Tolis sent in a series of pictures from the riots in Greece, with this one my pick of the bunch for its simple use of three elements to convey the scene: the smoke, the fire extinguisher and the masked riot policeman.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

Two hours after the news broke about a military jet crashing into San Diego homes, I received an email to You Witness from Ron Belanger with a link to dramatic photos of the incident. Here is Ron’s account of events.

I was working at home near MCAS Miramar in San Diego mid-day Monday, when I heard the unmistakable “pop… pop…” sound of ejection seats firing nearby but hadn’t heard the jet’s engines. As a retired Navy pilot and aircraft accident investigator I suddenly realized this meant that a pilotless aircraft and ejection seats would soon be coming down. I took cover under my desk then heard a deafening sound as the plane crashed and the house shook violently.

When I ran outside there was a large black cloud of smoke rising and I could feel the heat. I tried to call 911 but the line was already busy as other witnesses called in the emergency. I grabbed my shoes and camera and ran down to the scene which is five houses over from mine. Several of us asked neighbors if there was anyone in the house. Since that wasn’t known, we went down the right side, where part of the house was still standing, shouting out to anyone inside but there was no answer… just the roar of the fire and the sound of small explosions. We couldn’t go in because the house was fully involved in flames at every opening we found. As we were checking out the back yard, a propane tank from the camper which had been pushed into the house exploded. We quickly retreated since there was nothing we could do.

Pilots and investigators who arrive early on an accident scene are trained to document the scene and take photos if possible so that’s what I did. Copies of the pics are being provided to the accident investigators and public safety agencies.

We received Ron’s images shortly afterwards and quickly had our senior photographer contact him and negotiate a payment and rights of usage. A little over an hour later, the images were on the Reuters Pictures wire and sent around the world. Ron has received calls from friends and family globally after they saw his images online and in print.

A selection of other You Witness images used on the wire can be found here.

Photography is so often about being on the lookout for that strange moment and being ready to capture it, which is exactly what Kyungwon Kuk has done in this image from South Korea.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

This image from Osman bin Adnan of soccer players training resembles more of a painting than a photograph as he uses a slow shutter speed to blur both the players and the rain as it falls.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

Cillian Kelly sent in a selection of pictures to You Witness this week as he traveled with Irish troops to Chad. Cillian spent five days in Chad, three of which he stayed with the Irish Defence forces in Camp Ciara, just outside Goz Beida.

With monotones and dust obscuring the background in this frame, the young boy running after Irish troops becomes the sole focal point.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.

In this You Witness image from Dario Ayala he has successfully used a vignette to add interesting framing to his portrait of a World War Two veteran handing out poppies.

View this week’s You Witness slideshow here.