Historically, each oblast, or province, in Russia has psychiatric facilities situated away from the cities, in rural areas. Elat’ma, in the Ryazan Oblast region of Russia, is unique in that it functions as a town for mentally disabled people. It hosts six facilities, one for each developmental stage of a person’s life from birth to death.

Kirill Golovchenko was fascinated with bodybuilding growing up in Ukraine in the 1980s. While Golovchenko never quite attained a bodybuilder’s physique, he felt like he’d been transported to the age of the Cimmerians when he set foot for the first time on Kachalka, an outdoor gym in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.

Kerry Mansfield was a healthy 31-year-old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She documents her treatment in self-portraits, from before treatment through chemotherapy, mastectomy surgery and post-reconstructive surgery.

In 2004, Christopher Nunn says he wasn't yet pursuing photography very seriously. Five years later his casual approach turned into something with much more of a purpose. He learned that his friend, world-renowned artist David Blackburn, was suffering from dementia. Nunn took on the task of telling his story.

After losing his leg on duty for the Iraqi Army, Hussein was told by his fiance's father that their wedding was off until Hussein had a prosthetic leg. Prospects for his marriage looked grim. But when the right person saw his story through Ali Arkady's photographs, the wounded veteran's luck turned around.

25 years ago, Billy Howard took portraits of people with HIV/AIDS at their homes around the U.S., then gave them a print and asked them to write what it was like to live with this disease. Some took months to get it back to Howard. One man took a year. He told Howard it was because it felt like he was writing his will.

Even during treatments for lymphoma, when he was too weak to leave the house, photographer Jeff Jacobson simply discovered a new world inside with his camera. But as his treatments subsided, Jacobson faced a new challenge: In 2009, Kodak announced that it was discontinuing production of his favorite film, Kodachrome.

While documenting his native Romania, photojournalist Mugur Varzariu met a witch of Roma origin. At first he thought he would only witness sorcery, but she exposed more than just her magic. Through her, he saw the pulse of the community.