Sophia Carey is a rising star in the world of photography and graphic design. Something unique about this UK-based visual arts maven is her eye for what makes a person themselves and her ability to suspend that persona in a still image. From personal projects to event photography, portrait photography, commercial photography, videography, and design, there's virtually nothing in the realm of visual arts that's out of her wheelhouse.

Much like the rest of 2020, this week has felt more like a month than a mere seven days.

Hannah Barrett is a charismatic, hilarious, and gifted writer from Alberta, Canada. Far greater than her skill in syntax and storytelling is her inviting worldview—or the x-factor we hypothesize leads others to fall in love with her. Through years of honing her craft, Hannah's developed a voice that makes you feel like you've known her for years. Between her personal touch and lighthearted candor, time flies when we're reading her work! To our relief, she's got plenty of material.

At its core, Vocal is a platform where creators can be outspoken, creative, and compensated for their many talents.

The introduction of Vocal+ has been, to date, the biggest update for Vocal since we launched the platform nearly four years ago. We first introduced it to you, our community, through Founding Memberships: one year subscriptions to Vocal+ for our first early adopters, who tested out the membership in exchange for their feedback to help us build a better subscription.

Vocal Creators! Get ready for something special, because this #VocalSpotlight features the talents of landscape and nature photographer, Zach Doehler. In all honesty, we could probably just leave it at that and let his photos speak for themselves, but there's something really special about Zach's presence on Vocal that goes beyond his talents in photography.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us ...

Another fortnight has passed. You probably haven't heard "fortnight" used like this in a long time, but hey, it meant "two weeks" long before it meant "wildly addicting MMO game." Anyway, we're the moderation team at Vocal, and it's time for another roundup of stories that we loved!

Malin Evita, or simply, Evita, has lived an incredibly interesting 18 years. From being raised on a Christian commune in Denmark to becoming an activist for human rights, there's really no one deciding Evita's life path other than herself. Through a balance of confronting issues head-on and understanding how to avoid the "echo-chamber" that polarizing ideals seem to drown in, Evita found a voice of her own that readers can easily subscribe to.

Every week, we ask the Vocal community to be just that: vocal.

Emma Reidy is an artist and writer who is currently studying Design History at the Royal College of Art in London. Originally from the Suburbs of New Hampshire, Emma's sense of art and style has come a long way since struggling to assimilate to her high school's mandatory dress code. Now, through years of study and practicing sustainable fashion, @emmrdy finds herself primed and ready to make a real impact in the world of art.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd cried out that he couldn't breathe, and the people heard his cries.