What we’re watching: used car sales’ Big Vinny, artists living in uncertain times, and the true price of a dowry

Great visuals can inspire storytellers, even when they’re employed for other ends. Below are a collection of beautiful photos and video used in intriguing ways to evoke a way of life, a community, and even the shadow that hovers over a whole gender. And just to help with integrating all the conceptual ideas into the newsroom or your personal blog, we’ve included a talk on creativity and managing in the midst of challenging times.

Pre BitterCold” by Vinny Minton (via @bobsacha). More cool montage than story, Minton follows wheeled warriors at the Modern Skate Park in Royal Oak, Mich.

Big Vinny” from Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari of “California is a Place.” Meet Big Vinny, a used car salesman who remembers how it used to be.

Undesired” by Walter Astrada. This MediaStorm-produced video looks at the ways in which girls are at risk in India, starting from even before they are born.

Our Brother’s Keeper” by Edmund Fountain of the St. Petersburg Times. Mentally ill inmate Leon Adams avails himself of a community program to get his life together. This came out a while ago, but we missed it the first time around.

Junkyard Pilates” from McKenna Ewen of Minneapolis' Star Tribune, who recently won an Emmy for work featured on the Storyboard last March. In an effort to prevent injuries, an unlikely workplace starts up a weekly Pilates class.

Looking for Superman” by John Maeda, president of RISD, from a speech at the 99% Conference (from @letsfu). A sometimes dry but clever look at living with ambiguity as a creative type in less-than-creative circumstances. “How do you lead an institution through crises as someone who is trying to stay true to their core…?”