Human Kind.

Byline: ANNA WINTOUR

As we were putting this issue together, two buzzwords conscious and conscience kept ringing in our ears. We spoke of them in our discussions of United Nations ambassador Susan Rice and the work she has ahead of her in the Middle East and North Korea. We spoke of them when planning the month's Style Ethics page with Gisele and our new cost-conscious feature, cheekily titled "Steal of the Month."

But the person we spoke of most as being a role model of compassion and moral rigor was Bruce Weber, who has been a VOGUE contributor for more than two decades. For this issue, he has given us portraits of Rafael Nadal and a fashion portfolio that imagines an alternative Miami holiday with the model Lara Stone and the legendary Morgan Freeman. (Freeman will be seen as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood's The Human Factor . It is no coincidence that years ago Weber photographed Mandela for us.) The intense, palpable humanity that gives Weber's photographs their timeless resonance is a straightforward reflection of their creator's character. He is a great giverto charities supporting AIDS research and care, environmental protection, and animal welfare. And he is a generous collaborator with his crew and the vast casts who come before his lens. VOGUE Creative Director Grace Coddington says that people fall in love on Bruce's shoots; his joyful, ...