Ciara Leeming: Not Gypsies...Roma

Photo © Ciara Leeming-All Rights Reserved
France's current expulsion of illegal Roma with generational roots in Romania and Bulgaria has been labeled by human rights groups as xenophobic, and criticized by President Sarkozy's (whose poll numbers are abysmal) political opponents.

So to feature Ciara Leeming's work on the Roma in Istanbul during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is timely and opportune. Turkey is home to one of the largest Roma populations in the world – an estimated two million people. Yet here as elsewhere, the community is subject to frequent discrimination – ranging from overt harassment to more subtle institutional racism.

Ciara's "Not Gypsies...Roma" was her project during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, where she attended Rena Effendi's class. It's a combination of stills, a PDF of the reportage and an audio clip featuring one of the Roma. Many of the stills are verticals and arranged in the gallery as diptychs, but to my eyes, the one above is the most evocative.

Ciara worked at the Evening Leader, the North West Enquirer and the Manchester Evening News. Currently freelance, she supplies features, images and multimedia content to a diverse range of publications and charities, and edits The Big Issue in the North. She's also worked in India, Israel, Palestine and Turkey.

Armed with a degree in European studies and French from the University of Manchester, Ciara is now working towards an MA in photojournalism and documentary photography, through the London College of Communication.

Dog Meets World: A Worthwhile Project

Giving a personal photograph to a stranger is one of the best, easiest and kindest things people can do for one another. It is an incredible vehicle for person-to-person diplomacy.

Dog Meets World Founder, Carolyn Lane

In late 2008, Dog Meets World was founded to fulfill a dream to photograph the children of the world. To seek children in their own settings, print their image to keep for a lifetime. The dream of Dog Meets World is to empower travelers to make real connections to people in other cultures, in essence to become photo-diplomats. A picture makes anybody a "somebody".

DMW is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. So get involved and join the movement!

Chico Sanchez: The Way North

Photo © Chico Sanchez -All Rights Reserved
One of the most recent slideshows by Chico Sanchez is The Way North, which documents the plight of the hundreds of people from South and Central America as well as Mexico's poorest regions who pass through La Lecheria, a small factory town just outside Mexico City, on their way to the borders of the United States.

Chico Sanchez is a freelance photographer based in Mexico City. Chico worked in Venezuela, collaborating with Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency, Agencia EFE, and freelances for various newspapers and magazines.

Many of Chico Sanchez's documentary/travel photography slideshows have been featured on The Travel Photographer blog and can be found here.

A number of photographers, some of whom attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City in 2008, have documented La Lecheria. In fact, a project produced by one of the participants in my Multimedia class was on the same subject.

You can see my own slideshow Los Migrantes about the migrants who pass through La Lecheria.

Diego Vergés: Bali Wedding Ceremony

Photo © Diego Vergés-All Rights Reserved
I was glad that Diego Vergés has just sent me some of his work in Indonesia, which includes photographs from a typical Balinese wedding ceremony in his distinctive style. It's opportune as I just returned from Bali myself and also photographed a wedding.

According to Diego's diary, he was driving in Randang, not far from Ubud in the east of Bali, where he was invited to a wedding. The ceremony was to start at the groom's family house with a lunch offered to all guests. Subsequently, the guests went home, while the groom's friends and family started to slaughter pigs and ducks as offerings to the temple, and for the large dinner on the following day.

Many of the guests arrive early morning, with the religious rituals over by noon when food is offered to the guests. In the afternoon, the groom and his bride will visit her family's house when she bids them farewell, as she will live thereafter with her in-laws.

I experienced the same sequence in tradition when I attended a wedding in Ubud. In essence a wedding-crasher, I was nevertheless considered and treated as a valued guest, and offered food and water whenever I was seen with neither in my hand. Hindu priests (known as a pemangku) officiated the ceremony, which required the bride and groom to perform symbolic rites. It also required them to endure a couple of hours of make-up, and wear traditional wedding attire.

Oaxaca Mini-Photo~Expedition

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
I'm getting my gear ready for my Oaxaca Photo~Expedition, scheduled for March 17-March 21.

It's a short trip, a sort of mini photo~expedition...and will concentrate almost exclusively on street photography in this lovely small city in south Mexico. Walking the streets of the old historic center of Oaxaca is always a wonderful experience, and it cannot get better than waiting for decisive moments in the Zocalo.

We'll also do the Zapotec weavers of Teotitlan, and the weekly market in Ocatlan.

I plan to resort to my Minimalist set up, but also schlep my Canon Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS which hasn't seen much action in India a few weeks ago. Hopefully it'll come in useful should we decide to attend Guelaguetza dancing performances.

Ramadan: The Month Of Fasting

Photo © Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images-All Rights Reserved
The Islamic month of Ramadan started while I was in Bali, and while the majority of the island's inhabitants follow Hindu traditions, there were indications that its Muslim communities were observing it, especially in areas such as Semarapura.

Many of the newspapers' photo-blogs such as the Boston Globe's The Big Picture, the WSJ Photo Journal and the like have featured images of Ramadan observances around the world, but the one I liked the most was from The Sacremento Bee's The Frame.

In the above photograph, Indonesian women pray during the first night of Ramadan in Jakarta on August 10, 2010. The fasting month of Ramadan, which started on August 11, is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijra calendar, during which the observant abstain from eating, drinking, and smoking during daylight and, in the evening, eat small meals and conduct evening prayers.

I also read that President Obama has recently positively weighed in on the issue of erecting an Islamic community center in downtown Manhattan, but has then waffled on his stance following criticism from his detractors, from conservatives and from the illiterate xenophobes who, incidentally, do not live in Manhattan or even in New York.

Much as has been said and written about this issue, but two of the most repellent are these: the Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to ending “unjust and unfair discrimination,” but which now blatantly discriminates against American Muslims, and Newt Gingrich who squawked that “Nazis don’t have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington”, making the analogy between Nazism and Islam.

President Obama should be reminded that he said this on the inauguration of his presidency:

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth."

Frommer's Rights Grab

Bob Krist is mad...fighting mad.

It sems that Frommer's have launched a photography contest calling for photographers to submit images to win the chance of seeing their work gracing the cover of a Frommer's future guide book. The winner will receive $5,000 while 4 runners up will receive Frommer's Prize pack containing three Frommer's Day by Day travel guides and a selection of Frommer's Lug travel accessories.

I've always advocated potential contestants or individuals considering such contests to really read the fine print with care, whether the organizers are well-known in the world of photography or travel or not, in an effort to highlight that most (if not all) of photography contests are rights grabs.

The Frommer's contest rules contain this:

License: Participant retains ownership of the copyright in any submitted photographs. However, by entering photograph(s) in this Contest, participant grants Sponsor the irrevocable, perpetual right to edit, adapt, use and publish in any media now known or hereafter discovered any or all of the photographs without compensation to the participant, his or her successors or assigns, or any other entity. ENTERING A SUBMISSION IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES PARTICIPANT'S IRREVOCABLE ASSIGNMENT, CONVEYANCE, AND TRANSFERENCE TO SPONSOR OF THE FOREGOING RIGHTS. Photograph(s) shall be given attribution credit based on the name supplied with submission. The winner shall work with Sponsor to change the file in any way deemed necessary for publication of the photograph(s). The participants shall supply, upon request, original, unmodified digital files.

As a photographer, I would never ever grant anyone an "irrevocable, perpetual right..." to any of my work, no matter what. Not even a "throw-away" frame.

Bob Krist calls this another rights grab in sheep’s clothing. I don't know about the sheep's clothing, but I can clearly see the wolf's fangs. I also realize that a number of non-professional photographers will be tempted by the prospect of seeing one of their images in print, and perhaps that's what Frommer's target market is. However, I urge working photographers to boycott this contest and to spread the word.

I'm also shocked to see Rick Sammon, a preeminent travel photographer and educator, listed as a judge in this contest.

Update: I learned from Bob Krist's blog that Rick Sammon has now withdrawn from the panel of judges. It was the right and appropriate action to take.

TIME: Soldiers' Tattoos In Afghanistan

Photo © Mauricio Lima /AFP/Getty Images-All Rights Reserved
It's really time to leave Afghanistan when magazines start publishing inconsequential and silly photo essays as the one just featured by TIME's website. It's titled Soldiers' Tattoos in Marjah, and is by Mauricio Lima.

The photo essay shows about 10 images of US soldiers showing off tattoos of various illustrations, religious messages and excerpts from the Bible amongst others. The one above is of Lance Corporal Daniel Weber, and the caption reads as follows: "The Arabic inscription on Weber's bicep translates to "unfortunate soldier."

No, it doesn't. It reads "Al Nafs Al Mahzouza", which means "the fortunate soul" in English. So quite different in its intent. If Weber wanted the tattoo to read "unfortunate soldier", he may want to go back to the parlor that did this, and ask for his money back. Although Arabic is not one of Afghanistan's languages, the script is nicely done.

This captioning error is made either by some clueless soul (a summer intern?) at TIME Magazine, or through careless translation in Marjah. In this particular case, it's an irrelevant mistake....but I shudder to think how much important information is misunderstood or even lost through careless translation by American or Afghanistan individuals.

Why did I bother to mention it here? Well, a photo essay about soldiers' tattoos appears in a national and international magazine, and we still wonder why photojournalism is where it is today? Aren't there more interesting stories in Marjah?

Update: My thanks to Ciara Leeming who just messaged me saying that the caption was changed a few moments ago to this: The Arabic inscription on Weber's bicep translates to "lucky self."

It's still inaccurate, but much closer than the original. Do the TIME staffers read my blog?

Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ 2010: The Verdict

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Spending more than 16 hours in flights from Denpasar to London, with a 4 hours stop-over through Bangkok, provided more than enough time to draft the verdict on the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ which took place from August 1 to August 15.

But first, on the the subject of airports, I can't emphasize enough the enormous disparity between Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport with its glitzy pulsating shopping mall atmosphere, cleanliness, efficient service and varied restaurants, and Heathrow's crappy, faded and outdated (and in some places, downright dirty) Terminal 3. It was if I had flown from 2010 back to 1963, and landed in North Korea. Well, I'm exaggerating a little perhaps, but you get my drift.

The expedition consisted of 9 photographers, and was the last I led/organized with so many members. I must also say that having this large a group wasn't an issue whatsoever on this photo~expedition. I think that is because we stayed in one hotel all through the two weeks of the workshop/expedition, we had two vans that drove us wherever we wanted so we were not cooped together for long drives, and the temple anniversaries were in many cases sufficiently varied to provide everyone enough visual latitude to photograph away from the others. So I may reconsider the self-imposed maximum group size should I decide for another Bali photo expedition.

The 9 photographers wanted nothing else but to photograph the island’s cultural and religious rituals as much as possible. Its timing was perfectly chosen as it coincided with innumerable temple anniversaries all over Bali, along with ancillary events (some serendipitous, others not) such as cock fights and cremations. While there was no fixed itinerary per se, our drivers/fixers knew the schedule of the odalan ceremonies, and we were there with our cameras at the ready. Were we always at the right time at the right place? No, not always...but we only experienced one or two wipe-outs (as I call them) because we got there too late, or a day too early.

Having said that, I realized that I was pushing the group too much when we photographed a village cremation from morning to early afternoon, then photographed a lengthy religious ceremony in the evening. Most of the members of the group were so exhausted that we had to call it quits earlier than planned and return home, and this prompted me to schedule a day free of photography to rest, and to regroup...since we were in danger of a burn-out.

I believe each participant returned home with no less than 250gb of images in hard drives. I certainly did.

Our accommodations were at the Agung Raka Bungalows in Ubud, as in 2007. The setting is in the midst of rice fields, and its bungalows are built in traditional Balinese style, with thatched roofs and wooden interiors. The bungalows are really starting to show their age, however the owners have started to add new facilities to the property, such as a restaurant and installed wi-fi (which only works within a certain perimeter). Competition is getting fierce amongst other hotels nearby, and I suspect much more upgrading will be needed if it wants to retain its clients...and I know I will look for alternatives if I decide on another Bali trip.

For our group, I had set up photo-shoots at the home/studio of a dance master, and at a private Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet) performance. The latter was a first for everyone, including me.

I found that having a short wide-angle zoom lens such as the 16-35mm (or 17-40), a 28-70mm and a long zoom lens such as the 70-200mm worked best for me. The latter proved useful when photographing the various Balinese dances, but for environmental portraiture and for general photography, the 28-70mm 2.8 did not leave my camera body. For lack of time, I haven't used the Panasonic GF1 at all during the trip. I had brought my elderly Canon 1D Mark II, which performed really well, however as I had only brought one battery and neglected (aka forgot) to bring the charger, it conked out mid way through the trip.

The group's dynamics worked very well, both during photo shoots and elsewhere. There was ample space during ceremonies, whether in temples or on beaches, that clusters were the exception rather than the norm. During the more space-restricted photo shoots at the dance school and the shadow puppet, everyone was mindful of each other.

My most exhilarating experiences were many; photographing a cock-fight with cacophonous gamblers trying to outbid one another, attending a lengthy village cremation for 6 people, a village temple odalan where a number of animal sacrifices occurred, attending a private wedding, and meeting a countless number of Balinese who just overwhelmed us with their smiles, grace, hospitality and generosity.

My overall grade for the photo~expedition hovers around A-, and I believe this grade is shared by other group members as well. I'm glad it turned out so well, especially as it had been sold out for months.

Karim Sahai: India

Karim Sahai is a photographer and feature films digital visual effects based in Wellington, New Zealand. Born in Guadeloupe, he worked on blockbusters such as Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, among others.

I was hoping that his portfolio would include a wide variety of photographs from his birth country, but unfortunately he has only posted 5 images of Guadeloupe, a magnificent archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Hopefully, more will be shown.

Maynard Switzer: Dogon Mask Dances

Photo © Maynard Switzer -All Rights Reserved
Maynard Switzer has recently returned from Mali, where he attended and photographed a Dogon mask dance. These dances are performed at several times during the year, and serve to celebrate the start of the rainy seasons to bring about abundant rainfall, at the end of the harvest seasons to ensure plentiful crops, and also as funerary rituals to commemorate the dead.

Photo © Maynard Switzer -All Rights Reserved
The dances involve dozens of dancers representing figures from the animal world, male and female powers, and the after-world, while the masks represent spirits, women, midwives, witchdoctors, snakes, antelopes and other various representations.

Maynard tells me that the masks are made by boys as part of their coming of age. No outsider is allowed to see the dancers get dressed & put on their masks. The older men are dressed in dark blue, and are retired former dancers who train the new dancers.

Photo © Maynard Switzer -All Rights Reserved
The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. They are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture.

Maynard Switzer was previously featured here on this blog.

Book: The Complete Photographer

I've been advised that The Complete Photographer which is just published by Dorling Kindersley Publishers, and authored by Tom Ang, is now available in bookstores. I mention this, not only because it seems to be very interesting with tutorials on 10 different genres, covering both technical and creative aspects of photography, and helps to master 10 genres of photography, with 20 top international photographers, but I am also featured as a master of travel photography, with my image of a Guelaguetza dancer.

I believe that some biographical write-up is also included, so I'm eager to look at it at Waterstones on High Street Kensington as soon as I have the chance. Golly, being described as a master photographer is a huge boost to my ego...but before I start strutting around, I'll check it first. Hold your collective breaths!

Update: I walked to Waterstones but did not find the book. So it'll have to wait for my return to NYC in a few days.

Bali: Fifth Post: Pura Tirta Empul

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
The Bali Photo-Expedition has officially ended yesterday evening (actually it's Sunday midday as I write this), and I am waiting for my transportation to Denpasar airport to fly to Bangkok and onwards to London.

As I sit in the hotel's open-air veranda, I thought of Tirta Empul Temple (Tampak Siring Temple) which is the holiest spring water temple in Bali, and where I photographed Balinese pilgrims bathing in its waters which are believed to cure ailments. With the many temple anniversaries coinciding with the photo expedition, there was a constant flow of pilgrims who took to the cold waters as soon as they arrived.

I photographed one of these pilgrims, and used my camera settings to produce a chiaroscuro effect. I should shortly resume my regular posting on this blog, and will also write up a verdict on the Bali Photo-Expedition.

My Work: Wadha Girl

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
I'm almost done with editing my images made during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™, and have added some images (including the one above) to the gallery Traversing The Kachchh. So drop by the gallery to see these new additions.

This young Wadha girl was determined to be photographed with her pet goat. The Wadha are largely pastorals, and the particular tribe we visited are also involved in making and selling wood charcoal.

I've been asked about my editing workflow, and it's a rather simple one. I initially get a quick bird's view of my RAW images via Canon's DPP, which is somewhat clunky, but it's uncomplicated and I got used to it. I do have a copy of Photo Mechanic somewhere, but until I find it, DPP is it. I make my edits, choose the images I like...and convert these to TIFFs with no color correction etc. Just a simple conversion from RAW to TIFF.

I perform three edits; the first two are for horizontals only (which is what I mostly shoot), and the third is for verticals.

The processing of my TIFFs is mostly done using Lightroom 2.0, and on occasion with Photoshop.

Simple and headache-free (for me).

Tiana Markova-Gold: Haiti

Photo © Tiana Markova-Gold -All Rights Reserved
Here's another post on Haiti.

Tiana Markova-Gold is a documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, and graduated from the full-time Photojournalism Program at the ICP, where she was the recipient of a New York Times Scholarship. She traveled extensively in Latin America, Asia and Africa working on social documentary projects.

Her work was recognized by New York Photo Awards, PDN Photo Annual, American Photography and International Photography Awards. She also traveled throughout nine Asian countries on a photography fellowship from Johnson & Johnson, documenting various social issues.

Here, I feature Tiana's work on Haiti which depicts scenes from Souvenance and Saut d'Eau. In Souvenance, Holy Week is marked by colorful parades and traditional music played on bamboo trumpets, maracas, drums, and even coffee cans. Voodoo believers make this annual pilgrimage to Souvenance, carrying offerings to the spirits.

Saut-d'Eau is the home of Haiti's most celebrated patron saint, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Vierge Miracle) whose anniversary is celebrated on July 16th. Saut-d'Eau is said to be the most important pilgrimage site in Haiti, with thousands of pilgrims participating in the festivities. Its waterfall is said to have healing powers, and song and music are part of the bathing ritual where pilgrims wash themselves covering their bodies with aromatic basil, dandelions, and perfumed soaps.

Bali: Fourth Post: Arja Dance

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Yesterday was an exhausting day, with close to 8 hours non-stop photography. We had been invited to a large cremation ceremony which involved 6 individuals, and where we spent the whole morning into the early afternoon. Subsequently, some of us attended a Barong and an Arja dance at the communal temple of Pitra, which extended well into the night. The above photograph is of an Arja dancer pantomiming a sorrowful pose.

Arja enacts old stories mainly based on the Panji Romances (11-14th centuries) and uses dialogue understood only by Balinese-speaking audiences. Many of the stories derived from Balinese tales, Chinese and Arabic, and from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Most of the characters are performed by male actors who take the roles of women. Many performances are usually full of comedic ribald jokes, and engage the audience. It reminded me of traditional Chinese opera, except for the part when one of the dancers blew me kisses, to the utter delight of the audience.

Bali: Third Post

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Yesterday morning we photographed virtually non-stop the bustling activities, including animal sacrifice, at the Pura Desa Sapah in Kegalalang. This temple has been holding its odalan festivities for a few days, which culminated in yesterday's main event. The combination of the frenetic activities, the photography and the heat/humidity left many of our group drained and exhausted.

So attending an evening Legong dance performance at Ubud's palace had a welcome soothing effect on us. The performance included various dances, such as the Gabor, Baris, Kraton ad the Taruna Jaya. We were there an hour before the start of the performance, and we had front row seats!

This morning more temple celebrations await us!

Beken: Haiti's Troubadour

Photo © Todd Heisler/The New York Times -All Rights Reserved
Here's a touching piece of multimedia that has Todd Heisler's fingerprints all over it. Heisler is the photographer of the "One in 8 Million" New York Times series that profiled 54 New Yorkers in weekly episodes from January 2009-January 2010.

Profiled in the same fashion is Beken, born Jean-Prosper Deauphin, who sings songs about despair and redemption that resonate deeply with Haitians, especially in its recent times of tragedy. Beken, who lost his right leg at a young age in a car accident, sings in Haiti’s troubadour tradition, and plays a guitar, connecting with his audience in songs of lament, humor and sometimes politics.

Singing The Suffering of Haiti is the title of the multimedia piece, and is narrated quite well by the author of the newspaper article, Simon Romero. Since I would have preferred a little less narration and more song, I would have used Beken's voice-over in Haitian, with the voice of a translator here and there. Notwithstanding, a well paced multimedia piece.

Haitian Singer and His Guitar Fight Urge to Weep is the article by Romero.

Peter Turnley: The Williams Club (NYC)

On March 11th at The Williams Club in New York City, Peter Turnley will step out from behind the camera for a "show and tell" on the images that have made him one of the preeminent photojournalists of our times.

The event titled Man With A Camera: An Illustrated Conversation With Peter Turnley is sponsored by the Williams Club and the Jeffrey O. Jones '66 Journalism Fellowship, which was established last year by a group of friends, classmates, and family of Jeff Jones, to honor his memory and celebrate the profession he practiced with distinction over the course of his lifetime.

Peter Turnley has photographed world conflicts in the Balkans (Bosnia), Somalia, Rwanda, South Africa, Chechnya, Haiti, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq (2003), the Gulf War (1991), and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Bali: Second Post

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
We attended a large cockfight in the Blahbatuh area, where about 200-300 men (all men) were gesticulating and yelling their bets at the competitors. In essence, cockfighting is illegal in Bali, except in very limited circumstances which I suppose this was one. However, it's my understanding that for this particular event, the police had been "taken care of. I thought the above photograph gives the message loud and clear as the feelings of the Balinese, who have been victims of terrorist attacks.

Our days in Bali have been long, with back to back photo shoots at temples ceremonies. The best are those which are small and intimate and held by families, rather than communities where rules, more likely, prevail.

Bali: First Post

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I've been in Bali since Wednesday afternoon, and having been able to shrug off some of the jet-lag and its resultant disorientation, I've been quite busy in Ubud and its environs. For starters, I'm working on a feature covering a famous Wayang Kulit in Sukawati and other projects.

In the meantime, Komang (my driver and fixer) suggested that I attend a small Balinese wedding close to Ubud, which we just chanced upon it as we were driving. While the wedding itself was not a tremendously "visual" event in itself, I am always amazed at the generosity and hospitality of the Balinese who, despite of us being nothing more than wedding crashers, welcomed us with open arms, and plied us with food and beverages. This is my fourth trip to Bali, and this never ceases to amaze me.

Most of the 9 participants in the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition will be converging at our Ubud hotel tomorrow where, after an hour of orientation, we will start the adventure. It's particularly exciting as we expect to hit the ground running since there are various temple anniversaries all through the 2 weeks of the photo~expedition/workshop.

The above photograph is an out-take of the groom after having been made up for the official wedding portraits. The hand is of the make-up artist who couldn't stop adding final touches even as I was photographing!

Sharon Johnson-Tennant: Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
Here are three photographs by Sharon Johnson-Tennant, one of the participants in my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, which I think exemplify her distinctive multi-faceted photographic style.

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
Sharon is a published photographer, who has traveled and trekked to various corners of the world, on remote expeditions and private explorations in the pursuit of uncommon cultures, unusual places and off the beaten path experiences. Her travels have taken her to Malaysia, Burma, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the Philippines. Her work has been published in various Los Angeles galleries, by Sony Pictures and featured in the movie "Hitch".

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
According to her artist's statement, she's an absolute purist in her photography...she does not crop nor does she alter her images. Sharon finds that the simplest of visions often convey the true beauty and spirit of a person and place. This rings a chord with me, as I am a purist in my photography as well, and cropping (if not in camera) is a talent which I do not posses.

I would add that Sharon's professional background in textile design and international fashion influences her photographic acuity to the point that during our trip, I frequently wondered at what she was photographing so intently in an isolated spot. Now I know what she saw and what I didn't.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop's Stats

It's been almost a month since the wrap-up of the very successful Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (FPW) in Istanbul, which achieved an impressive degree of multi-ethnicity amongst its participants...a veritable United Nations of photojournalism.

According to Neal Jackson, FPW Istanbul was attended by about 130 photojournalists (excluding instructors) from 41 countries.

The largest contingents were from the United States (30), host country Turkey (15), India (8) and Romania (7). Notably, 8 Middle Eastern countries were represented, fielding 16 photojournalists including 1 from Palestine/Gaza.

A tremendous achievement by all concerned; its founders, its staff, its instructors and its participants....and Istanbul.

NGM's Top Ten Photo of 2009

Photo © John Stanmeyer -All Rights Reserved
Chris Johns, the National Geographic Magazine's Editor In Chief, has listed the magazine's Top 10 Photos of the Year, which starts off the process by which its best 2009 photograph is picked. The photos cover a broad range of subject matter, from unexplored caves and endangered freshwater dolphins to the global food crisis and vanishing cultures.

In 2009, National Geographic’s photographers took more than one million images from which only 1,000 could be published in the magazine. From 1,000, these 10 were singled out for lasting significance. The photographers are John Stanmeyer, James Nachtwey, Nick Nichols, Martin Schoeller, etc.

I'm always at a loss at understanding (or rationalizing) photo editors' choices, and this list is no help at all. In my view, I've seen thousands of photographs in the 2009 issues of the National Geographic that should have made the list. So I shrug it off, and call it for what it really is...a way to generate publicity for the magazine.

On My Way: Bali!!!

I'll shortly be on my way to Bali to lead my Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™, which officially starts on August 1 to August 15. I'm in London for a short stop over, then on to the Thai Airways flight from Heathrow to Bangkok and onwards to Denpasar.

I'll spend a few days before the start of the photo-expedition in Ubud where I'll work on a short two-day assignment, renew my friendship with this delightful small town, and with Bintang beer.

I will be joined in Ubud by 8 photographers, but this is my last photo~expedition with such a high number of participants. Those who follow my blog know I've recently decided to limit my forthcoming trips/workshops to 5 participants, and to further enhance their photo-journalism component and multimedia story-telling.

I've tried cramming all my gear in my Lowepro backpack (a non-roller), but found it too uncomfortable to carry...not only was it very heavy, but also sort of awkward. Consequently, I will use my small Domke F-8 and the no-name messenger bag combination. This way, I'll be able to spread the gear over two bags....one for each shoulder when I need to. And this configuration is easier to get through any pedantic check-in agent. However the 70-200 2.8 will have to travel in my checked-in luggage.

It still allows me to carry a Canon 1D Mark II along with my 5D Mark II, a 28-70 2.8, a 17-40 4.0 and a 24 1.4, my Marantz audio recorder, and a couple of hard drives and my Macbook Pro 13". The rest of the electronic paraphernalia will travel in my checked-in luggage. Better that than risk a dislocated shoulder.

Oh, and no room for a Holga...but my Panasonic GF1 is trotting along with me, so we'll see how it performs in Bali as a walk-about camera.

Since internet access is ubiquitous in Bali, I will try to post some updates on the trip but there will a hiatus for a few days.

In the meantime, for those missing out on joining my photo expedition and workshop on this lovely island, I leave you with this short movie commercial for a new Sony Handycam filmed in Bali.

Aaron Huey: Mali's Dogon Country

Photo © Aaron Huey/NY Times -All Rights Reserved
The New York Times features a slideshow of Aaron Huey's photographs of the Dogon area of Mali. The Dogon, one of Africa's most isolated ethnic groups, live in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The population is estimated at between 400,000 to 800,000.

The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. Partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions, there has seen significant changes in their social structure, culture and belief system.

Joshua Hammers' accompanying article makes a great read, especially as it is spiced with passages such as this one:

"As we prowled around this Flintstones-like world, my photographer colleague wandered off alone. Suddenly I heard a burst of agitated voices, followed by the sight of the photographer, his three cameras dangling from his neck, racing down an alley with a half-dozen Dogon men close behind. He had ventured into a temple used for animal sacrifice, and his presence, as the Dogons saw it, had grievously polluted the site."

Aaron Huey's photographs are mostly of Tellem burial caves in the Bandiagara cliffs, but a few are of the Dogon people themselves. However, Aaron has a blog in which he features more of his Dogon photographs as published in the Smithsonian magazine.

POV: Robert Fisk Is A Mensch

What does Robert Fisk of The Independent have to do with photography? Probably nothing, but he's a mensch, which in Yiddish means "a person of integrity".

And why do I think that? Well, it's about his opinion piece on Octavia Nasr of CNN (or I should say, previously of CNN) and the British ambassador to Beirut, Frances Guy (still at her post, as far as I know).

Here's a quotation from this opinion piece published in The Independent of July 17, 2010:

"I loved the "controversial" bit – the usual "fuck you" word for anyone you want to praise without incurring the wrath of, well, you know who. The Foreign Office itself took down poor Ms Guy's blogapop on old Fadlallah, thus proving – as Arab journalists leapt to point out this week – that while Britain proclaims the virtues of democracy and the free press to the grovelling newspaper owners and grotty emirs of the Middle East, it is the first to grovel when anything might offend you know who."

Read it. And if you're interested in the Middle East, and why we are where we are now, you may want to read his incomparable The Great War For Civilization.

I am amazed at the number of younger photojournalists/photographers who "parachute" into Iraq and Afghanistan with only a rudimentary knowledge of history, and who tell me that after having 5 cups of tea with an Afghan family, they "understand" the culture.

This book has all they need to know and will set them straight...alas, it's a thick volume, so I'm not holding my breath.

8th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest

Photo © Matty Karp -All Rights Reserved

Photo © Amit Kumar Chatterjee -All Rights Reserved
The 8th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest is scheduled to begin on March 1, 2010. Contestants can enter photographs in five categories—Altered Images, Americana, The Natural World, People and Travel—that represent subjects of special interest to the magazine. Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories.

Smithsonian will notify the 50 finalists by February 28, 2011. From these 50 finalists, five category winners and a grand prize winner will be selected. The entries of all winners and finalists will be published on the magazine's Web site on March 1, 2011.

In the meantime, the 7th Annual Smithsonian Photo Contest Finalists have been announced, and I am extremely impressed by the quality of the photographs chosen. I've featured two of the finalists' work which gives an indication of the quality of the submissions; one is from the Travel category whilst the other is from the People category.

Mongolian Racer

Reading and posting Stan Greene's excellent interview yesterday will probably satisfy my photojournalism interest for this week, so for a change in pace here's a lovely travel multimedia piece titled Mongolian Racer by The Guardian photographer Dan Chung, and narrated by Tania Branigan. (click the arrow).

The multimedia piece is on a horse trainer and his 10-year-old jockey who face the biggest day of their year at Mongolia's Naadam festival, which dates back to before Genghis Khan's time and celebrates the 'manly sports' of wrestling, archery and racing.

The Mongolian traditional festival of Naadam is also called in the local dialect as "the three games of men". These are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery. The festival is held throughout the country during the midsummer holidays, however the largest is in Ulaanbaatar.

For the geeks, the piece was shot using Canon 1DmkIV, 5DMkII, 550D and GoPro HD camera, and a load of ancillary gear which is described in length in Dan Chung's blog DSLR News Shooter.

Apart from it being gorgeous videography, I noted the simple and clean font used for the title of the piece, and how it's placed against the dark cloud in a red sky...nice touch, that. And I also liked how the voice-over expertly blended with the ambient sound/voice.

Clive Evans: Morocco

Timeless Morocco - Images by Clive Evans

Born in England, Clive travels the world (especially Europe) from his homes in Southern France and Ireland. His years of traveling and documenting Europe and its people result in images expressing individuals, their cultures, and their environments--often with a visual twist.

Clive is also a founder member of Lumen, an international photographer's cooperative with members in Norway, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany and Estonia.

His website, hosted by Photoshelter, has 20 galleries but I chose the one of Morocco, which usually provides enormous difficulties to street photographers wishing to capture its people. One of the photographs in the gallery (#5) perfectly expresses the reaction of people when a photographer attempts to take their picture. However, in many cases the reaction is not as good-humored.

From looking at Clive's well composed photographs of Chefchaouen, I realized that the slideshow seems to have somewhat washed out the colors of the photographs, since Chefchaouen's blue is not as vivid as I've seen them in others.

LENS: Stanley Greene Talks To Michael Kamber

Photo © Stanley Greene/Noor-All Rights Reserved

Stanley Greene’s Redemption and Revenge on the New York Times' LENS blog is one of the most interesting (and candid) interviews with a photojournalist/photographer I've read in a long time.

Having met Stanley Greene in Mexico City, I don't think I'd be wrong in describing Stanley as an iconoclast, as someone who doesn't mince words and who doesn't imitate. His opinions and responses as expressed during this interview confirm my view. This interview is a no platitudes no bullshit zone...and may rile some "lemmings", but for those who appreciate iconoclasts, it's a must read.

Excerpts that particularly resonate with me:

"When journalists start to distort reality, then I have a real problem with it. And when everything starts to look like a cartoon, I have a problem with it."

"When we get to the point where we start digging up graves to make photographs, I think we are in trouble."

"You need to be able to communicate with people. You should know a language. But even if you don’t know a language, you should at least be decent enough to understand what you are about to photograph, instead of just going, “Pow, pow, pow.” Because when you do that, then you are a vulture, and then you are what a lot of N.G.O.’s call us: “Merchants of misery.”

"I don’t own an apartment. I don’t own a house. I don’t own a car. I don’t have any stocks and bonds. All I own are my cameras. That’s it. And some cowboy boots."

Michael Kamber has worked primarily as a conflict photographer and covered a dozen wars including Afghanistan, Somalia, Liberia, Darfur and the Congo. He photographed the war in Iraq for The New York Times between 2003 and 2010. His photos have been published in nearly every major news magazine in the USA and Europe. Michael is the winner of a 2007 World Press Photo award, the Missouri School of Journalism’s Penny Press Award, American Photo Images of the Year and an Overseas Press Club award. He has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize–twice for photography and once for reporting.

As I said, one of the best interviews I've read in a while.

Aaron Joel Santos: Vietnam

Photo © Aaron Joel Santos -All Rights Reserved
Aaron Joel Santos is a freelance editorial, travel and documentary photographer based in Hanoi, Vietnam. His photographs have been published in a number of international magazines, as well as galleries in the United States, Vietnam and Malaysia. He was an attendee in the 2009 Eddie Adams Workshop.

via The Click.

Alfredo Bini: Monlan Festival

Alfredo Bini has always taken photographs, and found his own personal form of expression in reportage photography. He concentrates on documenting stories of social relevance, and hopes that his images increases public awareness on these issues.

I thought of featuring Alfredo's work of the Monlan festival at the time when China is publicly positioning the Panchen Lama as the legitimate representative of Tibetan Buddhism, and to undermine the popularity of Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

Monlam is also known as The Great Prayer Festival, falls on 4th-11th day of the 1st Tibetan month. It is greatest religious festival in Tibet, when thousands of monks gather to perform religious rituals at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

Alfredo's reportage "Water and Land in Sahel the case of Burkina Faso", won the title of "Runner-Up" in the "Travel Photo Of The Year", run by The Independent and Wanderlust, and has won 2nd place in the IPA Awards (NYC) for the Political category as well as 2 mentions of honor in the Environmental and Feature Story categories.

His Transmigrations reportage has been published as cover story by the Corriere della Sera Magazine and Alias (Il Manifesto), and has also been published by the BBC and Avvenire.

Jacob Maentz: The Infanta Penitents

Photo © Jacob Maentz-All Rights Reserved
I've been terribly remiss in covering the Philippines on this blog, but Jacob Maentz's fine work on this Asian nation will go a long way to rectify this.

Originally from the United States, Jacob is based in the Philippines from where he does considerable amounts of travel, working on freelance assignments and shooting stock photography. His travels to Latin America whilst in college is where he discovered his passion for the camera. He was brought to the Philippines in 2003 when he joined the United States Peace Corps and has found himself repeatedly drawn back to this part of the world since then.

Most of his galleries are of the Philippines, and I chose to feature the very interesting Infanta Penitents here.

Jacob writes that "Self flagellation practices were adopted by Filipinos during their Spanish colonization almost 500 years ago. Flagellants are practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments. Today, you can still see some Christians practicing flagellation in the Philippines as a form of devout worship and personal sacrifice, sometimes in addition to self-crucifixion. In the Philippine province of Quezon there are still a number of men who wear elaborate costumes while preforming their act of self flagellation."

When you've looked the Infanta Penitents, continue exploring Jacob's galleries. I did, and learned much about the cultural wealth of the Philippines.

Mark Coughlan: Ardh Kumbh Mela

Photo © Mark Coughlan -All Rights Reserved
A number of photographers (and others are still on their way) have attended the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, despite the restrictions on those who didn't have a Journalist visa and press credentials.

I am told that the restrictions were only applied on the main bathing ghat, and that there were ample opportunities to photograph the spectacular characters who attend such religious gatherings, and who I described (during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2001) as "ascetics, mendicants, mystics, beggars and charlatans".

Mark Coughlan has just posted his work from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela on his website Image The Earth, which documents the fervor of the devout Hindus who traveled for miles and days to attend it, as well as the colorful characters that make the Kumbh Melas what they are.

Mark is a photographer, backpacker, and world traveler based in London. He has traveled to Myanmar, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bolivia among others. He tells us that he likes his photographs to be of vivid colors...he succeeded with his perfect portrait of the sadhu.

The 710th Google Follower

My list of Google Followers have now grown to over 700 people. This list is distinct from my Twitter and Facebook followers and/or friends, Feed subscribers or from the subscribers to my newsletters.

To commemorate this milestone, I've decided to feature the 710th Google Follower whose screen name is Ruma2008. There not much on background information on his/her blog except that she or he is probably from Japan, likes Japanese calligraphy and landscape photography.

The Ruma2008's blog is titled Calligraphy In The Landscape, and thank you for following The Travel Photographer's blog!

PBS Features "Starved For Attention"

PBS' Need To Know is featuring a Starved For Attention slideshow with 19 large photographs by Marcus Bleasdale, Jessica Dimmock, Ron Haviv, Antonin Kratochvil, Franco Pagetti, Stephanie Sinclair, and John Stanmeyer.

It's based on the extremely well produced multimedia campaign by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and VII Photo which exposes the neglected and largely invisible crisis of childhood malnutrition.

As an aside, I also noticed on Need To Know an article by Kavitha Rajagopalan on the buffoonish remarks made by Palin on the plans to erect a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero.

All I have to say is that it is New York and its inhabitants who suffered on September 11, 2001....and it's they who have the voice in this.

No one else.

Foreign Policy Magazine: Photo Essays

Photo © Antonin Kratochvil/VII -All Rights Reserved
I didn't realize that the website of the venerable Foreign Policy Magazine was following in the footsteps of other media by featuring large sized photographs. These photo essays generally follow FP's international focus, such as The Shooting War, an exclusive collection of work by well-known conflict photographers who explain how they captured the photographs.

While I'm getting tired of repetitive and predictable war photographs, whether from Iraq or Afghanistan, I thought this collection did a good job in featuring a handful of photographers who've been published in various publications over the past few years. The captions add some meat to the bones...inasmuch as they give some insight into what was in the photographer's mind at the time.

The Shooting War

Grenville Charles: Tribes of West Papua

Grenville Charles is a freelance photographer, whose main body of work is in TV and film stills for the BBC and Granada Television amongst others. Passionate about tribal cultures led him to travel to Asia where he photographed the Vietnam Hill Tribes of the central highlands, and to the remote jungles of West Papua to document the Dani, Korowai, Mek, Kombai and Asmat tribes. His portfolio of the Tribes of West Papua is featured on ZoneZero.

He was shortlisted in 2004 and was the runner up in 2008 for the Wanderlust Travel Photographer of the Year Award. In 2008, he was one of only 22 photographers selected from international applications to participate in a 5 day Magnum Workshop led by Magnum photographers Carl De Keyzer, Mark Power and David Hurn.

West Papua is the former Irian Jaya, and is home to more than 300 tribes. They have inhabited the island for more than 40,000 years. The Dani tribe are by far the most populous and probably the best known ethnic group in Papua. Another of the highland tribes are the Mek who live in the area surrounding Kosarek, despite there being an airstrip, the area is still very remote and very little visited by tourists.

The lowland jungles are home to the Korowai, since the mid 1980's some of the Korowai have moved to the missionary villages such as Yaniruma and Yafufla, but the majority of them live as they always have, in their treetop homes in the jungle swamps.

Andrea Pistolesi: The Rohingya Refugees

Photo © Andrea Pistolesi-All Rights Reserved
Andrea Pistolesi is a pro in the full meaning of the word...a my kind of guy...a photographer who fuses travel and editorial imagery, and who's candid enough to say that professional travel photography as it existed is now extinct, and that travel publications and ancillary glossies are a dying breed. He espouses the view -like I do- that interesting visual stories are all around us, but that we need to broaden our scope by creating new ways of distribution (think of the new VII Magazine, as an example).

Andrea was born and lives in Florence, and studied geography at the local university, evolving in a travel photographer specializing in geographic and global social reportage. He published books on exotic destinations (Indonesia, New Zealand, Morocco, South Africa, The Land of Buddha, Hinduism, Eastern Christianity), and amongst others, has recently published a book on prayers of major religions.

He was widely published in CN Traveller (Italy), Delta Sky, Departures, Elle, l'Espresso, Figaro Mag, Gente Viaggi, Geo, Gulliver, Hemispheres, Islands, LATimes Mag, National Geographic, NYT Sophisticated Traveler, Photo, Rutas del Mundo, Smithsonian Mag, Time, Travel & Leisure, and many others.

Andrea's website is a cornucopia of travel and editorial photography, which is bound to give viewers hours of enjoyment, and provide photographers immense inspiration and ideas.

I spent a while on his website, trying to decide which of his galleries to feature on this blog. It was difficult, and I changed my mind often. Finally, I chose the brilliant reportage of the Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh.

As Andrea describes them, the Rohingya are the unwanted of southwestern Asia. An ethnic Muslim minority, they have no rights in Burma and try to flee across the borders with Bangladesh where only a few earn a refugee status. For others, it's a life of squalid illegal camps, an unending odyssey falling prey to human traffickers, to organ traffickers, to sex rings and to pedophiles.

Also read Andrea's blog post Requiem For Travel Photography. And don't miss his work on the Nats (spirits of Mynamar) and on the Bugis Seafarers.

Highly recommended as a photographer to follow.

Mervyn Leong: Hammams, Spreader of Warmth

Here's a lovely audio-slideshow by the gifted Mervyn Leong W.Y. which you can either view on Vimeo (click above) or via his website here. The quality of the latter is better.

Mervyn attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul (he also attended last year's in Manali), and participated in Rena Effendi's Telling A Human Story Through A Compelling Portrait class. I spent time with Mervyn as he prepared to photograph inside the less-than-hospitable-for-photography interiors of the hammams, and can vouch for his meticulous planning, and how he took pains to wrap his camera, lenses and audio gear in saran-wrap (to protect them against moisture and steam).

An engineer by profession, Mervyn took photography and photojournalism more seriously a couple of years ago, and has made impressive strides in his work. He's also endowed with an encyclopedic knowledge of gastronomy, cooking and food in general.

I think that Hammams: Spreader of Warmth is a very well made audio slideshow (I particularly like the opening image of the slideshow, which is almost a painting), and the audio tracks are well sync'ed. You'll find it a delight to watch...and like the patrons enjoying the turkish bath, you may feel equally relaxed and refreshed.

The hamams in the Ottoman culture started out as annexes to mosques, and quickly evolved into institutions and eventually into monumental structural complexes in the mid 1500s. Typical hamams consist of three interconnected rooms: the sıcaklık which is the hot room; the warm room which is the intermediate room; and the soğukluk, which is the cool room.

Traversing The Kachchh

One of the galleries of photographs made during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ is here.

The Kutch or Kachchh district is in the Gujarat state of western India. It's the second largest district of India. It is inhabited by various nomadic and semi-nomadic ethnic groups and minorities. Many of these reached this area after centuries of migration from Western Rajasthan, Sindh, Afghanistan and further.

We came across some of these groups, such as the Leva Patel, Rabaris, Meghwals, Ahirs, the Wadha, Mutwas and the Jats. A few are more difficult than others to photograph, while some refuse point-blank any attempts to do so. A couple of the more interesting tribal groups live semi-nomadic lives at a distance from passable roads: potentially requiring the use of all-terrain vehicles.

Mugur Vărzariu: Pillars of Faith

Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Mugur Vărzariu is a photojournalist based in Romania who attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul, and was in Adriana Zehbrauskas' On Assignment class.

It's a testament to Mugur's intrinsic talent that he started as a photographer less than four months ago. Yes, you read that right...less than 4 months ago, and he also just won the ‘Leica for AICR’ People Photo Contest, where one can read his interview.

He tells us that his first choice for a photojournalism project was to document faith, and to stress through his imagery that, despite the difference in the names or sites of worship, people’s faith is the same. Largely self-taught, he also attended a workshop in Italy with Paolo Pellegrin.

Mugur graduated in economics, and worked in marketing strategy (or brand positioning) for 15 years, when he helped position hundreds of brands. This, he believes, has helped him position his own craft...and from what I've seen from his work at the Foundry and on his website, he has succeeded.

I predict we'll hear and see more of Mugur Vărzariu. Have a look at his website, and you'll agree with me. The above images are from his Pillars of Faith gallery.