Asia Travel Blog

Ciara Leeming: Not Gypsies...Roma

2010-08-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Diego Vergés: Bali Wedding Ceremony

2010-08-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Ramadan: The Month Of Fasting

2010-08-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

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."

TIME: Soldiers' Tattoos In Afghanistan

2010-08-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Book: The Complete Photographer

2010-08-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

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.

Bali: Fourth Post: Arja Dance

2010-08-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

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!

Bali: Second Post

2010-08-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

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!

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop's Stats

2010-07-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

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.

On My Way: Bali!!!

2010-07-25T00:47:00.000-07:00

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.

POV: Robert Fisk Is A Mensch

2010-07-24T02:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Mongolian Racer

2010-07-23T02:54:00.000-07:00

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.

LENS: Stanley Greene Talks To Michael Kamber

2010-07-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

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.

Jacob Maentz: The Infanta Penitents

2010-07-22T02:32:00.000-07:00

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.

The 710th Google Follower

2010-07-22T02:22:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-07-21T02:32:00.000-07:00

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.

Andrea Pistolesi: The Rohingya Refugees

2010-07-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Mugur Vărzariu: Pillars of Faith

2010-07-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Daniel Berehulak: Kashmir

2010-07-17T02:34:00.000-07:00

Photo © Daniel Berehulak-All Rights Reserved
Daniel Berehulak is based in New Delhi, working for Getty Images News Service and covering the South Asia region and beyond. He joined Getty Images in 2002 in Sydney and relocated to London as a staff news photographer in 2005. Daniel’s work is regularly published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, Stern, Time, Newsweek and many more.

With his image (the B&W version) of a Kashmiri girl mourning the death of teenager Zahid Farooq during his funeral on the outskirts of Srinagar, Daniel was awarded First Prize: News Folio of the Year in the Press Photographer's Year 2010, which is the only competition to showcase the best photography used exclusively by the UK media.

I recommend not only his arresting (and recent) photographs of Kashmir, but also his lovely medium format work in the gallery titled I-ncredible India....especially the photograph of the two Muslim boys reclining on some blankets in an Ahmedabad storefront.

My thanks to Eric Beecroft for the heads-up.

Bali Photo~Expedition™: Two Weeks To Go!

2010-07-16T03:01:00.000-07:00

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I've started to think about gear packing for the forthcoming Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™, which is to start on August 1.

A brief stop-over in London, then it's a grueling 16 hours aggregate flight time from Heathrow to Bangkok, and onwards to Denpasar to reach it on July 28. This will give me a couple of days for a personal project, and to meet the rest of the participants.

I am tempted to ditch my preferred combination of the Domke shoulder bag and a non-name messenger bag in favor of my older Lowepro backpack. The reason? I want to take my old workhorse of a camera: the Canon 1D Mark II along with the 5D Mark II, as well as my Panasonic GF1. Also included are my whole panoply of lenses; the 70-200 2.8 IS, the 28-70 2.8. the 17-40 4.0 and the 24 1.4, a ATR6250 Stereo Condenser mic and my Marantz audio recorder, and a couple of hard drives to keep my Macbook Pro 13" company.

And if the winds blow in the right way, I may even get a Holga to photograph some of the odalan ceremonies, emulating my friend John Stanmeyer's Island of Spirits.

That's a lot of gear, and I can't fit all that in the Domke-Messenger bag combo I often use. My shoulders will complain, my back will be sore....but I have to have that amount of gear with me. When will I have the guts to rely solely on the Panasonic GF1 with a couple of lightweight lenses? Probably when my shoulders cave in...that's when.

So over the coming week, I will try out various packing permutations to determine which one I'll use. Only then will I decide what to pack in terms of clothes...and if I don't the time for that, ah well...Bali is sarong-country!

Photojournalism From SE Asia

2010-07-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

For those who are hard-core fans of South East Asian photojournalism, OPEN-i hosted a live webinar a few months ago which featured work from photographers living and working in South East Asia, and who discussed the challenges and rewards of working in that region.

The webinar (moderated by Paul Lowe) is unusually long (about 105 minutes), and the acoustics are not great, but it offers insight into the work and working conditions of 4 photographers/photojournalists.

Jack Picone - Thailand
Justin Mott - Vietnam
Veejay Villafranca - Philippines
Rony Zakaria - Indonesia

OPEN-i is a global online community of practice for the professional photojournalism industry where members can discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in live webinars and online forums.