One Shot: Anoop Negi

Image Copyright © Anoop Negi-All Rights ReservedAnoop Negi is a photographer from India, whose above photograph of a Theyyam dancer in Kerala can only be described in my view as "National Geographic" quality. I found his work on Flickr, but his biography is sparse. This photograph is of a dancer symbolizing a male deity in the dance form popularly known as "Theyyam". Theyyam is a popular ritual dance of north Kerala,generally performed in front of the village shrines, and also performed as ancestor worship with elaborate rites and rituals.In earlier posts on TTP, here and here, I wrote this on Theyyam: Theyyam is a popular ritual dance of north Kerala, south India, particularly presented in the Kannur and Kasargode districts. It originates...

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Posted in: India,One Shot,Photographers: Travel

NPR: Nina Berman & Ashley Gilbertson

Four and a half years after the war in Iraq began, NPR's Leonard Lopate discusses the toll the war is taking on American soldiers, both on the frontlines and here at home. Ashley Gilbertson’s new book of photographs of the US-led invasion of Iraq is called Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Nina Berman has gathered images and stories of injured American soldiers in her book, Purple Hearts: Back from Ir...

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Posted in: Photojournalism,Podcasts

VUVOX

I'm always on the lookout for easy and innovative ways to showcase my photography on the web, and recently stumbled on VUVOX.This is an easy to use production and instant sharing service that allows you to mix, create and blend video, photos and music into a visual display, be it on a website or a blog. Provided you're a Flickr (or other similar photo-sharing sites) user, you can create a simple slideshow in under 5 minutes. The nice thing about VUVOX slideshow is that it allows for full screen view, although one has to use higher resolution photographs so as to have them display properly.There are some other neat examples of very interesting visual displays on VUVOX's website, including collages made into slideshows.I've done some ferreting around, and found that VUVOX is used by the multimedia...

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Posted in: Innovative Stuff,Multimedia

Haiti: Bon Bagay (Cite Soleil)

Image Copyright © Marcello Casal Jr.-All Rights ReservedBon Bagay is one of the first expressions that foreigners arriving in Haiti understand...it means "nice people" in Creole. It has become the symbol of friendship between Haitians and foreigners.This is a multimedia feature produced by RadioBras (Agencia Brasil), and there's a version in English. The photography is by Marcello Casal Jr., and is produced by Aloisio Milani.A combination of still photography and video, it's about Cite Soleil...the slum where over 250,000 Haitians live in abject poverty. It includes interviews with residents of the slum.Bon Bagay is perhaps predictable but it is still solid photojournalism.Bon Ba...

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Posted in: Haiti,Multimedia,Photojournalism

Martin Scholler at Hasted Hunt Gallery

Image Copyright © Martin Scholler-All Rights ReservedMary-Presley Adams sent me an email announcing a new exhibit of large format photographic portraits by Martin Scholler entitled "New Work" at the Hasted Hunt Gallery. The exhibit will run from January 8 to February 23, 2008 with a reception for the artist on Thursday, January 10th from 6 to 8 PM.This new exhibit will showcase a specially commissioned group of striking, mysterious faces of the rarely photographed Pirahã people, an indigenous hunter-gatherer tribe that lives primarily on the banks of the Maici River in Brazil. Currently numbered at approximately 360, the culture is in grave danger of extinction. The photographs were specially commissioned by The New Yorker.Hasted Hunt Gallery...

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Posted in: Events

Jake Warga: Lalibela

To lighten the mood of TTP's recent posts, here is independent producer Jake Warga who has always dreamed of taking the perfect photo. He tells this story from a recent trip to Lalibela in Ethiopia, where he tried -- in vain -- to duplicate a photograph he saw in National Geographic Magazine. The quality of the photographs is impaired by the video compression, but it's still enjoyab...

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Posted in: Ethiopia,Multimedia,Photographers: Travel

NPR: Thai Tattoo Tradition

Image Copyright © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedIn July 2005, I was traveling to Indonesia and stopped en route in Bangkok. It is there that I heard of the famous Wat Bang Phro monastery just outside the city's limits. It wasn't easy to find, but I found Bannasad "Nai" Radabutr, a taxi driver, who knew where it was and who also spoke some English. Through his intermediation, I photographed the tattooing monks at the monastery, and was quite pleased with the results. The resulting Tattooing Monks of Wat Bang Phro is probably one of my preferred documentary photo essays. So imagine my pleasure at seeing that a similar photo-essay by Scott Carney was published by NPR's website less than two weeks ago, and doubly pleased to see that one of...

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Posted in: Photographers: Travel,Thailand

NY Times: Forged Barefoot In India

Image Copyright © J. Adams Huggins/NY Times-All Rights ReservedThe New York Times brings us an interesting audio slideshow feature on the Shakti Industries in Haora (West Bengal)which produces manhole covers for Con Edison and for departments of New York City, New Orleans and Syracuse. Con Edison, for instance, buys a quarter of its manhole covers, roughly 2,750 a year from India.The accompanying article states: "Seemingly impervious to the heat from the metal, the workers at one of West Bengal’s many foundries relied on strength and bare hands rather than machinery. Safety precautions were barely in evidence; just a few pairs of eye goggles were seen in use on a recent visit. The scene was as spectacular as it was anachronistic: flames, sweat...

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Posted in: India,Photojournalism

TTP: Recap of The Week

I'm fast approaching The Travel Photographer's first annual anniversary (annual anniversary...is that a tautological statement? Maybe not), and I've been thinking how to improve TTP's content for its readers. I thought I'd introduce a weekly recap of the previous week's most viewed posts for those who may miss their TTP daily shot. So here's the first TTP Recap:In order of popularity by being the most viewed for the week of November 18-24, the posts were:Hands On The Canon 1DS MK III which is self explanatory.Unsung: Extraordinary People. An inspirational book about Indians with ordinary backgrounds who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities.Beyond The Frame: Puspa Wresti Dancers. A Beyond The Frame feature describing a...

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Posted in: TTP Recap

WP: Cluster Bombs in Lebanon

Image Copyright © Jahi Chikwendiu/WP-All Rights ReservedOkay...it's Monday and let's get back to some serious posting with this sad story.Leena Saidi, a Lebanese journalist tells the story of Rasha Zayoun, a 17 year old girl whose foot was mangled beyond repair by an Israeli-dropped cluster bomblet which exploded in her home in South Lebanon.The arresting photography is by Jahi Chikwendiu, a staff photographer for the Washington Post, and who won Best Portfolio awards from the White House News Photographers' Association and the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar. From The Washington Post article, we learn that:Rasha lost her foot after the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the radical Shiite militia. U.N. officials estimate that the...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Photojournalism

PBase Magazine

PBase is a photo sharing website on the internet, which despite the competition from other photo sharing sites, remains a favored choice for professional photographers who prefer its simple interface. It also publishes (in PDF) a free quarterly magazine titled PBase Magazine which features a PBase member, and has articles on photography and related software. It's very nicely done, and there are already 11 issues published, so happy browsing!PBase Magaz...

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Posted in: Innovative Stuff

Sunday Rant II

Here's my rant for this sunny and cold Sunday morning...and it has nothing to do with travel or editorial photography.Most of us know there's a shocking difference in terms of depth of coverage and intellectual content between CNN and CNN International cable channels, but the disparity is also evident on its websites as well.It'd be too long to list disparities in the news items, but I thought its Quick Vote features illustrate this well.Here's an example from yesterday's editions:CNN International had these questions on its Quick Vote feature: "Do you think former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be successful in his attempt to return from exile to Pakistan this time?" and another: "Will Australia's Kevin Rudd be a better prime minister...

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Posted in: Rants

Flickr Places: Useful for Scouting?

Flickr has recently introduced an innovative feature called Places that allows anyone to scout out geographical locations through photographs. The photographs are combined with maps, geotags and groups, and these give you visual heads up of what the places you're interested in can offer. For instance, since Kashmir is on my photo expeditions' "radar screen", I've used Flickr's Srinagar to look at various photographs of the town and its environs. Flickr Pla...

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Posted in: Innovative Stuff

Beyond The Frame: Puspa Wresti

Image Copyright © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedThis Beyond The Frame post features Puspa Wresti dancers applying their makeup, and readying themselves for a photo-shoot in Kerobokan in Bali.I arranged a photo-shoot with Puspa Wresti dancers during my Bali: Island of Gods photo-expedition by locating a classical dance school, and convincing its head teacher to make available these young women to photograph in a Hindu temple.As I wrote elsewhere in this blog, the Balinese people's belief in animism and ancestor worship, in addition to Hindu traditions, governs their everyday life and actions. This was demonstrated to us when -in the middle of the photo-shoot at the temple- one of the dancers suddenly became lightheaded, and had to stop dancing....

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Posted in: Bali,Beyond The Frame

One Shot: Goran Tomasevic

Image Copyright © Goran Tomasevic-All Rights ReservedI chanced on this great photograph on the MSNBC photoblog (link below). The photograph is by Goran Tomasevic for Reuters, and is of an Afghan little boy looking at Dutch soldiers as they search his family's home in the Uruzagu province in Afghanistan. Tomasevic photographs for Reuters, and has made quite a name for himself in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Mish Whalen, one of MSNBC's multimedia editors (who must've chosen this photograph for inclusion on the blog) commented on the photograph by writing this: "This photo caught my eye at first glance. I love the one eye of the woman on the left peeking out from the hood."Whaaaat?!!! Ms Whalen ignores the overall tension in the scene, ignores...

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Posted in: Afghanistan,One Shot,Photojournalism

Micah Albert: Southern Sudan

Image Copyright © Micah Albert-All Rights ReservedBorn and raised in California, Micah Albert studied and earned his B.A. in photography and graphic arts from Point Loma Nazarene University, Keller Visual Arts Center. He has extensively covered Central and East Africa, notably Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. He documented and published his writing and photography ranging in topics from; Sudanese IDP and refugee camps, HIV/AIDS awareness in Kenya, active war zones in Sudan, village life in post-war Eastern Congo, slum life in Bukavu (Congo), and life in insurgent controlled North Kivu (DR Congo).His website is a visual treat with captivating photographs, particularly those of Southern Sudan. Many of his photographs have interesting compositions...such...

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Posted in: Africa,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

May: Thanksgiving Turkey

Image Copyright © Jason Reed/ReutersThis is May, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, who was "pardoned" at the White House today. I wish all TTP blog readers a happy Thanksgivi...

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New York Times: Marrakech

Image Copyright © Ingrid Pullar/NY Times-All Rights ReservedHere's a travel feature from the New York Times which I can only describe as "space filler". I doubt whether any reader/viewer of this slide show will be moved to visit Marrakech by it...so I'm not sure what the objective is. I think you'll agree.The New York Times' Marrak...

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Posted in: Morocco,Photojournalism

Narayan Mahon: Beijing Hutongs

Image Copyright © Narayan Mahon-All Rights ReservedNarayan Mahon is Maine-born and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He earned his Master’s degree in Photojournalism at Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He specializes in reportage and travel photography, and has traveled and photographed in nearly 80 countries, and is a contributor to The New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and Seattle Times.His photojournalism projects on his website are in the popular Soundslides format. I had difficulty in choosing which project to feature on TTP, since they are all very good...but in the end, I decided on the...

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Posted in: China,Multimedia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Soundslides

Sarah Bones: East Africa

Image Copyright © Sarah Bones-All Rights ReservedSarah S. Bones saved for her first 35mm camera at age 13, and immediately hitchhiked into Philadelphia so that she could photograph the lives and circumstances of people living on the street. As a professional photographer, her passion is in documenting people in need and has carried her to Africa, across Asia, Guatemala, Cuba and locally, into prisons, homeless shelters and the intensity of political campaigns. Her international travel has also taken her to Sierra Leone, India, Zanzibar and Tanzania and Somalia. Sarah is self-taught, and has won numerous awards. Her image "The Grieving Women" taken in Sierra Leone won placement in The NPPA Women in Photojournalism Contest Expanding Our Vision...

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Posted in: Africa,Photographers: Photojournalists

Unsung: Extraordinary People

Image Copyright © Mahesh Bhat-All Rights ReservedSince TTP is a non-commercial blog, I do not post about books unless I've read and enjoy them, however this is an exception. UNSUNG is an inspirational book about Indians with ordinary backgrounds who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities. The book tells the stories of nine of such people from places across India, such as Ladkah, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa.It seems that the book was about 5 years in the making, and published despite many odds. It features B&W photographs by photographer Mahesh Bhat and text by journalist Anita Pratap, who have self-published the book. I thought the best story was that of Tulasi Munda, an adivasi from...

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Posted in: Books,India,Photojournalism

The New Americans

Over six months, members of the Columbia News21 team (A Journalism Initiative of the Carnegie and Knight Foundations) traveled 525,000 miles across the United States, Canada, India and Iran in search of a better understanding of minority religions and the immigrants who practice them.From the project's website: "American religion is now a festival of rituals, practices, behaviors and beliefs that once seemed like the province of faraway lands. Today, mosques and gurudwaras and temples sacred to Buddhists and Hindus dot the American landscape along with churches and synagogues. What is more, Catholics, Protestants and Jews -- having absorbed immigrant populations -- aren’t what they once were."This is a comprehensive study of America's minority...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Photojournalism

Patients Without Borders

Image © Larry Towell/Magnum for NY Times-All Rights ReservedI recently ranted and ridiculed the New York Times Magazine here for publishing superficial photo-essays in comparison to those appearing in its British counterparts, such as the Times of London and The Independent, so I'm pleased this weekend that it published Third World Clinic, First World Country, a compelling and certainly hard-hitting photo essay. Third World Clinic, First World Country documents the work of a volunteer medical relief corps called Remote Area Medical in the Appalachians. RAM has sent health expeditions to countries like Guyana, India, Tanzania and Haiti, but increasingly its work is in the United States, where 47 million people — more than 15 percent of the population...

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Posted in: Photojournalism

Hands On The Canon 1Ds MKIII

Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape recently returned from two weeks of photography in Madagascar with the new Canon 1Ds MKIII. He writes an interesting article sharing some photographs of the trip, as well as valuable observations and comments from using a pre-production sample of the new Canon 1Ds MKIII. This is a hand-on write-up by a photographer in the field...the kind I find much more useful than a dry technical review.Here's the link: Mad About Madagas...

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Posted in: Hard Gear

Soundslides Embed Utility

It's now a cinch to embed your Soundslides slideshow unto your website and/or blog. Joe Weiss has developed a web-based utility which allows you to enter the URL of your Soundslides, and you immediately get the necessary code to add to your website and blog....however be mindful that the dimensions of your slideshow must fit the width of your blog. Here's the link: Soundslides Embed Util...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Soft Gear,Soundslides

Heather McClintock: Uganda

Image Copyright © Heather McClintock-All Rights ReservedHeather McClintock received her photography degree from the New England college in NH, and relocated to New York City. Seeking a deeper connection to humanity by documenting humanitarian work, her passion for recording human condition was fulfilled in Northern Uganda.She focused on the Acholi people, proud and resilient, but brutalized by the 20 years of horrific civil war. The Acholi children in particular have endured traumatizing treatment, and are in dire need for assistance. Hopefully Heather's photographs have and will resonate with as many people as possible to make the Acholi's lives better.Her work in Uganda has earned Heather well deserved recognition through numerous awards...

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Posted in: Africa,Photographers: Photojournalists

Charles Meacham: Sikhism

Image Copyright © Charles Meacham-All Rights ReservedCharles Meacham was born just outisde of Philadelphia, and his first major travel experience was a year trip touring the U.S. in a 1971 Volkswagen camper. Overheating and bursting into flames, the van died along a highway in Arizona, but his interest in travel did not.His image of a Kazakh eagle hunter in Western Mongolia, whose rugged image earned him first place in the National Geographic Traveler's 15th Annual Photography Competition. Since then his images have been seen internationally in almost every medium.His current projects include images of Sikhism, documenting the lives of ex-soldiers from the Chinese civil war (on both sides of the Taiwan Strait), and the workings of the living...

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Posted in: India,Photographers: Travel

Frédéric Sautereau: Burma

Image © Frédéric Sautereau-All Rights ReservedThe International Herald Tribune reports that more than 1,500 people from over 20 countries have registered for a major gems auction in Burma this week, despite calls from human rights groups to block the purchase of precious stones from the military ruled country. Burma is one of the biggest jade and gem-producing countries in the world, and international auctions are a major revenue earner for the regime. It is expected that the auction will generate the equivalent of $200 million. International business transactions with Burma are done in Euros because of the United States' sanctions...so here's the question: why don't the Europeans follow our lead in this?I thought that Frédéric Sautereau's...

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Posted in: Burma,Photographers: Photojournalists

Women News Network: White Shadows

Image © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedI am privileged to have my photographic essay on the widows of Vrindavan featured on Women News Network.The WNN feature is titled "Nothing to Go Back To” - The Fate of the Widows of Vrindavan, India", and has been released to over 500 UN agencies and affiliates via WUNRN.WNN - Women News Network - uses the highest standard in journalism to bring in depth international women’s news not found in our current public media stream. Startingfrom a writing assignment to cover the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2006, director Lys Anzia saw the vital need for media women to report the many times hard and suffering international stories of women. WNN stories have appeared on UN affiliate and agency publications...

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Posted in: Events,India,Photojournalism

Matt Brandon: Kashmir

Matt Brandon has been photographing since he was 10 years old with his father’s Cannonet QL Rangefinder, and now specializes in NGO, relief and humanitarian projects. Until recently he lived in Kashmir. The Government of India featured his work in Indian embassies around the world in a traveling exhibition on Kashmir...so it's only natural that I bring his slideshow showcasing its people to TTP. While the soundtrack chosen to accompany the slideshow is delightful (Ethnic Kashmiri music has Central Asian influences, but here it sounds more Hindi), the YouTube piece does not render justice to Matt's scintillating photographs, so head over to visit his website and blog: The Digital Trek...

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Posted in: India,Multimedia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photographers: Travel

National Geographic: Photography Grant

The National Geographic awards one grant of $50,000 for Photography annually to a professional photojournalist. The money will go directly to funding the production of a photography project, which may be considered for publication in National Geographic magazine and/or the National Geographic magazine website or for possible exhibit at National Geographic headquarters or other venues. Professional photographers who would like to be considered for the NG Grant must submit a grant application. Details are available he...

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Posted in: Contests,Events,National Geographic

New York Times: Bab El-Sheikh (Iraq)

Image © Johan Spanner/NY Times-All Rights ReservedEvery week, I try to feature a post -using editorial or documentary photography- that relates to current world news or international politics, to which I add my perspective and opinions.The New York Times brings us an audio slideshow from Baghdad's neighborhood of Bab El-Sheikh (ie door of the sheikh), which has the reputation of being an island of tolerance amongst the horrors of sectarian strife in this unfortunate capital city. The neighborhood is ancient, and goes back more than a thousand years ago, when Baghdad ruled the Islamic world.Nowadays, Bab El-Sheikh is still extraordinary because here, Sunnis, Shias, Kurds and Christians live together with ease...woven together by its ancient,...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Photojournalism

Barbara Paul: Timeless Laos Exhibit

Barbara Paul photographs people of remote regions of Asia and Africa, where few travelers visit. Timeless Laos: Monks, Festivals, Village Life captures the ethnic dress, tribal and religious customs, festivals and daily life that make Laos unique. From villages to ancient ruins, from daily market life to holiday festivals, Ms. Paul's photographs provide a rare glimpse into a land that seems timeless even as the modern age encroaches. Timeless Laos: Monks, Festivals, Village Life , an exhibit by the Westport photographer Barbara Paul, will be on display at the Rye Free Reading Room in Rye, NY from November 20 through January 3, 2008 , with a reception on Sunday, November 25, from 1-3PM. Ms. Paul's previous exhibits have featured Eastern...

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Posted in: Events,Laos,Photographers: Travel

Jim Lo Scalzo: Evidence of my Existence

Evidence of My Existence is a summary of a new memoir by US News & World Report photojournalist Jim Lo Scalzo. He combines passages from his now published book with photographs, video, and Super-8 film, and brings us a personal account of his years spent with an obsessive wanderlust, and moving from one new story to the next. Jim Lo Scalzo says that "travel is a compulsive craving. Oh yes, it is...it's an addiction and a buzz....and just what most photojournalists, travel and documentary photographers feel and experience before, during and after their assignments.You can also watch it on MediaStorm at a better resolution, and additional related lin...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Sheila McKinnon: Invisible Women

Image © Sheila McKinnon-All Rights ReservedSheila McKinnon is a Canadian photographer-journalist who lives in Italy, and who worked in Africa and Asia for publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek and Die Welt. She has worked as a humanitarian photographer for UNICEF, Africare, FAO and other similar agencies.I feature Sheila's work entitled "Invisible Women" which is in the form of a flash slideshow. It seems a bit dated because the photographs are not as clear as they should be, but this doesn't take away form the beauty of the images nor of the message the photo essay imparts.The slideshow is graced by the lovely vocals of Rosie Wiederkehr, a Swiss singer and musician...don't turn off your speakers!!! It's really good.Sheila McKinnon's...

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Posted in: Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

New York Times: Burma

Image © New York Times-All Rights ReservedNews agencies reported that the pro-democracy leader in Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, recently with members of her party, the National League for Democracy, for the first time in three years as well as with Aung Kyi, the general appointed as a liaison by Myanmar’s military government.The New York Times reports that "Six weeks after its violent crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks, Myanmar’s military government has telegraphed alternating signs of combativeness and flexibility. Analysts say they are watching to determine whether the ruling generals’ outreach to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is genuine or whether it falls into a well-established pattern of short-lived concessions toward dissidents followed...

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Posted in: Burma,Photojournalism

NY Times: Mexico's Day of the Dead

Image © Janet Jarman/NY Times-All Rights ReservedI completely forgot that it was the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos some 10 days ago. This a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and the Mexican community living in north America, but it's also observed in other Latin American countries.The Mexican celebration occurs on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). Celebrating the dead may be considered morbid to other cultures, but celebrants consider the Day of the Dead as a joyful and happy occasion. The tradition is to celebrate and honor the lives of the deceased. It also celebrate the continuation of life, believing that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life. In atonement for my oversight,...

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Posted in: Festivals,Mexico,Photojournalism

Kenro Izu: Bhutan, The Sacred Within

Image Copyright © Kenro Izu-All Rights ReservedI was glad to go to the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) yesterday to see Kenro Izu's exhibition of photographs from Bhutan. The RMA devoted its entire third floor to the exhibition, and it was visually stunning...as most of its exhibitions are.From the RMA's brochure: "Bhutan, the Sacred Within exhibition is the last of Kenro Izu's trilogy related to sacred landscapes, si the second to premiere at RMA. The people of Bhutan, heirs to an unbroken tradition of Buddhist government and religion, sustain the values of family bonds, community life, agrarian labor and worship. Izu finds this focus in the faces and postures of his subjects. His meticulous, hand-printed platinum prints bring us closer to a population...

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Posted in: Bhutan,Events,Photographers: Travel

WIP

Image & Design © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedWatch this space....

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Posted in: Books,Events

Is Travel Photography Dying...or Dead?

Image Copyright © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedA few days ago Heather Jacobsen of hk imagery and a reader of TTP, asked me whether I thought that travel photography was dead...she had heard that statement from many in the industry, and was interested to know my view. Well, here it is: I do not subscribe to the notion that “travel” photography is dead. It has evolved...and I mean really evolved...not a progressive kind of evolution, but it changed with a relative abruptness that left many of those unprepared gasping for air...and not only was the change sudden, but it happened dynamically. The confluence of many factors contributed to the evolution of “travel” photography. The relatively cheap travel, the accessibility of the ‘off-the-beaten...

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Posted in: Events,Photo Techniques,Photographers: Travel

Photo Tours: Paying Through the Nose?

Image Copyright © Ralph Childs-All Rights ReservedIt’s incredible but true...people will pay more -often much more- than others for exactly the same product or service. Others will pay more - sometimes hugely more - for an inferior product or service that looks or sounds the same.This behavior is often exhibited in photo tours, and specifically those to Bhutan. Figuring out costs in Bhutan is simple because the government dictates a standard price per day for tourists (currently $200), and where accommodations are within the same price range and quality (excepting the 4 luxury Aman hotels in Bhutan that are exempted from government tariff setting, and which charge about $900 a night!).The land cost for the photo-expedition I organized and led...

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Posted in: Bhutan,Photo Tours

Rick Sammon's Travel Tips

Image Copyright © Colleen Wheeler-All Rights ReservedThe O'Reilly Digital Media website brings us a podcast of a conversational interview with travel photographer Rick Sammon by Derrick Story in the O'Reilly Media booth at PhotoPlus Expo 2007 in New York City. I haven't heard anything really new in the podcast, however I was not surprised to hear Rick's take on wearing a photo vest to circumvent airline restrictions on carry-on luggage. I fill the pockets of my Orvis safari jacket with lenses and a flash when I'm faced with check-in agents who insist in weighing my carry-on. It was interesting to hear both interlocutors laud the Canon 70-200mm IS f4. They describe the lens as one of the best Canon has ever manufactured. The podcast's length...

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Posted in: Podcasts

NY Times: Protests in Pakistan

Image Copyright © Arif Ali/AFP/Getty-All Rights ReservedThe New York Times brings us a multimedia feature on the current protests in Pakistan against the imposition of martial law by the government of General Pervez Musharraf. Today's editorial is quite strongly worded (for a change): "The general, Pakistan’s president, justified his crackdown as a defense against Islamic militants, but his desperate and reprehensible actions — suspending the constitution, rounding up judges, beating and jailing lawyers and journalists — will embolden extremists. They will also fuel anger and mistrust among Pakistani moderates. "A comment from a reader on the NY Times' website sees it this way : “The problem is not Musharraf’s dictatorship. It’s the American...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Pakistan,Photojournalism

Angkor Photo Festival: Nov 17-28, 2007

The Angkor Photography Festival, the first of its kind in South-East Asia, was created in 2005 by Gary Knight, Christophe Loviny and Jean-Yves Navel. This year, for the third time, the temples of Angkor will become a hub for famous and passionate photographers from across the world.The festival’s program cuts a broad swathe through the world of photography in Asia and plays host to “concerned” documentary photography and fine art photography. This year, the festival presents this part of the world through the eyes of photographers from Europe (Agnès Dherbeys Olivier Föllmi, and Simon Larbalestier among others), from the United States (Stephanie Sinclair, John Stanmeyer, and others), from India (Altaf Qadri, Dar Yasin and Palani Mohan) and many more. The whole programme for the festival is...

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Posted in: Cambodia,Events,Festivals,Photojournalism

Canon Service Notice: EOS-1D Mark III

The National Geographic Digital Photography blog has posted the information and link to the Canon Europe website which has a post updating the auto focus tracking issue on the Canon EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR that explains how they plan to fix the problem. Canon Europe offers an apology and a range of serial numbers for cameras affected by the AF tracking challenge."If the serial number on the bottom of the camera is between 501001 and 546561, it could contain one of the AF mirrors with the adjustment problem."Information is here: Canon Europe Upd...

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Posted in: Hard Gear

Les Stone: Haiti's Voodoo

Image Copyright © Les Stone-All Rights ReservedThis month's Digital Journalist brings us the gripping work on voodoo in Haiti by photographer Les Stone. Les Stone is an acclaimed photographer who chronicled the human cost of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Kosovo, Liberia, Cambodia and Haiti, among other troubled spots. He won several World Press Photo Awards and Picture of the Year Awards, and has covered stories often ignored by the mainstream media, including the deadly legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam, the plight of Iraqi Kurds fleeing the first Gulf War, and the deployment of child-soldiers in Africa. His photographs have been published in National Geographic, Time, Life, Paris Match, Stern and Fortune, as well as on the pages...

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Posted in: Haiti,Photographers: Photojournalists

VII Seminar: Day 2 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Eric Beecroft completes his report on the VII Seminar in Pasadena:"After Stanley Greene's phenomenal projection, the schedule called for Digital Railroad and Apple technical seminars- which I didn't attend. It's not that I'm interested; it's that I'm not a tech-head, and it wasn't anything stunningly new or revolutionary. The post lunch session was a new feature for VII Seminars, now in its sixth or so incarnation: a group showing by young(ish) photographers called "the new photojournalists." These photographers were as diverse as could be in style and content; the only similarity was their strong dedication to the craft (in terms of lifestyle, not just a career), and their amazing ability. Work was shown by Boogie, Jessica Dimmock, Marcus Bleasdale and Stephanie Sinclair. All of the work...

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Posted in: Events,Photojournalism

Ramin Rahimian: Istanbul

Image Copyright © Ramin Rahimian-All Rights ReservedRamin Rahimian's slideshow on Istanbul starts with a quote from Alphonse de Lamartine: "If one has but one glance to give the world, one should gaze at Istanbul". How true.However if you expect to see skyline of Istanbul, its beautiful mosques and other architectural wonders, you'll be disappointed. Ramin's work is of the documentary style, and it's beautifully edgy.Ramin was born in Iran and grew up in northern California. He started taking photojournalism seriously at UC Berkeley and currently freelances out of Salt Lake City in Utah. He worked for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and freelances for thee New York Times, Reuters, ZUMA and has gleaned many awards.His website has interesting other...

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Posted in: Multimedia,Soundslides,Turkey

VII Seminar: Day 2 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights ReservedEric Beecroft reports on the second day of the VII Seminar:"This really is the land of the scarf people. Well, scarves- ethnic scarves, not the old woolen tartan ones you wore when you were seven- and funny shoes. European style leather square toed boots and slipper things. The second day started with a presentation by veteran conflict photographer Gary Knight. Softspoken, serious and compelling, Gary showed work from various projects of the last fifteen years, beginning with powerful images from his Evidenceseries- essentially gathering visual evidence for the indictment against Milosevic during the war in Kosovo in 1999. The room hushed as his photographs brought a somber, thoughtful tone...

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Posted in: Events,Photojournalism

VII Seminar: Day 1 - Pasadena (Nov 2-4th)

Image Copyright © Eric Beecroft-All Rights ReservedEric Beecroft has kindly volunteered to report on the going-ons at the VII Seminar held at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena (November 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2007).Here is Eric's first report:"The day began with Kent Koberstein, former director of photography for National Geographic,delivering his keynote address as a dedication-cum-eulogy for the recently passed VII member Alexandra Boulat. His words, accompanied by a projection of her work, were poignant; both those who knew her and those who only knew her through her work were deeply touched. Christopher Morris, the first VII photographer to present his work, was visibly shaken after the speech, and had to compose himself before he...

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Posted in: Events,Photojournalism