Brazza In Congo

Photo ©James Estrin/The New York Times-All Rights Reserved.The New York Times just featured a review of the exhibits "Brazza in Congo" and “Brazza: A Symbol for Humanity” that are being held in Manhattan. These are the kind of exhibits that capture my imagination, particularly since one of my favorite historical figures is Sir Richard Burton, the British scholar and explorer.The exhibits revolve around Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, (1852-1905), who was a Franco-Italian explorer. With the backing of the Société de Géographique de Paris, he opened up for France entry along the right bank of the Congo, eventually leading to the French colonization of Central Africa. His easy manner and great physical charm, as well as his pacific approach...

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Posted in: Africa,Events

The Guardian's Greensdale: Circumcision Photos Outrage

Roy Greensalde is Professor of Journalism at London’s City University and has been a media commentator since 1992, most notably for The Guardian newspaper. In his column Outrage at Circumcision Pictures appearing this morning on the Guardian newspaper's website, Mr Greenslade has endorsed the position I've taken on the issue of publishing photographs of a child's (female) circumcision in the Washington Post and other publications.My posts have appeared here, here and here.My thanks to Benjamin Chesterton of Duckrabbit Multimedia who shared my revulsion, and who posted the absolutely brilliant post Smile for the camera please - whilst I cut off your clitoris … Not funny is it.And thank you Mr Greensdale.Addendum: And to all of those who've commented...

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Posted in: Photojournalism,POV

POV: Why Aren't You Shooting Multimedia?

Photo ©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved.Over at Black Star Rising, Stanley Leary, to the understandable chagrin of many videographers, has posted his opinion that still images to which audio has been added can be more effective than video. His opinion is summarized by his following points: * Nearly 70 percent of the audience learns visually; * Multimedia packages are easier and less expensive to produce; * Multimedia packages are easier for the audience to access; and * Multimedia packages offer a more enjoyable, nuanced visual experience.I agree, and used the same arguments (well, except for the first one which I didn't know) when explaining the advantages of multimedia to student photographers as I did during the Mexico City...

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Posted in: Multimedia,POV

Julie Aucoin: Travelography

Photo ©Julie Aucoin-All Rights Reserved.Following the unpleasantness of the subject matter of my POV: And The Outrage post of two days ago, it's a relief to feature Julie Aucoin's travel photography on The Travel Photographer blog.Julie who's based in Nevada, describes herself as a passionate photographer, an adventurous traveler and experienced stage manager. She's one of those photographers who, as a child, perused the pages of the National Geographic magazine and this implanted peripatetic seeds in her.When not managing jugglers and trapezists, Julie travels the world and recently returned from trips in Central America. The above photograph is of a vendor in Guatemala.Julie also has another website he...

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Posted in: Guatemala,Photographers: Travel

My Work: Katha'kali

Photo ©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved.Here's my Katha'kali gallery...images from a private photo-shoot at a Kathakali school in Thirssur during the Theyyam of Malabar Photo~Expedition. I plan to create a multimedia slideshow of these and other Katha'kali images shortly.I scheduled the private photo-shoot because I'd had the experience of photographing a Katha'kali troupe in Kochi a few years ago just before they performed their art, and the room was overcrowded with tourists. I didn't want to experience the same difficulties and restrictions during the photo-expedition. As a consequence. we had complete access to the actors while they were applying make-up, wearing their fabulous costumes and to their performance, all to ourselves! Katha'kali...

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Posted in: India,Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel,TTP Show Off

POV: And The Outrage Continues

The onward march of the tone-deaf myopic lemmings continues! The National Press Photographers Association has announced that Andrea Bruce of the Washington Post has been awarded second place in the International News Story with her photo essay on a young girl in Kurdistan being circumcised.Readers of this blog will recall reading the reasons for my revulsion at this photo essay, which I expressed here and here. The NPAA's contest judges now join The Washington Post editors (who published the photo essay on December 28, 2008), and the White House News Photographers Association (who awarded it a prize), in publishing Andrea Bruce’s photographs of a Kurdish girl having part of her clitoris cut off. The moral myopia of these organizations is just breathtaking. Sheelan's right to privacy and her...

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Posted in: POV

New EOS Rebel T1i DSLT

Canon U.S.A. has introduced a new addition to its Rebel lineup, the EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR camera, the first in the Rebel line to feature full HD video capture. The new Canon Rebel T1i SLR incorporates some of the technologies from the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II models. With a 15.1 megapixel CMOS sensor and HD video capture, along with the DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor, the Rebel T1i provides entry-level photographers some of the features in more expensive camera models.The Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera is scheduled for delivery by early May and will be sold in a body-only configuration which includes a rechargeable battery pack and charger, USB and video cables, a neckstrap, an EOS Solutions Disk CD and a 1-year Canon U.S.A., Inc....

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Posted in: Hard Gear

NPPA: Best of Photojurnalism 2

Image © Sigit Pamungkas-ReutersThe National Press Photographers Association is continuing to announce winners of ‘The Best of Photojournalism 2009’ award in various categories, one of which is Enterprise that is described by NPAA as "A photograph of a ‘found situation’ that features strong human interest elements, or a fresh view of an everyday scene. A picture that uses humor or focuses on the lighter side of life is well suited for this category." The winner in this category is the above photograph by Sigit Pamungkas of Indonesia. It's of Muslims attending prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java August 31, 2008. Muslims around the world congregate for special evening...

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Posted in: Events,Photojournalism

One Shot: Arun Bhat

Photo ©Arun Bhat-All Rights Reserved.Arun Bhat is a travel photographer and writer based in Bangalore. He has been traveling all over India for past five years, especially the mountain regions, photographing the country's diverse culture and landscapes. He's also the author of The Painted Stork travel blog, and rides a Royal Enfield Bullet Thunderbird motorcycle during his travels across India.While on my Theyyams of Malabar photo-expedition, I came across Arun as we were photographing a Theyyam ceremony at the Trikannad Temple near Kasargode. He mentions our encounter here, where you will find many more of his well composed images of the Theyyam. He captioned the above image of the Theyyam as practicing the raudra rasa, or anger expression,...

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Posted in: India,One Shot,Photographers: Travel

John Kenny: Africa

Photo ©John Kenny-All Rights Reserved.Here's a treat for those who love Africa and black & white portraiture! John Kenny is a British photographer whose work with remote African societies is recently receiving substantial press coverage. Imagery from the previous 2007 exhibition, 'Light, Land and Water: Beauty in Africa', has been published extensively throughout 2007 and 2008. The image "Omo Valley Girl" was chosen as the cover for "Professional Photographer" magazine (April 2007), as well as receiving "Image of the Week" in the Times, and was used extensively in promotional content for the "Affordable Art Fair" (2007), "Glasgow Art Fair" (2008) and Time Out (2008). His new collection of images of remote tribal peoples from Niger, Togo,...

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Posted in: Africa,Photographers: Travel

PDNedu Student Photo Contest

PDN has announced the results of its Student Photo Contest which saw more than 1,350 submissions. The judges were Jen Bekman, David Laidler and Jill Waterman.The Travel category was won by Alessandro Penso from Italy, The Fashion|Portraiture by Kimberly Halverson of Minnesota, the Documentary by Michael J. Mullady of California, Fine Art by Felicia Genevieve Bawolek Carpinella of Michigan, and Still Life by Chris New of Georg...

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Posted in: Contests

NPAA: Best of Photojournalism

Photo ©Tomasz Gudzowaty/Courtesy NPAA-All Rights Reserved.The National Press Photographers Association just announced the winners of ‘The Best of Photojournalism 2009’ award in eight categories: Natural Environment, Sports Picture Story, Olympics Feature, Olympics Action, Sports Feature, Sports Action, Conceptual Photographic Illustration and The Art of Entertainment.I particularly liked Tomasz Gudzowaty's Naadam festival in Mongolia, which sees three sport disciplines, wrestling, archery and horse races. The photographs were taken in Baganuur and Erdenesa...

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Posted in: Asia,Events,Photojournalism

One Shot: Fabiano Busdraghi

Photo ©Fabiano Busdraghi-All Rights Reserved.I haven't posted a One Shot feature in quite a while, and Fabiano's work in Antarctica seemed just right for it.Fabiano Busdraghi is a Milan-born Italian photographer. He has a master in Physics at the University of Pisa, and another in Oceanography and Meteorology at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris where he now lives and works. He recently took photography and writing as his full time occupation, traveling to various remore areas of the world including Antarctica.Fabiano's photographic works range from travel, reportage and more artistic and personal work. He works in digital and traditional photography, and has been using alternative techniques, such as palladium and platinum, gum...

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Posted in: One Shot,Photographers: Travel

POV: Gulf Photo Plus

I'm pleased to see that Gulf Photo Plus is set for March 30 to April 4, 2009 in Dubai. This event promises to be an exciting venue for Middle Eastern photography in an area that, frankly, is not known for being in the forefront of visual arts and photojournalism.However, what makes me really glad is to see that my friend Asim Rafiqui is scheduled to participate in the event by giving a workshop titled The Working Photographer-A Primer. The four and half days with Asim will concentrate on the production of a photo narrative by each student, the subject being agreed on by the instructor and the student on the first day of the workshop. To my mind, there are few who could this as well as Asim. He's not only a remarkable photojournalist, but he holds well thought out opinions on the current status...

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Posted in: Events

Report: Nagas, Hidden Hill People of India

As promised in an earlier post, I dropped by the Rubin Museum of Art yesterday to see its new photographic exhibit: Nagas: Hidden Hill People of India by Pablo Bartholomew. Pablo Bartholomew is an independent photographer based in New Delhi, who worked as a photojournalist recording societies in conflict and transition. His works have been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Business Week, National Geographic and Geo amongst other magazines and journals.The exhibition of about 20-25 prints is held on the lower floor of the beautiful Rubin Museum (I'm struck by its incredible aesthetics every time I visit). The exhibit is also sponsored by Air India.The photographs are of the Nagas, erstwhile headhunters of India's easternmost state,...

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Posted in: Events,Photographers: Travel

New Canon 500D?

1001 Noisy Cameras reports of rumors/buzz that a new Canon 500D Digital Rebel will probably be announced on March 25. The specs are a 15-megapixel sensor, full high definition video recording, ISO 12800, DiGiC 4, and 900k+ dots LCD.Do I care? Not really. I've had such great results from my new Canon 5D Mark II that I'm deliberating whether to buy a second body, relegating my venerable Canon 1D Mark II to an assisted living home (aka my closet). I'm still angry at Canon for not having supplied enough LP-E6 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries for the 5D Mark II, but having experienced how long my battery lasted in the field, I've calmed down a b...

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Posted in: Hard Gear

POV: Simple or Flash?

Photos/Layout ©Anna Wolf-All Rights ReservedI recently read an interesting article on Photopreneur which deals with what catches the eyes of photo editors.The point made by the article reaffirms my belief that the simpler the website the better. With photographers' websites so easy and cheap to create, how do photo editors choose which online portfolio to spend time looking at, and decide to contact its owner? The answer? The simplest. I'd also add to that that the images have to be large...as large as those on the Boston Globe's The Big Picture (which, in my view, will revolutionize the way images are displayed on the web).The Photopreneur article says it very clearly: "Despite the whiz-bang features and slick animation offered on so many...

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Posted in: POV

British Museum: Between Assam & Tibet

I neglected to mention that during my visit to the British Museum a few weeks ago, I dropped by its exhibit Between Assam & Tibet, which displayed a collection of cultural artifacts and photographs of two tribes from the remote Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the Apatani and the Monpa.The Apatani live in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, and are animists. Their economy depends on growing rice in a unique way which maximizes the yield in their enclosed upland valley. The Monpa live on the Bhutan-Tibet-India border at high altitude. They are ethnically different from the Apatani and are Buddhists, in the past more closely linked to Lhasa in Tibet, than India to the south.The photographs are by Michael Aram Tarr, an anthropologist and photographer,...

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Posted in: Events,India,Photographers: Travel

NY Times: Inside Peru's Cocaine War

Photo ©Moises Saman for The New York TimesIn a very well produced slideshow (but non multimedia), the New York Times featured Moises Saman's photographs of the Peruvian military's war against drug producing and trafficking in Inside Peru's Cocaine War. In a remote corners of the Andes, Peru's army is battling a resurgent rebel faction of the Shining Path, taking a page from Colombia’s rebels, which reinvented itself as an illicit drug enterprise, rebuilding on the profits of Peru’s thriving cocaine trade. The region is Peru’s largest producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine and, as in Bolivia, coca, a hallowed symbol of indigenous pride, is ubiquitous here. The mildly stimulating leaf chewed raw here since before the Spanish conquest,...

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Posted in: Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

liveBooks: Art Wolfe: New Business Model

liveBooks, the company which provides custom photography websites has featured an interview with Art Wolfe, described as a conservation and fine art photographer, who is reinventing his business model by selling his stock images directly through his liveBooks website and a Photoshelter account linked to it. The quality of the recording is not that good, as it's recorded in the open air but one gets the sense how Art Wolfe decided a few years ago that he had to diversify away from his stock photography, and enter the world of television through his Travels to the Edge series. Click the above image to take a listen.(via The Cli...

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Posted in: Photo Interviews,Photographers: Travel

Theyyams: Incarnate Deities

Photo ©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved.As the regulars readers of this blog know, the Theyyams of Malabar Photo Expedition was a resounding success in terms of both imagery and logistics, but who (or what) are really the Theyyams?The term Theyyam is the corruption of the Malayalam word Daivam or deity. It may also be derived from the Sanskrit word for deity which is "deva". It's an indigenous religious dance practiced only in North Kerala, and a cult predominant amongst rural areas, consisting of several thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs. It involves virtually all castes and classes of the Hindu religion in the area, and its adherents consider the Theyyams as incarnations of various deities, and seek their blessings and counsel.There...

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Posted in: Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

Theyyams of Malabar: Victoria Olson

Photo ©Victoria Olson-All Rights Reserved. A sand bagger on the shores of Mangalore, KaranatakaThe Theyyam of Malabar Photo Expedition was joined by a number of talented full-time and part time photographers, whose primary objective was to photograph the Theyyam religious rituals as well as the Kathakali dance-drama, both indigenous to Kerala.This is the fourth of a series of posts which showcase a sample of the work of the photographers who joined the expedition. The fourth post features four photographs by Victoria (Torie) Olson, a contributing editor at Wild Fibers Magazine, and author based in Vermont. Another peripatetic globetrotter, Torie traveled to Bhutan, Morocco, India and Thailand among other countries, to document indigenous traditions...

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Posted in: Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

William Dalrymple: Nine Lives

By pure chance I landed on the website of one of my favorite authors, William Dalrymple, whose new book – Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India – will be published by Bloomsbury in October. I've copied this excerpt of the accompanying blurb from the Amazon UK website: "Nine people, nine lives. Each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. Exquisite and mesmerizing, and told with an almost biblical simplicity, William Dalrymple's first travel book in a decade explores how traditional forms of religious life in South Asia have been transformed in the vortex of the region's rapid change. Nine Lives is a distillation of twenty-five years of exploring India and writing about its religious traditions,...

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Posted in: Books

2009 Sony World Photography Awards

© Wojciech Grzedzinski (Courtesy Sony World Photography Awards 2009)The Independent featured winners of the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards as revealed yesterday. Each of the photographers on the list, along with the runners-up in the professional categories, will be exhibited at the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, on Thursday 16 April.Of the 12 professional category winners, one photographer will be the recipient of the L’Iris D'Or, the Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year. On the night they will be awarded $25,000. The winning amateur photographer, selected from the eight category finalists, will receive a $5,000 cash prize. Wojciech Grzedzinski of Poland won the award for...

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Posted in: Contests,Photojournalism

Theyyams of Malabar: Rosemary Sheel

Photo ©Rosemary Sheel-All Rights Reserved. After the ritual, this Theyyam is no longer inhabited by the goddess. Pullikunnu, KeralaThe Theyyam of Malabar Photo Expedition was joined by a number of talented full-time and part time photographers, whose primary objective was to photograph the Theyyam religious rituals as well as the Kathakali dance-drama, both indigenous to Kerala.This is the third of a series of posts which showcase some of the work of the photographers who joined the expedition. The third post features four photographs by Rosemary Sheel, a travel photographer based on the West Coast. Rosemary is a peripatetic globetrotter, who traveled to Tibet, Turkey, Mali, Morocco, China, Laos, Cambodia Egypt and India, and she regaled us...

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Posted in: Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

Smithsonian 6th Annual Photo Contest

Photo ©Wahid Adnan-All Rights ReservedThe Smithsonian Magazine selected the finalists from their 6th Annual Photo Contest. There are ten for each of the five categories; People, Americana, Altered Imnages, Natural World and Travel. From these 50, five category winners and a grand prize winner will be chosen. Viewers can determine the winners by voting for their choice. The winning entries, including the chosen winner, will be published in the print edition of Smithsonian magazine during summer 2009.My choice is the above photograph by Wahid Adnan of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Not to take away anything from Wahid, but G M B Akash won first place in the 2007 Gordon Parks International Photo Competition with a similar photograph of a young girl...

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Posted in: Contests

Theyyams of Malabar: Alia Refaat

Photo ©Alia Refaat-All Rights Reserved. Final makeup touches on a Theyyam, Thrikannad Temple, North KeralaThe Theyyam of Malabar Photo Expedition was joined by a number of talented full-time and part time photographers, whose primary objective was to photograph the Theyyam religious rituals as well as the Kathakali dance-drama, both indigenous to Kerala.This is the second of a series of posts which showcase some of the work of the photographers who joined the expedition. The second post features four photographs by Alia (Coucla) Refaat, a commercial photographer from Cairo, Egypt. Alia studied Mass Communications, and trained at Spéos Paris in commercial, portrait and studio photography. She used a Canon 5D Mark II and a 24-70mm 2.8 on most...

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Posted in: Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

New Blog: Photocrati

I've just joined Photocrati, a unique photographers’ blog consisting of a group of professional photographers from diverse fields; wedding, corporate, travel, humanitarian, nature and wildlife, and specialized studio. Photocrati is the brainchild of Erick Danzer, who is both its founder and editor, and along with him are Steve Buchanan, John E. Marriott, Bill Millios, Booray Perry , Fred Troilo and myself. More photographers are expected to join this eclectic mix of image professionals.Photocrati will bring a collection of tips and how-to articles covering everything from photographic technique to gear to starting and running your own photography business, insider knowledge from fellow professionals in your field for dealing with common...

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Posted in: Events,Photographers

Theyyams of Malabar: Beverly A. Sanchez

Photo ©Beverly A. Sanchez-All Rights Reserved. An entranced Theyyam approaching the devotees, Kasaragod, North KeralaThe Theyyam of Malabar Photo Expedition was joined by a number of talented full-time and part time photographers, whose primary objective was to photograph the Theyyam religious rituals as well as the Kathakali dance-drama, both indigenous to Kerala.This is the first of a series of posts which will showcase some of the work of the photographers who joined the expedition. The first post features four photographs by Beverly A. Sanchez, whose main forte is candid portraits. Over the course of the expedition, Beverly adopted a more journalistic approach to her image making. She works with 2 Canon 5D Mark II bodies, a 70-200mm 2.8,...

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Posted in: Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

RMA: Nagas, Hidden Hill Tribes

The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City's Chelsea area has just announced a new photographic exhibit: Nagas: Hidden Hill People of India by Pablo Bartholomew running from March 13 to September 21, 2009. The accompanying blurb reads:Residing in the low Himalayan hills of northeastern India and Myanmar (Burma), the Nagas are a people faced with both tradition and transition. This very diverse community is divided into a number of tribes and sub-tribes and speaks as many as 30 different languages. In Nagas: Hidden Hill People of India photographer Pablo Bartholomew offers a visual anthropology of these historical headhunters, particularly the preservation of their traditional culture and their interaction with and adoption of Western religion...

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Posted in: Events,India

Holi: The Festival of Colors

Photo ©REUTERS/K.K. Arora-All Rights ReservedI've been waiting for the Boston Globe's The Big Picture to feature its choices of large format images of Holi, and I didn't have to wait long.Holi, which usually falls in the later part of February or March, is a traditional festival celebrated in India and elsewhere such as Nepal and Bangladesh. The main day is observed by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other, and bonfires are lit the day before to commemorate a religious event.In the above photograph, women tear off the clothes of men as they play huranga in Dauji temple near the northern Indian town of Mathura during this year's Holi festivities. Huranga is a game played between men and women a day after the Holi festival...

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Posted in: Festivals,India

Robert van Koesveld: Thaipusam in Penang

Photo ©Robert van Koesveld.-All Rights ReservedRobert van Koesveld's biography tells us he has set aside “at least the next 2 years” from his career as a psychotherapist to focus on his crafts of photography, making and traveling.Considering himself an image-maker rather than a picture-taker, Robert has worked with alternative processes and darkroom printmaking and considers that the digital ‘lightroom’ is an extension of that practice. He returned to photography about ten years ago, and has always been an enthusiastic traveler, traveling with his wife to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, India, Malaysia and Bhutan. They also travelled to Mali for the Festival au Desert in Timbuktu and explored the Silk Road in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kashgar....

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Posted in: Festivals,Photographers: Travel

WHNPA's Picture Story Award

I've just learned that The Washington Post photographer Andrea Bruce was named 2009 Photographer of the Year by the White House News Photographers Association for her recently published feature on female circumcision in Iraqi Kurdistan.I already expressed my shock at The Washington Post's decision to publish Bruce's photographs showing the face of the young girl being circumcised. I wrote this:"On the other hand, I'm shocked that The Washington Post editors decided not to preserve Sheelan's privacy and dignity. Here's a 7 year old whose mutilation, a terribly humiliating and painful experience, is now seen on the internet. Would the editors be so cavalier in invading the privacy of a 7 year old in New York City for instance?...or is it because...

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Posted in: Photojournalism

Manuel Librodo: Faces of Rajasthan

Photo ©Manuel Libres Librodo, Jr.-All Rights ReservedManuel "Manny" Libres Librodo, Jr. is a photographer from the Philippines, who teaches Psychology and History to high school students in Bangkok, Thailand. He professes to "shooting from the heart" and self-describes his work as lyrical. Passionate about travel, he started photography about six years ago as a way to document his travels. He prefers naturally-lit portraiture, and has established himself as a portrait photographer as well.Manny's photographs are exhibited and published internationally, most recently as a UNICEF's 2008 desk diary and as cover of its 2009 wall calendar. Recent awards include 1st Place in Dusk to Dawn Category for the Digital Camera Magazine (UK) Photographer...

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Posted in: Bhutan,India,Photographers: Travel

Bob Krist: Shooting Locally

Photo ©Bob Krist-All Rights ReservedDo we hang up our cameras and wait out the recession? Take up another passion till the economy turns the corner ? No, that would be like an athlete giving up practices in the off season… You’re going to get so far out of “shape” that you’ll find your photographic chops will get really rusty. No, the answer is to keep shooting travel, but for a while at least, we’re going to have to shoot it in our own backyard.-Bob KristNot only does Bob Krist, the acclaimed photographer, author, educator and writer, appear on Scott Kelby's blog as guest blogger with a post titled Think Globally: Shoot Locally, but he also authors a brand new blog called Photo Traveler. So visit what promises to be an interesting and educational...

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Posted in: Photographers: Travel

British Museum: Shah 'Abbas Exhibition

Being in London for over a week provided ample opportunity to take a well deserved break from photo expeditions, and imbibe as much culture as possible. The British Museum's splendid exhibition Shah 'Abbas: The Remaking of Iran was truly the week's cultural highlight, and a highly recommended event if you're in London.The exhibition examines the achievements and the legacy of Shah Abbas, a Safavid ruler of Iran who lived 400 years ago, and who established Iran as a formidable competitor to the powers of the Ottoman Turks and the Mughals in India. The exhibition is beautifully set in the Museum's old Reading Room, whose interior dome I initially took to have been specially erected to match Shah Abbas' contemporary architecture but is its actual...

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Posted in: Events

Theyyams of Malabar: Verdict Part Two

Photo ©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedIn my previous post, I gave my verdict on my Theyyams of Malabar Photo-Expedition from the logistics/objectives standpoints. This post is about what worked and didn't work as far as my photography was concerned.As I much prefer natural light, I seldom use flash on any of my travel assignments or group expeditions, and I haven't used it much this time either. For one thing, using a flash on the Theyyams themselves was discouraged by our fixer. This was an upfront and quite reasonable request by the organizers of these temple rituals, since the Theyyams (whose bodies are inhabited by various gods during the rituals) mustn't have flashes distracting them from uttering their oracle-like pronouncements. Doing...

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Posted in: Photo Tours

Theyyams of Malabar: Verdict

Photo ©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedIt is my custom to write on what worked and what didn't following each of my photo-expeditions. It's certainly a subjective exercise, and many readers may peruse this post and conclude it's just a self-pat on the back. It may well be that, but it's well deserved in my view...and that's what's important to me in the end...(see? that's why I get to have "opinionated" in the title of this blog.)There were three main components (or objectives) to the Theyyams of Malabar Photo Expedition. The first objective was to photograph Theyyam rituals in the area of Kerala's Kasaragode over a period of 4-5 days. The second objective was to photograph the drama-dance of Kathakali in Thrissur; from the start of the makeup...

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Posted in: Photo Tours