Tom Bourdon: Varanasi Holy Man

Photo © Tom Bourdon -All Rights ReservedI thought that Tom Bourdon's photograph of a sadhu offering water to the sun on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi would be a perfect choice to end my blog posts for 2009. It projects the optimism we ought to feel today while we are at the cusp of welcoming a brand new year.Tom Bourdon is UK born, and is an award winning international travel photographer who specializes in photographing religious and cultural festivals/celebrations across the globe. To my knowledge, he's one of the very few who specialize in documenting festivals, and if I'm not mistaken he might be traveling to the Kumbh Mela this year in Haridwar. If he does, you can bet he'll have splendid images to show.Happy New Year to all my...

Read more »

Posted in: Events,India,Photographers: Travel

NGS' Traveler: Best of 2009

National Geographic Traveler's Editor-in-Chief Keith Bellows presents his favorite pictures published in his magazine throughout 2009. The audio slideshow features 14 photographs made by various photographers in countries ranging for Malaysia to Peru.I'm always intrigued how photo editors choose the photographs that are published, but I haven't learned much from Bellows' narrative. This collection actually mystifies me...sure, there is a bunch of lovely photographs but many are pedestrian and unimaginative, to say the least. The photograph of the four women on a bench in Shanghai is one of those. I looked at it for a while, trying to figure out the reason(s) for its inclusion here, but honestly couldn't.I don't know if this was rush job put...

Read more »

Posted in: National Geographic,Photographers: Travel

Michael Bednar: Eagle Hunters of Mongolia

Photo © Michael Bednar -All Rights ReservedI like big pictures, and Michael Bednar's website galleries have such large photographs, that viewing them is a virtual immersion into his imagery. His photo story about the Eagle Hunters of Mongolia is a visual treat...especially since it features not only environmental portraits of the hunters and their eagles, but also breathtaking imagery of the stunning Mongolian landscape. For Kazakhs, hunting with eagles is ingrained in their cultural heritage, and historians believe hunting with birds of prey was practiced by nomadic tribes in Central Asia almost 6000 years ago.Michael Bednar is a travel and documentary photographer based in Vancouver. He started by discovering the diversity of life and cultures...

Read more »

Posted in: Asia,China,Photographers: Travel

Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer

Photo © Mathias Braschler/Monika Fischer -All Rights ReservedVanity Fair magazine has featured the work of Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer, who dedicate themselves to documenting in portraiture the human cost of the climatic changes. Schlepping large-format cameras from Timbuktu to Siberia, and from Australia to the Alps, Braschler and Fischer visited 21 countries during 2009, and have photographed the inhabitants of deserts, mountains, forests, and glacial valleys....thus documenting examples of accelerating environmental changes. Both photographers were nominated in Vanity Fair's Hall of Fame for their work.Via Photojournalism Li...

Read more »

Posted in: Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

New York Times' 2009's Travel Photos

Photo © Justin Mott/NY Times -All Rights ReservedContinuing the wrap up of the "Best Of" for the year, here is The New York Times' best travel photographs as picked by their own photo editors, and which were published in the newspaper's Travel section during 2009.The photographers whose work is shown in the feature are Chris Bickford, Peter DaSilva, Lalo de Almeida, Josh Haner and Todd Heisler, Andy Isaacson, Michael Kamber, João Pedro Marnoto, Kevin Moloney, Justin Mott, Michael Nagle, Jeff Pflueger, Susana Raab, Scott B. Rosen, Brian Sokol, Vanessa Vick and Dave Yoder.I was surprised at the statement made in the feature that 19 photographs are the maximum number for The New York Times slide-show player, and wonder why that is ...

Read more »

Posted in: Events,Photographers: Travel

American Photo: Images of the Year 2009

American Photography Magazine is featuring Images of the Year 2009 . Rather predictably (but deservedly) Ed Kashi is the Photojournalism Category Winner with his essay documenting the Trans Amadi Slaughter, an abattoir in Nigeria that had sprung up after petroleum-related pollution destroyed local fisheries. Photo © April Maciborka -All Rights ReservedOther winners in the Photojournalism category are Larry Louie, Ed Ou, Andrew Biraj, April Maciborka, and Achille Piotrowicz. I thought that April Maciborka's work (above) documenting shrimp farmers in India was the best. Her toned photographs are really impressive.I featured April Macibroka on this blog earlier this year, in which I thought that her work exemplified the essence of what a travel...

Read more »

Posted in: Events,Photojournalism

NYT: 2009 The Year in Pictures

Photo © Tyler Hicks/New York Times -All Rights ReservedThe newspaper version of the New York Times's Week In Review yesterday was a real fillip for photojournalism. The totality of the first page was of Tyler Hicks' superb blurry photograph of a US soldier in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, and much of the section was filled with the remarkable photographs by Emilio Morenatti, Moises Saman, Jehad Nga and Rita Castelnuovo.On the section's second page, I paused at the editor's decision to publish two photographs by Tyler Hicks of the utter devastation of the Gaza Strip and the terrific loss of innocent lives, and the nearby positioning of a third photograph by Rita Castelnuovo showing a group of Israeli soldiers grieving over the loss of a colleague....

Read more »

Posted in: Events,Multimedia,Photojournalism

Unearthing Asia Magazine

Unearthing Asia bills itself as a travel 'zine focusing on culture, lifestyle and attractions all around Asia.It was started by Nikolas Tjhin and Michelle Lee, whose initial idea was to publish a travel related real-life publication, but as the costs were prohibitive, decided to publish it online. It's available online and downloadable in PF format.If my understanding is correct, it can also be found in paper form in South East Asia.It may be an interesting addition to travel photographers who seek new venues for their photograp...

Read more »

Posted in: Innovative Stuff

POV: New Luggage Rules For Photogs?

The news media are reporting that the incident on the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit was certainly an attempted terrorist attack. This is causing extra security measures being implemented on all flights destined to the United States, which include body searches of all US bound travelers.As I mostly fly Virgin Atlantic, I visited its website and it now (as of December 26) advises its passengers of additional security measures, which will cause traveling photographers considerable difficulties, especially regarding their camera bags.The new regulations include restrictive hand baggage allowances for all passengers flying into all US airports, and have now been reduced to only one item of hand baggage. According to Virgin,...

Read more »

Posted in: POV,Rants

Nori Jemil: Bhutan

Photo © Nori Jemil -All Rights ReservedNori Jemil is a writer, photographer and a teacher who joined The Travel Photographer's Bhutan: Land of the Druk Yul Photo~Expedition™, and she has produced a broad body of work during the trip's two weeks' duration. The above photograph of a novice was made at the Wangdicholing Palace, which had served as the principal summer residence of the first and second kings of Bhutan, but currently houses novices and monks. Photo © Nori Jemil -All Rights ReservedThis vertical photograph was made at the ancient Ura Goempa. The normally quiet temple was bustling with monks when we arrived, as a prominent judge had just died in the Ura area, and funerary rites were being held in its small ceremonial hall. The photograph...

Read more »

Posted in: Bhutan,Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

Nikon Festival: "Today..."

I thought this short movie would be appropriate for Christmas Day. It's courtesy of the Nikon Festival. Just click the arr...

Read more »

Posted in: Events

Happy Holidays To TTP's Readers...

Oh, and my photography New Year's Resolution? It's to go wider, increase my use of prime lenses and to be more complex in composition (ie more layers, etc).And to counterbalance excessive seasonal consumerism, here's an end-of-year bit of wisdom: No-name soft gear (bags, pouches, jackets, etc) available at Army Surplus stores are often as good/tough/reliable/useful as branded and much more expensive products. A $5 no-name canvas pouch or a $30 branded one? It's a no brainer.I wish all the best to my blog's readers, its Google followers, my Twitter page followers, and many others. The Travel Photographer blog will soon be three years old! Incredible!Tew...

Read more »

Posted in: Events

The Travel Photographer's 2009 Picks

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy |Traders of Kochi-All Rights ReservedRather than imitating the "Best of 2009" photographs that are put together by various media blog sites, I thought that I'd show those photographs that are best reflective of my photographic style and interest, which were made while on my Photo~Expeditions™. The galleries in which these photographs appear are linked in the credit notice under each photograph.The first photograph is of a pensive worker at a trader's "godown" in Mattencherry (Kochi). The area is where trade in spices such as pepper and turmeric, as well as ginger and tea was conducted. It still has remnants of this trading activity, but it's not what it used to be.The worker wasn't posing...he was just standing there...

Read more »

Posted in: Photographers: Travel,TTP Show Off

Emyr R.E. Pugh: Environmental Portraits

Photo © Emyr R.E. Pugh-All Rights ReservedIn his short website biography, Emyr R.E. Pugh describes himself as a linguist, translator, interpreter and a documentary photographer based in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia....but I think he's way more than that. I have no way of knowing how good his translation skills are, but what I do know is that he's an excellent documentary photographer.Emyr won Grand Prize in the National Geographic Traveler 2009 World In Focus Contest with this lovely photograph of Master Weng, a master calligrapher in the village of Tunjiao (southwest China), who is seen preparing to write a traditional blessing.Most of his galleries on his website are portraits; some environmental and others straight facial studies. I gather these...

Read more »

Posted in: China,Photographers: Travel

fotoflōt: Innovative & Cool

I recently received one of my photographs that had been fotoflōt'ed, which means it had been printed on quality photographic paper and then fused on to a 1/8" thick acrylic sheet (10"x15" size).I chose one of my Theyyam photographs to be fotoflōt'ed, and I'm very pleased by its frameless design, and by the protection it provides to the photograph. The acrylic has low reflection and low glare, and it's a cinch to hang on my walls because of its magnetic wall mounts.Via fotoflōt's website, I created an account and uploaded (directly from my hard drive...about a 5 minutes wait because of its size) a TIFF version of the Theyyam photograph, and it was totally hassle-free from there on. Within a couple of hours, I received an email from the company...

Read more »

Posted in: Innovative Stuff

TTP's Travel Photographer Of The Year Is....

Photo © Joey Lawrence-All Rights ReservedJoey Lawrence!!!!The Travel Photographer's readers have voted, and the award goes to Joey Lawrence who gleaned 45% of the total votes cast amongst the four candidates.Joey is the young photographer I raved about in a post this past summer. He has been shooting commercial photography, photojournalism and music videos around the world by the age of 17, and has the established reputation of being a pioneer of new aged digital hyper-realistic photography, lighting and manipulation. Joey Lawrence's website is replete with phenomenal photography: his most recent is of the Mentawai (a tribe who live on the Mentawai Islands, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia). He also photographed the Mursi in Ethiopia's...

Read more »

Posted in: Contests,Photographers: Travel

Andy Isaacson: Central Asia

Andy Isaacson is a writer and photojournalist whose work The Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan has just appeared in The New York Times, and was published in Slate and National Geographic Adventure, among others.He seems to have made a specialty of photographing Central Asia after traveling in Asia for over a year. He considers Brooklyn and the San Francisco Bay Area as his home. I visited his photography website WorldWebEyes, and greatly enjoyed his diverse portfolios, and was slack-jawed at the beauty of the uncredited music he added to his web site. It must be Tajik or Uzbek, as many of his photographs are from that region, and there are many inflections in the song that sound Persian or Turkic. This plaintive song is just wonderful. Normally,...

Read more »

Posted in: Asia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Global Post: Whirling Dervishes

Photo © Nichole Sobecki/GlobalPost-All Rights ReservedGlobal Post features an article and photographs by Nichole Sobecki titled Death of Rumi Breeds A Lively Dance relating to the most celebrated mystical poet of the Islamic and Sufism, and how the Mevlevi religious order founded by the poet celebrates his life 800 years on, with performances by Sufi whirling dervishes.The Dervishes are Sufi Muslims who have chosen an ascetic way of life, and were known their extreme poverty and austerity, very similar to the Hindu sadhus.Sufi whirling is a non-passive form of meditation which is practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is a dance performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which the dervishes seek to reach the source...

Read more »

Posted in: Photographers: Travel,Turkey

Poll: Follow Up

Some days days ago, I posted a new poll asking my readers to choose The Travel Photographer's Travel Photographer of The Year, and so far Joey Lawrence is leading, with Zackary Canepari not too far behind. So head for the poll here and, if you haven't already, cast your decisive vote for one of the four superb photographe...

Read more »

Posted in: Contests,Photographers: Travel

The Big Picture Does 2009

Photo © Menahem Kahana-AFP/Getty Images -All Rights ReservedPhoto © Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters -All Rights ReservedPhoto © David Gray/Reuters -All Rights ReservedOne of my favorite photography blogs is The Boston Globe's The Big Picture which has recently featured a look over the past 12 months through photographs. These photographs were spread over three parts.Out of the total 120 photographs, I've eliminated all photographs dealing with politics, demonstrations, violence against Palestinians, wild-eyed so-called mullahs and anything that has to do with either Iraq or the war in Afghanistan. I'm frankly tired of seeing photographs like these in our media day in and day out. I happen to think that no one really "sees" them anymore. They've become...

Read more »

Posted in: Photojournalism

Street Flavors of Bali: Warungs

Photo © Basil Childers/The New York Times -All Rights ReservedThe New York Times' Travel section brings us a welcome feature (especially to those of us living in the frigid North-East) titled Street Flavors of Bali describing some of the island's street food vendors, known locally as warungs. The slideshow starts off with Naughty Nuri's, a Ubud institution, which occupies a modest shack and where tourists flock to sample its typical menu. During my photo~expedition in 2007, we were supposed to dine there but the wait was too long and we went elsewhere. Another well known spot is Ibu Oka, in the center of Ubud, which only offers roasted pork for a pittance. Naturally, it's a magnet for tourists and locals who sit shoulder to shoulder at its...

Read more »

Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours

2009 Travel Photographer Of The Year*

Photo © Johan Ensing via TPOTY -All Rights ReservedThe Travel Photographer Of The Year has announced the winners of its 2009 competition. Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 was awarded to G.M.B. Akash, an award-winning and well-known photographer from Bangladesh, who was unanimously voted as the outstanding entrant in the 2009 awards by the judging panel for his vibrant photographs.There were many more awards and recognitions granted to other well known names such as Karoki Lewis, Larry Louie and Poras Chaudhary...most of whom have been featured on The Travel Photographer blog.While Akash's quality and scope of work is impressive, I also very much liked the photograph submitted by Johan Ensing of the Netherlands of the fishermen cleaning...

Read more »

Posted in: Contests,Photographers: Travel

LaCie Rikiki

LaCie just announce the availability of one of the smallest mobile hard drives on the market, which was dubbed by the company as Rikiki. It appears that Rikiki means "tiny" in French. The august L'Académie Française would frown mightily at this claim as it's certainly not in the language of Voltaire, but slang.Having cleared the linguistic mishap, LaCie Rikiki is available in 250GB, 500GB, and soon in 640GB capacities. The Rikiki is a user-friendly choice, regardless of whether you’re on a Mac or a PC. LaCie Backup Assistant is included to help manage backups. The price is priced between $75 and $150.Despite the aesthetics of the Rikiki, I prefer the sleekness of the 500GB eGo Helium I bought some weeks ago...and my LaCie Rugged Hard Disk,...

Read more »

Posted in: Hard Gear

Magnum In Motion: Alex Webb's Istanbul

With the third Foundry Photojournalism Workshop scheduled to be held in Istanbul in June 2010, I thought of featuring Alex Webb's Istanbul: City of a Hundred Names showcased on the Magnum In Motion website as an inspiration to those interested in registering for the workshop.The audio slideshow shows us Alex Webb's vision of Istanbul, a city of minarets, ATM machines and designer jeans. A historical and imperial city, Istanbul was the capital city of the Roman Empire, of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. As one sees from the slideshow, the storytelling possibilities available in such an ancient city are just enormous, and will provide a wealth of exciting visual opportunities to photographers.As for the Foundry...

Read more »

Posted in: Asia,Multimedia,Photographers: Photojournalists

A Wonderful Concept: PhotoPhilanthropy

PhotoPhilanthropy's stated mission is to promote, support and connect photographers to non-profit organizations around the world. It has created a community for photographers, photo enthusiasts and non-profit organizations to network, to tell their stories, show their work, exchange ideas, find opportunities and financial support for their efforts.It also encourages student, amateur and professional photographers to publish photo essays designed to educate and engage people in a wide variety of social campaigns. Interestingly, it has also created The PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Award; an annual endorsement of excellence for professional, amateurs, and student photographers. For the award, it received 219 essays from 187 photographers residing...

Read more »

Posted in: Innovative Stuff,Photojournalism

POV: On Unpaid Photo Internships

A famous award-winning conflict photographer seeks an intern, for 3 days a week for three months, with demonstrable experience in photo and processing related tasks, but the position is unpaid.And the blogosphere and photography forums erupt! Perhaps for good reason.As one can imagine, photographers of all stripes with opinionated but honest points of view, others with axes to grind and a lot of personal luggage, all made their voices heard...which made for an interesting read.Unfortunately, some of the commentary devolved into personal attacks on the famous photographer's character, and used ad hominem arguments. Such comments demean those who make them, are counter-productive and unnecessary. Yes, perhaps a tad understandable...but certainly...

Read more »

Posted in: Photojournalism,POV

Jehad Nga: Turkana

Photo © Jehad Nga -All Rights ReservedWhat a way to start the week!I've described Jehad Nga as being a master of chiaroscuro and his new work Turkana just reaffirms and even compounds this well-deserved appellation. His new work is just beautiful and details of each photograph must be slowly absorbed. In Jehad's photography, I guess less is more...and his play of light against the colorful garments is just exquisite.To view Turkana, log on to Jehad's website, and click on From Here On-In Galleries.The gallery's overview starts with this:"Forgotten by a government that hardly felt as their own, Kenya's Turkana tribe is withering in number as a drought devastates the Horn of Africa."The Turkana are a Nilotic people of Kenya, numbering about 340,000,...

Read more »

Posted in: Africa,Photographers: Photojournalists

My Work: Chinatown Chinese Flutist

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedMatt Brandon's slideshow featured yesterday prompts me to feature this photograph I made of a Chinese Opera flutist playing his instrument in New York City's Chinatown. I chose this photograph to underscore my view that hands (especially those who have "history" to them) can tell visual stories, almost as well as faces, provided these hands are doing something...and sometimes, even at rest. In this case, I think the hands and fingers of the flutist tell us that he's not a full-time professional musician...these are unkept fingers of a hard working man. The fingerless woolen gloves tells us that it's winter....and the Chinese script on the flute tells us where its holder is from...not necessarily, but...

Read more »

Posted in: TTP Show Off

Matt Brandon: Penang's Pulau Tikus

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. He recently moved to Malaysia, and frequently features audio slideshows on his The Digital Trekker blog.Here's one of his latest production which he titled The Hands Of Rat Island. This self-assignment was completed over the course of 3 days, and was centered on a small market in Penang called Pulau Tikus or “Rat Island”. Matt decided he'd only feature the hands of the people in that market.As interesting as hands (almost as faces) are from a visual standpoint, it's also interesting to hear the market hubbub captured by Matt's recorder. You'll also hear the inflections of Hokkien...

Read more »

Posted in: Asia,Photographers: Travel,Soundslides

POV: Fate Of A Photo-Expedition Leader?

© What The Duck-All Rights ReservedThis will probably be my shortest POV ever, but is particularly timely as I'm leading the Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition&trade that starts in about five weeks!Will this be my fate??? Nah...(Cartoon strip seen on Bob Krist's Photo Traveler blo...

Read more »

Posted in: Photo Tours,POV

Yuri Kozyrev: Yamal Peninsula

Photo © Yuri Kozyrev/NOOR-All Rights ReservedCoinciding with the global climate talks in Copenhagen, Yuri Kozyrev (among the 9 photographers of NOOR photo agency) photographed climate stories with the purpose of documenting the consequences of global warning. Produced during the last two months, the project named Consequences is being launched during the United Nations Climate Summit, Monday 7 December through Friday 18 December 2009.The Yamal Peninsula is one of the world's largest wildernesses where the indigenous Nenets people have migrated across for the past 1000 years. It is here that traditional large-scale nomadic reindeer husbandry is preserved. The Yamal Peninsula also holds Russia's biggest natural gas reserves. The Nenets have a...

Read more »

Posted in: Asia,Events,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Ragnar Axelsson: The Hunters of Greenland

Photo © Ragnar Axelsson-All Rights ReservedWith the advent of the cold snap that's gripping New York these days, as well as the Climate Conference in Copenhagen, I thought it opportune to post The New York Times' feature on the black & white work of Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson.Ragnar has been traveling to Inuit villages in Greenland’s most remote regions, over the past 25 years, documenting hunting traditions that are some 4,000 years old. He had to spend years hanging around the villages just to gain the trust of the villagers before being allowed on the hunts.In the most remote regions of Greenland, Inuit hunters spend up to two months out on the ice, seeking narwhals, seals and polar bears. The environment is unforgiving,...

Read more »

Posted in: Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop Istanbul 2010

Eric Beecroft announced the third Foundry Photojournalism Workshop will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on June 20-26, 2010. The initial roster of instructors, who are giving their time to teach photojournalism to emerging photographers are (at the time of writing) as follows:Lynsey AddarioKael AlfordAndrea BruceGuy CalafMichael Robinson-ChavezRena Effendi Tewfic El-SawyDavid GuttenfelderRon HavivEros HoaglandJohn MooreJared MoossyStephanie SinclairAnastasia Taylor-LindAmi VitaleVisit the new website to register early and secure a spot in the third annual Foundry Photojournalism Worksh...

Read more »

Posted in: Events,Photojournalism

LumaLoop: Yet Another Camera Strap

After BlackRapid's success, another strap contender LumaLoop is entering the fray hoping that it can also provide an improved camera strap, one of photography's perennial Holy Grails.James Duncan Davidson (a photographer) designed and made the LumaLoop, an across-the-shoulder strap with a quick-release lanyard, whose main claims are comfort and flexibility. Those who have already used the strap report they like how the camera can be used while slung over a shoulder, and can quickly be released by squeezing the buckle. When not in use, the camera dangles at one's waist, and can remain there all day long.The LumaLoop is $60 and comes in three sizes. Each strap comes with a lanyard.From what I've seen on its website, LumaLoop uses the same general...

Read more »

Posted in: Innovative Stuff

Poll: TTP's Photographer of The Year?

Who Should Be The Travel Photographer's Photographer of the Year?Zackary Canepari Diego Verges Dede Pickering Joey Lawrence  pollcode.com free pollsThe time of year has come when I normally choose a travel photographer who gets the coveted award of The Travel Photographer's Photographer Of The Year. However this year, I've opted for a more democratic system to elect one of the above four (who were shortlisted by me), and feature this simple poll for my readers to choose the numero uno for 2009.The blog posts highlighting the work of these four extremely talented photographers are as follows:Zackary CanepariDiego VergesDede PickeringJoey LawrenceThe poll will be closed on December 20th. Have fun...!!Note: This poll was picked up by the Outdoor Photographer Editorial Bl...

Read more »

Posted in: Events,Photographers: Travel

Marc Wattrelot: Balochistan

Photo © Marc Wattrelot-All Rights ReservedHere's a timely feature brought to us by Foto8 showcasing the work of photojournalist Marc Wattrelot titled Divided Desert: Balochistan.The blurb that accompanies the slideshow informs us that Balochistan extends over 350,000 square kms (approximately the size of Germany) and is the largest province in the Pakistan Federation. About 7 million people live in Balochistan; a mixture of consists Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghanis.It's the often-heard story: a region rich in natural resources, its people among the poorest, the Punjabi central government rife with corruption and nepotism, give rise to a resistance movement striving for autonomy. It's timely because the remnants of Al-Qaida may well migrate...

Read more »

Posted in: Pakistan,Photographers: Photojournalists,Soundslides

NGS: Results of Photo Contest 2009

The National Geographic has selected the winners in its Fourth Annual Global Photography Contest from more than 200,000 submissions.Each country held national contests and, in the final round, sent one photo from each of the three categories to National Geographic's Washington headquarters for judging. Judges were National Geographic staff photographer Mark Thiessen; design editor of the international editions of National Geographic magazine Darren Smith; and photojournalist Maria Stenzel. While the first prize went to Debra Jansen of the US for her picture of a 97-year-old woman waiting for a bus in her Sunday best in Georgia, I thought that the above picture by Arie Yudhistira of India (honorable mention) was visually more compelli...

Read more »

Posted in: Contests,National Geographic

Canon 7D: It May Be Rugged After All!

I've just stumbled on the interesting ( and certainly one for your bookmarks if Canon is what you use) website Canon Field Reviews (CFR) authored by Pro Nature Photographer Ole Jørgen Liodden of Norway who tests Canon gear under extreme real life conditions.Liodden took his Canon 7D on a three and a half week week photo expedition to Antarctica, and put it through extreme and hard use under prevailing bad weather conditions, and reported that it performed flawlessly. He chose to use the camera with a battery grip for better handling, and it (the grip) seemed tighter and better sealed than the one that fits the Canon 5D Mark II. He reports that his 7D had absolutely no problems with snow, rain and water (sea spray). He also used a Canon 1Ds...

Read more »

Posted in: Hard Gear

China: Portraits of 56 Ethnic Groups

Photo © Chen Hai Wen-All Rights ReservedHere's an interesting "ethno-photographic" gallery by Chinese photographer Chen Hai Wen (all the information was translated from the Wen Xue City news website using Google Translator) who has recently published large scale photographs in what seems to have been titled as Harmonious China depicting groupings of 56 ethnic groups in China. From what I gathered from the rather awkward translation, Chen Hai Wen led 14 other photographers across China on photo-shoots which took over one year to complete. It seems the total number of photographs made during this massive undertaking was 5.7 million!! The "family" photographs are technically perfect, and showcase each different group in its traditional dress....

Read more »

Posted in: China,Photographers: Travel

Kroo Bay: Anna Kåri and Guilhem Alandry

Here's a humanitarian project produced by Anna Kåri and Guilhem Alandry, both photojournalists, titled Kroo Bay, and commissioned by and created for Save the Children It's an interactive panoramic multimedia, which adds a tactile feel to the project by its viewers...it's as if one was there. It's remarkably well done, and uses panoramas, videos, audio and stills.Kroo Bay is an informal housing settlement located on the coastline in central Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. It has an estimated population of about 6000 people. Residents of Kroo Bay lack adequate access to sanitation and health services, and their settlement is treated as a garbage dump by the rest of the capital city.Guilhem is a French London-based photographer, videographer...

Read more »

Posted in: Multimedia,Photojournalism