Nicky Loh: Tattoo Girls of Taiwan

Photo © Nicky Loh-All Rights ReservedNicky Loh is a photographer with Reuters working in Taiwan, whose specialty is news, sports and feature photography, who's interested in documenting traditional art forms such as Chinese opera. On his employer's blog, he writes of having had an assignment to cover the 2010 Taiwan International Tattoo Convention in Taipei which, while not newsworthy per se, offered him a good opportunity to produce colorful photographs.He describes how he decided to set up an impromptu studio in one of the empty booths of the convention, and do portraits of women with fully tattooed backs. Not only beautiful artwork, but also very attractive women...so a "twofer" as they s...

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

Global Post: Turkish Brothels

Photo © Nicholas Dynan-All Rights ReservedOne of my favorite online news provider is Global Post, not only for its cutting edge news reporting and analysis, but also for its frequent "off-the-beaten-path" features such as the one of Turkish transsexual brothels by Nicholas Dynan.It also periodically publishes Full Frame which features photo essays and conversations with photographers in the field (including myself).The Turkish transsexual brothels which, we are told, can be located in the busiest streets of Istanbul, and are the work place of some of Istanbul's transgender and transsexual sex workers.To the best of my recollection, only one attendee of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul last June presented work relating to transgender...

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Posted in: Photojournalism,Turkey

My Work: The Salt Maker of Kusamba

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedPhoto © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedPhoto © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedPhoto © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedA few days before the start of the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ , I drove to the eastern shores of the island to photograph the traditional salt making in Kusamba. I spent a couple of hours with Dewa Yoman Sanat; a traditional salt-maker (or more accurately, salt gatherer) in Kusamba. He guesses his age to be close to 70, and he works at gathering salt everyday under the scorching sun. On cloudy and rainy days, he remains home as a hot sun is needed to evaporate the seawater which leaves a thin film of salt, which is then gathered by Dewa. He and his wife, Jero Sekar,...

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Posted in: Bali,Photographers: Travel,TTP Show Off

NYT: Pakistan Floods By Tyler Hicks

Photo © Tyler Hicks/NY Times-All Rights ReservedThe catastrophic flooding of the Indus is considered as Pakistan's worst natural calamity, which has ruined almost every infrastructural aspect that connects the country together — roads, bridges, schools, health clinics, electricity and communications. The destruction is also estimated to set Pakistan back decades, will weaken its feeble civilian administration and add to the burdens on its military.The New York Times has recently featured Tyler Hicks' compelling photographs of the disaster in Pakistan's Floods, as the one above of two young girls quenching their thirst at a water pump in Sukkur. It's said that 20 million people have been affected by the floods; a number of people equal to the...

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Posted in: Pakistan,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Jon Vidar: The Tiziano Project

The Tiziano Project presents the journalistic efforts and personal accounts of Iraqi citizens living in the Kurdish north, along with stories produced by their professional multimedia journalism mentors.An extremely well-made multimedia project, it includes stories such as those on the Yazidis, nomadic mountain-dwelling Kurds, a pigeon keeper, a muezzin, a klash maker, and many more. The mentoring team consist of Jon Vidar (one of the talented instructors at the Istanbul Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, and a freelance photographer who developed self-assigned projects spanning six continents, including work in Iraqi Kurdistan, Southeast Turkey, Rwanda, and Brazil), Victoria Fine, Grant Slater and Chris Mend...

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Posted in: Iraq,Multimedia,Photojournalism

Rose Schierl: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Rose Schierl-All Rights ReservedHere's the work of Rose Schierl; the second participant of the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ to send images to post on this blog. Rose has been photographing since 2005, and only gone digital two years ago. She hasn't gone through any formal photographic education per se, but attended various short workshops, and those set by Arizona Highways. Rose won an award at a juried show for one of her photographs in 2009. She's also an accomplished diver, and before the photo expedition was on a diving vacation for a couple of days in the north-west of the island.So far, it appears the fire-walkers at the end of the Kecak dance performance we attended in Ubud was a favorite subject for the group...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

New Canon D60

It's all over the blogosphere...Canon announced the EOS 60D, a sort of “replacement” for the 50D. According to the reviews, the 60D body is plastic, and uses SD cards instead of the CF.It's certainly built for video. It has a pop-out, tilt-and-swivel rear screen which, even if it's Canon’s first on an SLR, would just drive me insane. Video can be shot at different sizes and speeds. 1080p is available at 24p, 25p or 30p frame rates. According to WIRED's Gadget Lab, its 18MP sensor (like the LCD panel) is the same as in the 550D or Rebel T2i, its AF system comes from the 50D and the 63-zone exposure meter comes from the 7D. So it's dubbed the "Frankencam".It will go on sale in September for $1,100 body-only. Santa, I have no intere...

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Posted in: Hard Gear

Matt Allard Captures Geishas

Matt Allard is a Team Leader- Cameras for Aljazeera International based out of Kuala Lumpur covering Asia/Pacific and the sub continent, and has produced a movie documenting the changing culture of geishas. Due to the world financial crisis, even well-entrenched traditions have had to adapt in Japan, as elsewhere, and geishas in Kyoto have had to follow suit.Matt used a Canon 7D, 5Dmk2 and 7 lenses to shoot this assignment. The lenses used were a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II, 50mm f1.2, 135mm f2, 24-70mm f2.8, 100mm Macro f2.8, 16-35mm f2.8 and a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8. All interviews were shot on the 70-200mm. All the audio was recorded on a Zoom H4N using either Seinnheiser radio or shotgun mics. It was edited using FCP and ran on Aljazeera English on the 19th August 2010 around the world. Also...

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Posted in: Asia,Multimedia,Photographers: Travel

My Work: Bali Cockfights

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedWe were fortunate to encounter a number of cockfights during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™.I say fortunate because, while cockfights are gruesome and certainly bloody, they offer glimpses into a tradition practiced on the island (and elsewhere in the world) for ages. All animal rights activists and many other lay people consider it a horrible blood sport which ought to be banned. In Bali, cockfights are known as tajen, but have been forbidden since 1981 since it's considered gambling. Notwithstanding, it continues to be practiced as a ritual to expel evil spirits, and feverish gambling by bebebotoh (always men) is the norm when it occurs.The area where the cockfight occurred was full...

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Posted in: Bali,Photographers: Travel,TTP Show Off

VII's Seamus Murphy: Phoenix Afghanistan

“Photography is part history, part magic.” -Seamus MurphyHere's a multimedia piece published by VII The Magazine with stills and audio by Seamus Murphy titled Phoenix Afghanistan.Seamus began photographing in Afghanistan in 1994, and for two decades, he has worked extensively in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and most recently America on an ongoing project during what he calls “a nervous and auspicious time.” His accolades include six World Press Photo Awards. Phoenix Afghanistan compares photographs of life in Kabul from 1994 to photographs in 2010. You'll notice that the 1994 photographs are in black & white, whilst those of 2010 are in color, thereby enhancing the contrast between...

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Posted in: Afghanistan,Multimedia

Kim McClellan: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights ReservedKim McClellan is a third-time repeat participant in my photo~expeditions, having joined Bhutan: Land of Druk Yul Photo~Expedition ™ in October 2009, and the The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™ in January 2010 before returning with a trove of images from the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ last week.Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights ReservedKim is a professional photographer (as well as working for the SBA in DC), and graduated from the Washington School of Photography in January 2001. She's passionate about international travel photography, and her work was featured in juried exhibitions and shows in the Washington DC Metro Area. She's well-known for her work in fashion,...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours,Photographers: Travel

My Work: Balinese Elder With Dog

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedWhat people may or may not tell you is that some of the best photographs out of the many one makes during a photo trip are serendipitous, and the opportunities to make them occur when one least expects them.Here's one of my favorites so far (and I've only looked at two of my image folders...a mere fraction of the over 10,000 photographs I've made during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition) of an elderly Balinese woman returning to her traditional home after having emptied her basket of the morning offerings.We were driving to one of the many temple ceremonies, and I suddenly saw the woman walking slowly towards her house. I immediately asked Komang to stop our van, and our second car also stopped....

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Posted in: Bali,TTP Show Off

Ian Winstanley: Pashupathi Sadhus

Photo © Ian Winstanley-All Rights ReservedHere's a collection of sadhus' portraits by Ian Winstanley, a commercial photographer based in the UK. Exclusively involved in the advertising and design industries, Ian later also specialized in fine art based work.Photographing in Nepal for a book, Ian spent time on the banks of the Bagmati river in Kathmandu's holy site known as Pashupathi. It was here, in 2001, that the much-loved King Birendra and other members of Nepal’s royal family were cremated after a massacre blamed on the crown prince, who also killed himself. The site is considered as one of the oldest and most holy of temples dedicated to Shiva, and sadhus and other Hindu faithful have been drawn to it since the 5th century.In Hinduism,...

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Posted in: Nepal,Photographers: Travel

New Handheld Recorder Zoom H1 In Stores

I've previously posted about the ultra-portable and cheap Zoom H1 from Samson Tech, which is a handy portable stereo recorder at an unheard-of $99 price. The manufacturer claims that it will give you 10 hours of battery life on a single AA cell, and can accommodate up to 32GB of removable microSDHC storage. Its microphones are configured in an X/Y pattern for optimum stereo imaging.I predict it'll be a hit for entry-level multimedia photographers, especially that it can be mounted on the camera shoe of a DSLR.It's currently available at B&H which has also blogged about it. The post also answers the issue as to how to connect it to the camera shoe. The answer? Through a $35 male shoe adapter which is available from a different manufacturer.I...

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Posted in: Audio,Hard Gear

Canon G12

According to WIRED's Gadget Lab, CNET Asia leaked the new Canon G12 pro-compact.It appears that the G12 brings back high-definition video to the table. It will shoot 720p, just like the new Canon S95, which launched yesterday. Some of the specifications are a 10 mp high sensitivity CCD sensor, a 2.8" titlt-swivel LCD and manual exposure function.The lens is a 28-140mm with ƒ2.8 to ƒ4.5 aperture, and the price is estimated by WIRED's Gadget Lab at around $500. Via WIRED's Gadget L...

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Posted in: Hard Gear

Ciara Leeming: Not Gypsies...Roma

Photo © Ciara Leeming-All Rights ReservedFrance's current expulsion of illegal Roma with generational roots in Romania and Bulgaria has been labeled by human rights groups as xenophobic, and criticized by President Sarkozy's (whose poll numbers are abysmal) political opponents.So to feature Ciara Leeming's work on the Roma in Istanbul during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is timely and opportune. Turkey is home to one of the largest Roma populations in the world – an estimated two million people. Yet here as elsewhere, the community is subject to frequent discrimination – ranging from overt harassment to more subtle institutional racism.Ciara's "Not Gypsies...Roma" was her project during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, where she...

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Posted in: Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Diego Vergés: Bali Wedding Ceremony

Photo © Diego Vergés-All Rights ReservedI was glad that Diego Vergés has just sent me some of his work in Indonesia, which includes photographs from a typical Balinese wedding ceremony in his distinctive style. It's opportune as I just returned from Bali myself and also photographed a wedding.According to Diego's diary, he was driving in Randang, not far from Ubud in the east of Bali, where he was invited to a wedding. The ceremony was to start at the groom's family house with a lunch offered to all guests. Subsequently, the guests went home, while the groom's friends and family started to slaughter pigs and ducks as offerings to the temple, and for the large dinner on the following day.Many of the guests arrive early morning, with the religious...

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Posted in: Bali,Photographers: Travel

Ramadan: The Month Of Fasting

Photo © Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images-All Rights ReservedThe Islamic month of Ramadan started while I was in Bali, and while the majority of the island's inhabitants follow Hindu traditions, there were indications that its Muslim communities were observing it, especially in areas such as Semarapura.Many of the newspapers' photo-blogs such as the Boston Globe's The Big Picture, the WSJ Photo Journal and the like have featured images of Ramadan observances around the world, but the one I liked the most was from The Sacremento Bee's The Frame.In the above photograph, Indonesian women pray during the first night of Ramadan in Jakarta on August 10, 2010. The fasting month of Ramadan, which started on August 11, is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijra...

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Posted in: Events,Indonesia

TIME: Soldiers' Tattoos In Afghanistan

Photo © Mauricio Lima /AFP/Getty Images-All Rights ReservedIt's really time to leave Afghanistan when magazines start publishing inconsequential and silly photo essays as the one just featured by TIME's website. It's titled Soldiers' Tattoos in Marjah, and is by Mauricio Lima. The photo essay shows about 10 images of US soldiers showing off tattoos of various illustrations, religious messages and excerpts from the Bible amongst others. The one above is of Lance Corporal Daniel Weber, and the caption reads as follows: "The Arabic inscription on Weber's bicep translates to "unfortunate soldier."No, it doesn't. It reads "Al Nafs Al Mahzouza", which means "the fortunate soul" in English. So quite different in its intent. If Weber wanted the tattoo...

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Posted in: Afghanistan,Photojournalism

Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ 2010: The Verdict

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedSpending more than 16 hours in flights from Denpasar to London, with a 4 hours stop-over through Bangkok, provided more than enough time to draft the verdict on the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ which took place from August 1 to August 15. But first, on the the subject of airports, I can't emphasize enough the enormous disparity between Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport with its glitzy pulsating shopping mall atmosphere, cleanliness, efficient service and varied restaurants, and Heathrow's crappy, faded and outdated (and in some places, downright dirty) Terminal 3. It was if I had flown from 2010 back to 1963, and landed in North Korea. Well, I'm exaggerating a little perhaps, but you get my...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours

Book: The Complete Photographer

I've been advised that The Complete Photographer which is just published by Dorling Kindersley Publishers, and authored by Tom Ang, is now available in bookstores. I mention this, not only because it seems to be very interesting with tutorials on 10 different genres, covering both technical and creative aspects of photography, and helps to master 10 genres of photography, with 20 top international photographers, but I am also featured as a master of travel photography, with my image of a Guelaguetza dancer.I believe that some biographical write-up is also included, so I'm eager to look at it at Waterstones on High Street Kensington as soon as I have the chance. Golly, being described as a master photographer is a huge boost to my ego...but...

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Posted in: Books,Photographers: Travel

Bali: Fifth Post: Pura Tirta Empul

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedThe Bali Photo-Expedition has officially ended yesterday evening (actually it's Sunday midday as I write this), and I am waiting for my transportation to Denpasar airport to fly to Bangkok and onwards to London.As I sit in the hotel's open-air veranda, I thought of Tirta Empul Temple (Tampak Siring Temple) which is the holiest spring water temple in Bali, and where I photographed Balinese pilgrims bathing in its waters which are believed to cure ailments. With the many temple anniversaries coinciding with the photo expedition, there was a constant flow of pilgrims who took to the cold waters as soon as they arrived.I photographed one of these pilgrims, and used my camera settings to produce a chiaroscuro...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours

Bali: Fourth Post: Arja Dance

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedYesterday was an exhausting day, with close to 8 hours non-stop photography. We had been invited to a large cremation ceremony which involved 6 individuals, and where we spent the whole morning into the early afternoon. Subsequently, some of us attended a Barong and an Arja dance at the communal temple of Pitra, which extended well into the night. The above photograph is of an Arja dancer pantomiming a sorrowful pose.Arja enacts old stories mainly based on the Panji Romances (11-14th centuries) and uses dialogue understood only by Balinese-speaking audiences. Many of the stories derived from Balinese tales, Chinese and Arabic, and from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Most of the characters are performed...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours

Bali: Third Post

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedYesterday morning we photographed virtually non-stop the bustling activities, including animal sacrifice, at the Pura Desa Sapah in Kegalalang. This temple has been holding its odalan festivities for a few days, which culminated in yesterday's main event. The combination of the frenetic activities, the photography and the heat/humidity left many of our group drained and exhausted.So attending an evening Legong dance performance at Ubud's palace had a welcome soothing effect on us. The performance included various dances, such as the Gabor, Baris, Kraton ad the Taruna Jaya. We were there an hour before the start of the performance, and we had front row seats!This morning more temple celebrations await...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours

Bali: Second Post

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights ReservedWe attended a large cockfight in the Blahbatuh area, where about 200-300 men (all men) were gesticulating and yelling their bets at the competitors. In essence, cockfighting is illegal in Bali, except in very limited circumstances which I suppose this was one. However, it's my understanding that for this particular event, the police had been "taken care of. I thought the above photograph gives the message loud and clear as the feelings of the Balinese, who have been victims of terrorist attacks.Our days in Bali have been long, with back to back photo shoots at temples ceremonies. The best are those which are small and intimate and held by families, rather than communities where rules, more likely, ...

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Posted in: Bali,Photo Tours