Photo Plus Expo: New York City

Keynote speakers and seminar presenters have just been announced for the PDN PhotoPlus International Expo and Conference, which takes place October 22 to 24 in New York City. The event will be located at the Jacob Javits Center and will bring us hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of new products and a conference with over 100 seminars.

I haven't been to this event for a number of years now, as it coincided with my fall photo~expeditions, however this year my Bhutan photo~expedition will be over by October 7, and I ought to be back home in NYC and perhaps attend this year's event. Who knows? I might be lucky and land myself a free t-shirt or something.

I see that James Nachtwey, Phil Borges, Ron Haviv and others will be giving talks during the conference. The schedule of these seminars are here.

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Posted in: Events

Masaru Goto: Sri Lanka

The conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has lasted nearly 30 years, and is one of the longest-running civil wars in Asia. The Tamil Tigers want an independent state for the island's Tamil minority but after a year-long military offensive, the Sri Lankan government recently claimed that it had defeated the separatist group, and killed its leader.

Here's Masaru Goto's Invisible Victims: Sri Lankan War Scars, powerful and incisive photographs, documenting the war-affected individuals who bear the wounds from this conflict.

Masaru has 19 years experience photographing social and human rights issues in Southeast Asia and South America, and he made it his mission to highlight the plight and resilience of ordinary people who are caught in conflicts, suffering under oppression or economically disadvantaged.

In 2002, Masaru won the prestigious Fifty Crows Foundation award for Documentary Photography for his photos essay on Human Rights in Colombia “got rights? Human Rights in Colombia”. His photography books include “My Journal of Cambodia 1997-1998”, a photographic essay about the final years of civil war waged by the Khmer Rouge and “Smile in Despair: Stories from a Cambodian AIDS ward” on the HIV/AIDS crisis in Cambodia. In 2004, his images of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia won two of the category, "LOVE" and "ILLNESS" for "the River of Life" World Health Organization (WHO) photo competition.

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Posted in: Asia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photojournalism

Walk-About: Delhi's Chandni Chowk

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

This Monday afternoon, some of the FPW staff and participants went on a walk-bout with Adrian Fisk in the narrow alleys of Delhi's Chandni Chowk. This is the major street in the walled city of Old Delhi, originally called Shah Jahanabad. It runs through the middle of the walled city, from the Lahori Darwaza of the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid.

Chandni Chowk is replete with authentic Indian food, delicacies and sweets to saris, and from spices to automobile cannibalized parts.

The above photograph was made at the spice market at Pili Kothi Chowk (or Pul Mithai).

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Posted in: India,TTP Show Off

Final: Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

Photo © Neal Jackson-All Rights Reserved
The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali is over, and instructors and students have all departed (some students have remained in the region of Himachal Pradesh). Most of the instructors are now in Delhi, and after a possible walk-about in Old Delhi and lunch at the famed Kareem's, and an evening party, will depart to their home countries or work countries.

The highlight for me was that Mumbai-based photographer Dhiraj Singh received the top student award for photography during the ceremony in Manali. Dhiraj was one of the participants in my Multimedia Storytelling class, and worked incredibly hard and creatively to produce a multimedia piece based on the SoundSlides platform titled "My Name is Dechen"...a gripping tale of Tibetan woman afflicted with psychological problems. I had no advance information that Dhiraj would win until instructor and photojournalist Andrea Bruce, with her innate courtesy, came over to let me know.

Two other participants in my multimedia class also deserve particular praise; Dar Yasin, a photojournalist based in Kashmir, presented The Street Barber, a personal look at the craft in Manali, and Mohit Gupta from Delhi presented a soulful color-rich Thangka, a look at the process of painting of the Tibetan religious scrolls.

I am waiting for Dhiraj, Dar and Mohit to upload their work on their websites, and will post some of commentary about these projects.

I had posted work by Dhiraj earlier in July, not knowing that he was to be a student in my multimedia class. This is the link. Watch this space, as they say. We will hear of Dhiraj Singh a lot in the weeks, months and years to come.

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Posted in: Events,India,Photojournalism

Manali: Foundry Photo Workshop

Photo © Dhiraj Singh-All Rights Reserved

The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is coming to a close this evening with a massive presentation of the various projects produced by the some 75 talented students. From what I've already seen, the work is of high quality, and span a range of styles.

One of the photojournalists attending my multimedia class (using SoundSlides) is Dar Yasin, a well known photographer from Srinagar who, as seen in the above photograph, is putting the final touches to his project. Yes, our classes were held in a hotel room! Nothing but the best for the Foundry staff and participants.

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Posted in: Events,India

Peter Steinhauer: Viet Nam

Photo © Peter Steinhauer -All Rights Reserved
Currently based in Hong Kong, Peter Steinhauer is a fine art, editorial and advertising photographer living and working in Asia since 1993, and has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and museums internationally. He published two books on Viet Nam, and in 2007 PDN awarded his second book "Enduring Spirit of Viet Nam" Best Photography Book of The Year.

Peter's clients for his commercial work are Travel & Leisure, Prestige, Frank Muller, Dior, Chaumet, Periplus Books, Sofitel, Melia and Marriott.

There are beautiful galleries on Peter's website, whether categorized as fine art or Viet Nam. I chose his Ethnic Minorities of Viet Nam to showcase here on TTP.

(via Exposure Compensation blog)

And my thanks to Penelope Gan for reminding me that July has 31 days not 30 days.

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Posted in: Photographers,Vietnam

Brent Stirton: Papua New Guinea

Photo © Brent Stirton-All Rights Reserved
Brent Stirton's work from Papua New Guinea is just superlative...have a close look at his series of images of PNG which highlights the uniqueness of its tribal culture and the ritual of dress and dance for which it is most famous.

Brient is the senior staff photographer for the assignment division of Getty Images, New York. He specializes in documentary work and is known for his alternative approaches, and travels an average of nine months of the year on assignment.

His work is published by: National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times Magazine, The London Sunday Times Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Discovery Channel, Newsweek, Le Express, Le Monde 2, Figaro, Paris Match, GQ, Geo, Stern, CNN, and many other other will known international titles and news organizations. He also received numerous awards from the Overseas Press Club, the Frontline Club, the Deadline Club, Days Japan, multiple P.O.Y USA awards, and awards from the World Press Photo Foundation and the United Nations for his work on the environment and in the field of HIV. In 2009, he received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, and the ASME magazine publishers award for photojournalism for his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo as published in National Geographic magazine.

Brent's work in Ethiopia's Omo Valley was featured in TTP.

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Posted in: Asia,Photographers: Photojournalists,Photographers: Travel