Teru Kuwayama: How To Not Get Shot

Photo © Teru Kuwayama-All Rights Reserved
A veteran documentary photographer, Teru Kuwayama has made more than 15 trips to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir, traveling both independently, and as an embedded reporter with US and NATO military forces, as well as Afghan, Pakistani, and Indian armed forces. In 2009 he received the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor award for his work in Pakistan, and a fellowship from the South Asian Journalists Association.

He is a 2009-2010 Knight Fellow at Stanford University, a contributor to Time, Newsweek and Outside magazines, and a contract photographer for Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization that builds schools for children in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

GIZMODO has featured Teru's Ask a Pro: How to Shoot (and Not Get Shot) In a War Zone, which is certainly a must-read for every inexperienced photographer with romantic notions on war photography.

Whilst all of his suggestions are extremely valid, I liked these:

Avoid the faux-commando stuff. Learn How To Say "Hello" and "Thank You" and To Count To Ten. Don't Follow the Pack.

Jean Claude Louis: Asia Polaroids

Jean Claude Louis was born in France, and moved to Southern California in 1990. He's a physician and scientist, and had a life-long career in biomedical research. He now is pursuing his passions: travel and photography.

I've featured Jean-Claude Louis' work through the many photographic contests he won in 2007 and 2008. He participated and won (in specific categories) awards in National Geographic International competition, the Travel Photographer of the Year competition (two categories), and the B&W Magazine Portfolio Competition.

He returns to TTP with his Polaroid images of Asia...countries such as Myanmar, India, Viet Nam and China.

In Jean Claude's own words:In the Shadow of Time "is homage to the natural environment of these places and the people who live in it. The physical beauty and harmony of the places is accentuated by my use of the unique texture and light rendition of Polaroid Time Zero film to create a timeless, painterly effect."

I think Jean Claude succeeded in his quest...the images are ethereal. I chose the above image of a fisherman at dawn on Li River, China, because of its beautiful colors.

Damon Winter: The Kamayurá

Photo © Damon Winter/NYTimes-All Rights Reserved
Damon Winter and The New York Times bring us An Ancient Society, a multimedia essay (narrated by Elisabeth Rosenthal) on the Kamayurá, an Amazonian tribe living in the middle of Xingu National Park in Brazil. This area was a huge swathe of land originally in the depths of the Amazon, but which is is now surrounded by farms and ranches.

The article reports that around 5,000 square miles of Amazon forest are being cut down annually in recent years, affecting the environment and depriving the Kamayurá of their way of life.

Nicely photographed by Damon, the audio slideshow's narration is somewhat stilted, and, for my taste, there isn't enough ambient sound to add what I call "aural texture" to the essay...but it's interesting nevertheless.

Moise Saman: Lost Boys of Afghanistan

Photo © Moise Saman/NYTimes-All Rights Reserved

“Afghanistan is hemorrhaging its youth into Europe” said Pierre Henry, director of France Terre d’Asile, an organization that works with the European Union, the United Nations refugee agency and the French government on asylum affairs.

As per The New York Times' The Lost Boys of Afghanistan, one of the consequences of the war in Afghanistan are the young (some as young as 12) refugees who seek an education and a safe future currently impossible in their own country. It appears that the European nations where these youngsters seek refuge are obliged under national and international law to provide for them; adding a few thousands to the many more of illegal migrants.

The photographs are by Moise Saman, and the accompanying article is by Caroline Brothers.

I'm mildly encouraged in reading that Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has recently written a critique "of government efforts at “strategic communication” with the Muslim world, saying that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if American behavior overseas is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting."

Perhaps similar and concerted efforts by our current administration will slowly redress the blight caused by the previous administration's actions on the Muslim world....it will take a lot of time and effort, but it's a step in the right direction.

Outside Magazine: Antonin Kratochvil

Photo © Clay Enos-All Rights Reserved

"Antonin detests the notion of self-aggrandizement that photographers make a living off of," says Gary Knight, a colleague of Kratochvil's and co-founder of VII.

That's a statement that made me pay close attention to the interview with Antonin Kratochvil published by Outside magazine. I've been gnashing my teeth and rolling my eyes at this very attitude which is exhibited by so many photographers these days; especially those who are deemed to be "conflict" or "war" photographers. And here's a interview which tells us that Antonin rejects the "war photographer" label outright and hates the self-promotional concept of bearing witness that's in vogue among some photojournalists....a feeling just up my alley.

A very unusual man, with an interesting history. I won't repeat the details here, but encourage you to set enough time to read and savor the interview. You'll enjoy it.

Antonin Kratochvil's website.

Google & Twitter Followers

I see that The Travel Photographer blog now has 200 Google Followers and 386 Twitter Followers....so I thought I'd thank them all with this post. Thank you! It's quite a milestone on this blog's trajectory.

I'm always bemused that this blog attracts thousands of loyal readers on a daily basis, who arrived from disparate sources such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other search engines etc.

Dhiraj Singh: LENS

It is with considerable gratification that I learned this morning that Dhiraj Singh's work has appeared on The New York Times' LENS blog. A few of of us had known that this was in the works while we were at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, and it materialized as we hoped it would.

Yes, good things happen to good people.

Dhiraj, as readers of this blog now know, attended my class "Introduction To Multimedia Storytelling" at the workshop, and produced an absolutely stunning photo essay, for which he was deservedly honored for by winning the workshop’s top honors for student work.

His beautiful black & white work on Kashmir is now featured on the LENS blog, in which seeks to document a Kashmir that is defined by more than the decades-long dispute between India and Pakistan over the area. It's worth your time to read Dhiraj's interview as well, which tells us this, among other information:

Mr. Singh, 32, was born and raised in Mumbai. He was a storyboard artist for an ad agency until 2007, when he took a job shooting for Daily News & Analysis (DNA), a national daily. “I was always fascinated with photography,” he said, “and felt that if I did not take the risk and give myself a chance, I would’ve surely lived to regret it.” His work has since appeared in Newsweek, Vanity Fair and The Wall Street Journal.

May good things continue to happen to Dhiraj.

Dhiraj Singh's website is here.

Professional Photographer Contest

Professional Photographer magazine is one of the many excellent photography magazines in the United Kingdom. It now has launched a photography contest, and asks if its readers (and others) have what it takes to be the Professional Photographer of the Year 2009?

The Professional Photographer awards will be judged by a panel of judges along with the editor of Professional Photographer magazine, Grant Scott. Travel is one of the many categories that are available for interested photographers to compete in.

The closing date for 2009 submissions will be November 27, 2009.

As in all and every photography contests, I strongly encourage all interested photographers to make sure they carefully read the contests' terms and conditions, especially since misunderstandings between organizers and contestants over terms, prizes and other issues sometimes occur.

Palani Mohan: VIVID

Here's VIVID, a blast of colors that will surely jolt your senses into overdrive! It's a collection of "color-caffeinated" photographs by Palani Mohan of various (mostly of the Indian Holi festival) scenes of tremendous color.

Palani was born in Chennai, India, and moved to Australia as a child. His photographic career started at the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, and since then he has been based in London, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and now Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.

His work has been published by many of the world's leading magazines and newspapers including National Geographic, Stern, Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. He also published three photographic books. Palani's work has been recognized with awards from World Press Photo, Picture of the Year, National Press Photographers Association, American Photo and Communication Arts. He is represented by Getty Images' Reportage Group in New York.

The Travel Photographer blog previously featured Palani Mohan's work here.

Marc Silber Interviews Deanne Fitzmaurice

In this video interview, Marc Silber discusses photography techniques with Deanne Fitzmaurice, a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist.

Deanne talks about how to approach your subject, and how to “layer” (a perceptive term) one's photographs and of multimedia, among other things. While not really new, there is sensible advice in this video, and it's given in an attractive low-key non patronizing conversational tone. Highly recommended interview for its content and for its style.

Via The Click

Boston Globe's Ramadan

Photo © Fareed Khan/AP Photo-All Rights Reserved
The Boston Globe's Big Picture is featuring Ramadan 2009, a collection of 39 photos celebrating the advent of the month of Ramadan in the Muslim world.

"In Muslim nations and regions around the globe, this is the first week of the holy month of Ramadan, a time for followers to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity during the day, breaking their fast each sunset, with traditional meals and sweets. During this time, Muslims are also encouraged to read the entire Quran, to give freely to those in need, and strengthen their ties to God through prayer. The goal of the fast is to teach humility, patience and sacrifice, and to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future.

While I have chosen the above photograph as the one that, to my mind, exemplifies the spirit of Ramadan the best amongst the collection, I was amused to see one (#27 by Ben Curtis) of Egyptian women walking past paper lanterns (presumably made in China since they have Chinese calligraphy on them) that are used as decorations during Ramadan. Globalization indeed!

RESOLVE blog Features FPW's Multimedia

My Name is Dechen - Foundry Workshop Multimedia By Dhiraj Singh from liveBooks on Vimeo.

Miki Johnson, Editor of the RESOLVE blog, interviewed two photographers who participated in this year's Foundry Photojournalism, and posted their multimedia projects as well.

One of the two participants, Dhiraj Singh, attended my class Introduction To Multimedia Storytelling, and produced an absolutely stunning tour de force photo essay, which can now be seen in the above embedded video. Dhiraj was deservedly honored for this work by winning the workshop’s top honors for student work.

The other participant was Tristan Wheelock, who attended the Intermediate Multimedia class by Henrik Kastenskov of Bombay Flying Club.

The interviews and multimedia work produced by Dhiraj and Tristan can be seen on RESOLVE.

Dhiraj Singh's work was featured on TTP, and his website is here.

Landon Nordeman: The Sugar Train (Cuba)

The Atlantic magazine recently featured this slideshow (they call it video) of photographs by Landon Nordeman during a train journey in Cuba.

It's accompanied by an evocatively written article by Michael Scott Moore titled The 12:39 To Matanzas, which I enjoyed. However, I can't say the same of the slideshow. Clearly cobbled together by someone with an inordinate affection for panning and camera movements, I don't think I've seen a single frame in the slideshow (or video) that doesn't have the annoying pan from one side to the other, or going from one direction to the other, without a real reason for the movement.

I always start off my multimedia classes and workshops by telling participants to keep their projects simple, and to use effects sparingly, and only when it's absolutely required to underscore a visual point. In fact, I'll use this slideshow to demonstrate to my future classes what not to do. As to the use of a sound track from a Buena Vista Club album, ambient sound recorded in the train, peoples' voices, perhaps an impromptu song by a passenger...would have helped turn this feature around. Heck, what about the guy with the accordion in the train?

WSJ Photo Journal: Onam

Photo © Sivaram V./Reuters-All Rights Reserved
The Wall Street Journal's Photo Journal has this striking photograph of a dancer about to perform during festivities marking the start of the annual harvest festival of Onam in Kochi, India. The festival symbolizes the return of mythical King Mahabali to meet his beloved subjects.

Readers and followers of this blog and my work will immediately recognize that this is Theyyam performer who, as those I've photographed last January, and can be seen in my Theyyam gallery, is part of an indigenous religious tradition in the north of Kerala.

However, I wasn't aware that Theyyam rituals are performed during Onam, which is the state festival of Kerala. The festival includes snake boat races, Pulikali (tiger) dances and processions of caparisoned elephants. It is celebrated in honor of Mahabali, the mythical Asura king of ancient Kerala, and falls during August or September....but Theyyam rituals during Onam? Ah well, I learn something everyday.

Book: Dalrymple's Nine Lives

One of my favorite haunts when I'm in London is Stanfords, the travel bookstore close to Covent Gardens...and one of my favorite authors is William Dalrymple. So when both come together in an event to be held at the Royal Geographical Society, I am ready with my credit card to buy a ticket.

However, as I will still be in Bhutan on October 7, I will miss the event, but look forward to buying the book when I am in London.

I posted about Nine Lives earlier on TTP.

At War: Tyler Hicks

Photo © Tyler Hicks-All Rights Reserved
Well, the headlines this morning on Afghanistan are not encouraging, what with the rigged elections and with American military commanders in the country telling Richard Holbrooke (President Obama’s chief envoy to the region) that they did not have enough troops to do their job, pushed past their limit by "Taliban" rebels who operate across borders.

The usage of "Taliban" for every single insurgent (whatever his connection) in Afghanistan is really getting way past its expiration date...or the other one that is really getting so stale that one can almost smell it, is Al-Qaida...or even better, "Al-Qaida-affiliated"....as if the people living in the badlands and caves of Pakistan northern regions have an organization chart, showing affiliates or subsidiaries.

The New York Times (sensing that the war in Afghanistan will not be over in a while) is featuring a new blog called At War. The latest entry is by Tyler Hicks, the noted photojournalist and conflict photographer, who's reporting from the Korengal Valley using night vision photography and audio. I think it's quite clever of The New York Times to do this, as it adds a multi-dimensional aspect to Tyler's reporting.

And to end my tirade, here's this in Tyler Hicks' own words:

"The enemy fighters in this area are mostly local Korengalis. Accustomed to the mountains they can move stealthily in small groups, wearing running shoes or plastic sandals while carrying little more than Kaloshnikov (sic) rifles."

Three things jumped at me: the first is that the fighters have been identified as local Korengalis, not Taleban...and the second is that they're wearing plastic sandals. Those of us who remember the Viet Nam War, also remember what the Viet Cong wore on their feet...sandals. And the third is that the Koregalis, like the Viet Cong, also use Kalashnikovs.

Make of this what you will, but it doesn't augur well for us.

POV: Reuters Blog: f8 & Be There

Photo © Zainal AbdHalim/Reuters-All Rights Reserved
Reuters Photographers Blog has a post on a Muslim woman who is scheduled to be caned next week in Malaysia for committing the offence of drinking beer in public. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will be the first Malaysian (other news outlets report that she's from Singapore) woman to be caned under Islamic laws (Sharia') applicable to Malaysia’s Muslims, who account for about 60% of its population, and is fueling a furious debate over tolerance in this multi-racial country.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has asked that the punishment be carried out in public in an attempt to shame the Malaysian authorities, and Reuters is asking photographers to let them know how they would go about photographing this punishment. Reuters editors and photographers in Malaysia will have to make these decisions next week.

If I were to photograph this shameful event, I would focus my lenses on the faces of those who are carrying out the sentence. The policemen, the guards, those who represent the Sharia' authorities, every single person (presumably they'll all be men) in that room...and record their facial expressions and posture while Kartika is being submitted to this atrocity. Although I've read that the caning itself is expected to be "light" and just symbolic, it's also symbolic of a backward thought process that needs to be exposed and shamed. And let us be clear...this is not Malaysian secular law, but Sharia' law that decreed the punishment.

If God is "angry" at Kartika because she drank a couple of beers, let God "punish" her...not some hypocritical Malaysian imams who interpret Islam according to their whims. Justice and compassion are central pillars of Islam, and neither the Qur'an nor the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad prescribes any form of punishment for drinking alcohol.

Update (8.24): Malaysia abruptly granted a Ramadan reprieve to the first Muslim Malay woman to be sentenced to caning for drinking beer, but insisted the thrashing would still take place after the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Uh-huh.

Book: 100 New York Photographers

I am featured in Cynthia Dantzig's new book: 100 New York Photographers. I haven't seen the book yet, but I expect to have a double-spread page, and perhaps even two full double pages. A number of my photographs of Bali, Ethiopia, Bhutan, Burma and India were chosen, and I'm impatient to see which made it to the book's pages.

Cynthia, a professor at Long Island University, just published 100 New York Photographers, a 442-page review of the great range of contemporary New York photographers and their diverse, surprisingly divergent, images. It presents their subject matter and their very definitions of photography, darkroom and digital. Their photographs have been seen in publications, galleries, and museums.

Included are such iconic figures as Annie Liebovitz, Jay Maisel, Amy Arbus, Hugh Bell, Arnold Crane, Bruce Davidson, Carrie Mae Weems, Elliott Erwitt, Helen Levitt, David Gahr, Lee Friedlander, Arthur Leipzig, Builder Levy, Duane Michals, Joel Meyerowitz, Jamel Shabazz, John Loengard, Tony Vaccaro, Mary Ellen Mark, Pete Turner, Burke Uzzle, Deborah Willis, and others, as well as many less familiar but no less brilliant photographers. I expect I'm one of those!

The book will be available in September 2009, and will have price tag of $60.00

Live Hope Love

Here's a brilliantly done multimedia reporting project HOPE: Living & Loving With HIV in Jamaica, which was commissioned by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

It's an expansive project by poet and writer Kwame Dawes who travels to Jamaica and explores the experience of people living with HIV/AIDS, and examines how the disease has shaped their lives. In this feature, people tell their stories, share their lives and talk about resilience, hope and possibility in the face of despair. Some are living with the disease; others have committed their lives to HIV/AIDS care.

Photography is by Joshua Cogan.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an innovative non-profit leader in supporting the independent international journalism that U.S. media organizations are increasingly less willing to undertake. The Center focuses on under-reported topics, promoting high-quality international reporting and creating platforms that reach broad and diverse audiences.

Afghanistan: Choices

Photo © Raheb Homavandi/Reuters-Courtesy WSJ Photo Journal
Our media is publishing reams of articles on the elections in Afghanistan, so I thought I'd highlight excerpts of articles written by a US commentator and another from the UK.

In his In Afghanistan, the Choice Is Ours in The New York Times, Richard N. Haass writes this:

Making this assessment in Afghanistan is difficult. The Taliban are resourceful and patient and can use Pakistan as a sanctuary. It is not obvious that Afghans can overcome ethnic and tribal loyalties, corruption and personal rivalries. No matter who is declared the winner, yesterday’s election is almost certain to leave the country even more divided.

There needs to be a limit to what the United States does in Afghanistan and how long it is prepared to do it, lest we find ourselves unable to contend with other wars, of choice or of necessity, if and when they arise.

The incomparable Robert Fisk in his Democracy will not bring freedom in The Independent writes this:

We still think we can offer Afghans the fruits of our all-so-perfect Western society. We still believe in the Age of Enlightenment and that all we have to do is fiddle with Afghan laws and leave behind us a democratic, gender-equal, human rights-filled society. In the meantime, NATO soldiers go on dying for the pitiful illusion that we can clean the place up. We can't. We are not going to.

That's right. We can't and won't.

Rahman Roslan: Dark Secrets

Photo © Rahman Roslan-All Rights Reserved
Rahman Roslan is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Kuala Lumpur, whose specialty is in news and documentary photography. A self-taught photographer, he started his craft a few years ago, and quickly gained recognition for his talents. His work was published in E9 magazine, The National UAE, Sutra Magazine, The New Internationalist, Berita Harian Singapore, Strait Times Singapore, and UNESCO Korea amongst others, as well as freelancing for wire agencies such as AFP and Reuters in Kuala Lumpur.

He is one of the alum of the Angkor Photography Festival, and won the emerging talent award at the 2009 Foundry Photojournalism Workshop which was held in Manali, for his work on the effects of marijuana trade on the local community.

His award-winning project is Dark Secrets, which documents the effects of marijuana trade on this idyllic area of Himachal Pradesh. Marijuana grows in the wild in Manali, and its exploitation is earning unscrupulous locals considerable return, but damages the fabric of Manali's traditional society.

The Black Snapper

As my readers know, one of The Travel Photographer blog's objectives is to assist emerging photographers in getting better known, and contribute in introducing their work to a wider audience.

Many other blogs and web magazines do this as well. Burn, 100Eyes, Verve Photo and others are showcasing the work of emerging and creative photographers extremely well, and have done much to introduce new talent into the limelight.

A newly formed web magazine The Black Snapper has joined in this commendable task on August 1st 2009. The Black Snapper daily presents a photographer selected by one of its guest curators, and the expectation is to present a new series of 8-20 photos each day.

According to its About blurb:

The Black Snapper aims to create an online community that will inspire professionals and photography lovers worldwide and expose new talent. In addition, the online magazine emphatically supports the emancipation and promotion of photographers from Asia, Africa and South America.

Coincidentally with the latest features on both 100Eyes and Verve, The Black Snapper has been showcasing the work of Bangladeshi photographers for 6 days already. Today's feature is called The Pavement Dwellers Amrao Manush; a Bangla phrase that means “We are humans too”. The featured photo essay is by Shehab Uddin.

I will add The Black Snapper to TTP's blogroll. I imagine you'll bookmark it as well.

Ralph Childs: Bhutan

Photo © Ralph N. Childs-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Ralph N. Childs-All Rights Reserved
I will be leading the Bhutan: Land Of Druk Yul photo expedition in the coming few weeks, and thought it would be appropriate to usher in its final preparation phase by featuring some of the work by the talented participants who joined the 2008 expedition.

Here are two photographs by Chicago-based Ralph Childs who maintains the blog RNC Photography. Both images are of performers at the famed festivals known as tsechus; which are annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district of Bhutan during specific days of the lunar Tibetan calendar. I chose these photographs because of their colors and motion.

Ralph works for one of the largest American aerospace and defense technology company, and also photographs local assignments during week-ends. His first photo-expedition with me was to Angkor Wat in early 2006, and he has been on quite a few since. He's constantly tempted to acquire new photographic gear, and bounces off some of his ideas off me. I try to temper his enthusiasm for new cameras and lenses, but fail miserably most of the time.

He thought of joining the forthcoming 2009 Bhutan photo-expedition, but work demands precluded him from visiting Bhutan three years in a row! There's always next year, Ralph!

New Canon G11 Announced

The photography enthusiasts and blogosphere are buzzing with the news that Canon has announced the flagship 10.0-megapixel PowerShot G11 with a retail price of $499.

Yes, the new model features a lower resolution in order to create larger individual pixels on the imaging chip that absorb more light. According to Canon, the system combines the new 10MP chip; optical image stabilization; and the camera's Digic IV image processor to produce better images in low light at high ISOs. Some professionals have asked for a halt to increasing cameras' resolution since it also increases noise when using small imaging sensors.

Notwithstanding Gary Knight's experience with the G10, it will take a miracle to convince me to part (again) with almost $500 to acquire a "street shooter" camera such as the G11. I've done it with the Canon G10, and was disappointed by its performance during my photo expedition in Morocco. You can read about this here.

Also, a sensible post by Matt Burns on CrunchGear about the G11.

And much more information on 1001 Noisy Cameras.

Note: Some commentators believe that the G11's image quality will be an improvement over its predecessor...but what is also crucial to my style of photography is shutter lag. The G10's shutter lag just didn't meet my expectations.

Bas Uterwijk: Kushti Wrestling

Photo © Bas Uterwijk-All Rights Reserved
Bas Uterwijk is a Dutch photojournalist, is an alum of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshops in Mexico City and Manali (India) and, while in Delhi, photographed Kushti wrestling. He is now a full time photojournalist, having been a computer graphics artist for a video game company.

Kushti is one of India's indigenous forms of wrestling, but from a royal spectacle has slowly turned into a dying form of sport, but recent efforts are being exerted to revive it. It's also practiced in Pakistan and Iran, and with some differences in Turkey.

Its practitioners have to adopt a rigorous daily regimen consisting of aerobic and weight exercises; nourishing the soil at the akhara where they wrestle, and eating a diet made of non-spicy, self-made food, and also adhering to a life of celibacy. The sand on which the Kushti wrestlers perform their sport is "fed" with ghee and mustard oil, and represents Mother India itself.

Bas has been featured a number of times on TTP.

Wink Willett: Bhutan

Photo © Wink Willett-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Wink Willett-All Rights Reserved

I will be leading the Bhutan: Land Of Druk Yul photo expedition in the coming few weeks, and thought it would be appropriate to usher in its final preparation phase by featuring some of the work by the talented participants who joined the 2008 expedition.

To kick us off, here are two brilliant portraits by Wink Willett. One is a spontaneous portrait, while the second is more posed, although if I recall correctly the monk was already in this position when Wink arrived at the scene.

The top portrait is of a lay nun, spinning her prayer wheel and circumbulating around the Jakhar temple, while the second is of a Buddhist monk at a monastery, bathed in a wonderful light.

Wink Willett is an international banker, and brings to his photographic style the lessons he learned from his many overseas senior postings. His biography on his website sums his outlook very well:

"Photography gives me the opportunity to capture this interaction and a country's character; and it helps me archive what I've seen and learned. I gravitate to peoples' faces and their eyes as they tell so much about the life and soul of a person: hardship, determination, kindness."

Have a look at Wink's Bhutan Gallery, and explore his many others which include the Bahamas, Cambodia, India, Morocco and Viet Nam, to mention just a few.

Geoffrey Hiller: The Bangladesh Project

Geoffrey Hiller is an award winning multimedia artist, a teacher of interactive media, a photographer and the editor of Verve Photo, which he describes as having showcased the work of close to 300 photographers. However, he returns to this blog's pages for his The Bangladesh Project.

Geoffrey has lived and taught in Dhaka from August 2008 to May 2009 on a Fulbright Scholarship, teaching interactive media, and has now published a dedicated website for his The Bangladesh Project in which he showcases a number of photographic galleries such as Faces, Islam, The River, Hindu Culture, to name but a few, of images made in this photogenic and magnetic country. Geoffrey and his students have been photographing everywhere in Dhaka...in the streets, on constructions sites, in markets, in madrasas, trying to capture the essence of this city of 15 million people.

Personally, I think he succeeded. I also hope that Geoffrey will be producing a multimedia feature based on this project.

Global Post: The Taliban

With so much in the news about Afghanistan, I thought I'd join the fray and feature this collaboration between GlobalPost and MediaStorm.

According to its producers, Life, Death and the Taliban seeks to "enhance America’s understanding of Taliban history in Afghanistan and Pakistan". Charles Sennott of GlobalPost reviews the group’s rise to power and looks at current political and counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan.

To cut through through the constant rubbish, biased and lazy reporting, and outright misinformation fed to us by the US mainstream media is a tall order, and as evidenced by the convoluted, and sometimes awkward, reporting in this piece, there are many facets to the Taliban. While I don't dispute GlobalPost's intentions, I also look forward to the day when our media is willing and able to report the current events in both Afghanistan and Pakistan without bias and preconceived notions. Will it be after the fact, as with the war in Iraq? Time will tell.

Photographer Seamus Murphy, who has long chronicled the shifts of power in Afghanistan, accompanied Charles Sennott to Kabul for this report. The project includes several stories and video pieces.

For Seamus Murphy's powerful images of Afghanistan, go to A Darkness Visible featured by The Digital Journalist.

Comment: Complex vs Simple Multimedia

Chandni Chowk - Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I received an email from a friend and veteran photojournalist, who participated in one of my earlier Introduction To Multimedia Storytelling classes. His comments are in response to my earlier post POV: Complex vs Simple Multimedia.

While I don't usually publish or publicly react to the frequent comments I get, I decided to make an exception here because (i) the wise commentary is from a working-in-the-field photographer, and (ii) because of my personal and professional respect for this photojournalist. (Some phrases have been redacted from the email).

"I appreciated your comments in your blog post. Dhiraj Singh's project was an excellent example for your advocacy of keeping things simple.

Being a member of the last generation of newspaper staff photographers, I find the changes even at my own newspaper fascinating, yet sometimes frustrating.

Granted, "...big name newspapers and mainstream media have teams of photo editors and sound engineers that create these multimedia slideshows for publication, and use sophisticated software (Final Cut Pro and a myriad of other applications...)"

Photographers or now "visual journalists" for mid & small-size newspaper are producing video and multimedia projects without the benefit of editors, production staff or even training, and do it with daily deadlines.

Soundslides is a great, fast and simple application, but people who work for publications with an on-line presence must also be able to produce video. .

Ergo, final cut... an expensive & complicated software package that has a steep learning curve and, especially for an Apple product, not very intuitive. I probably only use about $25 worth of final cut's $1000+ price tag, as I probably only use $25 worth of Photoshop CS4.

I am continually amazed by the work people have done using SoundSlides. and I always enjoy the opportunity to use it when video isn't part of the story. Unfortunately, we have weekly video quotas, whether video is the best way to tell the story or not".

The above bit about small size newspapers requiring its visual journalists to produce video is jarring...so let's re-read it once more, and get electrocuted again: "...are producing video and multimedia projects without the benefit of editors, production staff or even training, and do it with daily deadlines."

So once again the message to photojournalists is crystal clear. Get on the multimedia band wagon, adapt it to your workflow, work with SoundSlides (or whatever software you prefer) and/or Final Cut Pro (or Express) and learn how to intelligently and creatively juggle stills, audio and video. There is no alternative.

David Hagerman: Food & Travel

Photo © David Hagerman-All Rights Reserved
David Hagerman attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali, but I only met him during the final evening during which all participants showcased their projects. Most participants were extremely busy working on their projects and, apart from a chance encounter on the streets, they found it difficult to meet other participants in other classes....so networking was most active during these social events.

We had a couple of conversations between the presentations, and while exchanging complaints (and business cards) about the warm Kingfisher beers in our hands, I discovered that he lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where, with freelance writer Robyn Eckhardt, produces the well-known EatingAsia blog, which is mainly about Asian food and the people who produce and cook it, and Asian culinary cultures and food traditions. They couldn't have chosen a better city to write and document Asian food.

David is also a travel photographer...his galleries on his website are of food, people and places. I liked how his lovely images are displayed in large sizes without the need of using any form of navigation. One just opens his website and waits...the images will appear in succession.

David lived in Asia for over 13 years, and his images have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal Asia, Saveur, Budget Travel, Travel & Leisure SEA, The Chicago Tribune, South China Morning Post, Time Out KL, and Lonely Planet guidebooks. Naturally, he has a blog titled SkyBlueSky, which I encourage you to visit.

The above black & white photograph is of a stone house in old Manali, and appears on his blog.

Nikon Photo Contest International 2009

Photo © Maung Maung Gyi-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Danny Ghitis-All Rights Reserved
The Nikon Corporation recently announced winners of the Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009. This year's theme, "At The Heart of the Image," drew over 51,000 entries by over 18,000 entrants from 153 countries and regions.

The judges were professionals working internationally in various photographic fields, most of whom were from Japan, with Ami Vitale, Alptekin Baloglu and Claudia Hinterseer. The judges selected a total of 34 winners: one Grand Prize winner and one NIKKOR 75th Anniversary Award winner, in addition to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize winners for each category.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Maung Maung Gyi of Myanmar for his work entitled "Cave Of Hope," of a Buddhist cave some 40 miles south of the city of Mandalay, however I preferred Danny Ghitis' photograph of an elderly woman bathing in the Ganges during Makar Sankranti.

I should point out that Maung Maung Gyi is a medical doctor, not a full time photographer, while Danny Ghitis is a working photojournalist.

TIME: Paula Bronstein's Gitmo Detainees

Photo © Paula Bronstein/Courtesy TIME-All Rights Reserved
TIME magazine recently featured a series of portraits of released Gitmo detainees by Paula Bronstein. The stories of how these men were captured and eventually detained in Guantanamo are chilling, and underscore how impervious the American government and military were to the articles of Geneva Convention and international law, including habeas corpus.

The portrait above is of Haji Nasrat, an Afghan farmer who at 77 was Guantanamo's oldest prisoner. Partially paralyzed for more than 15 years and illiterate, Nasrat says he does not know why the Americans detained him. Let's ponder on the reaction in Nasrat's village when he returned; jubilation at first and then rage at his being unjustly detained....a rage felt for a variety of reasons by thousands and thousands of Afghanis...Pashtuns and Hazaras.

Coincidentally, I read in The New York Times that a new Army handbook was published to guide our military on building relationships with Afghan village elders, and how to build trust among village residents. Shouldn't that have been done 8 years ago?

Another question: Am I the only one who thinks that TIME magazine's photographic galleries are in dire need of a facelift?

Emilio Morenatti: Injured In Afghanistan

Photo © Associated Press/Emilio Morenatti-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times's LENS blog reported that Emilio Morenatti, a 40-year-old photographer for The Associated Press was badly wounded Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by a roadside bomb. Morenatti's work from the Middle East has been likened to artwork. He currently is on his way to world class treatment in a hospital in the UAE.

All media (mainstream and blogs) reporting these news are unanimous in their praise for Morenatti's remarkable talent, his sensitivity and commitment to photojournalism. May he be well soon.

Larry Larsen: Gnawa Photo Expedition

Photo © Larry Larsen -All Rights Reserved
I organized the Gnawa (or Ganoua) Photo Expedition in late June, which was joined by a number of talented full-time and part time photographers, whose principal objective was to photograph the legendary Gnawa musicians during the 12th Essaouira Music Festival.

Photo © Larry Larsen -All Rights Reserved
This is the fourth of a series of posts which showcase a sample of the participating photographers' work, and it is by Larry Larsen, a Seattle-based artist and photographer. Larry's biography tells us that he was a boilermaker welder for 30 years, but now retired, he's following his true passion in fine art. He learned how to turn on a computer in 2000, began learning Photoshop, and acquired a digital camera and never looked back. He learned that digital photography is very liberating and wide open for experimentation. He has made Photoshop composites and he has played with HDR.

Photo © Larry Larsen -All Rights Reserved
Despite the difficulty of street photography in Morocco, Larry was able, in his unobtrusive way, to make a number of interesting spontaneous photographs, which are on his website. Have a look at his first image in the Morocco series; for those who read Arabic, you'll understand its tongue in cheek humor. For those who don't...ah, well, you'll have to ask Larry.

100Eyes: Bangladesh x Bangladesh

I'm surprised that it seems I haven't yet mentioned 100Eyes ...along with one or two other similarly oriented photography magazines, it's one of the best on the internet. This issue is all about Bangladesh and Bangladeshi photographers.

100Eyes is Andy Levin's brainchild. Andy was a contributing photographer with the original Life Magazine, and started his career as a staff photographer for the Black Star agency in 1985, where he completed contract assignments for magazines including National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, and Fortune. He was awarded numerous awards and recognitions, and is now involved with various projects in New Orleans.

There is no question that there is a Bangladeshi school of photography, which was strongly influenced by Shahidul Alam, the photography icon in the country. The photographers whose work are shown here are Munem Wasif, Andrew Biraj, Tanvir Ahmed, Abir Abdullah, Monirul Alam, Shehzad Noorani, Saiful Huq Omi, Khaled Hasan, Murtada Bulbul, Mohammad Kibria Palash and Azizur Rahim Peu....many of them well known in international photography circles.

Andy reasserts (a fact that many of us have recognized) that indigenous photographers are able to achieve an deep intimacy with their subject, as follows:

"If there is a message in the emergence of “indigenous photographers” it is that these photographers are able to achieve an intimacy with their subjects which enhances their humanity rather than objectifying and reducing the disadvantaged to stereotypical images of suffering."

A great issue, and not to be missed!

POV: Simple vs Complex Multimedia

Chandni Chowk - Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Having now gotten rid of flu symptoms and of my jet lag, I think I settled a lingering thought that made its presence felt during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop earlier this month.

The class I taught was Introduction To Multimedia Storytelling, and its whole premise was based on encouraging its participants to concentrate on the story, rather than on the application, and how to make quick work of slideshow production by using SoundSlides, by using their own images and audio generated in the field, and to produce a cogent photo story under the simulation of publishing deadlines.

Now, I realize that the big name newspapers and mainstream media have teams of photo editors and sound engineers that create these multimedia slideshows for publication, and use sophisticated software (Final Cut Pro and a myriad of other applications), but let's be real... many of us may not work for (or be published by) such newspapers and media, nor have access to that kind of infrastructural and creative support.

The objective I set forth for my class was achieved by most of its participants and one of them, Dhiraj Singh, even won the top award for photography for his poignant My Name is Dechen, despite strong competition from other multimedia presentations created by other photographers using Final Cut Pro and other software applications.

Is a simple flash-based slideshow making software adequate enough to win awards? It seems so, doesn't it?. Naturally, it wasn't the application's sophistication that mattered, but Dhiraj's creativity...the beauty and poignancy of his work...that counted, not the simplicity or even shortcomings of the software. Simple applications that do the work do not require a photographer (whose primary focus should be in photographing) to sit for hours and days to present a complex multimedia package. And I'm not counting the time (and money) required to learn it.

Is there room for simple and complex multimedia? Of course there is. But keeping it simple frequently trumps the competition from more intricate and complicated applications...especially where speed is of the essence. Yasin Dar, one of my class' participants put a beautiful SoundSlides slideshow together in a single afternoon...from photographing and recording a couple of audio tracks to producing the final photo essay.

Finally, I have no affiliation whatsoever with any software maker, except that I like what I currently use for its simplicity, low cost and ease of use. If I find another application that better serves my purpose, I'll migrate over to it and use it.

So the moral of the story is this: Keep It Simple And Use Your Time To Photograph.

Pop Photo: My Interview

What is it Like to be a...Travel Photographer?

That's the question I was asked by Carolina Hidalgo of Popular Photography, who talked to me a few weeks ago, part of an ongoing project in which she interviews several professional photographers about how they landed their dream jobs.

I often remember Costa Manos' admonishment that I needed to 'complicate' my photographs...to make them less simple, and to have them tell a story. Some 10 years ago in Old Havana where he was teaching a street photography workshop, he was the one who planted the seed of storytelling in my consciousness. I recall my ego being badly bruised at first, but it quickly recovered when I realized he was exactly right.

Popular Photography & Imaging, also called Popular Photography or Pop Photo, is a monthly American consumer magazine founded in 1937 and the world's largest imaging magazine, with an editorial staff twice the size of its nearest competitor. It has a rate base (subscription and single copy sales) of 400,000 with a total audience of 2,085,000.

AFAR Magazine

Candace Feit emailed me saying that her photograph made in the Moroccan Atlas mountains was published as the cover of the premiere issue of AFAR magazine.

Coincidentally, The New York Times (and other newspapers) published articles announcing AFAR's "birth", hailing the courage of the two entrepreneurs who started the venture in the current economic climate, despite their lack of experience.

The founders, Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz, describe their magazine (based out of San Francisco) as having an emphasis on "experiential travel". While the magazine will carry conventional travel features, it will stay away from articles on luxury hotels and designer golf courses.

AFAR is scheduled to be published six times of year, with a newsstand price of $4.99.

"Intro To Multimedia Storytelling" Class

Three participants in my Intro To Multimedia Storytelling class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (FPW) produced stunning slideshow photo essays, and I thought it would be interesting to write about their contrasting photographic and personal styles.

I taught my class' participants to concentrate on the story, rather than on the application, and how to make quick work of slideshow production (SoundSlides), using their own images and audio generated in the field, and to produce a cogent photo story under the simulation of publishing deadlines.

Except for Dhiraj's slideshow which is already online (see below for link), the two remaining slideshows will appear on The Travel Photographer when Mohit and Yasin upload them on their own websites/blogs.

Photo © Dhiraj Singh-All Rights Reserved
My Name is Dechen by Dhiraj Singh

Dhiraj Singh is a photojournalist and editorial photographer in Mumbai, whose work has appeared in various international publications including Newsweek, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC among others.

For My Name is Dechen, a gripping tale of Tibetan woman afflicted with psychological problems, Dhiraj received the top student award for photography during the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop's final evening. He worked incredibly hard and creatively to produce this multimedia black & white photo essay. He was already quite comfortable in producing slideshows using SoundSlides, so it was a matter of editing his images, and sync'ing Dechen's audio with the stills.

Dhiraj quickly grasped the flip book technique, and inserted well-paced scenes of Dechen singing and dancing. No one can produce such an intimate photo essay unless he or she possesses the interpersonal skills to gain the confidence of the subject. There's no question that Dhiraj's work with this photo essay underscores his inherent compassion (he confided to me that he teared up more than once while photographing Dechen), patience and kindness.

Here's is the complete multimedia My Name Is Dechen.

Photo © Yasin Dar-All Rights Reserved
Shyam, The Street Barber by Dar Yasin

Yasin is an award winning photojournalist, and stumbled into photography after studying computers in South Indian city of Bangalore. He contributes regularly to the Associated Press and Onasia, an international news agency based in Bangkok. His work appears in leading international publications including Washington Post, New York Times, Time Magazine, and others. He won international and national awards recognizing his work.

He participated in a FPW panel discussing the difficulties of photographing in South Asia, and explained that by living in Srinagar, he was confronted on a daily basis with unimaginable violence and bloodshed. It was therefore very interesting from my standpoint (and presumably, from his) to see him tackle a comparatively sedate and non challenging task as photographing and interviewing a street barber in Manali. Used to dodge bullets, canisters of tear gas, policemen's lathis and demonstrators' abuse, Yasin smilingly told me that this assignment "felt different".

As I wrote in an earlier post, Yasin photographed and recorded his chosen project in an hour or so, basing it on the One in 8 Million series of the New York Times.

Photo © Mohit Gupta-All Rights Reserved

Thankas by Mohit Gupta

Originally hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Mohit Gupta is an independent photographer based in New Delhi, who specializes in travel and documentary photography. He received his tertiary education in one of India’s most prestigious engineering schools – BITS, Pilani, and upon completing his studies in Computer Science in 2001, he joined Adobe Systems. It's a no brainer as who was the man to go to when anyone in our class needed technical assistance!

For Mohit, photography is a serious medium for expression. A self taught photographer, he is mainly interested in documenting culture, traditions, rituals and religion, and has traveled within South East Asia to do just that. He also works with NGOs and helps them documenting their work.

A perfectionist with a keen visual eye for colors and shadows, Mohit spent a number of days improving his presentation. Not easily satisfied, he was constantly refining his audio recordings until he got what he wanted, and then spent hours sync'ing it as precisely as humanly possible.

As I said in my opening remarks at the Foundry Workshop, I learned from the class participants much more than they did from me. I hope it's obvious why.

Functionality & Style

Readers of this blog will perhaps recall my pre departure post in which I agonized over which camera bag I would take with me to the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in distant Manali. I eventually chose to take my delightfully small (but capacious) Domke F-8 and an IDF Messenger Bag, which I combined into a single (sort of) carry-on by using a couple of carabiners.

In fact, Steven Frischling of the Flying With Fish blog has written an interesting article about combining two bags to create a single carry on for photographers who fly, which is based on the same concept.

The combination of the Domke F-8 and the IDF Messenger Bag worked perfectly, especially for the marathon bus drives from Delhi to Manali and back.

The above was about functionality, but let's address the element of style.



Style to photographers and photojournalists (especially the latter) is very important. Excluding the scarf, which is a must accessory for every self-respecting photographer, what one wears on his/her feet is key to the overall personae.

Hence, my Chelsea boots which -as seen above- may have seen better days some 20 years ago, got an unexpected face-lift when I found an obliging cobbler near the bus-stand in Manali, who stitched all of its tears in a matter of a few minutes and for the princely sum of Rs 40 (less than $1). In London or New York, I would have paid the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment to have them fixed up.

Having watched how well the Manali cobbler stitched them up, I would wager that he added another 20 years to the boots' lifespan. I'll let you know.

NY Times: One in 8 Million

Photo © Todd Heisler/NYTimes-All Rights Reserved

One of the "props" I used very effectively during my Intro To Multimedia Storytelling class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is the stunning work done by The New York Times photographer Todd Heisler (along with others) with the One In 8 Million series. The class participants watched The Medical Tourist, and realized how effective a few stills and well edited audio can be in storytelling.

One of the participants in my class, Dar Yasin, was so captivated by what he viewed that he decided to base his multimedia SoundSlides project on the One In 8 Million series, and produced a black & white photo essay on The Street Barber, a 3 minute window into the life of Shyam, a barber in the streets of Manali, India. Dar shot the project in an hour or so, and recorded the audio at the same time.

The New York Time has featured a "shoptalk" with Todd Heisler, in which provides insights into his work. Interestingly, he tells us that he photographs a subject over two to three visits, makes a broad edit of 80 to 100 images, narrows them down to 25 to 40 images, then sits with a sound producer and start pacing the images with the final sound edit.

I know I've said it before, but for anyone interested in multimedia, done simply and very effectively, One in 8 Million is a must-see.