Amanda Koster: Salaam Garage

Photograph © Amanda Koster-All Rights Reserved
Amanda Koster is the force behind Salaam Garage Adventures, which connects travelers and enthusiasts with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Travelers commit to creating and sharing unique, independent social media that raises awareness and causes positive change. The rest of the adventure is spent touring around the region, experiencing and exploring the culture and environment with an entirely new context.

I've written about Amanda and her work with Moroccan women in an earlier post on TTP, and she's an internationally recognized photographer whose mission to raise the general public's awareness by documenting some of the world’s more compelling issues.

Her biography speaks for itself, but I'd like to highlight that "she combines her anthropology background with photographic and media-making skills to create inspiring media content as a means for powerful communication, storytelling and learning."

I couldn't have described her work any better, but I would've certainly added that her work is immensely sensitive.

Revamped Photo Expeditions Web Site

I've decided to ring the new year with a revamped website for my photo expeditions. I opted for the same color scheme as this blog, and used the same logo. I've simplified the interface and for visual effect, I added a Soundslides with some of my photographs.

Update: I changed the background color to white for legibility purposes. I also simplified the logo.

The Travel Photographer's Photo Expeditions

NY Times: Captivating Cappadocia

Yoray Liberman/Getty Images, for The New York Times-All Rights Reserved
Here's a fluff travel feature slideshow by the New York Times on Cappadocia in Turkey. The area Cappadocia is in Central Anatolia and is known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches and houses carved in the rocks.These unusual rock formations were created as a result of eroding rains and winds of thousands of years.

Its troglodyte dwellings carved out of the rock, and its cities dug out into the underground, present an otherworldly appearance. During the Roman era the area served as a shelter for escaping Christians. It is believed that Cappadocia's area is 250 miles in length by about 150 miles in breadth, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I call it a fluff piece because this feature needs more photographs...photographs of the people living in these caves...of their communities...and some audio, either a narration or ambient music by the musician in the above photograph. Since it doesn't have that, it's nothing more than a page filler for the NYT.

The New York Times' Captivating Cappadocia .

New York Times: Culinary Vietnam

Image Copyright © Chang W. Lee/New York Times-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times brings us a short slideshow of photographs by Chang W. Lee on various culinary styles in Vietnam. Street food is extremely popular in Vietnam, and it's well represented here in this feature.

The post's photograph above of a typical Vietnamese restaurant reminds me of those I visited while photographing in Vietnam for a well-known NGO. The patrons ate without talking much, and spat chicken bones and gristle on the floor. Naturally, I did the same.

The NYTimes' Culinary Vietnam.

NY Times: What's A Great Travel Picture?

Thomas Munita for The New York Times-All Rights Reserved
Michele McNally, assistant managing editor for photography at The Times, describes what she thinks makes a great travel picture, in a slideshow of photographs from the Travel section archives.

The above luminous photograph is by Thoma Munita of the cenotaphs in Orchha, India.

Here's What Makes A Great Travel Picture (Registration may be required)

Warren Clarke: Bali

Image Copyright © Warren Clarke - All Rights Reserved
I usually don't post about photography collectives, but I'll make an exception in Oculi's case because of Warren Clarke. Warren is a co-founder of the Australian collective, and is known for his wonderful photographs of Bali and its festivals, as well as for his commercial photography.

However, let me first tackle Oculi's background. In 2001, nine award-winning photojournalists, united by their commitment to documentary-storytelling, formed Oculi.com.au. The collective's website asserts that its "members'central conviction is to reveal the beauty, wonder and struggle of everyday life without contrived photo-shoots or art-directed aesthetics, just honesty with their subjects and an unflinching gaze".

Oculi's website is well worth exploring in its entirety but as I am about to lead a photo expedition to Bali next month, I spent some time admiring Warren's photo essays in Indonesia, especially the one on Ngteng Linggih (similar to a beatification of a temple). You'll find it on the second page of his gallery.

I chose the above photograph from this series. How many times have I struggled to find a 'new' angle when I photograph people, and yet I have not thought of composing a portrait such as this one...just the upper face of the Balinese dancer, with a blurry full figure of another dancer behind her. The only bit that bothers me is the white 'blob thing' on the left of her face...but no matter, I really like this photograph.

So readers of TTP and my newsletters, brace yourself...I will return from Bali with quite a lot of photographs inspired by Warren's work.

In the meantime, here Oculi's website, and Warren's gallery.

Beyond The Frame: Theyyam

Theyyam Dancer - Image Copyright Tewfic El-Sawy
Traveling in the south of India, I stopped in a small village not far from Kannur, where I was told that a Theyyam performance would soon take place in a temple. The Theyyam ritual is unlike any celebration held in any part of India, and the colorful costumes and makeup used by the dancers are part of the ritual's mystique, if not its core. It is said that the ritual goes back to two thousand years, and the Theyyam deities have their origin in the Dravidian culture and indigenous customs and rituals. I joined a large group of devotees from all walks of life, and met some who had traveled from Calcutta on the other side of India to attend the ritual.

The belief is that the costumes and painted mask-like makeup is the substance of Theyyam, and that the performer is the vehicle that carries it and the dance. Once the dancers dress into the costume, they are in contact with the God, the Theyyam. I was told that it took up to 3 days to create an elaborate costume, while the make-up and other preparations can take up to 5 hours.

People go to a Theyyam in temples such as the one I visited, and inquire about family and social problems, health issues, business ventures, etc. and they are provided guidance by the main dancer. The men from Calcutta had questions about a forthcoming business transaction involving the sale of fabric, and from their facial expressions on receiving the advice, I understood that they had been satisfied. One of them spoke some English and confirmed that they routinely made the long trip to seek business counsel at a Theyyam.

The interesting aspect of the ritual is that the Theyyam dancers are frequently imbibing thimble-fulls of palm toddy, and seem none the worse for it.

The Palaces of Calcutta

Image Copyright Stuart Isett/New York Times-All Rights Reserved
Here's an interesting feature from the New York Times on the decaying palaces of Kolkata by the Seattle-based photographer Stuart Isett, who also narrates.

Many of these palaces and regal mansions have been built at the zenith of Calcutta's (now Kolkata) golden age in the second half of the 1700s, when it became the administrative center of the famed East India Company, and was subsequently named the capital of Bengal. During Queen Victoria's reign as Empress of India, it became its imperial capital. It evolved in the following years into a beautiful city of palaces, with an accompanying period of wealth and culture. Once the opium trade (the center of Calcutta's economy) ended, the city went into an irreversible slow decline especially when the capital of India was moved to Delhi.

Most of the Calcutta's palaces are decaying and crumbling beyond repair. With countless of heirs quarreling over these properties, it's virtually impossible to save these structures. Others are sub-let to a variety of tenants, who resist being moved elsewhere by all means. With the chaotic state of the Calcutta's legal system and procedures, they are successful in remaining in these palaces over many generations.

Here's The Palaces of Calcutta. (you may need to resize your browser window.)

More of Stuart's photographs of Calcutta's palaces are here.

Preserving Tibet

Image Copyright The New York Times
Here's a recent audio slideshow on Tibet featuring pictures by various New York Times' photographers, and narrated by a reporter, Joshua Kurlantzick.

I haven't been to Tibet, but have frequently visited Dharmasala in Northern India, which is the administrative and cultural center of the Tibetan diaspora, and the recipient of the ongoing stream of Tibetan refugees. Its refugee center is filled daily by Tibetans fleeing their homeland to find freedom, and it's a tribute to India to have maintained its hospitality for so long to Tibetans. While India's welcome is because of its historical rivalry with China, I don't think any other country could have been so generous.

For background: after the occupation by China in 1959, Tibet was divided into three parts. The eastern part - Kham, and the northern part - Amdo, were assimilated into Chinese provinces. What China now refers to as Tibet is the central part - The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The Dalai Lama was not even born in this part of Tibet. Tibet is now less than half of its original size.

The total Tibetan population of TAR is now about six million, while the Chinese population is greater and increasing quickly under a policy known as sinofication. Tibet's schools are taught only in Chinese. This ongoing and concerted effort to eliminate its indigenous language endangers Tibet's culture.

One of the pictures of the slideshow that makes me cringe is of two women tourists in front of the Potola Palace, posing in traditional Tibetan garb. With the advent of the high altitude train linking Beijing and Lhasa, I'm sure the tourists influx will further increase. Whether this will preserve Lhasa and Tibetan culture is a matter of debate, but I suspect that it will "Disney-fy" the ancient culture and tradition of the region.

Here's Preserving Tibet (NYT registration may be required)

Beyond The Frame: Adivasis of Chhattisgarh

I traveled to central India in October 2004 to photograph the Adivasis (tribals) in Chhattisgarh, a recently established state originally part of Madhya Pradesh. One of the more interesting tribal belts is in the Bastar region, and it is there that I photographed members of the Muria, Muria-Gond, Bison-Horn Maria,Halba, Dhurwa, Bhatra and Dorla tribes. I witnessed their ceremonial dances, and rubbed shoulders with them at their weekly markets, or 'haats', where they barter for products and produce. I sampled their delicacies, including a rather spicy concoction of red-ants. Their ceremonial dances are very similar in style to Native American dances.

This photograph is of two members of the Bison Horn Marias tribe, a major sub-caste of the Gonds, photographed after they had performed one of their ritualistic dances. These tribes prefer to live in isolation in forests, and generally shun the outside world. The majority of Bison Horn Marias speak various unintelligible dialects of Gondi, an unwritten language of the Dravidian family. They practice shifting cultivation method of agriculture and collect forest produce for survival.

Due to the presence of the separatist Naxalites, who attack police stations and government building, it is wise to hire guides that are of the area and knowledgeable of the situation. Chhattisgarh and its Bastar region is not for everyone, however I was impressed by the courage against adversity shown by these tribes, and by their desire to preserve
their identity. For the genuinely interested, this region offers an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of a fast disappearing way of life.
Photograph from The Adivasis of Chhattisgarh-Copyright Tewfic El-Sawy

Fez: The Soul of Morocco

Image Copyright Ed Alcock for the New York Times - All Rights Reserved
The New York Times brings us an article and slideshow on Fez in Morocco.

I've visited Fez (or Fes) a few years ago, and was taken by its medieval atmosphere...I refer to Fez el-Bali (or old Fez, since there's a 'new' Fez which was built during the French occupation of Morocco). The medina of Fez consists of more than 9,000 streets and a million residents, constituting a challenge to the best GPS systems. I recall walking up and down the two main arteries; one called Talaat Kebira ("big climb") and Talaat Seghira ("small climb"), which are so narrow that I frequently had to hug the side walls to let donkeys or mules laden with goods pass me by. I watched a traditional procession including a young boy with a broad smile, dressed in a whie suit and perched on a stallion. When I asked what the procession was all about, I was told that the boy was on his way to be circumcised! So this article brings back wonderful memories.

The NYT article also reminded me that Fez is a center of Sufism and that " The nooks of the medina are filled with Sufi sanctuaries known as 'zaouias', where brotherhoods meet, worship and sing. What I didn't know was that the city was built in concentric circles; the smaller one in the center holds the religious places, a larger one holds the souks, then another for the residential areas, then the city walls, then gardens and cemeteries.

I found it very difficult to photograph people in Morocco, and Fez was no exception. It is considered impolite to photograph women in Islamic Morocco, but even men did not relish being photographed. Candid photography is the only option, and in the narrow confines of the Fessian alleys, it's a very difficult proposition. Despite wily street photography techniques, I still got irate tirades.

The Soul of Morocco (Registration may be required by the NYT).

Beyond The Frame: Shadows In Thimpu

Image Copyright © 2006 Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved
My recent posts on photographs with super saturated colors and dark shadows made me choose this one for this week's Beyond The Frame. It was taken at the Memorial Chorten in the Bhutanese capital of Bhutan.

The scene is at the small building at the side of the Chorten where three large prayer wheels are virtually in constant motion, rotated by the numerous pilgrims that arrive here. This Chorten was built in 1974 honoring the late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, known as the father of modern Bhutan.  It is built in a typical Tibetan style, and is a center of worship for the people living in Thimphu.

The three prayer wheels represent the three protective bodhisattvas: Avalokiteshvara, symbol of the compassion, Manjjusri, symbol of knowledge and Vajrapani, symbol of the power. The rotation of the wheels is meant to send prayers to the heavens. The prayer wheels are near the entrance gate, and all pilgrims and visitors stop by before continuing to circumbulate the Chorten itself. The pilgrims are usually very intent on their ritual of pulling the prayer wheels, and it's a great spot for candid photography.

What attracted me to this scene is the combination of the colors; the yellow ochre of the walls, the turquoise blue of the hat, in the design on the wheels and on the sleeves on the man on the far right, and the diagonal swath of black shadows on the wall and prayer wheel which cuts into the scene. The larger photograph (click on the one above) shows stronger saturation and better color rendition.

Sebastián Belaustegui: Guardians of Time

Image Copyright Sebastián Belaustegui
Sebastián Belaustegui was born in 1969 and although from Argentine, is currently living in Tepoztlan, Mexico. He has been an independent documentary photographer since 1991, and dedicates himself to photographing the native world of Latin America.

Sebastián’s work is exquisite, and can be seen in his gorgeous book Guardianes del Tiempo (Guardians of Time), which group his photographs of indigenous peoples of Central and Latin America. My favorite is of a Peruvian couple sitting in their room, a hamster peeking at the photographer between their legs.

His photographs appeared in National Geographic, Camera Art, Planet, and Gatopardo, as well as in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and the Sunday Times.

His website is here, and I urge you to visit his Personal Work section and his Guardians of Time gallery. I expect his book is available at bookstores.

Anand Khokha: South & South East Asia

Scriptures & Incense (Bhutan) - Image Copyright 2006 Anand Khokha
Not only is Anand a regular participant in my photo expeditions, but he is a peripatetic traveler for both business and leisure purposes. He accumulated an impressive inventory of travel photographs of India, Cambodia, Bhutan and Thailand on his delightful website, which I believe is a joint production with his creative son. His forte is people photography, capturing candid expressions, and registering human interactions. I have also seen his recent landscape photographs of Bhutan, and I can vouch that they are as good as his candid images.

Anand's keen eye and photographic flair are obvious, and his altruism in dedicating the proceeds from the sale of his photographs to St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Tamil Nadu, South India, a deserving charitable institution, also speaks for itself. Here's Anand Khokha's website.

GMB Akash: Bangladesh

Image Copyright © G M B Akash-All Rights Reserved
I'm pleased to see that GMB Akash, a photographer from Bangladesh, has been named as one of PDN's 30 New & Emerging Photographers for 2007. Since I started TTP blog, I've been introduced to the enormous talent coming from South Asia and Asia itself. This emerging talent is still under-represented in the international media and lacks the exposure it deserves, but it's getting there.

Akash (I don't really know what GMB stands for, so I'll use Akash rather than an acronym) is a brave photographer, documenting sides of society that are not pretty. His photographs are courageous, complex and make us think. His use of color, available light and sense of timing allows him to photograph what others may not.

I read that his photograph of the young boy in chains caused a furore in Bangladesh, and that Akash has had to seek temporary refuge, or was stranded, in Germany. I don't know if that is true or not, but he now seems to be back in his country, photographing as usual.

I've chosen his gallery of photographs on Muslim medresas to showcase here on TTP. While some of you will form an opinion on Muslim schools from these photographs (if you don't have one already), I'd like you to also consider that not all medresas shackle their students nor treat them badly. I don't know why this unfortunate boy was treated in such a barbaric and primitive way but for the sake of fairness and objectivity, here's a photograph I've taken in an Indonesian Muslim school in Bali (Indonesia). The photograph is from my Bali Canang gallery. I had just dropped in on the school where I was warmly welcomed, and invited to photograph as I pleased. You'll agree that the difference is striking.

Still reflecting on the boy in chains...is it to keep him from running away, and joining street kids...and is it therefore for his own good? He looks well-fed, clean and healthy. Is there a story behind the photograph, and was it that which caused the furore in Bangadesh? There must be a reason why this child is treated this way and not the rest of the medresa's children. I'm certainly not condoning this treatment (which I deem barbaric) but questions must be asked and hopefully answered, and I -for one- will not take the photograph at its face value.

Akash's website has many other galleries, most of which deal with issues related to certain facets of non-mainstream South Asian society, so go ahead...explore a world many of us do not know.

GMB Akash's Muslim Schools

Image Copyright © GMB Akash

Darvis: Burma

Image Copyright Darvis
Darvis (he seems to use one name only) has been a freelance photographer for over twenty years. He traveled extensively and is keen to document our disappearing civilization. He shoots his pictures then reinterprets the original images through the media of toning and water colour.

This creates a finished image which is a blend of photography and painting. This was originally an option used by traditional artists to make a portrait affordable. Only the rich could commission an original painting.

Darvis says "Although it is already too late to turn back the wheels of industrialism and technology to a simpler age of handcrafting I hope that by documenting and photographing our disappearing civilizations with their time honored methods of worship, ritual and festival that we can begin to nurture a compassionate affinity with the ways of our ancestors."

His website showcases a number of galleries; Burma, Laos, Thailand, etc, but navigating it is rather annoying. I was disappointed in his Indonesia gallery, but thought his images of Burma were really artistic. I wonder whether my preferring the Burma gallery is because the country's isolation give more 'credence' to his hand-tinted photographs with the retro look to them. I don't know...maybe.

All in all, it's too bad that that his website's navigation doesn't do any justice to his craft.

Darvis Photography

Beyond The Frame: Whipping of the Hamar

Whipping of the Hamar - Image Copyright Tewfic El-Sawy
One of the most interesting tribes of the Omo Valley of south western Ethiopia are the Hamar, who have unique rituals such as a cattle-leaping ceremony that men go through in order to reach adulthood, during which young Hamar women get whipped to prove their love for their kinsmen.

Not far from Turmi, I attended the jumping of the bulls ceremony, which was preceded by a couple of hours during which the Hamar women are whipped by the men of their tribal families. This was unlike any ritual I had ever seen. I still cringe at the memory of the whipping, at the sound of the switches landing on bare flesh and at seeing the wounds and bloody welts on the backs of Hamar young women. I've photographed open heart surgeries in Vietnam's hospitals, so I don't shy from seeing wounds and such, but the whipping of the Hamar women disturbed me a great deal. I accept that it's their culture, but I really wish this custom would change.

I have some images that are quite graphic, but I've chosen for this week's BTF an image showing a Hamar woman insisting in being whipped, shoving a switch into the reluctant hands of the young tribesman.

According to custom, the Hamar man comes of age by leaping over a line of cattle. It’s the ceremony which qualifies him to marry, own cattle and have children. The timing of the ceremony is up to the man’s parents and happens after harvest. On the afternoon of the leap, the man’s female relatives demand to be whipped as part of the ceremony. The whipping was done when the women jump up to a few chosen men, marked by feathers behind either ear. They handed the men a green thin stick (a switch) and while continuing to jump, the men would whip them, drawing blood. As the blows reined, the girls, without flinching, would bow their heads and jump away only to return in a matter of moments with another green stick, to repeat the whole procedure. The whipping seems to be totally consensual; the girls gather round and beg to be whipped on their backs. They don’t show the pain and claim they’re proud of the scars. One effect of this ritual whipping is to create a strong debt between the young man about to be married and his sisters. If they face hard times in the future, he’ll remember them because of the pain they went through at his initiation.

EXIF: shutter speed 1/180 sec.- fstop 6.7 - iso 100 - focal length 30mm - no flash fired.

Richard Van Le: Cao Dai

Balian in Canggu-Image Copyright Tewfic El-Sawy
Richard Van Le is a New York City photographer, with impressive images from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

His website has a handful of galleries, and his images of the Balians (Balinese rural healers) managed to capture the mystical elements of these healers' profession. I documented Balians during my stay in Bali, and I recognize some of them in his gallery. However, it is his work on the Cao Dai in Vietnam which I recommend on TTP.

Cao Dai was established in the Southern regions of Vietnam in the early 1920's as an attempt to create a perfect synthesis of world religions. It is a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Geniism, and Taoism.

Van Le's website is Flash-based and you can visit his Cao Dai and other galleries here

India: The Holy Caves of Ajanta

Image Copyright Sam Hollenshead/Polaris for The New York Times
One of the objectives of TTP is to blog about worldwide sites that are of interest to travel photographers; preferably uncommon sites that are off the beaten path. However, travel photographers are also interested in popular travel destinations so that they can sell their photographs of such places to travel catalogues, to accompany travel essays in magazines, and/or to publish in guidebooks or travel books.

The Ajanta Caves is one of those sites. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated as such back in 1983 as one of India’s first, along with the Taj Mahal. It consists of a series of 29 caves that have been carved deep into this sheer face of a horseshoe-shaped cliff a few miles from the old walled town of Ajanta, hidden away in the deep gorge gouged in the high Deccan plains by the Waghora River about 300 miles inland from Mumbai.

The New York Times has published a slideshow of photographs on the Ajanta Caves by Sam Hollenshead/Polaris, and accompanied by a terrific narration by Simon Winchester.

The Holy Caves of Ajanta

Beyond The Frame: Tattooing Monks

From The Tattooing Monks of Wat Bang Phro-Copyright 2005 Tewfic El-Sawy
For this week's Beyond The Frame feature, I chose my image of a Thai being tattooed, his skin being pulled tautly by his friends.

I had heard of a monastery not far from Bangkok that specialized that had the best tattooing artists in Thailand. These artists were Buddhist monks who worked virtually around the clock, tattooing religious designs on Thais and the occasional foreigner.

With a taxi driver who seemed to know how to get to Wat Bang Phro, and about half an hour of frenetic driving, we got to the monastery. Before allowed in, I was first interviewed by a senior monk who wanted to be reassured that I did not intend to defame the practice in any way. Allowed then to photograph as I pleased, I walked in a room where two monks were busy. They used long metal rods, sharpened to a fine point, and had uncanny precision in their work. I watched in disbelief how fast the monk's hand moved...it was just a blur. Here, antiseptics range from regular rubbing alcohol to a local rice wine, and toilet paper paper to blot any blood. I was told that the ink was made from snake venom, herbs, and cigarette ashes. The monks' talents as tattoo artists are available for an offering of orchids, a carton of Thai cigarettes (preferably menthol-flavored) or perhaps a few Bhats towards the upkeep of the Wat.

The tattoos, as inscribed by these Buddhist monks, are defensive in purpose since they are to protect the wearer from any harm. Here in Thailand, tattoos are considered by many to have powerful powers, and to prevent bad luck in general.

It was quite difficult to find a good spot to photograph in this room. The sunlight came through two windows, but the corners of the room were dark, and I couldn't ask the monks and their 'clients' to hold a pose. This was purely a situation where one photographs as one can, irrespective of angles. I was on top of them, to their side...anywhere I could find some space.

EXIF: shutter speed 1/13 sec.- fstop 5.6 - iso 200 - focal length 28mm - no flash fired.