Now ensconced in sunny and hot London, I've reflected on the past 2 weeks spent photographing in Morocco during the Gnawa Festival Photo Expedition, and two key words immediately jump to mind: frustrating and sublime.
Here's the frustrating bit: people photography in the large cities of Morocco is to say the least, extremely difficult. Moroccans are generally reticent to pose under any circumstances, and photographing them on the sly (say in a marketplace) can lead to some unpleasant confrontations. I recall that we were photographing fishermen off-loading their catch in the post of Essaouira, and hearing one of them, clearly irritated by our presence, asking his colleagues if we thought them to be monkeys in a zoo. Other Morrocans would agree to pose provided they were paid, then adopted the dreaded "frozen look". Some noticed our cameras, and immediately covered their faces whether we pointed our cameras in their direction or not. Street photography needed ingenuity and a self-starting approach, since photographing in a group didn't work.
I exerted much efforts to engage people and show respect, but despite my fluency in Arabic (somewhat different for the local idiom), I wasn't terribly successful in persuading them to be photographed. However, I did manage to establish moments of genuine kinship, such as with the owner of Africa Music in Essaouira who spoke at length about Gnawa music, but it did not translate into being open to photography. It will be included however in my planned multimedia piece on the Gnawa.
The other frustrating issue is that in impoverished Morocco, and because its high unemployment rate amongst its youth, there's a sense that tourists ought to pay for every little service, whether needed or not. I found this to be particularly true in Marrakech and Ouazazate, but less so in Essaouira. For instance, the self-appointed guides at the Ait Benhaddou Kasbah in Ouarzazate are spectacularly venal, and some even threatening. It's a shame since the site is UNESCO-listed, and ought to be supervised instead of being left to a bunch of hooligans.
Before I turn to the sublime aspect of the photo-expedition, here are a few other random thoughts. In the grand scheme of things, Ouarzazate was a dud from a photographic standpoint. Unless one is willing to photograph the Kasbahs (there are two of them), nothing else attracted my attention. I'd give Marrakech a passing mark for photography because of its Jemaa el-Fna square, and that's about it. Again, all this is said based on my sort of travel documentary photography, and is certainly not applicable to other disciplines. The infrastructural component of the expedition went well. Hotels were generally fine, but the Riad Mimouna in Essaouira stands out a certainly being a jewel. Our bus was expertly and safely driven by the jovial Abdel Hakeem, and was extremely comfortable. However, the drive from Marrakech to Ouarzazate was uncomfortable for those who suffered from motion sickness because of the road's switchbacks.
As for the guides: I didn't find them particularly good nor flexible enough to earn the description of "fixers", with the exception of Hassan E'Chater in Essaouira, who displayed occasional flashes of ingenuity. Guides are badly paid in Morocco, so have to rely for income on herding tourists to stores and restaurants.
The sublime aspect of the photo expedition was found in Essaouira, so in the unlikely event that I repeat this trip, it would only take place during the 4-5 days of the Gnawa Festival, and not more. Although it's still difficult to photograph people in this little town, the medina itself is remarkably photogenic, and since its streets are normally crowded, candid photography is frequently easy. Personally, I found the event to be initially somewhat ill-organized but it got better as the days progressed. Our hotel, Riad Mimouna, was a few steps away from the small Zaouia Sidi Bilal where many of the nightly Gnawa performances were held. Most of my documentary photography and audio recording of the Gnawa was done there. The Zaouia family of caretakers included Rokeyah and her two young nieces Khadija and Ibtisam who, despite their being less than 8 years old, attended the performances well into the wee hours of the night. Khadija greeted some of us with hugs; a display of affection indicative of the Moroccans' hospitality.
The Gnawa performances at the zaouia were breathtaking. I managed to thwart the administrators efforts, and photographed almost as much as I wanted. Rather bizarrely, photography was allowed at some performances, and prohibited at others. Since the area is quite small, a fast wide angle lens is recommended. Since the Gnawa music is extremely percussive (the qerqabs are really noisy!), I've experienced some distortion in my recordings which perhaps I can fix using either Garageband or Audacity. Another great aural experience was the Berber women singers at the La Recontre restaurant near the zaouia.
One of the highlights of the trip was photographing the Gnawa procession which, in effect, inaugurates the festival. It started at Bab Doukala, and winded its way to one of the main arteries leading to Bab Marrakech. The various Gnawa bands performed for the public, and competed with one another to achieve the highest decibel level. One of the bands included a female Gnawa, who is quite famous in their circles.
Gnawa music has a new fan. I bought a few CDs of a couple of Maalems, such as Mahmoud Guinea and Hamid El-Kessari. And fans of grilled sardines will find Essaouira to be the place for them.
Finally, the above photograph was made during a Gnawa performance, when a young local woman suddenly stood and dances to its rhythms. Within a few moments, she had gone into a deep trance by violently throwing her head about. I had seen women going into trances here before, but they were much older and were larger.
Other non-photo sublime moments:
Witnessing an elderly fisherman choose a plump fish from his catch, cutting it to manageable bits and feeding two ravenous scrawny cats. Noticing they seemed thirsty, he found a discarded plastic bottle, cut its bottom to use as a plate and poured water for them.
Sensing the tremendous energy in the audience of young people when Babani Kone of Mali made her entrance on stage, and when Cheb Khaled, the king of Rai, sang his hits on the Essaouira beach.
Returning to my hotel at 3 am from the Essaouira beach after the Rai concert and realizing that, despite the late hour, there was as many people walking about as there would be during the day.
Within a few steps from my lovely Essaouira hotel (Riad Mimouna) is the zaouia of Sidi Bilal, who was the first muezzin in Islam, and is the patron saint of the Gnawa order.
It is there that most of my photographs of the Gnawa performers are made. The backdrop of the zaouia is of traditional islamic zellige, and is just perfect. I've witnessed three Gnawa performance at the zaouia so far. The first was of the Gnawa Maalem Allal Soudani, the second was of the Tunisian Sidi Ali Lasmar Stambali, and the third of the magnificent Ganga de Zagora. The first two performances were of the Gnawa Maalems on the traditional guembri (a three stringed instrument), while the rest of the group provide the repetitive percussive accompaniment with the also traditional qarqab, which are the hand-held cymbals. The end of each session was particularly interesting as local women would join in the furious hand-clapping, add a special stone to the incense burner and eventually go into a trance.
The third Gnawa performance was of the Ganga de Zagora, which did not involve other than the qarqabs and drums known locally as t'abl.
The final performance tonight will be of the famous Maalem Ahmed Baalil, which will start at midnight and will probably end at 3 am.
While it's a tad premature, but I must say that the report card for the Gnawa Festival Photo Expedition is mixed. The reluctance and refusal of many Moroccans to be photographed is a considerable obstacle for people photography, and the harshness of the sun/light also makes it very challenging. Street photography in the medinas is possible, however the light conditions are not ideal. On the other hand, photographing the Gnawas has been a cinch (with one minor exception), and they are extremely photogenic and attractive. The music is remarkable, and its rhythm is impossible to resist. I'm girding myself for a longthy editing process once I'm back in New York to create a Gnawa multimedia slideshow, accompanied by ambient sound recorded during the performances.
The 2009 Gnawa (or Gnaoua) Festival in Essaouira officially started yesterday at 6:00 pm, when all the participating groups congregated at the medina's Bab El-Doukala for its inaugural procession through its narrow streets.
The various Gnawa bands were amply represented in the square just outside the Doukala Gate, and were being interviewed by the local press. Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Arabic religious songs and rhythms, and they displayed their talents while walking in the medina's streets. The procession was viewed by a large number of spectators, both local and tourists, although I noticed that some of the Essaouirites were irritated at having to wait until the processions passed through to go along their business.
I thought the best vantage point for photography was under the arches of Bab El-Doukala, where there were no spectators on the either sides to intrude in my shots. With one exception, I was the only photographer there and was left alone by the police who were shooing people away from the center of the alley.
Later on at midnight, we attended a "lila" in a nearby zaouia, a Maghrebi Islamic religious monastery, where the Maalem Al-Soudani and his group was performing for a small audience. The opportunities for photography were somewhat restricted by the administrators who initially claimed that it would interfere with the sanctity of the performance, then changed their tune to admit it was because they didn't want unofficial photographers to "commercialize" the events (ie only photographers approved by the Festival organizers were allowed to photograph).
I wish the organizers could have been candid and up front with the real reason, rather than using a religious or spiritual excuse, and confusing spectators.
I've just been able to photograph and audio record a couple of rehearsals of musical bands and dancers in the medina of Essaouira through the persistent assistant of our fixer, Hassan. Normally, attending and photographing these rehearsals require special permits and press passes.
The first rehearsal was at a riad (small typical hotel) in the center of the medina, where I photographed the amazing Brazilian dance trio Afoxe Loni, along with the legendary Gnawa Maalem Mahmood Guinea.
The second rehearsal was at an arts center, also in the medina, where I photographed the incredibly talented Maalem Abdel Rehim Ben Thami, accompanied by the Trio Amrat, Hussein and Foulani.
What I saw augurs well for the quality of the talent which will be seen by the public at the Gnawa Festival tomorrow night.
As readers of this blog know, I'm leading a photo expedition in Morocco whose principal destination is Essaouira where we will be photographing the Gnawa Music Festival in a few days' time. The 9 photographers on this expedition are now in Ouarzazate, an ancient city south east of Marrakech and described as the gateway to Africa, and where we are photographing the various casbahs dating from the 11th century. I suspect that it's hardly the remote area it's hyped as, since the hotel here has an incredibly fast (and free) WiFi in its rooms.
We stayed in Marrakech for a couple of days, and the above photograph is of Mejid, a worker laboring in its famed medieval tanneries. The stench of the tanneries here puts off many visitors, but it hardly matters to workers like Mejid and his colleagues who toil for long hours in difficult work conditions. Visitors are handed mint leaves to place in their nostrils to filter the odor, but I declined and found that one gets used to it after a few moments.
Morocco, as expected, is a difficult country to photograph because of two main reasons: the harshness of its sun, and the general unwillingness of its people to be photographed. However, we are soldiering on and making the most of the experience.
Tomorrow, we make our way to Essaouira (a 7 hours drive) on the Atlantic coast and to attend the festival which lasts until month-end.
The National Geographic online is featuring a 3D innovative look at the Khmer Empire, which includes Angkor Wat and life as it must have been in the 13th century.
In fact, this animation will provide a sliver of solace to those who heeded the National Geographic's advice of not going to visit the complex. A few months ago, the National Geographic's Intelligent Travel advised people not to go to Siem Reap and to the Angkor complex, and to postpone their visits. It seems the sheer volume of tourists has taken a toll on the Angkor monuments and temples, and that several of the important temples are being restored. Some have unsightly scaffolding with areas just cordoned off. The central section of Angkor Wat is closed to visitors until 2010 at the earliest.
Blind Boys Magazine describes itself as being bold, new and South Asian. I'm unsure whether these photographers form a collective, or are just a group of photographers who seek an avenue to expose their diverse work to the outside world.
Aditya Kapoor's photographs reveal the lighter side of the often misunderstood Muslim community, Kapil Das' photo essay covers one of the last surviving traveling theater groups of Gujarat, while Akshay Mahajan explores the lives and uncertainties of a old couple in New Delhi’s new urban scape. Ishan Tankha photographs in a camp in Sri Lanka where 94 former child soldiers live with their supervisors, Surya Sen's photographs show us the aftermath of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, and finally Ruhani Kaur finds Sophie Ashraf, a 21-year-old Muslim girl who raps.
Tyson and 50 Cent are the names of the biggest stars in West African wrestling, which according to photojournalist Candace Feit, has become a huge business for wrestlers and sponsors alike. Instead of wrestling to win a bag of rice or a goat, the current monetary prizes are now in excess of $300,000. For many young men in Senegal, it can drag them out of a crippling poverty.
Candace has been featured on many occasions on the pages of The Travel Photographer blog, and her photographs of West Africa appeared in the The New York Times, Le Monde, Le Figaro, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and Time magazine, among others. She was based in Dakar, Senegal and now is living in Delhi, India, from where she will most certainly equally produce wonderful photo reportages such as this one and the others which are found on her website.
Having received questions as to what I normally pack on my photo~expeditions, I thought thought I'd list what I loaded my Domke F-3X Canvas bag with for my Gnawa Photo~Expedition which starts in a few days. In a departure from my usual packing style, I decided this time that I'd go minimalist (sort of) in terms of camera gear, and leave my Canon Mark II (and all its heavy paraphernalia) at home.
The contents of my bag:
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II * Canon G10 (ideal for unobtrusive street photography) * Canon 17-40mm f4.0 * Canon 28-70mm f 2.8 * Canon 24mm f1.4 * Marantz PMD 620 Audio Recorder * Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (w/LR2 and SoundSlides) * A 250gb G-Tech Mini G-Drive External Hard Drive * Blackberry & an iTouch
and in a separate (but connected to the Domke), a Lowepro lens case with a Canon 70-200mm f 2.8.
I don't intend to carry all this while photographing in the field, as I'll just choose what lens I need (I normally use 1 or at most 2 lenses while working), but I'll report back on what worked and what didn't. Chargers and other stuff will be packed in a see-thru zippered bag in my checked luggage.
posted "robotically" in between London and Casablanca
Think Tank has announced that it will begin shipping a line of bags aimed at editorial photographers whose work includes capturing audio along with still photos, plus photographers who are acquiring the new breed of digital SLRs capable of capturing high-quality video.
The line of bags is called the Multimedia Wired Up Collection consists of 4 belt-mountable pouches and two beltpacks.
I never used Think Tank products, but I am impressed that it's bringing a line of products specifically aimed at multimedia photographers, which means the company keeps its ear to the ground (as it ought to) and reacts to our needs. I'm sure its competitors are also readying new products. I always thought that the Think Tank products were too "boxy", but these new ones are soft-sided and very attractive.
It's always a clever idea to promote a product showing a real life working photographer using the products, and the Think Tank promotional video is one of those, plus it's partially shown in black & white! Can't be more professional than that!
My thanks to Larry Larsen who suggested the link.
For further product pictures and details, visit Rob Galbraith website.
A superb photojournalism feature published by The New York Times of photographs by Tyler Hicks appeared on its website late last night.
The title of the multimedia feature is The Battle For Pakistan; a title which I find rather exaggerated, as it really is about South Waziristan. Having said that, the area which may well be the toughest challenge for the Pakistani military in its war against an insurgency.
South Waziristan is home to Baitullah Mehsud, who -according to the accompanying article, leads the Taliban in the area and has engineered many suicide bombings in recent years.
The article by Sabrina Tavernise (and Ismail Khan) ends with an ominous quote by a top bureaucrat for the tribal areas, who says: “Militancy is like a monster. Even if only the tail is left, it will grow again from there.”
"It is also important to keep a low profile when you’re moving through dangerous areas where kidnapping risks are high. Try to find vehicles with tinted windows. Long sleeves, beards, hats and local dress all help. Don’t be embarrassed to wrap a scarf around your head or put on local garb. From a distance, this makes you less visible. It may save your life."-Michael Kamber (from LENS-New York Times)
Michael Kamber is a well-known photojournalist, and is currently working on a book on photojournalism and war photography. He was nominated three times for the Pulitzer prize. He has covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, Israel, the Congo and various others.
He shares some of the hard lessons he learned while working in Somalia on The New York Times LENS blog.
If there's one book on photography I must have with me if I'm ever marooned on a desert island, it'd be David duChemin's Within The Frame.
If there's one photography book I'd recommend to all the photographers of varying levels of proficiency who join my photo~expeditions, it's David du Chemin's Within The Frame.
If there's one photography manual I'd have with me when teaching my photography courses to emerging photographers and photojournalists, it'd be David's Within The frame.
Yes, it's that good.
Within The Frame is David's opus...a 'from the heart and soul' of a travel photographer who genuinely likes his craft and is justifiably proud of his work. It's a book of color, of light, of exotic locations, of people, of humanity and of valuable recommendations.
Here's David in his own voice:
"Anyone can take a picture of poverty; it's easy to focus on the dirt and hurt of the poor. It's much harder -and much more needful- to pry under that dirt and reveal the beauty and dignity of people that, but for their birth into a place and circumstance different from our own, are just like ourselves. I want my images to tell the story of those people and to move us beyond pity to justice and mercy".
Is there a better way to say what many photographers believe and live by?
Another brilliant photographer, Sebastião Salgado, said as much: "If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture. That is my way of seeing things."
Within The Frame is well worth adding to one's library of photography books; almost 250 pages of sound advice and suggestions as to how to improve your photographic vision, along with scores of David's lovely photographs. I recently heard that David wondered if creative vision can be taught. If it can, then this book is one of its manuals.
Within The Frame is available from Amazon or B&N. David duChemin's photographic vision can be seen on his website here.
In Casablanca, I will be meeting (all for the first time) the 8 photographers who are joining me on this exciting adventure, exploring the souks of Marrakech, the fabled city of Ouarzazate and the famous port city of Essaouira, where the Gnawa music festival is to take place.
During the coming 12 days or so, my postings may not be as frequent as usual but I've set up some robot posts, and hope to be able to upload a couple of posts from Morocco during the photo~expedition itself. It all depends on time availability and accessibility of the internet.
Khaled Hasan was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and joined Pathshala (the South Asian Institute of Photography) and completed a workshop in Chobimela IV (2006). He was inspired by Shahidul Alam and Reza Deghati. He worked as a freelancer for several daily newspapers in Bangladesh and for the photo agency Majorityworld. His photographs have been published in the Sunday Times Magazine, American Photo, National Geographic, Better Photography, Saudi Aramco World and The New Internationalist.
The Stone Crushers of Bangladesh also appeared on GlobalPost, the excellent online news organization, and documents the working community of Jaflong in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. The Piyain River, which flows from India through Bangladesh, washes rocks and pebbles from India into the Jaflong area, where thousands of laborers collect the stones and crush them. The crushed stones are then sold for making roads and at construction sites. A backbreaking job for little pay and no security.
Gritty documentary work by yet another talented photographer/photojournalist from Bangladesh!
It's a welcome change from the current run of the mill photojournalism which we normally see in the mainstream media. I've had enough of seeing photographs of frightfully scary Islamic mullahs, with black beards and betel-stained teeth, which seem to delight photo editors, and are standard fare in our newspapers. So I cheer when I see diverse photo reports such as this one.
It seems that in its heyday years, during the 1970s, the movie studios of Pakistan churned out around 200 movies a year, but that has dwindled to a fraction because of the growing accessibility of Hollywood and Bollywood films. It is also threatened by the increasing potency of the Taliban in the northern parts of the country.
Zackary Canepari's toned photographs are always interesting, and he has done it again with this collection. I found some of the actors' photographs hilarious.
I've sent out my June newsletter yesterday, and realized that it was about time to purge my ever-growing mailing list of subscribers that no longer open my newsletters with regularity. Through my email marketing service, I get an update as to which emails do not open my newsletters, and I've already started to remove them from my list.
The criteria is simple. Subscribers who haven't opened any of my four newsletters of 2009 are either not interested any more, or have moved their email addresses or haven't opened them in that length of time. Consequently, they are being removed from the list.
What triggered this review and purge is an expanding list which costs me money to send, and I have no intention of keep sending newsletters to recipients who no longer open them. Because of the number of subscribers, this purge is a laborious task which I may not complete before I travel to Morocco in a few days, but it'll be done.
I use Campaign Monitor for my newsletters, and it's a pay as you send system. I found them to super dependable, responsive and they don't tolerate spammers.
By the way, if any recipients no longer wish to receive my newsletters, all they they have to do is click on an unsubscribe link in each newsletter. I prefer you unsubscribe than not read them.
As posted a few days ago, a newsletter with details of two of my 2010 Photo~Expeditions was emailed yesterday morning to subscribers. These subscribers have either joined my previous trips, or are photographers who emailed directly expressing interest in them or are people who joined my mailing list by completing the mailing list on this blog's right column.
The responses to the two photo~expeditions (especially the Nomads of Rajasthan & Gujarat in early 2010) have exceeded my expectations, and it appears that registration may be closed soon.
On my return from leading the Gnawa Festival Photo~Expedition to Morocco (in two weeks or so), I will post these two 2010 Photo Expeditions on my website The Travel Photographer and on this blog.
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama well-known for its attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and body movements. It's prevalent india's southern state of Kerala where it also originated.
It was photographed at the reputed Kathakali Kalatharangini school in Thrissur, during he Theyyams of Malabar 2009 Photo~Expedition.
The make up used in Kathakali performances is made from various mineral ores and pigments, which are ground on a stone and mixed with coconut oil before being applied on the actors' faces. Interestingly, the character shown in the above photograph placed a "chundanga" seed under his lower eyelids to turn the white of his eyes red.
Sankar Sridhar spent his early years in Calcutta, subsequently trekking and guiding tourists on trails in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kashmir, then worked as an outdoor survival instructor in a Delhi-based adventure company.
He eventually worked as a journalist, with many of his articles appearing in Le Courrier France and Le Courrier International Japon, Geo Magazine, Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Statesman, The Times of India, DNA, India Today Travel Plus, Outlook Traveller, Swagat and DiscoverIndia. His photography was exhibited, published and awarded in national and international salons and contests. His Chasing Nyima, a work of non-fiction, has found a distinctive place in Penguin’s third edition of First Proof, an anthology of New Indian Writing.
Have a look at his Zanskar portfolio. I think these are wonderful (albeit smallish) photographs of this inhospitable region of India.
A nod of thanks to Eric Beecroft for the suggestion.
Here's the work of Niki Taxidis, an Australian-born freelance photographer who worked in remote areas of Australia in health care and forensic sciences for over 12 years. She spent two years as a crime-scene examiner and photographer and has volunteered in health care, education and photographic projects both overseas and within Australia.
Don't skip the entry page of her website, which opens up with a lovely piece of Tibetan music.
Apple announced yesterday new MacBook Pros, and what I liked in particular is the 13” MacBook Pro. I'm far from being a real gear head, but I salivate at the prospect of updating my aging laptop, and getting one of those, hooking it up to my Apple Cinema display and doing without my iMac desktop all together.
I'd say the 13” MacBook Pro is an ideal laptop for traveling photographers. It got a boost in its processor speed, Firewire 800, a SD Card Slot (pretty useless to me, but it's something that others who use them will like), and a reasonable $1200 for the entry level model. On the downside, I don't like the new built-in battery which will eventually require a trip to the Genius Bar to replace it.
My photo~expeditions schedule for the first half of 2010 is almost completed, with two events planned; one will be a two-week trip amongst the tribal communities of Rajasthan & Gujarat, while the second will be set amongst the temples of Bali.
The Travel Photographer's Photo~Expeditions are best described as a mixture of "documentary photojournalism, ethno-photography and travel photography" adventures. As with other previous expeditions, these two-week long photographic events/workshops will include both documentary-style (candid and on-the-run) photography, as well as posed photo sessions with various individuals encountered, and will also include tutorials in multimedia storytelling.
I will soon issue a newsletter with dates and details of these expeditions to subscribers, inviting those photographers who joined my past trips, and those who expressed interest in joining me in 2010. Two weeks or so later, I will post these details on my website The Travel Photographer and on this blog.
Ah, yes...interested photographers can subscribe to my mailing list by completing the box on the right column of this blog.
Partha Pal's biography states that his profession is that of a mechanical engineer, technically making him a part-time photographer. Notwithstanding, his photographs were published in Popular Photography, Hindustan Times, Sanctuary Asia, on covers of Penguin books, in Better Photography, Times Journal of Photography amongst others. He has also been recognized by many photographic contests, and awarded a number of prizes.
His website features a number of galleries, and the one I was interested in the most is of the Santhals. According to Wikipedia, the Santhals are the largest tribal community in India, found mainly in the states of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam. Its community is devoid of any caste system and there is no distinction made on the basis of birth. They believe in supernatural beings and ancestral spirits. Santali rituals are consist mainly of sacrificial offerings and invocations to the spirits, or bongas.
The Santhals appear to be very similar to the adivasi minorities in Chattisgarh and Orissa. For my own gallery of The Adivasis of Chattisgarh, click here.
Over on Photocrati, I've just uploaded a couple of photographs, along with an article, describing an authentic zeqr ceremony in a small village on the western banks of the Nile.
Here's an excerpt:
Following the sound of the rhythmic Sufi song booming out of loudspeakers, we turn into a narrow alley, crowded with people; some are standing but many more are sitting on simple straw mats, lighting the small pieces of charcoal that burns the tobacco on their water-pipes. The barely illuminated alley seems to be inhabited by ghosts, particularly as I now can see a row of elderly men slowly swaying to the rhythm of the song, as if they’re sheets hung up to dry in the wind. Curious eyes follow me as I make my way to the front; some noticing my camera and wondering what to make of me.
For the rest of the article and the photographs, go to Photocrati.
Here's Namaste Delhi, a photo essay on the street children of Delhi, India's capital city, by Robin Hammond, who presents his work in a flip book format. He has also written an essay on these children, so his photographs are arranged in magazine format, which is very attractive.
He tells us that most of the street children in Delhi are originally from Bihar (one of the poorest states in India), and that they're running from poverty, abuse and neglect. One of his photographs is of 12-year old Husina, who makes around 500 rupees a day from selling herself, is haunting. She wears earrings and a ring, probably bought with her earnings, but it's her expression that stays with me...a mask of indifference and resignation to her fate.
Robin Hammond is originally from New Zealand, moved to Britain in 2002, and now lives in London. He currently works for a number of national magazines and newspapers, NGOs and corporate clients. A number of his photo essays on his websites deal with street children, and other social issues such as AIDS and prostitution.
Take the time to explore Robin's other features, where you'll find his work on Addis Sex Workers, Mexico's City Children, and Zimbabwe.
Here's an issue that came to my attention via the excellent blog Duckrabbit, which in turn noticed it on the Reciprocity Failure blog.
PDN (Photo District News) has recently announced the results of its Photo Annual 2009 Contest, and also introduced its readers to the 24 judges who adjudicated this hard fought contest. So far so good...however here's the rub: all 24 judges are white. Yes, you've read correctly....all of them are white persons.
Stan Banos at Reciprocity Failure continues his criticism by suggesting that the reasons behind this range from indifference to blatant passive racism. I don't know if I would go as far as to describe it as passive racism...perhaps it is, but my gut feel is that it's principally because of pervasive cronyism in the photography industry...a sort of comfortable "you scratched my back so i'll scratch yours" kind of thing. Of course, it may well be that only whites can scratch white backs.
Anyway, enough about what I think, and let's get someone make serious money by entering duckrabbit's competition and be the first who comes to PDN’s defense and answer Stan Banos' question as to ‘what possible, plausible excuse could exist for an all white jury from a publication of such influence?’.
A tough question to answer. Will Holly Stuart Hughes, the editor of PDN be that first responder? I hope so.
Note (June 10): Well, Holly Stuart Hughes did respond on June 9 to the various bloggers who raised this issue. Her reply is elegant and gracious and I believe is genuine. It can be read in full here, but here's an excerpt:
Yesterday some blogs circulated a note about the fact that of the 24 judges of the 2009 PDN Photo Annual contest, all of them are white. It's a valid point ,and one that everyone who works on PDN’s contests has given a lot of thought. While the lack of any judges of color wasn’t intentional, it is regrettable. Thanks to the huge number of entries it draws from around the world, the Photo Annual offers us our best opportunity to see a wide range of work from different perspectives. We should make sure our judges represent a wide range of perspectives as well.
James Morgan is a travel and documentary photographer, as well as a professional writer based in the United Kingdom. Although he specializes in travel and documentary photography, he has also worked on a number of commercial projects. Amongst his many clients are The Sunday Times (South Africa), Foto8 (UK), Dalmatia Creative (UK/US), Baikal Club (Siberia) and others.
He recently documented a Kazakh eagle hunting family in the Altai mountains of Mongolia. Having published the resulting photo essay in a Soundslides format on Foto8, he writes that the spread of the Russian empire some 200 years ago sent many Kazakhs across the border into western Mongolia where they settled in the region of Bayan Ulgii. The current Kazakh government is offering financial and domestic incentives for these Kazakhs to return to their original homeland, but many decide to stay.
James Morgan's Kazakh Eagle Cultures can be seen of Foto8 (an excellent online photo magazine) or on his own website.
Note: The soundtrack is by Kawanduk playing a local instrument called dombra. It sounds very similar to a country & western song!
As readers of this blog well know, I'm a strong proponent of large images on websites so I'm glad to see that one of the online website services is now offering such an option to its clients.
FolioLink, an online website service for photographers, has announced the immediate availability of scaling technology in their latest FLASH design. With scaling websites, photographers no longer have to choose between large or small images for their online portfolios. Instead, photographers upload big images that display on large screens while still impressing their clients on small laptops/netbook. The latest FolioLink website design seamlessly scales the images down to fit the viewer's monitor.
The National Geographic Traveler Magazine and Photo District News announced the World in Focus Photography Contest, which ends on September 8, 2009.
The prizes range from a 10-day safari trip to Tanzania, to various camera equipment prizes. 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.
Once in a while, I come across work by a young photographer that is so interesting, so adventurous, so visually compelling, so extraordinarily edgy and so cerebral....that I spend many hours just staring at it. And yes, I'll admit it...it's so good that it's incredibly annoying. I'm a purist and certainly not a fan of photo manipulation, but the imagery I've seen by this photographer is really excellent.
Joey Lawrence is 19 years old (no, that's not a typo, he's really 19..or maybe 20 by now), and has been shooting commercial photography, photojournalism and music videos around the world by the age of 17. He already has a reputation of being a pioneer of new aged digital hyper-realistic photography, lighting and manipulation. All his techniques were self-taught or the result of trial and error with no formal educational training.
His website is replete with phenomenal photography: particularly his work in Ethiopia's Omo Valley of the Mursi and other tribal groups, as well as of Abyssinian Christian holy men, and in India amongst the Aghori sadhus (The Aghoris commune with the dead, live among the dead and practice rituals with corpses in order to make contact with the divine mother, Kali, to whom they pray). As a sideline, I wonder how Joey managed to get access to this secretive and reclusive sect!
I'm bookmarking Joey Lawrence's website for many repeated visits. What a talent by a young man who has his whole life ahead of him to produce incredible work both in terms of quality and content!
Here's a clip (about 11 minutes) of video of Joey Lawrence (he's on the left), his assistant and crew in Ethiopia...working and playing. You'll see how he photographs some of his subjects using strobes and lights. The clip was personally very entertaining because I recall being at some of the very same spots in and around the Omo Valley...Jinka has a special place in my memory because it's where I indulged in tej, the potent (make that very potent) home-made brew of fermented honey.
"But if you’re serious about becoming an international photographer, the Foundry can be like a halfway house. We’re here to help you with the first steps. Student who haven’t traveled, or they’re scared of travel, or they’re scared of shooting internationally — this can bring them to the next level".
So says Eric Beecroft, the co-founder of Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, whose second venue is in Manali, India at the end of July.
Interviewed by Miki Johnson of RESOLVE blog, the discussion highlights how this affordable new workshop is an incubator for emerging international photojournalists, and describes how it ought to be viewed as a "halfway house" helping photographers who may be uncomfortable in shooting internationally.
A must-attend for all emerging photojournalists and photographers!
Here's Between Giants, a feature on a small community in Ladakh by photojournalist William Widmer.
The Changpa are one of several groups of indigenous nomads who inhabited the high plains of Ladakha for generations, and are finding their traditional way of life threatened by modernity and influx of tourism.
William Widmer is a freelance photographer based in San Francisco, who's interested in shifting concepts of community. While most of his work is focused on subcultures within the United States, he also produced photo essays (including multimedia) of India and others. He also works at liveBooks, a company that provides customized, editable websites for photographers.
Don't miss his Soundslides essay on SOFOSH, an NGO involved in childcare, adoption and foster care for children.
So congratulations to Sabhanaz, and I look forward to meet her in Manali.
Filmed on 22 May 2009 at VII Gallery, Brooklyn, here's a discussion on war & photography, photojournalism and its future involving Gary Knight, Tim Hetherington, MaryAnne Golon, and Ashley Gilbertson.
The Canon Professional Nework (Europe) brings us a feature on Franck Vogel's project photographing the Bishnois in India. The project was recently a major cover story for the 30th anniversary edition of GEO France magazine.
This features dovetails quite neatly into my plans for a photo~expedition in early Spring 2010 to South Rajasthan and the Rann of Kutch to cover tribal life (including the Bishnois and Rebaris, amongst many others), and Baneshwar Fair.
Anyway, back to Franck Vogel and his project. In 2006, he began documenting the lives of the Bishnois in India. This tribal group (the article calls it a "sect") bases its way of life on 29 principles formulated in the 15th century by Guru Jambheshwar. Many of these are involve environmental protection, especially protecting trees and wildlife.
It's an interesting read as to how the photographer went about getting access to the Bishnois. I'm certain that Vogel was able to discern the difference between the authentic Bishnois and those who are featured on virtually all the tour itineraries in Rajasthan..especially the rather demeaning and obviously staged "opium"-drinking ceremonies.
Canon USA published the recently announced firmware update for its EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR which enables manual exposure during video capture.
As well as the manual exposure video functionality, EOS 5D Mk II firmware v1.1.0 includes fixes to the lens peripheral illumination correction, auto lighting optimizer, battery information display, and depth-of-field preview button functionality, as well as correcting menu errors in certain languages.
7dot7 is an online photo magazine, and a project of the collective of photographers called RUIDO Photo in Barcelona. Its objective is to become a a repository for an independent, social, critic and committed photojournalism.
One of its interesting features in its initial publication is the work of photographer Alfonso Moral with his photo essay on the heroin addicts in Afghanistan. Alfonso studied journalism in Valladolid, and photography in Barcelona. He har worked in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Afghanistan. His photographs has been published in Newsweek, The Sunday Times, El País Semanal, Magazine de La Vanguardia and Foto Magazine, among others. He is a member of the collective Pandora Foto. His Addicts: A Lost Generation In Afghanistan is the third reportage on 7dot7 magazine, and consists of large images (almost as large as my monitor) of heroin addicts in Kabul.
Once again, being an advocate for showing large images on the web, I'm pleased to see such large imagery and appreciate its impact when compared to similar work such as Lynsey Addario's for the New York Times titled Drowning In Opium. Which one give the viewer a better visual experience, and which one stands to affect a photo editor more? I'm not too keen on 7dot7's navigation, and hope it'll be worked on soon.
I don't know what the future of this online publication will be, but any effort to widen the exposure of photojournalists in this era of shrinking budgets, and disappearing newspapers is more than welcome.
Bangladesh is a country that produces incredibly talented documentary photographers, and certainly Saiful Haq is among those who qualify for the recognition.
Saiful Haq Omi has wanted to tell stories from his very first days as a photographer. His political activism eventually evolved, and he now considers himself as a ‘photo activist,’hoping to use his visual talents to document a variety of unique and vibrant profiles including the former prime minister, migrant workers, laborers, - and victims of political violence.
From his black & white portfolios, I like his Life Along the Coastline the best as it documents a way of life surviving the erosion of land by rivers and sea, surviving the loss of homes and livelihood, and a story of migration against all odds.
I ought to add my thanks to Asim Rafiqui for pointing out, via his erudite post The Dust From Blood-Filled Eyes, that Saiful Haq was a finalist for the prestigious Alexia Foundation Grant, where there's more on his photographic background.
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