Rant: G8's Shameless Behavior

Here's a rant that has nothing to do with photography, but has everything to do with lack of decency and disgraceful behavior.

As we know, the leaders of the so-called G8 nations are having a summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. While the G8 summits are usually conspicuous by their meaningless proclamations, this one was touted as an important meeting to discuss the world's current food shortages.

So as reported by the Times of London, we learn that the G8 summit has cost almost $600 million, enough to buy 100 million mosquito nets for the African nations whose population are still afflicted by malaria. This is bad enough, but I think the most repulsive is the news that the G8 leaders discussed the international food shortages during a sumptuous eight-course dinner banquet, having already eaten a five-course lunch.

What is the matter with these people?

Times of London's G8 Leaders Feast

Olivier Boëls: Holy Ashes

© Olivier Boëls/Zone Zero-All Rights Reserved
Holy Ashes is a photo essay by photographer Olivier Boëls, with the cooperation of anthropologist Lena Tosta’s and of their joint experiences with Hindu ascetics or sadhus.

Sadhus are ascetics who have renounced on the pursuit of the three main Hindu goals of life: kama (enjoyment), artha (practical objectives) and even dharma (duty). Sadhus are only dedicated to achieve moksha (liberation) through meditation and contemplation of God. They often wear ocher-colored clothing, symbolizing renunciation.

Viua Zone Zero, here's Holy Ashes

Wang-Fu Chun: Natives of NE China

© Wang-Fu Chun/Zone Zero-All Rights Reserved

Wang-Fu Chun is a freelance photographer, who moved to Beijing from Harbin in 2002. He has photographed the following topics, "Chinese On The Train" , "People of Northeastern China", "Northeast Tiger" and "Chinese Stream Locomotive", and was a winner at the 17th China Photographic Art Exhibition and a winner of the 3rd Gold Statue for Chinese photography.

Via Zone Zero, here's Wang-Fu Chun's Natives of Northeast China, an ethnographic gallery beautifully embellished with Chinese calligraphy.

Tyler Hicks: Kabul, Afghanistan

© Tyler Hicks/New York Times-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times brings us a nicely done (and very well edited, I thought) slideshow narrated by its accomplished photographer, Tyler Hicks.

Tyler Hicks' first trip to Kabul was in 2001, as Northern Alliance soldiers were fighting Taliban gunmen in and around the Afghan capital. There was a power vacuum at that time, and no restrictions on what could and could not be photographed...something which Tyler found to be very liberating.

He has returned every year since, and found Kabul to be a city in transition.

In the print edition of the newspaper, the section Week In Review carries the feature, and I must say that the layout of Tyler's two black & white photographs (one of which is above) that lead the article is superb...overall, an excellent photojournalism layout and a throwback to the days of LIFE. I'm also told that Tyler used a film camera...with B&W film.

Tyler Hicks' The Other Front:Kabul

Alessandro Vincenzi: Mumbai Monsoon

Photograph © Alessandro Vincenzi-All Rights Reserved
Alessandro Vincenzi is an Italian photographer living in Madrid. A trained biologist, he joined Medecins Sans Frontieres and traveled the world with the humanitarian organizatio.

He has added new galleries to his website; one on transgenders and the other on the monsoon in Mumbai. The latter is classic street photography, and many of the gallery's photographs are full of humor, and 'decisive moments'.

Alessandro Vincenzi

Happy Fourth of July

A Happy Fourth of July!

Michael Robinson Chavez: Senegal

© Michael Robinson Chavez/Washington Post-All Rights Reserved
Michael Robinson Chavez's work has often appeared on TTP, and for good reason; he's a consummate professional, and his work is not only consistently excellent, but is also varied...from conflict reportage to religious ritual, Michael has done it, and has done it well. Now that I met him at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (FPW), it's only natural that his work will be featured here even more frequently.

One thing for certain...Michael's taste in music is eclectic. One of the pieces of music he chose to accompany a slideshow of his photographs at FPW was "Allah Hu", the magnificent qawwali song of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His most recent photo slideshow in the Washington Post is on Senegal, and one of its chapters has as its audio a song by the superb Senegalese artist Baaba Maal. I don't know for sure if Michael chose it or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Here's A Changing Senegal from the Washington Post.