Travelling Lens Workshop To Ladakh...

What would you get if you mixed a troika of world-class women photographers with the visionary founder of a photojournalism workshop with an expert on Ladakh...and asked them to lead a 15 days photography workshop in a remote corner of the Indian Himalayas?

You'd get the Travelling Lens Master Class...that's what!

The Masterclass Workshop is led by Eric Beecroft (the founder of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop) and by Varun Gupta, a photographer with first hand knowledge of Ladkah and an alum of the Foundry), with the  extraordinary talents of Andrea Bruce, Maggie Steber, and Ami Vitale as workshop instructors (they are also instructors with the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop whom I know well and respect).

As mentioned on the workshop's website, this is a journey to one of the world's most epic locations, with full access to these professionals for guidance in the participants' photography career.

The dates of the workshop are from June 21 to July 5, 2012 and the journey will include some days in Balistan, in the very heart of the Karakoram.

This is a unique opportunity of joining some of the best Foundry Photojournalism Workshop instructors, so visit the Travelling Lens Workshop website for full details.

POV: My Take On The World Press Photo Of 2012

Photo © Samuel Aranda-Courtesy World Press Photo

Well, the results were in from the World Press Photo 2012 contest, and it was Samuel Aranda who won the coveted title of World Press Photo of the Year 2012 award with his photograph of a veiled woman holding a wounded relative inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen.

Much has been said and written about whether this photograph deserved the award or didn't, and various opinions from respected photographers, editors and the like, literally flooded newspapers, websites and blogs...and on social network sites. Everyone has an opinion...and voiced it. NPR even compared the scene to the Pieta, writing "the image bears an uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo's iconic (and religious) Pieta. Along those lines, The New York Times describes it as having "the mood of a Renaissance painting."


Ah, well...is this perhaps too much artsy thinking?

Whatever.

But here's my take. I think the photograph is certainly powerful and compelling. Is it a great photograph? Maybe, maybe not...but it certainly hits home with its depiction of pain, anguish and upheaval arising from one of the countries least known in the Middle East...Yemen. This is not the often seen pictures of young protestors with painted faces or gas masks, civil war or brutal police or military violence. Just a profoundly sad image.

Another thing struck me. Here's a photograph of a scene of a badly injured protestor, lovingly cradled by a woman totally veiled, covered in a niqab and wearing gloves. While she is virtually faceless, I  sensed her pain, her suffering and agony by her body language...which no niqab can hide. Her being covered up so fully may even compound the poignancy of the scene.

And that's the power of this photograph.

And yes, niqab-wearing women are sentient human beings...they're mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and experience suffering, anguish. love and affection as we all do.

That's my take on it. And in my view, that's why it won.

Samuel Aranda was born in 1979 in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Barcelona, Spain. When he was 19, he began working as a photojournalist for El Pais and El Periodico de Catalunya. A few years later, he traveled to the Middle East to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Spanish agency EFE. In 2004, he joined Agence France-Presse, covering multiple conflicts and social issues in Spain, Pakistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Morocco and Western Sahara.

Asia Society: Princes And Painters In Muhgal India

The Asia Society Museum in New York City is to show Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857, an exhibition showcasing Delhi's rich rich history of art, artists and patrons who flourished during this critical period.

The exhibition will focus on the reigns of the last four Mughal emperors — Muhammad Shah, Shah Alam II, Akbar Shah II and Bahadur Shah II Zafar. The latter emperor is the subject of William Dalrymple "The Last Mughal"...a captivating biography of Bahadur Shah Zafar, a descendant of both Genghis Khan and Timur the Great, and of the city of Delhi around the time of the Sepoy Rebellion.

The Sepoy Rebellion was eventually put down with great brutality by the British in a series of bloody battles, and Old Delhi was virtually ransacked. For those of us who know it, the Red Fort and the Jami Masjid were within a hair's breath of being razed, but were saved through the intercession of a high ranking British military commander. Imagine Old Delhi without these two architectural and historical gems?!

Bahadur Shah Zafar was sent into exile in Burma, where he died. He was banished not so much for what he did during the Rebellion, but because the Victorian Evangelicals were determined to replace his influence with that of Christianity. Zafar, having a Hindu mother, and an observant Muslim, appealed to India's major two religions and that couldn't be tolerated.

Researching the subject for this post, I read in a 2009 issue of the Telegraph that efforts were made to trace Zafar's descendants. It seems many have fled to Kolkata and Aurangabad, while others live in Burma and Pakistan.

Note to Publishers and Agents: I do not feature book reviews unless I read and like the books I write about or mention. So do not waste your time emailing me to publicize your book(s) on this blog. I will not.

POV: 5th Anniversary...Yes, 5th!!!

I always write a post at this time of year to observe the annual anniversary/birthday of The Travel Photographer's blog. I've started the blog five years ago (in London actually, and probably only because I was stuck at home as it was raining) and since then, it attracted an astonishing number of readers and visitors.

On the poster above, I haven't added my 5400 followers on Lightbox, an Android app (and soon to be on iPhone too as well).

Over two million unique visitors! Two million!!!

It established itself as a blog to read amongst a certain segment of the photography industry, and earned me the attention of many photographers (pros, semi-pros and non pros), photo retailers and industry experts. Yes, it's time-consuming (much less so now because it's well known, and requests from photographers find their way to my inbox on a weekly basis), but I still have enough self discipline to attend to it on a daily basis (well, 99% of the time).

And one of the most pleasant thrills I experience is being accosted in public and asked if I was "The Travel Photographer"...and this happens not infrequently, especially in New York City. If I may say so, adopting the brand name "The Travel Photographer" is one of the best ideas I've had in years. A self-pat on the back for thinking of it. A lesson to the younger photographers: brand yourself!!!

Onwards towards the 6th year.

As they say in my country of birth...Insha' Allah!

The Hajj via PlanetPic

Photo © Fayez Nureldine - AFP/Getty Images

PlanetPic, the photography blog of Global Post, is the first of the main photo blogs to feature over two dozen photographs of the Hajj...and it appears it'll be updated as the religious pilgrimage progresses.

The Hajj (Arabic for pilgrimage) to Mecca, Saudi Arabia is the largest pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. More than 2.5 million Muslims are expected to perform the Hajj; a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God.

This year, the Hajj occurs from November 4th to the 9th. Although it's associated with the life of the Prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca itself is considered by Muslims to stretch back thou.sands of years to the time of Abraham.

One of the photographs shows a pilgrim shaving his head, and it struck me that the Hindus do the same during the Kumbh Melas, and during other religious rituals.

Syncretism? Perhaps...but the French saying of plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose seems to be appropriate.

Human Currents At The Rubin Museum

Photo Courtesy The Rubin Museum of Art

The Rubin Museum of Art is featuring an exhibition of images of the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela by Swiss photographer Hannes Schmid. The exhibit appears (according to the pictures, as I have yet to drop by the RMA) to be extraordinarily well installed.  It's also an unusual set of photographs, as they're all closeups of crowds or groups of pilgrims...instead of the more exotic Nagas, sadhus, charlatans and mendicants that I vividly recall populated the Maha Kumbh Mela. I'm not sure what the intention of showing snapshots of crowds is, but it got Schmid an exhibit at the RMA....so perhaps I'm missing something here.


Human Currents is located in the RMA's Theater Level Gallery. Admission to the Theater Level Gallery is free of charge.


According to the RMA's press release, Schmid’s large C-print (ie Chromogenic color prints) photographs depict the enormous act of faith that was the Maha Kumbh Mela. The exhibit presents seven of these images, along with an accompanying video installation, that shows us the event's claustrophobic crowds, myriad colors, and frenetic energy of this greatest of Hindu pilgrimages. 

“Driven by an enormous religious power, there was absolutely nothing that could have stopped these pilgrims from fulfilling their vows.” -Hannes Schmid

The Maha Kumbh Mela occurred  from January to February 2001, when tens of millions of pilgrims converged in Allahabad, India for the festival, which was held only once every one hundred forty-four years. It was the largest gathering of human beings on earth, and saw devotees of all ages, castes, and classes from every corner of India. 


I remember being in my hotel room in Allahabad readying myself to photograph the Maha Kumbh Mela, and quickly turning off the television set because it was showing the inauguration of George Bush as President of the United States. It seems it was only yesterday but it wasn't. While I had serious misgivings about his presidency, little did I know then it'd be as disastrous.

Delhi Photo Festival: October 15-28, 2011

As I mentioned in earlier posts, Delhi Photo Festival is progressing steadily, and now includes an  array of workshops, lectures, portfolio reviews, gallery walks and seminars.

I am very pleased to be participating in the festival, where I will teach a short multimedia module on October 15 aimed at photographers and photojournalists to produce audio-slideshows that rivals in quality and content then the more elaborate multimedia productions.

On the morning of the same day, I will be reviewing portfolios of non-working photographers at the same venue, the Habitat Learning Centre.

The above image is the official poster for the 'Delhi Photo Festival'. Feel free to make copies and disseminate to photo enthusiasts as widely as you can.

John Kenny: Kenyan Portraits

Photo © John Kenny-All Rights Reserved

The Guardian newspaper in London alerted me of an exhibition opening next week of John Kenny's new portraits from Kenya.

John Kenny started a journey in 2006 that took him though many of Sub-Saharan Africa’s remotest communities. He spent hours walking, hitch-hiking and driving across African countries making photographs of people, ancient cultures and traditions.

The Guardian and the exhibition venue (3 Bedfordbury Gallery) has a selected number of these portraits, but the collection can be best seen on John Kenny's website.

He tells us that the images were taken during his second trip to the far North of Kenya in 2011. With major drought across the Samburu, Rendille and Turkana villages in the region, he wanted to to convey a little more on how climate changes are undermining traditional pastoral ways of live in East Africa.

I have featured John Kenny's work a number of times. You can the posts see here and here.

Should I go and see the exhibit at the Covent Garden gallery whilst I'm in London, I'll post my impressions.

I just noticed that John Kenny used a 10x8 format Chamonix camera for some of his work.

Reminders Project Asian Photographers Grant

The five finalists of the inaugural Reminders Project Asian Photographers Grant were announced on September 12th.

These accomplished photographers were selected by a jury panel from submissions received from all over Asia, and will have their work showcased at this year’s 7th Angkor Photo Festival, which is held from November 19 to 26, 2011, in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The winner of the grant will be announced during the festival, and will receive financial support of US$3,000 for his/her winning project. The project will also be shown next year at the 8th Angkor Photo Festival.

2011 FINALISTS
AGNES DHERBEYS
South Korea / France

ANDRI TAMBUNAN
Indonesia

GMB AKASH
Bangladesh

SHIHO FUKADA
Japan

ZISHAAN AKBAR LATIF
India

September 11, 2001: The Fringe

All Photos © 2011 Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

For those who have no press passes, access to Ground Zero was prohibited yesterday. Nonetheless, the areas around it did provide opportunities for good street photography.  Naturally, any event of such a magnitude brings along the fringe...the conspiracy theorists,  the government haters, the religious minded...and the Obama supporters.

Stephane Sednaoui: September 11, 2001

Photo © Stephane Sednaoui-All Rights Reserved

Out of the many images of the aftermath of September 11, 2001 that were published in the past few weeks, I thought the most compelling were by Stephane Sednaoui featured by TIME's LightBox, which is one of the best photo blogs.. Perhaps it's because I hadn't heard of him nor seen these images before,  and were in many ways different from those I had seen before.

Stephane Sednaoui is a photographer and a movie director, and has also worked as a documentary photographer covering the Romanian Revolution of 1989. He has photographed many music album covers, and directed more than 50 music videos.

Interestingly, Sednaoui's ancestors were originally from Syria, who moved to Egypt and established one of the country's first top notch department stores. The Sednaoui brothers, Samaan and Selim, established the Sednaoui (pronounced 'Sednawee') store in the early 1900s. The store still exists to this day, but is a shadow of its grandeur after being nationalized in the 60s.

The school I attended in Cairo required that all students buy their uniforms; blazers, caps, shorts and keen-high grey socks from the Sednaoui store, and I recall quite well my excitement each year in getting these new uniforms.

Delhi Photo Festival: New Updates

Mentioned in earlier posts, Delhi Photo Festival is progressing steadily, and now includes an  array of workshops, lectures, portfolio reviews, gallery walks and seminars.

The Event Calendar is up on its website, and a number of photographers and readers of this blog will either attend it in person, or have sent in their work for consideration.

As per the partial screen capture above (click to enlarge), I will be participating in the festival, where I will teach a short multimedia module on October 15 aimed at photographers and photojournalists to produce audio-slideshows that rivals in quality and content then the more elaborate multimedia productions.

Due to time constraints, I am unfortunately unable to attend the whole festival as I'm flying back to New York on October 16th after three weeks in Kolkata.

I would have liked to attend my friend Asim Rafiqui's presentation of his long term project "The Idea of India" on October 18, and the module on Basics of DSLR Film Making by my friend Anamitra Chakladar on October 23.

Dark Light: Abbas & Melisa Teo

I'm glad I stumbled on Dark Light, a joint exhibition by Abbas (Magnum) and Melisa Teo, who traveled for 3 years documenting the spiritual traditions of Buddhism, Shamanism and Hinduism.

It's an interesting contrast of styles: the black & white photojournalistic photographs of Abbas and Melisa's more abstract, color-filled and blurry images. The contrast between the sharp black & white imagery by Abbas and the colorful intentional (or not) photographs by Melisa shows that there is ample room for either and both disciplines and styles.

I liked Abbas' relaxed conversational narration, probably honed through years of public speaking, while Melisa's is somewhat stilted and strained. Photographers usually make awful narrators...but Abbas did his very well.

The exhibition is held in Singapore from September 1 to 23rd, 2011. Further details are available here.

A few days ago, I expressed my POV that travel photographers could learn from fashion photographers, and that having such a two-way exchange of ideas, concepts and techniques is a good thing for both types of photography. It's the same for the styles espoused by Abbas and Melisa.

In a part of the narration, Abbas tells us that he would photograph a wide angle documentary image of the Ganges, while Melisa would choose a small flower floating on it...the whole versus the part. Similarly, on some of my photo workshops, I had the experience when shooting alongside photographers who have a fashion or interior design background...they see less in documentary style and more in abstract terms....or the whole versus the part.

Delhi Photo Festival 2011

The Delhi Photo Festival has now a Facebook page, which is listing all the details of workshops, lectures and exhibitions.  You can read details on the involvement of Raghu Rai, Asim Rafiqui, Sohrab Hura and myself on this Facebook page which is being updated all the time.

I will be participating in the festival, where I will teach a short multimedia module on October 15 aimed at photographers and photojournalists to produce audio-slideshows that rivals in quality and content then the more elaborate multimedia productions. It will focus on how to make a quick slide show production, using photographers' own images and audio generated in the field, and produce a cogent photo story under publishing deadlines.

President Obama In The West Village!!!

Photographs © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

The West Village's West 12th Street was abuzz a few moments ago with the imminent arrival of President Obama, who was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the home of a Hollywood celebrity (Harvey Weinstein?).

I was there with my Canon 7D and a 70-200, and managed to capture his motorcade, and his car.  But I preferred to wave like a kid as it passed...and caught a glimpse of him, looking at the crowds and at his Blackberry.

Angkor Photo Festival Program 2011

I take great pleasure in featuring the 7th Angkor Photo Festival Program Preview which is to take place in Siem Reap from November 19 to November 26, 2011. This well established event is the first photography festival held in Southeast Asia and for 2011, will exhibit the work of 110 photographers, out of whom 60 are from Asia.

The 2011 list of exhibiting photographers includes Andrew Biraj, Pep Bonet, Paula Bronstein, Marco Di Lauro, Tewfic El-Sawy, Siddharth Jain, Yuri Koryzev, Liz Loh-Taylor, Wendy Marijnissen, Erica McDonald, Palani Mohan, and many more.

My photographs from the photo essay The Possessed of Hazrat Mira Datar will be screened during the festival.

Angkor Photo Festival will hold 12 exhibitions, 7 evenings of slideshows, free workshops for 30 Asian photographers, and a lot more. It's curated by Francoise Callier in consultation with a 9-member international committee. The program is coordinated by Camille Plante and Jessica Lim.

For the PDF Press Release which also contains sample photographs of the exhibits and screenings, click here.

If you haven't considered attending the Angkor Photo Festival, I encourage you to do so. It's an unmissable photography event.

Maggie Steber: Photographer, Educator, Speaker...

Two of my favorite (and insightful) moments at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Buenos Aires were when I had the good fortune of having breakfast with Maggie Steber, and then walking with her to the Motivarte school, where we were meeting our respecting classes.

I thought I'd share with my readers what most have missed by not being at the Foundry this year. No, it's not Maggie speaking during that event (I believe this will be coming in the next few weeks), but of her addressing attendees during the 15th Joop Swart Masterclass in which she talks of her career, along with an overview of her work. This is not a talk that you will want to rush through...quite the opposite. Take your time, and absorb as much as possible from a renowned professional in all the senses of the word. Candid, articulate, funny, wise, interesting and perceptive...that's how I'd describe her. So bookmark or save it, because I know you'll enjoy it.

"How can nature or God or the fates or the universe do this to a country that has borne far too much sadness?" 

Maggie Steber worked as a documentary photographer in 60 countries. Her longtime work in Haiti received the prestigious Alicia Patterson Foundation Grant and the Ernst Haas Grant as well as a book publishing support grant from Kodak. A contract photographer for Newsweek Magazine for 4 years, she has worked through several press agencies as well the Associated Press in New York as a photo editor. She served as Assistant Managing Editor of Photography and Features at the Miami Herald from 1999-2003 and guided the photo projects to become Pulitzer Prize finalists twice and a third time as winner. Her work for National Geographic has included articles on Miami, the African slave trade, the Cherokee Nation, soldiers' letters, and Dubai.

In 2007, she received a grant from the Knight Foundation to design a new newspaper prototype through the new Knight Center for International Media at the University of Miami. In 2010, for the 3rd time, she was invited as a Master Teacher at the World Press Photo Foundation’s Joop Swart classes.

Finally, you ought to view Maggie's photo essay on The New York Times' Lens blog entitled No End Of Trouble. Ever , which includes her reflection on Haiti's misery.

World Press Photo At The United Nations

For the 8th consecutive year the United Nations is hosting the World Press Photo Contest winners, the world’s largest contest for photojournalists. This year's exhibition contains 177 photographs related to 2010 news events from all over the world. This year, 5,691 photographers from 125 countries submitted a total of 108,059 images.

The international jury selected an image by South African photographer Jodi Bieber as World Press Photo of the Year 2010. The picture shows Bibi Aisha, 18, who was disfigured as retribution for fleeing her husband's house in Oruzgan province, in the center of Afghanistan.

Admission to the Exhibits is free and the galleries can be viewed daily between the 5 – 28 August, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitors’ entrance closes at 4:45 p.m.

POV: In Praise Of Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

As this blog's followers and readers know, I attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Buenos Aires as a faculty member, and decided I'd jot down my thoughts as to how it progressed and developed.

I attended all four Foundry workshop (Mexico City, Manali, Istanbul and now Buenos Aires), and it was by far the best in terms of organization and infrastructure. Whilst there may be a difference of opinion among faculty members as to the strength of the students projects as presented during the workshops, we all agreed that the organization, the behind-the-scenes work and the two venues (Motivarte and Arte y Arte) were terrific.

The photographers in the faculty were lauded for generously sharing their knowledge and time, but I think the unsung heroes of Buenos Aires' Foundry were its staff, administrators and the local volunteers who made it a wonderful success.

Eric Beecroft, as the visionary force behind the Foundry Workshops, deserves singular praise. He had an idea 4-5 years ago, and made it a reality despite enormous obstacles. As they say, Eric pushed water uphill, and made it to the top. With him, and deserving many kudos for the success of the Buenos Aires workshop are Mansi Midha, Kirsten Luce, Gabriel "Morty" Ortega, Tiffany Clark, Jen Storey, and Hugo Infante. They are excellent photographers in their own right, and you can see their individual biographies here.

Despite their various bouts with tenacious flu, exhaustion and long hours, the staff and local volunteers worked around the clock, and deserve enormous credit for the success of this year's Foundry. Here's to you...and a standing ovation for a well done job!

The students' presentations were shown on the last evening, and having strict time limits for each made it much easier to appreciate. The audience was delighted to have seen such powerful, compelling, creative, imaginative and in a couple of cases, tongue in cheek work.

I will only mention the faculty by saying that, as usual, all instructors exerted tremendous efforts to share their technical knowledge with their classes and beyond. There were incredibly interesting panel discussions, and I, for one, was stunned at some of the instructors' candor in describing the toll their jobs have had on their lives...and yet, they participated in this workshop just because they want to give back.

Finally, a word about Buenos Aires...the combination of the best beef, lamb and chorizos (especially at Glumy and Criollo on Serrano square) in the world, excellent wine, bewitching tango music, and the seductive milongas...as well as some of the most attractive women (and I'm told, handsome men) I've seen, also contributed to it being such an unforgettable experience.

The 2012 Foundry Photojournalism Workshop will be held in Southeast Asia....Viet Nam is on top of the shortlist. Keep your eyes and ears open for the eventual details...and be part of it. You won't regret it.

Terri Gold: Into The Mists of Time

Photo © Terri Gold-All Rights Reserved

Terri Gold joined my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ last year, and is now showing her terrific infrared images about life in Guizhou (China) in an exhibition entitled “Into the Mists of Time", of which the above image is part of.

Julie Keyes is curating and presenting the exhibition at 4 North Main Gallery, which is located at 1 North Main Street in Southampton, New York, and will be opened for viewing on July 30th, 12-7PM and July 31st, 12-5PM. 

From the exhibition's press release:

Terri Gold’s lifelong body of work “Still Points in a Turning World “focuses on Asia’s vanishing tribal heritage and has been widely published and exhibited. Recently, she was featured in aCurator Magazine and Lenscratch and was a winner in the Planet Magazine and London International Creative Competitions. Gold’s work is interpretive in nature and incorporates the use of infrared light and the invisible light spectrum. She is interested in the myriad ways in which people find meaning in their lives, how an individual explores his or her existence through their traditions.

So if you're in the Hamptons this week-end, don't miss it! Teri's images are unique and well worth your time.