The Travel Photographer 2012 Most Popular Post

And the most popular post of 2012 on The Travel Photographer's blog is:

POV: Fuji X1-Pro1: Is It A Threat To Leica? in which I replied that the answer might well be a qualified yes. I also predicted (wrongly so far) that Leica would come up with a mirrorless iteration at some point soon.

That said, Leica did come up with the new Leica M-E, a "bare-bones entry level" version of the M9 priced at $5500 or so. To my mind, this was Leica's attempt to dull the competition from camera manufacturers such as Fuji and others, to widen its target market, and to expand its accessibility to more photographers.

For what it's worth, PDN 2012 Photo Gear of the Year just published a few days ago nominated the Fuji X-Pro 1 on that list.

But here's why I think this particular post got so much attention:

1. Timing. The post was published whilst rumors were swirling about the imminent Fuji announcement. 

2. Gear. Photographers love to read about gear.

3. Provocative title of the post.

For galleries of my Fuji X Pro-1 photographs, take a look at The Leica File (And X Pro-1).

And with this, I bid my readers a very happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

POV | Ersatz Wet Plate?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Ersatz means "substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to", e.g. "chicory is ersatz coffee". (Wikipedia)

I mentioned it here on this blog, but I've experienced a sort of love epiphany (or is it epiphanic love?) with Hipstamatic's new Tintype SnapPack...which consists of a Tinto 1884 Lens, a D-Type Plate Film and a C-Type Plate Film. It's not for everyone or for every subject, but when the ingredients of a scene click together, it works well.

And I recently stumbled on this short video (at the end of this post) of Ian Ruhter modifying a Holga to shoot 19th century style photographs based on the wet plate process. It's a fun project, and it doesn't seem too difficult...although I'm sure there a steep learning curve attached to it, but the more one practices it, the easier it gets.

Having also received an email from a company called PostalPix asking whether I'd be interested in having some of my iPhone photographs fused on thin aluminum sheets of varying sizes, I think I might be able to duplicate the wet plate look by sending a few images I snapped using Hipstamatic Tintype filter, and have them infused on metal sheets.

I know...I can sense the purists' hackles rising at this blasphemous idea, but it sounds like fun, and it's only ersatz 'wet-plate'. As Ian Ruhter himself says; "To live by rules that were created by others we may never find out who we really are."

And to endear myself to whoever is interested in wet-plate photography, here's Wet Plate Collodion Day website, which has galleries by dozens of photographers who work in this medium...as well as a list of resources. Ian Ruhter's Vimeo page also has a list of resources...where to buy, etc.

I will keep my readers posted once I hear from PostalPix.

Lights, Toy Camera, Action from Ian Ruhter : Alchemist on Vimeo.

Aga Luczakowska I Female Islambul

Photo © Aga Luczakowska-All Rights Reserved

It was said that in the early 1930s Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the first president of Turkey) thought of a Machiavellian way to persuade Turkish women to discard their yashmak ( diaphanous Turkish veils) as he regarded this Islamic tradition regressive and primitive. He simply issued a presidential decree that all prostitutes had to wear a veil.

Overnight, all the women in Turkey discarded theirs.

I thought this apocryphal story is a great introduction to Aga Luczakowska's Female Islambul, a collection of monochrome street photographs which depict the current resurgence of veils in Turkish society. She also features Istanbul Girls, a gallery of color photographs of modern unveiled young women in Istanbul night clubs.

Aga Luczakowska started her career as a staff photographer for the Polish daily newspaper "Dziennik Zachodni Polska The Times". In 2007, she traveled to Istanbul where she photographed for two years.Subsequently, she studied in Italy with NOOR Agency founder Stanley Greene, then continued to Romania to pursue various photographic projects in Romania.

Her work appeared in various newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Moscow Times, Dziennik Zachodni, National Geographic Magazine (International) and more Polish newspapers and magazines.

Frederic Vanwalleghem | Vodun

"Vodun practitioners worship a pantheon of gods and lesser deities that inhabit objects ranging from stones to waterfalls."

Here's a short video made of moving images and stills by photographer Frederic Vanwalleghem made in Ouidah (Benin)of the ancient belief system of vodun.

Despite concerted efforts of Christian missionaries, this ancient belief system still has millions of adherents along West Africa’s former Slave Coast, from Ghana to parts of Nigeria, and especially in Benin. In 1996, Benin’s democratic government officially decreed vodun a religion, and ever since, thousands have openly practiced it. It's estimated that  20 percent of the population of Benin, or about a million people, practice pure vodun.

The belief system is called vodun in Benin, vodou or voodoo in Haiti and vudu in the Dominican Republic.

Frederic Vanwalleghem is a Belgian photographer; deeply interested in African religious traditions, and especially in vodun, a topic he has researched for years. He became interested in vodun when he first traveled to Cuba and discovered santeria, the Afro-Cuban religious tradition, and was subsequently introduced its secret ceremonies in Trinidad. Later, he traveled to Nigeria and Benin, to look for the roots of diasporic traditions like santeria, condomble and vodun.

An interesting article on vodun was recently featured in The New York Times, and a full interview with Frederic Vanwalleghem was featured in The Leica Camera Blog.

Magdalena Solé | The Mississippi Delta

Photo © Magdalena Sole-All Rights Reserved

"To understand the world, you must first understand 

a place like Mississippi". William Faulkner

The other day I found an invitation in my mail from the Leica Gallery on Broadway for The Mississippi Delta exhibition by photographer Magdalena Solé.

The invitation described the exhibition as being a photographic exploration of the Delta communities in the Deep South. Communities such as the sharecroppers, plantations, and conjuring up the sound of the Blues. The area is known for its small wealthy gentry, and the "large impoverished underclass living in dilapidated house and tilting trailers". Naturally, Ms Solé worked in Clarksdale, which has been historically significant in the history of the Blues, and is now a mecca for those photographers and other documentarians who seek to document this musical genre, and lifestyle.

Her photographs also formed the basis for her book New Delta Rising, which won a prestigious award in France. She used Leica M8 and M9 cameras for the project preferring them because they're small, and portable...while allowing her to remain virtually invisible. The photograph used in the exhibition's invitation (above) is really fabulous...the expressions of the two men (and the dog), and the juxtaposition of all the characters in the frame is just perfect.

Magdalene Sole was born in Spain and raised in Switzerland. She arrived in New York City in 1984 where she still lives.

I'm not terribly fond of attending exhibitions as such, but I certainly intend to drop by the Leica Gallery for that exhibition, which runs from January 11 to February 23, 2013. I will post about what my impressions are when I do so.

Happy Holidays!

All the very best Xmas wishes to my readers and blog followers 

whether on Google, Facebook or Twitter!

I will be back on December 26th.

The Travel Photographer's Own Favorites of 2012

With some difficulty, I've chosen five of my own favorite images made during 2012 to showcase here on my blog.

Since I've just been smitten by Hipstamatic's newly announced Tintype SnapPak filters and its accompanying Tinto 1884 camera, I pimped these images using Alienskin Exposure software to resemble that look as best as I knew how...just to indulge this passing whimsy. The purists won't like it...but it's fun.

1. The Kathakali Performer:

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

This image was made just before one of the most intense Kathakali performances I have ever witnessed during my The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™. The performance and the earlier 3 hours make-up session took place at the Kalatharangini Kathakali School, near Thrissur.

Kathakali is one of the oldest theatre forms in the world, and originated in Kerala. Kathakali is a group production, in which actors-dancers take various roles in performances based on themes from Hindu mythology, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

I asked some of the performers to pose adopting their signature gestures, and this performer was singularly adept at humoring the camera lenses.

2. The LGBT Pride March:

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots in NYC, which occurred at the end of June 1969.  The Dance on the Pier is one the main events ending the LGBT Pride March on June 24, 2012. 

I walked around the Hudson River Piers during that afternoon, and saw these two young women hugging; for a moment, totally oblivious of their surroundings. It's one of many in a gallery I titled LGBT Hip Hop.

3. Muay Thai Pugilists:

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

During The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Chiang Mai, I initiated a couple of photo projects in the area known as Loi Kroh Road. 

The area is known for its bars and a rundown gym with a decrepit ring. One got to the boxing ring by walking through a gauntlet of girlie and ladyboy bars. Badly patched up with duct tape and tarted up with adverts for Jack Daniels Whisky, the ring was the scene for play-acting fights, and reeked of sweat and the ambience of the sex for hire, ...and of course, shady nak muay, as the sport's pugilists are known. The Art of 8 Limbs is a photo gallery of these fighters.

4. The Bac Ha Soup-Eater:

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

This is one is probably my most favored amongst these favorites. I think it screams Viet Nam.

Whilst in Bac Ha during my Vietnam: North of the 16th Parallel Photo-Expedition/Workshop, I chanced upon this man enjoying his midday meal (perhaps a soup with meat and/or mushrooms in it), and chose to photograph the scene by standing directly behind him, and doing so as silently as possible. I used my M9 to snap a few frames of him, before he realized that I was on top of him. When he did, he looked up at me, smiled...and resumed his meal.

Every Sunday, Bac Ha has the biggest fair near the Chinese border. It is the largest and most colourful market in the area and attracts throngs of villagers from the surrounding hill tribes. The cups you see in the upper right corner of the photograph had local moonshine in them. 

5. The March Jacobs Doll:

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

This photograph of a young Asian woman was made near 32nd Street (NYC's Koreatown) on November 1, 2012.  This was 3 days following Hurricane Sandy causing lower Manhattan to be without electrical power. Many of the area's residents 'fled' to mid town hotels or other accommodations. 

I found it somewhat incongruous this beautiful woman was so oblivious that only a few streets south of where she and I stood, lower Manhattan was eerily quiet and almost deserted. Seemingly disconnected from this misfortune, she's connected to her iPhone, carrying a Marc Jacobs shopping bag and sucking on candy. It also signalled to me that New York City carried on...no matter what.

From The Leica File (X Pro-1) gallery.

Chris McGrath | Thaipusam

Photo © Chris McGrath-All Rights Reserved

I've posted about Thaipusam a few times already, but I never tire to view the varying angles and scenes that various photographers have featured on their websites.

Chris McGrath is one of the photographers who attended the version of this Hindu festival in
Singapore, rather than Malaysia where it's held annually 13 kilometres outside its capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

In Singapore though, the preparations for Thaipusam begin early in the morning at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India where the devotees start to perform the necessary rituals. Once these done, the procession moves through central Singapore to another Hindu temple about 2 miles away. The festival occurs on the full moon during the Tamil month of Thai, which occured on February 7, 2012.

On the day of the festival, devotees shave their heads and perform various acts of devotion, notably carrying heavy burdens, and carry out acts of self mortification by piercing their skin, tongue or cheeks with skewers and sharp hooks. 

Chris McGrath is a staff photographer with Getty Images, specializing in editorial and commercial assignments. His images are published in Stern, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, The Independent, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, ESPN the magazine, The Guardian, L'Equipe and on daily news and sport websites worldwide. His work has also been recognized with many industry awards including, POYi, NPPA, CHIPP, AIPP, The Atlanta Photojournalism contest, PX3 and the New York Press Photographers Association.

Thaipusam is on my bucket-list, but until I get the time and photograph it myself, I'm happy to feature images of this festival from various other photographers.

Devansh Jhaveri | TTP's Travel Photographer of 2012

Photo © Devansh Jhaveri- All Rights Reserved

Well, you have spoken. And you have spoken well.

Devansh Jhaveri has won the coveted title of The Travel Photographer blog's Travel Photographer of 2012.

In truth though, Devansh has many more photographic styles to be very proud of. He also specializes in weddings, fashion, documentary, dance, portraiture and iphonegraphy. He also is the only photographer with a QR Code (Quick Response Code) on his website.

I mentioned in my original post that he had a portfolio review with me the Delhi Photo Festival in November 2011, and I recall telling him that he was gifted, and that his photographs were amongst the best I've seen in this genre.

Congratulations!

POV: Protect Your Instagram Images

I seldom use Instagram but I really can't believe the amount of media attention that has been given to Instagram's recent amendment of its Terms of Service...CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC and ABC* all had the negative furore it created amongst its users. I initially thought the furious backlash was restricted to the social media, blogs and the rest of the Internet, but it spread all over.

The change in the terms of service was swiftly followed by an apologetic statement by one of the co-founders of Instagram which, in essence, is a waffle couched in legalese.

That said, let's wait and see what happens.

In the meantime, there's a solution for Instagram die-hards and those who don't want to cancel their accounts...as some professional photographers already did.

It's iWatermark**. It's an app available in iTunes, and costs $1.99. I've used on occasions, and it's pretty simple, versatile and would go a long way in preventing Instagram using one's images.

* I don't watch Fox.
** I have no relationship with iWatermark whatsoever, other than having used its said product.

Ah! Kumbh Mela Time

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Quite a number of photographers, some friends and acquaintances, are gearing up to join the millions of Hindu pilgrims who will travel to Allahabad at the end of January and February, and document this unique religious event. I'm also certain that a number of photographers will offer workshops there...some charging an arm and a leg, others not so much.

This brings back memories of my attendance of the Maha Kumbh Mela of 2001, which was in the estimate of many the "mother of all Kumbh Melas" as it occurs only every 144 years.

The Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. The Maha Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas', or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.

By the way, isn't it surprising that Allahabad, or city of Allah/God as it was named by Mughal emperor Akbar, is the city where the most Hindu of all religious pilgrimages is held? And that's because it's the site of where the Yamuna and Ganges meet, and it was the birthplace of the Vedas and the grand epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

What struck me the most while photographing in 2001 were two facts: the overwhelming number of people (from charlatans and con men, religious freaks, and the genuinely devout Hindu pilgrims), and the surprising organization and efficiency of the police and organizers. It is said that about 60 million people attended the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela.

I also recall how photojournalists were too aggressive in covering the bathing ceremony of the Naga Sadhus, and some of them were severely beaten and hospitalized. This, of course, meant that the rest of us had to surreptitiously take pictures when the police ordered us not to shoot during a Naga Sadhu procession (see above photograph). I had a press pass at the time, and it allowed me to circumvent the long lines, but that was about it.

In expectation of seeing photo essays on the event, here's the BBC's photographs of pilgrims already arriving in Allahabad.

The auspicious bathing dates of the 2013 Kumbh Mela are here.

Kauser Haider | A Hall Full of Cinema

Photo © Kauser Haider-All Rights Reserved

The Manoshi Cinema Hall in Old Dhaka is a 70+ year old crumbling old building with torn plaster walls and decrepit chairs. It features three shows a day; mostly of action films that appeal to lower income segments of Dhaka's population. Mingling with genuine cinema buffs, are drug addicts, prostitutes and other similar denizens of this capital city, while its staff of about 25 work around the clock to operate the obsolete machinery needed to project the films.

Kauser Haider is the photographer who brings us A Hall Full of Cinema. It has been featured on various blogs, but it was nominated as a 2012 Photostory choice. A well deserved accolade for such a visually interesting subject. Brilliant and very large photographs!

Kauser Haider is a Bangladeshi documentary photographer who prefers to work with social issues, humanitarian focus, and travel photography . He enrolled in Pathshala South Asian Media Academy for BA in Photography, and subsequently participated in various international workshops conducted by Philip Blenkinsop, Shannon Lee Castleman, Shorab Hura, Abir Abdullah and Munem Wasif.

A Hall Full of Cinema was exhibited internationally in Angkor photo festival and Delhi Photo festival .  

2012's Four Most Popular Posts On Travel Photographers

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I thought I'd feature four of the most popular (ie viewed) posts of 2012 on The Travel Photographer's blog that have the Photographers: Travel tag.

So here they are in the reverse order of their appearance:

1. My own Hà Nội Streets photo gallery. Photographs made with the X Pro-1 of the street life of Hà Nội.

Photo © Monica Denevan-All Rights Reserved

2. Monica Denevan: Burma. My post describes her pictures of Burma and China as luminous and gorgeous.

3. Myanmar By Ruben Vincente & Joao Almeida. The posts announced the photo exhibition of these two talented photographers. Their work from Myanmar (Burma) will convince you to visit Myanmar at the earliest.

Photo © Mark Carey-All Rights Reserved

4. Mark Carey: Viet Nam In Black & White. I wrote that this was a highly recommended viewing stop for all those interested in Viet Nam and solid street photography...and that great travel photography does not need to be in color.

Elissa Bogos | The Last Jew In Afghanistan

Here's a short video documentary by Elissa Bogos on Zeblon Simontov, the last Jew in Afghanistan while he observes the fifth night of Hanukkah alone in his deserted and dilapidated synagogue.

Simontov was born in 1959 in Turkmenistan, and lives in Kabul working as a carpet dealer. He's believed to be the last Jew in Afghanistan...and consequently is the last caretaker of the only synagogue in Afghanistan.

His wife and daughters emigrated to Israel, and when asked why he didn't, he's said to have replied "Go to Israel? What business do I have there? Why should I leave?"

This reminds me that a few years ago, I thought of photographing the last remaining Jews in Egypt. Starting off by photographing one of the ancient (and now restored) synagogues in Old Cairo, I was faced with obstacles by the policemen guarding it, who were uneasy at my presence taking pictures there, I quickly gave up. The synagogue was open to tourists, but there were some restrictions in photographing...at least, that's what they told me.

For a relatively recent article dealing with the remnants of the Jewish community in Egypt that was once one of the vibrant in the world, take a read of Josh Weil's The Last Jews of Cairo.

Elissa Bogos is a freelance photojournalist and videojournalist currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Her photographs and video have been published in The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, EurasiaNet, The Huffington Post, The Montreal Gazette, Reuters, New York Daily News and in other media. In Afghanistan, she freelances for a variety of NGOs and private companies and has worked with the Associated Press, Tolo TV and Channel One TV.

POV: Street Photography & Mental Instantaneous Captioning

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I often wonder if my "mental instantaneous captioning" is shared by other street photographers...it must be.

The photograph snapped a couple of days ago on SoHo will serve to illustrate what I mean. Walking on Prince Street, I saw this woman about to enter a well-known artisanal bakery, and on the verge of turning to the dog leashed to the door. I quickly clicked the shutter to capture the image, and simultaneously thought of the caption for it. The caption was “Yes, You’ll Get A Cookie”. So there was a bunch of things happening in an instant: the visual of the scene, the clicking of the shutter and the coming up of the caption...all at the same time.

This happens to be the case in most of my street photographs. I see the scene, click the shutter and have the caption already figured out. A few of the captions come to me later during the editing process, or when I upload the images on my street photography website.

It must be the experience of other street photographers as well, especially if they caption their photographs.

What's funny is that I don't experience this so-called "mental instantaneous captioning" syndrome when I am photographing travel related images. I just returned from Hanoi where I did a lot of street photography, and I had no such captions ready to go...I didn't even think of captions. This only occurs in New York City.

Isn't that weird?

Reader' Poll: Who's The Travel Photographer of 2012?

To end 2012, I thought I'd feature a reader's poll to choose which of a pre-selected travel photographers whose work appeared on The Travel Photographer's blog would garner the most votes for the coveted title of "The Travel Photographer of 2012". 

There are no prizes...just the intangible glory of being nominated by readers of this blog. And yes, I applied the term 'travel photographer' a little loosely. I will announce the winner in a week or so.

Here are the photographers. I list them in no particular order, with a thumbnail sample of their work, the shortcut link to my post on this blog, and a link to their website. The poll is at the bottom of this post.

I also plan to feature at a later stage which 2-3 posts about travel photography/photographers got the highest number of views during 2012.


1. Monica Denevan:

Photo © Monica Denevan

Blog Post

Website

2. Cedric Arnold:

Photo © Cedric Arnold

Blog Post

Website

3. Devansh Jhaveri: 

Photo © Devansh Jhaveri

Blog Post

Website

4. Lisa Kristine:

Photo © Lisa Kristine

Blog Post

Website

5. Denis Rouvre:

Photo © Denis Rouvre

Blog Post

Website

"Beyond" Varanasi Documentary: Cale Glendening

For 12/12/12 (the so-called end of days or whatever it's called), I've featured the trailer (for those with limited time or a short attention span) as well as the full length (43 minutes  of “BEYOND”. A documentary by filmmaker Cale Glendening which features photographer Joey L. and his assistant Ryan McCarney as they complete their latest photo series “Holy Men” in the ancient city of Varanasi.

Beautiful film work, and interesting insight as to how Joey L. works in the field, amongst ancient cultures and with atypical characters as the Aghori sadhus...one of whom speaks almost fluent English. It's also interesting to see how Joey L., a young Canadian commercial photographer, goes about his craft. He's seen working with a medium format digital Phase One camera and portable softboxes.

Very much more commercial (or fashion photographic) work than travel photography, and one that consumes a lot of planning, time and effort. It's gratifying that Joey and his teammates realize the value of making a connection, and friendships, before starting to shoot their camera flashes in the faces of their subjects.

But I'm not sure what to make of the Aghori sadhus who were photographed and filmed here in this documentary.

The Aghori, mostly ascetic sadhus, are a Shaivite Hindu sect, known for violating typical Indian and other social mores, and for unorthodox, taboo rituals such as cannibalism of corpses and using skulls as drinking vessels. My understanding is that they shun the company of others, and follow secret rituals...with no interest in notoriety or publicity of any sort.

So I'm a little puzzled by the two Aghoris appearing in this documentary, throwing some flammable stuff in a small bonfire and holding a skull.

In any event, it makes for good viewing.

8th Angkor Photo Festival: 2012 Prize Winner

Photo © Truth Leem-All Rights Reserved

Angkor Photo Workshops announced its first prize winner last night in Siem Reap. "Island" by South Korean photographer Truth Leem won the award presented by Francoise Callier.

The jury consisted of Andrea Star Reese, Francoise Callier (program director of Angkor Photo Festival), Che Ahmad Azhar,  Mauro Bedoni, Kosuke Okahara, Heng Ting Guan, andWill Baxter.

For her Island essay during the workshop, Truth Leem photographed a series of solitary people. She is a former Reuters stringer.

Out of Eden Walk: 30 Million Footsteps

A few posts ago I suggested there were no more explorers in the mold of Richard Francis Burton.

I was wrong.

An incredible exploration trek is being planned by Paul Salopek, a writer for the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic, who will be walking the journey taken by early man tens of thousands of years ago.

The walk, Out of Eden, will take 30 million footsteps, over 21, 000 miles over 7 years to complete. It will start in Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia, and will cross the Red Sea into the Middle East, cross China, into Siberia, cross the Bering Strait into Alaska and then walk all the way down the western coasts of North and South America.

Graphic courtesy The Observer

Salopek will be taking a micro-light laptop, video and audio recording tools, since he intends to record his journey; including landscapes and voices and faces of the people he meets on the walk. He will also be taking a satellite phone through which he will be uploading his journal's recordings to his his website.

He tells The Guardian newspaper that "We will be creating a family portrait of humanity for the next seven years."

That promises to be one damn exciting journey for all of us.

Sebastião Salgado: The Nenets of Siberia

Photo © Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas/nbpictures

The new work by my very favorite photographer Sebastião Salgado was featured by The Guardian newspaper in the UK. It's been trending very heavily on Facebook and on Twitter, which is not surprising since so many people admire him and his work.

I not only admire his work, but his way of seeing....as he describes it by saying " 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."

But back to his new work.

Mr Salgado's Genesis project is now complete after 30 trips made over 8 years. The project portrays the beauty and the majesty of regions still in a pristine condition, areas where landscapes and wildlife are still unspoiled, places where human communities continue to live according to their ancient culture and traditions.

From The Guardian's very interesting accompanying article,   Mr Salgado's latest trip was to the nomadic Nenets of northern Siberia. The Nenets are also known as Samoyeds, and are an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia. There are 40,000 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The Nenets' lives are defined by reindeer, which are the source of their food, clothing and transport. Every spring, the Nenets move large herds of reindeer from winter pastures on the Russian mainland, travelling more than 1,000 kilometers north to summer pastures in the Arctic Circle.

I ought to also mention that London's Natural History Museum is scheduling an exhibition of Genesis on 11 April - 8 September 2013. There is no way that I will miss it...no way.

Thomas Cristofoletti: Once Upon A Time In Burma

Photo © Thomas Cristofoletti-All Rights Reserved

I thought I'd feature work of Myanmar (Burma) which is rapidly becoming the must-see destination in South East Asia after its 'opening' up. I'm told that tourists are descending on this lovely country like hungry locusts over Biblical Egypt, and that hotels and flights are difficult to come by.

Ah, well...I hope the benefits accruing to the touring agencies from this surge trickle down to the people of Burma.

I thought I'd feature Thomas Cristofoletti's photographs of this magnificent country, especially as they're different from the standard travel photo portfolios of posed photographs of Lake Inle fishermen or Buddhist monks in Mandalay or Bagan. His photographs are, for the most part, unposed and natural. And his website includes well composed photography of Burmese people in Yangon's streets, on the ferries, in train stations, and on Inle Lake.

Thomas Cristofoletti is an Italian freelance photographer & videographer based in Phnom Penh, who's working in several social video & photography projects in South East Asia and Europe for international NGOs. His photographs were eatured in international magazines and newspapers, such as The Herald Tribune, The Guardian.co.uk, El Pais, Afisha Mir Travel Magazine, LaRepubblica.it, In Style Russia, and others. 

Jan Schlegel: Pain & Beauty Redux

Photo © Jan C. Schlegel-All Rights Reserved

Oh, followers and readers of The Travel Photographer blog will like this!

Ethnophotography, traditional process, photographs made with a 4x5 field camera (Ebony SV45 Ti) on Kodak Tmax 400, and negatives developed in Kodak D76 Developer 1+1 dilution...then selenium toned. What's not to like?

"None of the people photographed wear special make-up or were specially dressed before the photos were taken. They were all captured in their own habitat — at the market, in the village square, or simply on the roadside." Jan Schlegel

Jan C. Schlegel is a German photographer, whose ethno-photographic work is in the tradition of Phil Borges.  In 1998, he began traveling throughout Asia and Africa with the objective of photographing diverse people groups and tribes, and has so far traveled to 61 countries and is still in pursuit of the beauty and diversity of the nations.

The quality of these photographs are just remarkable. His website claims that he succeeds in not only creating artistic photographs, but in documenting the uniqueness of his subjects...the people who posed for him. Absolutely.

And I have a lot of respect for a photographer who doesn't follow the fad of making demeaning portraits of Ethiopian tribal people wearing ridiculous ornaments. Speaking of ornaments, take a look at the magnificent jewelry of the Himba women...and don't miss the beautiful eyes of the Kalash women.

I had posted Jan's work some years ago here, but it seems he changed his website, and added much more work.

POV: The Subway Picture

Appalling and disgusting. How else can anyone describe this? The New York Post, known for its sensationalism, and one of the rags belonging to Rupert Murdoch, has deservedly earned the opprobrium of every sentient being.

What does it have to do with travel and documentary photography? Nothing, other than it involves a so-called "freelance photojournalist", who through his action in taking this horrific picture, sullied the profession's reputation...which wasn't that stellar in the first place.

I saw a post on Facebook linking to an article published on Gawker bearing the title of Would You Have Taken The Subway Photo? asking that question to a bunch of Pulitzer-winning photographers.

I don't give a rat's ass what the Pulitzer winning photographers think, or what they would have done. Does winning the Pulizer prize bestow upon them more morality than the rest of us? This has nothing to do with taking a picture. This has to do with being a human being. And don't take me for a fool by saying that it was the duty of a photojournalist to document such an event.

I can only judge others' action by what I would have done had I been in this "photographer's" shoes.

I would've been frozen in my tracks at the horrifying scene unfolding in front of me over the course of 20 seconds...there's an infinitesimal chance that I might have run towards the man in a doomed impulse to do something...but I suspect I would've been transfixed at what I was about to witness. The last thing on my mind would've been to raise a camera and take a picture.

But let's pretend my nerves are made of steel, that I'm a hard-core photojournalist on the NYC subway beat for a while, and that I took the picture. I would have never given the picture(s) to the New York Post. Never.

But let's assume that I had to...perhaps because I'm a hardened hard-core photojournalist, or because of a contractual obligation that prevented me from deleting pictures, or because I felt the need to give them to the NYPD.  I would have refused to take a red cent for it.

But let's pretend that I lost my moral compass for a moment and took the money. I would regain it and give the money to the victim's kin to defray the burial cost, and try to cleanse my soul.

Yes, Mr R. Umar Abbasi...you need to cleanse your soul. And don't describe yourself as a "photojournalist".

As for The New York Post...you know what you are. I won't waste time telling you what you already know.

Ian Ruhter: The American Dream Project

If I'm to believe my blog's statistics, posts dealing with photographic alternative processes are hugely popular...as popular as comparisons between the Leica M9 and the Fuji X Pro-1.

So here's one about photographer Ian Ruhter (whose website's front page describes him as an "alchemist"...I think a well deserved self accolade). He processes his large format photographs using the collodion wet plate process, a photographic process used in the 19th century. He also authors the Silver & Light Tumblr blog that has some of his images. By the way, the above video on Vimeo registered some 104,000 plays.

Ian Rihter is traveling across the United States photographing the people and places with a delivery van that he converted into a giant camera. This collodion wet plate process was the fashion during the Civil War era and creates unique images on metal plates. Each plate is hand-coated, exposed and then hand-developed. The plate becomes both the positive and the negative, so each image can only be produced once; creating a singular photograph that can't be replicated.

Photo © Ian Ruhter. All Rights Reserved

The Travel Photographer's Photo Expeditions

I thought it'd be good idea to have all my past and future photo expeditions-workshops aggregated in one location separate from my regular websites, especially as I realized (rather belatedly) that some of my older itineraries/descriptions have evaporated in the ether when I moved from one ISP to the other.

All the itineraries and details of my photo expeditions from 2007 back to 2000 (about 8 or 9) have gone "poof"! So I will have to reconstruct them from various sources, emails etc, over the course of the coming weeks.

In the meantime though, here's (work in progress) The Travel Photographer's Photo Expeditions-Workshops from late 2008 to the present, including the one scheduled for May 2013. This aggregate website has the description of each trip, and includes the links to the audio slideshows and photo galleries produced during these trips.

Reuters Full Focus' Best of 2012

Photo © Reuters/Rupak de Chowdhuri-All Rights Reserved

Yes, like you I did a double take when I saw this photograph on Reuters Full Focus blog as one of the photographs that made it in its Best of 2012. And yes, once again it's that time of year when every news outlet in the world decides to feature its "best" images made during the past 12 months.

Its caption tells us that it's of a Hindu devotee attending the "Chadak" ritual at Krishanadevpur village, which is north of Kolkata earlier this year, when hundreds of devotees attend the ritual to worship the Hindu deity Lord Shiva, on the last day of the Bengali calendar year. The Chadak ritual includes a number of self-mortification acts performed by devotees.

The caption also tells us the photographer was unable to check the veracity of the action of this man.

I find it very hard to believe that this is for real. The red turban is suspiciously too low on the man's neck, and there are various tricks that magicians mimic such a horrifying thing.

I've attended various rituals (such the one of the Kali workshippers in Kodungallur where they beat their forefronts with swords until blood gushes out), and I know that I'd certainly circle this devotee to photograph him back and front, and ascertain the trickery (or not). I also find it surprising that there are no other photograph of this fellow other than this one. There are photographs of other people with hooks in their backs, but none of this one.

The photographer, Rupak de Chowdhuri, a photographer with Reuters, Corbis, etc. tells us that he started taking his pictures from different angles, and tried talking to this man to get more information but he didn’t utter a word.

In any case, this is what is called a "monumental pain in the neck".

Whatever it is, the rest of the photographs are also worth a look. Some are really very good...others not so much.