18 Days In Egypt

A power struggle of epic proportions between various political factions is currently underway in Egypt...essentially a troika of conflicting interests, the power struggle is manifesting itself overtly and covertly. Overtly, the battle for power is over the presidency, and is between the Muslim Brotherhood, (a comparatively pragmatic Islamic movement) the Salafists (a regressive Islamist faction), and the military establishment. The secular forces seem to have been marginalized, even though it was its youth who sparked and carried through the revolution in 2011.

That said, it's not over till the fat lady sings...and there will be more twists and turns to this story as it enfolds over the days and weeks to come.

I thought the 18DaysIn Egypt documentary being worked on by filmmaker and journalist Jigar Mehta is working on a new kind of documentary is especially timely in such a fluid political situation. It's a crowd-sourced interactive documentary project aimed at capturing the history of the revolution in Egypt.

The context of this documentary is simple enough. In the 18 days of Egypt's uprising that began on January 25, 2011 and that ended with the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, thousands of Egyptians turned to their cell phones, digital cameras or social media sites to document the events unfolding in Cairo and across the country.

Tapping into this wealth of material, American documentary filmmaker and journalist Jigar Mehta co-founded 18DaysInEgypt.

Shuchi Kapoor: "Oh My God!"

Photo © Shuchi Kapoor-All Rights Reserved

Shuchi Kapoor is a photographer currently based in Chennai, which is quite a distance from her native Gujarat, and who describes herself as a storyteller minus the frills. She worked for a decade in advertising until she found her calling in photography as well as in writing....so she may also be described as an emerging photography talent.

Some of her stories have been published by Femina, The Sunday Guardian, The Lonely Planet, Spiceroute, and TAXI.

Have a look at her Oh, My God gallery, whose photographs of Dasara, an important festival celebrated in India, is the most compelling of her work. This gallery features this festival as it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu, and during which men dress up as the goddess Kali, and impress the throngs of onlookers with their dance abilities, as well as their make up and costumes.

Shuchi corrected me, as I thought Dasara was Dusshera, but it seems that it's a different festival. It is also different than the Durga Puja festival celebrated in Bengali communities.

Poll: Which Should Go On My Wall?

Living in New York City means that space is at premium, and while my office walls are literally covered from ceiling to waist-level with my photographs, paintings, etc., I still have a spot where a 20x24 inch frame can fit....but it has to be a vertical frame!

People who photograph with me know that I much prefer landscape/horizontal format, but a vertical space is all I can find on my crowded office walls. I like the above photographs equally so I need your involvement in choosing the one.

The top photograph is of a posed full length portrait of a Kathakali artist, while the lower one is of a trio of Oracles who I persuaded to stop their trances, and pose for us. Both were made during The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™.

I plan on having the elected photograph printed commercially on Kodak Professional Glossy paper then in a dark wooden frame...either black or dark brown depending on the photograph.

Anthony Pond: 10,000 Verses

Anthony Pond has just produced another audio slideshow of black and white photographs made at the Vadakke Madham Brahmaswam Vedic Institute in Thrissur, Kerela, India where young novices spend five years learning Vedic chants.

It was made during my The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™ when I arranged a photo shoot at this ancient Vedic gurukul (a training and boarding school very similar to Buddhist monasteries for its novitiates, or Muslim madrasas) in Thrissur, where we were allowed to attend demonstrations of this way of teaching and reciting sacred Vedic scriptures.

One of the suggestions I make during my workshops was that essays produced by its participants ought to have intriguing titles. I certainly think Anthony did well with his one.

Anthony worked for more than two decades in the criminal courts in California as an attorney for the Public Defender’s Office. Now pursuing his passion for travel and photography, he travels repeatedly to South East Asia and India, amongst other places, to capture life, the people and the culture.

You can view more of Anthony's audio slideshows on his Vimeo page.

TIME's LightBox: Oded Balilty

Photo © Oded Balilty/AP-Courtesy Time LightBox

“If I see photographers in one corner, I go away. There is no need to take the same picture as five other good photographers." -Oded Balilty

It's no surprise to me that TIME LightBox is, in my estimation, one of the most exciting and interesting photojournalism blogs out there.

It recently featured Oded Balilty's The Art of Storytelling which consists of 35 wonderfully composed photographs of the Jewish ultra orthodox communities, which includes a series on a traditional Hasidic Jewish wedding, as a funeral of a leading rabbis. and the preparations for Passover.

I especially liked this photograph of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathering for the burial of a rabbi in Israel. It's very clever how Oded bisected the scene into two parts; the crowd surrounding the gravesite, and the solitary man presumably on his way to attend the burial.

Oded Balilty is a photographer for the Associated Press, is based in Tel Aviv and describes his work as something between art photography and photojournalism. He also won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2007 for his photograph of a solitary Jewish woman struggling to defy Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

POV: WTF? Will They Change?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

"...the lack of grace by the surly keepers of the Cheraman Juma Masjid was jarring..."

I can hardly be described as a critic of Islam, since I've always been constructively supportive of its world-class religious traditions and its admirable moral values, and of Muslims in general. 

However, I must say I was spectacularly discomfited by the reception and attitude of the individuals involved in the Cheraman Juma Masjid; the oldest mosque in India and in Kerala's Kodugallur district. On one of the last days of my The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™, I decided to take my group to visit and photograph this historical mosque.

We were coming from an indescribable "high" from photographing the Bharaini festival of the Oracles, (not too far away from the mosque itself) for two solid days, and where we had been welcomed by the excitable crowds of worshippers, helped by self-appointed guides, and always smiled at. Not once was I (or to my knowledge, anyone else in our group) treated brusquely or rudely.

Not so at the venerable mosque.

I was brusquely gestured at by the security guard to go to an empty office...directive that I ignored. He wasn't pleased, and was nonplussed when I asked him if he was a Muslim. He wasn't, and the question stunned him long enough for me to continue walking towards the mosque itself....leaving him scratching his head.

The women in our group wore the required head scarves, but were prohibited from entering the main hall of the mosque, and shunted to a dingy side room where there was nothing to see.

Our driver, a Muslim himself, was roughly scolded by a couple of Islamic scholars who were passing through because he was removing his shoes where he shouldn't have. Actually, his "trespass" was about two inches in.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Now, here's my take on this. The Cheraman Juma Masjid is the oldest mosque in India and worthy of  pilgrimages and visits by Muslims and non-Muslims for its venerable history and status. It's also in dire need of donations and of funding. One would think that the peptic keepers of this moque would exude charm, hospitality and proffer a welcome mat to all visitors alike...in the hope of donations.

But no. Quite the opposite.

So here's what I would tell the keepers of this mosque, and beyond. Fatimah, the favorite daughter of the Prophet of Islam, prayed alongside him in Mecca. His wife, Khadija, was a self made business woman. To treat women of whatever persuasion as inferior is anti-Islamic and in direct contradiction to the actions and values of the Prophet himself. They can disagree all they want...they can risk a collective apoplexy...but that's the truth.

Here's what I would tell the two scholars who chided our driver. I would tell them that God is all forgiving, and it would have been more in keeping with Islamic traditions to be gentle if someone made an unintended mistake. And minding their own business would be even better, since it would avoid having others like me chiding them for wearing unkept beards, and lecturing them on real Islamic values.

How could I explain to the members of my group why we were welcomed with no discrimination at Hindu religious gatherings, but faced with surliness and boorish behavior at the Cheraman Juma Masjid?

I couldn't.

So the question of this post is pertinent. Will these delightful young boys who were so pleased to see us, and excitedly pose for us at the nearby Islamic medresa, change when they get older? Will they also be surly and unwelcoming to non Muslims?

And if yes, why?

MSNBC's Easter

Photo © Darren Whiteside. Courtesy MSNBC Photo Blog

Photo © Darren Whiteside. Courtesy MSNBC Photo Blog

Most of the "big picture' blogs have yet to feature photographs of Easter celebrations, however MSNBC's Photo Blog has done so with a number of images. The two that caught my eye are by Darren Whiteside, and were made at the Church of Holy Sepulcher during Easter celebrations in Jerusalem's Old City. 


I wish the best to all my readers who celebrate Easter and Passover.