Giovanni Savino: Misterios

"Oral Tradition is the most valuable of our possessions and if we don't lose it, no one can take it away from us." And so says Giovanni Savino.

Giovanni Savino never got formal photographic training, but practiced photography since a child, and started to work in film and television as a teenager. He worked alongside Dan Rather, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley and many others, and this career led him to witness and record unique historical events such as the fall of the Berlin wall, the conflict in the Balkans, the war in the Persian Gulf, etc.

A few years ago, he was able concentrate more on still photography and complete several portraiture and editorial projects, such as the one I recommend you watch...Misterios, which is on his website.

I was taken by many of Giovanni's still photography in Misterios, which is a peek in the complex and mysterious world of Vudu in New York, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Many of his still photographs of Vudu are dark and brooding, are of rich red and blurs...the reds of animal sacrifice and the blurs of ritual motion. It was these that I thought were the most compelling. I think you will agree with me.

Gaël Turine: Voodoo

Photo © Gael Turine-All Rights Reserved

This is not for the fainthearted.

Gaël Turine is a Belgian photojournalist with the Agence VU, who studied photography in Brussels. He was a staff photographer for l'Express magazine, and a frequent contributor to Libération, Le Monde and The New York Times. Since 1998, he has been frequently recognized with awards and grants, and his photographs shown in most of Europe's cultural capital cities.

Between the years 2005 and 2010, Gaël Turine documented several Voodoo ceremonies, pilgrimages and rituals in various locations, such as in Haiti, Benin and the United States.

Voodoo was created by African slaves brought to Haiti in the 16th century who, when forced by their enslavers to adopt the Christian religion, still followed their traditional beliefs by merging them with the beliefs and practices associated with Roman Catholic Christianity. It was declared the official religion of Haiti in 2003.

Not only are Gael's black & white photographs gripping in their intensity, but they are shown large sized on his Flash-based website, which adds to their impact. One can also view the images as they appear on Gael's book Voodoo.

These are amongst the best photographs of voodoo rituals I've seen.

Olivier Laban-Mattei: Award Winner Paris Match

Photo © Olivier Laban-Mattei- All Rights Reserved

 Olivier Laban-Mattei was awarded the 2010 Grand Prix Paris Match for his recent coverage of Haiti. This prize was created in 1980 and all French professional photographers can compete. Every two years, the prize is decided by an international jury, with the winner receiving 8,000 euros.The prize recognizes photojournalists who cover current events.

Olivier Laban-Mattei is a photojournalist who worked with AFP for 10 years, and left it a few months ago to start a career as an independent photographer. For the past decade, Olivier criss-crossed the world reporting on the Iraq war, the Haitian earthquake or the Gaza Strip humanitarian disaster.

Olivier's Haiti gallery contains a number of graphic photographs that relay the horror of Haiti's earthquake. I have naturally not seen all of the coverage of the Haiti earthquake, but this is one of the most hard-hitting of those I did see.

Reuters Does Big: Full Focus

Photo © REUTERS/Carlos Barria -All Rights Reserved
Reuters has joined the other news media in featuring large photographs on a blog.

Full Focus, a large format showcase of Reuters award-winning photography, tells global stories. The agency seeks to use this imagery to foster a deeper understanding of current events and social issues, and Full Focus provides an opportunity for its readers/viewers to offer perspectives on the photographs and the topics they address.

The lovely photograph by Carlos Barria and is part of the Haiti Revisited photo essay, and is of expecting women waiting for tent distribution near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince on February 19, 2010 during the aftermath of the earthquake.

I ought to add separate links (to the right of this page) for all the large-sized photo blogs of major news media...Boston Globe's The Big Picture, Sacbee's The Frame, WSJ Photo Journal, The LA Time's Framework, etc.

Damon Winter: 2010 Visa d'Or News Award

Photo © Damon Winter/NYTimes -All Rights Reserved
Damon Winter won the Visa d’Or News award in Perpignan for his work for The News York Times on Haiti and the earthquake’s aftermath. The award is supported by Paris Match and was presented by the Visa Pour l’Image director Jean-François Leroy.

Damon is a New York based photographer who specializes in documentary, editorial, and travel photography. He received a Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2009 while with The New York Times.

Check his website on which his Haiti photographs appear...incredibly compelling and powerful.