POV: Street Photography, An Addiction?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Yes, it is.

It's been a little more than 5 months since I've acquired the Leica M9 with a couple of lenses; an Elmarit 28mm (which is my mostly-used lens), and a Voigtlander Nokton 40mm. During the first two months, I used it gingerly, almost self-consciously...waiting for it to "grow" on me, and for my instinct to take over. I took it wherever I went, virtually daily...and it slowly became part of me.

I normally walk around with it either dangling from my neck, or from my shoulder...or more recently, in a Domke waist pouch which seems to have been manufactured for it, when I don't need or want to use it. It has come to the point that if I don't have it with me, something is missing...sort of like forgetting my cellphone or my keys.

I've learned to look (as distinct from seeing) for "characters"...I've learned how to look for interesting faces some 30-50 yards from where I stand or walk to anticipate the framing and composition of the images I eventually make of them...I try to pre-visualize scenes (but haven't fully succeeded yet) such as anticipating the faces of construction workers when they see a pretty woman in a short dress walk by...or that of a child seeing his mother when coming out of school..and snapping that moment. I've learned how to pretend to be checking my cellphone whilst clicking the shutter at the same time....and I've learned to frame the image without looking at my subjects.

I am lucky to live in Manhattan...the most street photography "friendly" (or should I say 'interesting'?) city. I have favorite streets. Broadway and Canal Street...14th Street always has interesting characters, and Chinatown is a haven for street photography just because it's heavily touristic, and its residents are used to photographers.

The Leica File is a gallery of my NYC street photographs, 

"I allow myself to be seduced... I grow. I evolve. And I like that...a lot."

But the best is this. I don't look at the images that I shoot from the hip (or from the waist, in my case) until I return home and download them. Heck, that almost brings me back to the exciting good old days of film!

As for my gear, I have to say the M9 is almost the perfect tool for street photography. Nothing new here. I qualify that perfection because while it's inconspicuous, virtually infallible and it's almost silent...the lack of auto-focus is still a pain in the ass. Leica will not like me for saying this...but it is. I've learned to pre-focus or just move my feet until my image is sharp...I've also learned the zone focusing technique (still not very well, it seems)...and manage to muddle through the focus issue. But I still salivate at the improbable idea of a Leica with auto focus capabilities.

Finally, as a side benefit of all this addictive street photography, I am partly ensconced in a black & white phase...I allow myself to be seduced by toning, by special effects, by Instagram-like colorization, and by a multitude of other "sins" that I normally don't indulge in.

I grow. I evolve. And I like that...a lot.

The Leica File: I Did The Right Thing After All

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved (Click to Enlarge)

As those who follow The Travel Photographer blog may know, I bought the Leica M9 and a couple of lenses (Elmarit 28mm and the Voigtlander 40mm) earlier this year, and I've been using it since for street photography in New York City...which was the main reason I decided to become a "Leica aficionado".

At the time, the decision to spend such a large amount of money on Leica gear seemed frivolous and unnecessary. Believe me, I went through periods of angst and head-scratching as to why I did buy it. At first, I tried to convince myself that I needed it...that it would speed up my photographic evolution...and then that I would enjoy it more than all the other cameras I use.

When I'm asked why I bought, or use, a Leica, I sometimes use this analogy: if I were to drive on the mountain roads in Europe; say between France and Switzerland, would I rent a super modern BMW X5, or would I choose (assuming it was available) a Series 1 Jaguar E Type with manual transmission? I would certainly choose the latter, to maneuver the curves the way they should be, and heel and toe downshift to my heart's content. The analogy is imperfect of course, but I would certainly enjoy the driving experience much more with the Jag...as I found I enjoyed photography with the M9 more than with the Canons.

"All I know is that I enjoy photographing with the Leica whether it's stuck to my face, or dangling on my waist/hip."

In an earlier post, I question if shooting from the hip (by the way, it's one of the most viewed/read post on this blog) was really photography. Many have said yes...I really haven't decided yet, although I confess that I don't care any more. All I know is that I enjoy photographing with the Leica whether it's stuck to my face, or dangling on my waist/hip.


To me, that's the bottom-line answer to my angst-ridden self question as to whether getting a Leica was a good idea. It was all about enjoying it....having fun with it. That's it. I am not a tech-head so whether the Leica is technically a better camera than the Canon 5D Mark II or the Fuji X100 is incidental. I just appreciate it for what it is... a solid, well-built, quirky, irritating, rewarding, reliable and a pain in the ass photographic tool. But to go gaga and weak-kneed over it like some do, is not one of my talents. And speaking of talents, I don't over-intellectualize photographs...whether mine or someone's else.


I like street photography in New York City (who doesn't?) and, emulating seasoned street photographers, I take my camera whenever and wherever I can. Sure, I make lots of mistakes when I use the shooting from the hip technique, which I probably wouldn't do if I had a Canon and an auto-focus lens. For instance, the photograph of these two women "Get Sweet On Salt" would have been better composed (no ice cream cone growing out of a head, for one thing) had I viewed it through a viewfinder, either with the M9 or a Canon. But their expressions (notice the pout by the woman on the left) would have been different....they would have noticed me for sure, and could have either smiled or scowled.

For further street photography in New York City, I have a separate gallery on The Leica File.

POV: The Perils Of Street Photography

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

Walking the streets of New York city and taking photographs of strangers can sometimes lead to confrontations.  I experienced this a few days ago, when I was photographing near Union Square close to Trader Joe's.

A garishly decorated van was selling what looked like delicious thin-crust pizza, when a dapper Wild Bill Hickok-look alike decided that he would order a slice. Thinking nothing of it, I snapped a few photographs of this guy, who spotted me (not too difficult as I was a few feet away from him, and wasn't shooting from the hip) and gave me the malevolent stare you see in the above photograph. Ah, if looks could kill!!! (Click to enlarge it)

Perhaps being peptic or having missed his morning dose of Metamucil, he suddenly strode over and spewed a litany of profanities, such as the classic that he would take my camera and shove it up my rear (forget my rear...this is the Leica M9!!!). I just smiled, stood my ground (he was a small man after all), and advised him to move along and enjoy a nice day. He was really choleric that I had taken his photograph, and it quickly crossed my mind that I'd feel somewhat guilty had he had a heart attack right there and then.

Naturally,  had he physically assaulted me in any way...he would have had serious trouble. I had seen police officers not too far from that spot.

I thought of explaining that the law is quite clear on this....but he was too irate. Since he was on public property (ie the street) and provided he had no reasonable expectation of privacy, I could photograph whatever I want. That's the law.

And it isn't a good picture anyway.

POV: Two "Must Read" Blog Posts

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I do not expect presents from Santa Claus at the height of summer, but these two posts are the equivalent of unexpected and incredibly useful presents.  I simply cannot encourage my readers (whatever their interest in photography is) in enough strong terms to read and enjoy these posts. Both are informative, well written, engaging...and useful to photographers, photojournalists and anyone remotely interested in this industry. My hat's off to both authors of these posts...very well done.

1. The War Photographers' Biggest Story: Themselves:

Benjamin Chesterton (of the Duckrabbit blog) has penned what I consider one of his best posts. He questions if the ‘best’ story a war photographer can provide these days is the one that will get the most space...ie themselves?

I won't attempt to summarize what he wrote, since it would do his writing and message a disservice, however those who follow the recent news on photojournalism, the loss of at least 3 photojournalists in Libya and the incarceration of others...will immediately appreciate (and if like me, agree with) the thrust of the argument. I touched on this with my own post Yes, I Have A Name. It's Mohamed Shaglouf!.

2. The Amazing Yellow-Bordered Magazine:

John Stanmeyer, the well known National Geographic (among other publications) photographer has started to write one of a number of monthly posts in which he will "demystify the experience, sharing insight and nuances on how such long-term projects originate until the National Geographic magazine arrives in your mail slot, starting now with a latest story I’m about to begin for them".

How incredibly wonderful is that???

Two posts...two gifts...two Pandora's boxes for aspiring photojournalists and travel photographers.

POV: Photo Assignment RAW FILE

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Through Twitter, I've noticed a post by RAW FILE, Wired magazine's blog, which is starting a new series of posts called Assignment Wired, where the magazine will hand out photo assignments to its readers, and then eventually choose some submissions to publish and critique.

WIRED's expertise and interest is in reportage and photojournalism, and it expects its participating readers to get quotes, do some writing, do some research and take emotive photos.

"We want gritty, real and human stories. We want to throw you into new situations and give you a chance to sink or swim."

It actually just launched its first assignment, and it's to feature the corner store where the participating photographer buys his/her daily Coke, milk, doughnuts...whatever. It wants the story of this local corner store through photos and reporting. The assignment "sheet" lists the skills required for such a project, and there's a deadline of July 7th.

I think the experiment (as they call it) is a damn good idea! It will provide an impetus to budding photojournalists (and others) to go out there and actually work on a local project. As it says, it's hardly sexy or glamorous, but it's an interesting project that will teach basic photojournalism skills to those interested. I only wish they included audio recordings, and even expand it to short audio-slideshows...but perhaps that will come in time.

As always, comments from naysayers, cynics and skeptics have come in fast and furious....some accusing WIRED magazine of using this experiment to get work for free. To those, I say you don't have to participate...or participate and don't send in your material. Just take the time to learn something new...or refresh your skills, and if you do a good job, you might get a critique from the magazine. It will surely be worth it.

POV: Remembered For A Single Image?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

A comment by Paolo Evangelista on one of our Facebook 'conversations' gave me reason to pause. He expressed his view that it would be terrible to be remembered for just a single photograph...a photograph that was so popular that, in the consciousness of the general public, it eclipsed all others made by the photographer.

I agree. It is one thing to be remembered for a photograph of a non staged event that influenced the alteration of the course of history, that changed a perception, a bias or a policy, etc...and quite another to be remembered for a photograph that was popularized either because of the beauty of its subject or because it was relentlessly marketed...or both.

I would much rather being remembered for a project, for a series of photographs or for a style than for a single photograph...no matter how good it was.

But that's me.

Oh, and the above photograph is of an orang asli, a member of the  "original people" or "first people" who live in Malaysia. Will I be remembered for this photograph? I hope not.

POV: Upgrade To The New Leica M9-P For Just $0.25

The blogosphere lit up following the unveiling in Paris yesterday of the new Leica M9-P, which was described by various sources as having a "new look", as simple and clean, with no red dot nor any lettering on its front. The top plate of the M9-P now carries a Leica log0 in cursive script. The internals of the M9 and the M9-P are identical, though.

How much for this baby, you ask? Just $8000 or $1000 more than the "old" M9. A "bagatelle' as the French audience must have said. In the UK, it will cost you £5395 (the equivalent of $8700 at today's exchange rate, but that presumably includes VAT).

How many were sold in less than 24 hours? 1500. So $8000 x 1500 is $12,000,000. Not bad, heh?

Well, if you own a Leica M9 already, and you 'need' the M9-P but your bank account is sadly anorexic? Simple. You do what I do. You cover up the red dot and the M9 lettering with electrical tape (put a piece of paper underneath it to protect the lettering), and use a piece of protective film for a scratch-resistant back LCD.

Enjoy your new M9-P!

POV: More On Shooting From The Hip

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

My recent Is Shooting From The Hip...Photography? post seems to have struck a chord with many of my regular readers, as well as with new ones. The post received one of the highest numbers of hits since The Travel Photographer blog came into existence in 2007.

In it, I was wondering if shooting from the hip was really photography. I included a photograph of a woman eating McDonald french fries in Times Square, and bemoaned the fact that I didn't use my eye to compose it, nor did I frame it in the viewfinder....it was a sort of "eyeless" photography.

I received a large number of emails, as well as some Twitter reactions, to my question. There seemed (unscientifically-speaking) to be an even split between those who enjoyed 'shooting from the hip' and those who didn't...but occasionally resorted to it in situations where bringing a camera to one's eye would be too intrusive.

One of the reactions to my airing of thoughts was from Scott Strazzante, the Chicago Tribune photojournalist whose excellent street photographs are on his Shooting From The Hip blog, who believes that "eyeless" photography is photography. I encourage you to read the post and follow Scott's blog...it's replete with lovely street candid photographs.

"Sort of like setting up a remote camera. You control the mechanics of the photography but don't really know what you are going to get." Scott Strazzante

I concede that successful 'shooting from the hip' or the "eyeless" photography as I called it, requires a bunch of fundamental ingredients. The first is that it requires the photographer who is using the technique to be singularly adept in framing the scene/action without a viewfinder...and the second is to enjoy the surprise, the experience and the low viewpoint....and the third is that doing otherwise would either spoil the "candor" of the moment or the scene.

The latter ingredient was certainly the primary motivator in the above photograph. The couple was clearly enjoying what was a private moment in the center of Times Square...he was perhaps proposing or perhaps they were professing undying love to each other...and raising my M9 to my eye would have spoiled the moment for them and for me.

This photograph was not cropped...but was straightened a little bit, as the horizontals were not...well, perfectly horizontal.

It's the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC today...and weather permitting, I'll walk to Fifth Avenue and see if shooting from the hip will be helpful.

POV: Is Shooting From The Hip...Photography?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

This is not really a POV...but more like vocalizing a bunch of thoughts.

Since I bought the M9 and a couple of lenses, I've been gradually learning the ropes, and getting more comfortable with the art of street photography by walking in some of my favorite areas of New York. Naturally, the technique of street photography differs from that of travel documentary photography that I'm used to...add to this that I am new to the Leica tools, and I have significant frustrating moments.

I've tried the zone focusing method as advocated by my friend Asim Rafiqui, and although it's far from perfect, it has freed me from having to focus manually,  waste time doing so and losing the shot. Don't think for a moment I'm not getting my share of blurry frames, I do...but not as many as before.

I am also experimenting with the shooting from the hip technique. Holding my M9 at waist level, I press the shutter without looking at the viewfinder. There are obvious advantages in doing so...candid scenes and a lower (a different) perspective, especially since I'm over 6' tall.

"...just visualizing in my mind's eye what it would look like...and it's also cropped. Yes, I never crop any of my travel documentary photographs...ever."

The above photograph (click it to enlarge) is one of the many results of shooting from the hip (or from the waist). To me, this photograph is a blasphemous event...for one thing, it is made without me looking through the viewfinder; just visualizing in my mind's eye what it would look like...and the second is that it's cropped. Yes, you can think of me what you will, but I never crop any of my travel documentary photographs....that would be sacrilegious.

For this image, I estimated the distance and positioned myself in the spot where I thought I'd get the composition I wanted...and just pressed the shutter at the proper time. Since I was using the Elmarit 28mm, I had extra space around the three main characters, so I, somewhat ashamedly, cropped it! Not by much...but it's still cropped.

The real nature of this post is to wonder out loud as to whether shooting from the hip is really photography. I didn't use my eye to compose the photograph, nor did I frame it in the viewfinder....it was a sort of "eyeless" photography. Others call it the easy way to candid street photography, and others describe it as "un-courageous". Is it photography? It must be...perhaps more like a hail Mary shot where the photographer hold the camera from above in crowded situations.

However the question I ask of myself is more personal. The question for me is whether I enjoyed making this photograph, irrespective of the result. And the answer is no....it felt as if I was shooting on full auto...having no control on the outcome.

Finally, if you like street photography, drop by Scott Strazzante's blog, Shooting From The Hip. He's really good.

PS. I should caption this photograph as "Yes, I've Eaten All Them Fries".

POV: Leroy's Visa Pour L'Image Says....

Image © Alexandra Avakian. Courtesy British Journal of Photography

From The British Journal of Photography:

Jean-François Leroy, Visa Pour l'Image's director, believes it's essential to remind "people of the important role photojournalists play in keeping us informed," which, he says, will be reflected in this year's edition of the world's largest photojournalism festival.

"But don't expect to see projects on Tahrir Square. I've never received that many CDs about one particular event. I know that square by heart now. I could draw you a plan from memory. I've seen it all: Tahrir during the day, Tahrir at night, Tahrir and the dogs, Tahrir in the morning, Tahrir in the evening. So what? What's the point? What's the story?"

- Jean-François Leroy, Visa Pour l'Image's director

What's the story, he asks. What's the story in Tahrir??????

After guffawing at that er...statement, what can I say other than some people are visionaries, and others are myopic, provincial and silly...and past their useful shelf life?

In contrast, take a look at NOOR Images current involvement in Cairo, where Stanley Green and others are leading a photojournalism workshop.

Olivier Laurent of The British Journal of Photography conducted the interview, and has written this response (which I quote in its entirety for fairness) on my Facebook page:

" I conducted the interview with Jean-François Leroy, and in case things are not clear enough, Leroy did say that he would not show Tahrir Square-related stories (i.e. reportages that only focus on the events at Tahrir Square) because they lack incredible context over the entire Middle-East revolution movement. Instead, he chose to show Yuri Kozyrev's work, which includes images shot in Tahrir Square but put into a wider context thanks to the images he shot in Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, etc. To react to some of the comments here, I don't think he uttered "une connerie"** (I wish there were a perfect english equivalent to this word). In my opinion, he's quite right. I'm not saying that there hasn't been meaningful work coming out of Tahrir Square, but have these photographers submitted their work to Visa? A lot of the images I've seen coming out of that square were repetitive (in some cases, shot by three or four photographers at the exact same time) and lacked that overarching meaning - the true impact of this revolution on the Egyptian people. There's nothing wrong with a photographer parachuting in Cairo for such a story (and it's much needed to bring attention to the story) but at the end of the day, I find it more enriching when I look at these events through the lens of a photographer that truly understood these events. Laura El-Tantawy springs to mind, for example...

 One clarification though, we're talking, in this case, of the exhibitions presented at Visa. There's no doubt that countless of images from Tahrir Square will be shown during the evening projections there."

 ** To keep things succinct and brief, I still think it was "une connerie", and an unfortunate one at that.  It will be up to the attendees of the Visa Pour l'Image event as to whether ignoring a seminal and historical uprising in the Middle East (notwithstanding Yuri Kozyrev's wider work) was another "connerie", or not.

POV: To Stage Or Not To Stage?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved

I was invited a year or so ago as contributor, with other photographers (such as renowned travel photographer Bob Krist), on Pixiq, an online community where a group of professional photographers engage other enthusiasts about photography and related interests, and while it was very tempting, I excused myself because I just didn't have the time.

I occasionally drop by Pixiq to read some well-informed posts from other travel photographers, and recently I was interested in an article by Jim Zuckerman entitled Travel Photography Portraits in which he candidly tells his readers that he carefully pre-plans his photo shoots, and sets up his travel photographs, whether these are in Himbaland or elsewhere in the world.

I was equally interested to read a couple of comments, made by Marc-André Pauzé and others, essentially querying Zuckerman's work ethic for staging photo shoots, and then paying his "models". Both sides eventually get a little defensive, since they have opposing points of view.

This is not an unusual debate, and one that has been often discussed in travel photography. I didn't know Jim Zuckerman, but from his biography he's a well known photographer whose work has appeared in scores of magazines, and leads photo tours in many parts of the world. It goes almost without saying that he would make sure that he (and his clients if on a photo trip) will be able to "bag" the photographs he's after...since nothing is guaranteed in life, he just makes it possible by paying money and setting the shots.

Marc-André Pauzé, in contrast, is a photojournalist whose work ethic is against paying to set up photo shoots and opportunities. He and his peers are documentary photographers, and setting up photographs is anathema to them.

Zuckerman and Pauzé come from different corners...their market is different, and their clients seek different products. Photographers who are more commercial will set up photo shoots, use reflective umbrellas, master strobes and flashes...etc., while the latter in the photojournalism corner will use a camera, a couple of lenses and develop a relationship with his subjects, but not pay.

As Marc-André writes in his final comment: "Travel photography, as photojournalism and street photography is not staged. It is about Life."

I agree. Staging photo shoots robs reality, but I'm reasonably flexible on my own photo~expeditions to accept that staging is occasionally either better (depending on the subject matter) or the only alternative. In contrast with Jim Zuckerman, I don't really have a list of preconceived images because it would stifle my creativity and may make me not see other opportunities. My photo~expeditions single most important description is "where travel photography meets photojournalism"...and I believe it's the right one.

However, when I walk in a village in Gujarat, I'm prepared for the eventuality that staging a few photo shoots will be needed if these don't happen serendipitously. Do I like staging photographs? No, I don't....but on occasions I have no other good options. And I'd rather return with some lovely staged photographs than none.

Another important point: would I ever claim that a staged photograph isn't? No, I wouldn't...and that's an important work ethic. We have seen photojournalists breaking this work ethic rule win awards and grants, and frequently getting caught and exposed for what they are....frauds. As far as well known travel photographers as concerned, Jim Zuckerman is far from being the only one who stages photo shoots...most of them do, and their clients seem to expect it.

If you've read that far down, here's the reason I used a Gujarati doll photograph to illustrate this post: subjects in staged photos sometimes look like the doll...inanimate and lifeless!

POV: Yes, I Have A Name. It's Mohamed Shaglouf!

"From the pickup, Lynsey saw a body outstretched next to our car, one arm outstretched. We still don’t know whether that was Mohammed. We fear it was, though his body has yet to be found."

We all remember the relief that the photojournalism/media felt when Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks, Lynsey Addario and Anthony Shadid were freed from their brutal ordeal at the hands of the pro-Qaddafi military.

Those us who have long memories also recall that the photojournalists' Libyan driver was named in the various articles that reported on the event as Mohammed, or "the driver", if at all. I wrote a blog post lamenting the fact that Mohammed's last name was unknown, despite his probable end at the hands of the Libyan loyalists.

Felix Salmon of the Reuters blog has written The Hermetic & Arrogant New York Times which, among many targets, aims at Bill Keller's (the NYT's editor) by writing this:

He (Keller) talks at length about Hetherington and Hondros, and about other photographers, like Joao Silva, who parachute in to war zones, meet fixers, get their shots, and then move on to the next job — if they don’t get their legs blown off in the process. He writes movingly about NYT photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who were brutally treated in Libya but survived; he doesn’t mention their driver, Mohamed Shaglouf, who almost certainly didn’t.

For the life of me, I can't understand why he didn't. Is it tribalism, elitism, myopia, "i don't give a shit" about non NYT people...or non-Americans?

POV: Bin Laden And Let's Get Real

Here are some quotes off commentary that I thought were right on the mark:
 
Jon Stewart (The Daily Show): "The face of the Arab world in America's eyes for too long has been bin Laden, and now it is not. Now the face is only the young people in Egypt and Tunisia and all the Middle Eastern countries around the world where freedom rises up."

Robert Fisk (The Independent): "So now for a reality check. The world is not safer for Bin Laden's killing. It is safer because of the winds of freedom blowing through the Middle East. If the West treats the people of this region with justice rather than military firepower, then al-Qa'ida becomes even more irrelevant than it has been since the Arab revolutions."

Tom Friedman (The New York Times): " And that is that he lived long enough to see so many young Arabs repudiate his ideology. He lived long enough to see Arabs from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen to Syria rise up peacefully to gain the dignity, justice and self-rule that Bin Laden claimed could be obtained only by murderous violence and a return to puritanical Islam.

Robert Fisk (The Independent): "But these past few months, millions of Arab Muslims rose up and were prepared for their own martyrdom – not for Islam but for freedom and liberty and democracy. Bin Laden didn't get rid of the tyrants. The people did. And they didn't want a caliph."

POV: I Told You So....

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved

On November 8, 2010, I wrote a post titled "Photo Tours Are Useful But..." in which I suggested:

"However, let's take this a step or two further because, simply put, there are photographers who market their workshops (and there are many these days) whose work may be phenomenally beautiful and inspiring, but who are unable to lead, who can't/won't teach and are unable/unwilling to share. It's simply not enough that the photographer's work is good...not at all. There are many more factors that come to play in one's decision in choosing a photo workshop."

It seems my advice is valid because the blogosphere is currently abuzz with news that the photo workshops/tours conducted by a famous photographer are really not worth the trouble nor do they warrant their lofty prices.  So let me reiterate what I say over and over again:  If I wanted to go on a workshop I'd rather go with a grunt...not a celebrity/famous photographer....I wouldn't want to be patronized nor palmed off to an assistant...that's my personal view, and you can read the whole post via the link above if you need to.

I certainly don't need to beat the caveat emptor drum louder than what has been written in the courageous and eloquent  Reflections on Steve McCurry Myanmar Workshop (don't miss the comments from other participants in the workshops) nor can I top Duckrabbit's witty rapier thrust to the jugular in the Competition: Please fill in the missing word post....

And how can I not provide the link that may have started the whole fuss, which appeared in the brilliant A Photo Editor, in which a Craiglist ad for an exploitative internship is deservedly criticized.

As always, make up your mind. It's your money and your time after all. Naturally, if you still want to spend over $10,000 on a workshop and learn how to make children cry, then by all means join up.

Oh, you may wonder why I chose a Balinese Arja performer to accompany this post. Well, an Arja actor is a man disguised as a woman...and a visual metaphor for things sometimes not being what they are advertised as. I could have used an image of a kathoey, but I don't have one.

POV: Hipstamatic...OMG! It Looks So Retro!

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved (Pseudo Hipstamatic LR Preset)

I've been scratching my head at the sudden flurry of Hipstamatic and/or Instagram "photography". I've seen well-traveled photojournalists and conflict photographers featuring images made with iPhones, and simultaneously processed using Hipstamatic or Instagram apps. Images from the Yemen uprising, the Egypt's Revolution, the Afghanistan conflict and Libya's rebellion are virtually flooding photo sites and blogs.

To me, these apps spice up photographers' standard fare...that's all. Certainly, the images do represent what photographers see and what's in front of their tiny phone lenses, but unless these images are able to be presented to form coherent documentary story-telling, I view them as a fad...a sort of fashion statement...or cute postcards without the scribbled messages in their back.

While the photos made using iPhones capture the instantaneous immediacy of events, let's smile at the retro, cool and Holga-ish look...but focus on how the photographer using an iPhone is able to present compelling content for viewers...or not. That's the litmus test.

In the long run, that's what viewers of photojournalism care about...content...not whether an image looks retro or not. And so should photographers. Pretending that using an iPhone loaded with these apps is the next new "photo thing" is silly...because it's not.

The above image was processed in Lightroom using a Holgalike-preset. The original is in the post below this one.

POV: Size & Watermarks

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Yesterday's post with a couple of large photographs of Holi from The Atlantic's In Focus blog prompts this short POV.  I wrote that In Focus' photographs are super compelling because they are viewable either in 1280 or 1024 pixels, depending on viewers' choice.

If the 1280 option is chosen, and  the images fill virtually all of one's monitor...and give the viewers an incredible sensation of proximity to the scene...and no watermark to deface them either! It's the same feeling I get when I open up a double-truck image in a glossy large format print magazine, if not more.

I'm all in favor of large images on the web...whether it's on magazines' websites or personal websites. Another recent example is my post featuring Cristina Mittermeier's work; River People of the Amazon. Cristina's personal website has a handful of full screen photographs of these Amazonian people that are just breathtaking.

I don't think many photographers disagree with the notion that larger is better.  I've blogged about that a couple of times, and there's no question in my mind that large sized photographs are better received by photo editors who no longer have the patience to view small-sized portfolios.

The other issue is that of watermarking. I don't watermark, and instead embed my information in the photographs' metadata.  Some photographers insist in watermarking to protect their images from being pilfered on the web, and that's their prerogative. I just think it detracts from their work being considered by legitimate buyers...and it's aesthetically unpleasant. Just look at the above photographs!

POV: Egypt's Iconic Revolutionaries

Photos © Kim Badawi-Courtesy The Independent

The Independent newspaper has featured the photographs of some of the young Egyptian revolutionaries who, against all odds, overturned a despised regime in a matter of days. It is these young people who made history, not only their own country's, but of the world's.

These are the young men and women who led a populist uprising against Mubarak and his repulsive henchmen and sycophants...these are the young men and women who took the West's proclaimed democratic values as their own, and fought for them...not only paying lip service, not mouthing bromides...but with real action, risking their lives and futures. These are the young men and women who are the future of Egypt, and who'll take it to where it deserves to be...these are the young men and women who will accept no foreign influences...these are the young men and women who scoffed at the naysayers who described them as nothing more than errant juveniles, and who give the finger to the sclerotic and biased Western pundits who see Islamist bogeymen everywhere...these are the young men and women who have shown us that the people of the Middle East want democracy...their own democracy, not one imposed by others...these are the young people who must be immensely proud to be Egyptians.

I was also amazed by reading this, from The New York Times (March 6, 2011):

Egypt’s popular revolution was the work of men and women, bringing together housewives and fruit sellers, businesswomen and students. At its height, roughly one quarter of the million protesters who poured into the square each day were women. Veiled and unveiled women shouted, fought and slept in the streets alongside men, upending traditional expectations of their behavior.

Jonathan Owen's in his accompanying article calls these photographs "Portraits of Courage", and indeed they are.

Finally, about the photographer. Kim Badawi, a 30-year-old documentary photographer of French-Egyptian descent, endured beatings, bullets and tear gas to find out what these young revolutionaries went through, and these portraits are his work.

POV: The Part I Like In Travel Photography

The part I like a lot during my photo-expeditions/workshops is when I revisit an area or a village, and bring prints of the photographs I had previously made there. More often than not, the people remember me either before or after I hand out their photographs. It's a small way to give back to the community, and demonstrates to those who were willing (or unaware) subjects that I keep my promises when I tell them I'd be back with their portraits.

In Ahmedabad, I returned to the area of Ahmed Shah's mosque and his shrine, and found the keeper of the tombs as well as the woman who makes and sells paper flowers. They were thrilled with their photographs. It didn't stop one of them to cheekily but smilingly ask me for "baksheesh" but I laughed it off.

Photo © Kantilal Doobal- All Rights Reserved

In a tribal village close to Bhuj, I was very popular with a group of women and children as I handed out their pictures, and one woman was extremely proud to show off a picture of her in all her finery.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

It takes a little effort to find, edit and print these pictures before each trip, but it's well worth it. It goes a long way to gain the trust of the people I photograph and will photograph anew. There were some areas I didn't revisit this time, but I still carried some prints of those I had photographed, which I gave to either hotel keepers, fixers or locals I know will eventually pass them on to the rightful people.

Photo © Kantilal Doobal-All Rights Reserved

POV: Missed Opportunity?

Photo © MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images (Via denverpost.com)

As readers of this blog know, my In Search of Sufis of Gujarat Photo-Expedition coincided almost perfectly with the revolution in Egypt, and I was torn between my commitment to its participants to continue leading it as if nothing was happening in my homeland...and flying off to Cairo and cover the events as best I could.

I stayed on. It was a difficult decision and certainly a missed opportunity to get involved in Egypt's historic moments, but I had a commitment to the group of photographers who chose to accompany me on this trip.

Had I sensed that I needed to be there because of dangerous turn of events, I would have taken leave of my group, and I know they would have understood and supported my decision to be in Cairo instead. But that did not happen and all was safe. Was it a missed opportunity for me to cover the events at Tahrir Square? Of course. But it was not meant to be. Had I not have a commitment to fulfill, I'd have been amongst the first to be there.

I was asked by a number of well-wishers, friends and acquaintances whether I'd return to Egypt and take part in the restructuring that is bound to happen. As much as I'm flattered by the thought, I've been away from Egypt for too long...it's up to the younger generation to remodel their country in the shape and form they want it to be....and I know they will eventually succeed. Once freedom is tasted, there's no turning back.

Perhaps it won't be an Utopian democracy...there'll be disappointments...it'll be imperfect...but it'll be theirs, and they deserve it after 60 years of deprivation, humiliation, and inequality.

POV: Omid And Why We Will Never Win

Photo © Michael Kamber- Courtesy The New York Times

Michael Kamber is a well known New York City-based freelance writer and photographer for The New York Times. He worked in West Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean, covering conflicts in the Ivory Coast, Congo, Liberia, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. Apart from frequently-published photo essays in The New York Times, he also authors a journal of his Afghanistan experiences. Its entries began in December 2010 and appear on the newspaper's LENS blog.

His latest entry -along with over a dozen of his excellent photographs- is on yesterday's LENS blog under the title of Deeper Into Fathomless Afghanistan, and reading Michael's journal entries, I was compelled to leave a comment on the blog.

Here's one of the entries in Michael's journal that prompted my comment:

He writes:

Beside me, an Afghan, clearly an interpreter, introduces himself in accented English as Bob.

“What’s your real name?” I ask him.

“My name’s Omid. But on the first day at this job, the sergeant asked me my ‘terp’ name. I told him: ‘I don’t have a terp name. My name is Omid.’

”Omid is too complicated for us to remember,’ he told me. ‘From now on, your name is Bob.”

My comment on the LENS blog:

"It's too bad that the guy who uttered this insulting and ignorant nonsense to the interpreter hasn't realized that he's insulting Omid by his stupidity and arrogance. What if the roles were reversed, and the Afghan was to tell a Robert that this name didn't roll off his tongue easily, and he'd be called Mohammed from now on? How would Robert feel?

Omid's is entitled to be proud of his name...it probably has a long lineage...and since we are occupying his country, we ought to show immense respect to those who risk their lives for a few dollars a day and work with the US army. Learning how to pronounce their names is the civil and respectful thing to do. Omid is not a stray pet adopted by the sergeant.

My hat's off to Mr Kamber for quoting this and other statements in this piece...i'm sure he's as dismayed as I am by them."

Reading the other entries added to my long standing pessimism; we will never win. When we are unable (or unwilling) to respect people who help us by risking their lives, we will gain no allies unless we abet their corruption. They, in turn, view our presence in Afghanistan as a cow to be milked, and eventually will stab us in the back.

Another thing. Just look at the expression of the Afghan in Kamber's photograph above this post. He's holding a copy of a Chicken Soup For The Soul given to him by a well-meaning US charity. Who dreamed of sending a collection of "inspirational" platitudes (and in English) to Afghanistan? I obviously can't speak for this Afghan, but I bet he looked at the book with amusement, and eventually guffawed with his friends at the naivete of the Americans.

Chicken Soup For The Soul to change Afghanistan? The mind boggles.

Addendum:  I've received a few emailed comments on this post.

One from a frequent reader of this blog who suggests that my post came across as anti-military. That's incorrect. I am anti-war...especially wars that are unnecessary like the Iraq war, and those wars that devolved into aimless havoc and propping an unsupportable government, like the war in Afghanistan...and the least we -and our military- can do is respect those Afghans or Iraqis who work for us, at the risk of their lives.  I'm hopeful the individuals depicted in Mr Kamber's journal are the exception.

The other email comments from a handful of readers agreed with my point of view.