Travel Photographer

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Charlotte Rush-Bailey: Sufis of Gujarat

A second-time participant in my photo-expeditions (Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat, and in my just completed In Search of Sufis of Gujarat), Charlotte Rush-Bailey is a photographer who migrated to the world of photography from a corporate career that covered three decades of marketing and communications positions in a variety of global industries including energy, financial services, media, conservation, technology and professional services. This gave her opportunities to work with people all over the world, and to learn to appreciate cultural nuances and the influences of socio-political forces.

She's the third participant to send me samples of her work during the photo`expedition. The top photograph was made at a the dargah of Gayaban Shah Pir, a Sufi saint buried in Rajkot. It's of pilgrims/devotees at the shrine who, since they are women, cannot enter the actual tomb of the saint.

The middle photograph is of a mujjawir and a woman pilgrim at the dargah of the Sufi saint Hazrat Saydi Ali Mira Datar. The mujjawirs claim to be direct descendants of the saint, and therefore make it a business to bless the thousands of devotees who come to the shrine on a weekly bases.

The lower photograph is of a Jain pilgrim at the holiest Jain temple in Palitana. Charlotte knows of my preference for horizontals, but included this one amongst the rest of her submissions, expecting that I wouldn't choose it for the blog. I've proven her wrong. It's a lovely photograph.

Charlotte published two books ‘Soul Survivors', a tribute to the people of the Sahel and Kutch Classic, a collection of photographs of her first foray in the Gujarati Kutch area.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop: 2011 Scholarships

The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, which is scheduled for July 17-23, 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina has just announced the winners of this year's scholarships.

The Ricoh Scholarships for Latin American Photographers:

Miguel Andrade (Mexico), Lucia Baragli (Argentina), Juan Barrero (Colombia), Ivan Gonzales (Venezuela), Sofia Lopez (Argentina), Romina Hendlin (Venezuela), Omar Lucas (Peru), Cristobal Olivares (Chile), Leonardo Ramirez (Venezuela), Santiago Serrano (Ecuador).

Full Tuition Scholarships Provided by The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop:

Julio Aracil (Spain), Willeke Machiels (Netherlands), Mae Ryan (USA/Canada).

Congratulations to the winners!

See you in Buenos Aires!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Rubin Museum of Art: Thomas Kelly's Sadhus

Photo © Thomas L. Kelly- Courtesy The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

I readily admit to having fallen out of love with the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in NYC. Perhaps it was on account of its email newsletters, which for the most part are not terribly informative and are designed to bring you in to see movies and such....giving me the impression that it has lost its way and had become over-commercialized. I know, museums have to make a living, but that's how I feel.

So walking by it yesterday morning, I was glad to see its exterior panels advertising Body Language: The Yogis of India & Nepal, an exhibition of color photographs by Thomas L. Kelly. It certainly seems to be interesting event I hope to visit soon.

I had no idea who Thomas L. Kelly was, but a quick search revealed that his resume is extensive. He first came to Nepal in 1978 as a USA Peace Corps Volunteer, and has since worked as a photo-activist, documenting the struggles of marginalized people and disappearing cultural traditions all over the world. He has been recording the lives of sex workers and the traditions of prostitution across South Asia, and worked for UNICEF, Save the Children Fund (USA), Aga Khan Foundation, amongst others, while his editorial work appeared in the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, and The Observer.

My view on sadhus is a jaundiced one. I've met countless of these vagabond ascetics over my many photo trips to India, and I'm of the view that most of them are charlatans. They are not much better than spongers...exploiting the generosity and gullibility of people who see them as holy men, which they are not. Even those I saw and met at the gigantic Maha Kumbh Mela, and certainly those in Pashupatinah (Kathmandu), are of that ilk. I did encounter real ascetics on a few occasions. One of these occasions was in Varanasi. Not on the ghats (always a magnet for flim-flam artists scamming tourists), but rather at an ashram for elderly sadhus. Here were men who had renounced their worldly belongings, and had opted to live in complete abnegation. Some had been doctors, engineers and accountants. In contrast to the ambulant pseudo sadhus, no stimulants of any kind were used at that ashram.

From a photographer's perspective, these pseudo-sadhus are colorful, exotic and photogenic...the weirder the better...and their way of life and their ganja habits make excellent photography. Whether they are true ascetics or not is not really relevant to us photographers...however it's worth knowing that who we photograph is not really what they purport to be.

The Rubin Museum's blurb on the exhibition has this: "Sadhus renounce worldly life, earthly possessions, and social obligations in order to devote their lives entirely to religious practice and the quest for spiritual enlightenment, making them an important part of the Hindu cultures of South Asia."

While the blurb is perhaps theoretically correct, only a fraction of sadhus really observe that sort of renunciation...but it makes for good reading.

Monday, March 14, 2011

POV: No Auto Focus Is Killing Me!

Having decided to re-learn photography and rely less on my Canons' computerized wizardry, I strolled into NYC's Chinatown yesterday to try my hand at self-focus on a Leica M9 fitted with a Elmarit 28mm f2.8.

The verdict? To keep it simple and to the point...self-focusing is a bitch. The M9's handling is great, color rendition is great, controls are fine and intuitive...but the focusing is really tough, and it's frustrating. Using it yesterday in virtually ideal conditions (cloud cover, etc) reminded me of when learning how to windsurf years ago. I kept falling every other second, until I finally managed to stand up for a few minutes then it was back in the water...and so on, until I finally understood the wind direction, and found my balance.

I have yet to find my balance in having no auto-focus. It's early days and I'll eventually get it. My frustration level will ebb and flow with every shutter click...but if the ebb is more than the flow, then I'll get there.

I hope.

Scott Woodward: Thunder Dragon

I realized it's been a while since I featured Bhutan on this blog. It's one of my favorite destinations to photograph, and having chanced upon Scott Woodward's portfolio of Bhutan, I thought his lovely toned photographs would fill that gap very nicely.

Scott Woodward worked for American Express in Singapore, and switched careers in 2003 to become a freelance photographer. He specializes in making editorial and commercial photography, all enhanced with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 software.

He favors shooting location-based narratives, where it’s just him and his camera. He spent 28 days on the Mekong River traveling through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, during which he made 12,000 images. His work is people oriented, and he seeks to discover new and remarkable photographic opportunities throughout Asia, where he lives and works.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Is My Choice In The NYT's Magazine?

I had a jolt yesterday morning when leafing through The New York Times' Magazine. The double truck on pages 46-47 was Paolo Pellegrin's photograph of Egyptian migrants waiting to leave Libya at the Tunisian borders.

The jolt was because I had chosen it as the most powerful photograph in Pellegrin's photo essay that had appeared on the NYT's website on March 10...a few days before its publication in the hard copy of the magazine! As I wrote in my blog post of that day:

"I chose Pellegrin's above photograph to feature along this post because, in my view, it's the most powerful of the lot. Perhaps it's the sight of the Egyptian passport in the hand of the migrant that influenced me. After all, I had one just like that years ago."

It's most certainly coincidental that this particular photograph impressed the magazine photo editor(s) as much as it me, but it's still an awesome confluence of minds!

Paolo Pellegrin's Scenes From the Libyan Exodus.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Sandy Chandler: The Sufis of Gujarat

A fourth-time participant in my photo-expeditions (The Gnawa in Morocco, Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat, Bali Island of Odalan and in my just completed In Search of Sufis of Gujarat), Sandra Chandler is a photographer and interior designer based in San Francisco. She tells us that color, smells and sounds drew her to world travel. Her city's Asian culture first enticed her to China in 1978 when the People’s Republic first opened. She then continued her exploration of Asia by traveling to Bhutan, India, Japan, Singapore, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and on to South America and Europe.

She's the second participant to send me samples of her work during the photo`expedition. The top photograph was made at a the dargah of Sayid Mira Datar, a Sufi saint martyred in a battle with a Bhil warlord in the 1400s, and who's reputed to heal and exorcise evil spirits from visiting supplicants. It's of pilgrims/devotees inhaling the special sacred incense to purge tevil spirits from their bodies.

The middle photograph is of niqab-wearing Muslim women in Sarkhej at the dargah of the Sufi saint Hazrat Ghatu Ganj Ahmed Shah. I think these women are members of the Tabligh sect; an orthodox Muslim sect. As much as I tried to cajole these women (and they spoke English perfectly), they would not allow me to photograph them.

The lower photograph is a candid portrait of a sadhu; a Hindu self proclaimed holy man. It was made during a photo shoot at the foothills of Junagardh's Girnar mountain. He had probably just woken up.

Sandy also published two books ‘Carnevale, Fantasy of Venice' of her beautiful photographs of Venice and its magical Carnevale, and Calling The Soul, a collection of photographs of the intricate Balinese cremations.