Best Of Photojournalism: Dhiraj Singh

It gives me singular pleasure to learn that Dhiraj Singh was awarded Honorable Mention (Feature Audio Slideshow) in the NPPA's Best of Photojournalism 2010 for his My Name Is Dechen.

Dhiraj attended my MultiMedia class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali last summer, and not only received a standing ovation on showing his audio slideshow (Soundslides), but was also awarded Top Award For Photography by the workshop's instructors.

A well-deserved honor to this immensely talented photographer and photojournalist...and he's a very nice guy as well.

I don't think Dhiraj will mind me plugging the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in this post...so if you are still on the fence about your participation in the Istanbul workshop, you may want to take into account that if you do attend it, you may produce a similarly powerful project or photo essay that could earn you prestigious awards!

The Foundry offers the best instructors there is...real working professionals who will show you the ropes, and either change or reinforce your mindset. All you have to do is to leave your ego at the door...that's all.

The Travel Photographer's Pouches

Photo © Some Hot-Shot Photog I Forgot The Name Of
Here's the exclusive opportunity that you've all been waiting for! I announce the "availability" of The Travel Photographer's Pouches which are for sale at the incredible price of only $89.99 a piece...or, if you're inclined to save, only $181.00 for two pouches. Yes, please do the math.

The pouches are (probably) made in China of rugged black canvas, and have two pockets. The Travel Photographer logo is embroidered in the trademark bright teal color, using the Arial font, and with a thread exclusive (possibly) to me. The logo was embroidered using the latest techniques in the lovely town of Oaxaca, using a cranky Japanese machine.

The cost? Well, I bought the pouch for about $5 at a nearby US Army Surplus store, and the embroidery cost under $2...so I figured that a profit of $83.00 a piece seems reasonable. Oh, and shipping is not included in the price.

As to availability; well...here's the thing. I would need to return to Oaxaca to have them embroidered. This may take a year or so.

As I said, these are exclusive and are really really worth waiting for.

Seriously speaking, I found these pouches to be ideal for extra lenses, small notebooks, an audio recorder and other paraphernalia I carry while shooting. And I prefer to use items that carry my brand name instead of products such as ThinkTank, LowePro, etc. If these companies paid me to carry (and advertise) their wares, it'd be different...but they don't.

Asim Rafiqui: The Kerala Journeys

Photo © Asim Rafiqui -All Rights Reserved
A few weeks ago, I had just returned from my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™, and felt that I hadn't done enough in terms of street photography in the Kutch area of Gujarat.

I, rather ludicrously, expected to photograph non-stop in its small villages that had seen few (if any) foreign tourists and when that didn't happen, I had to content myself with a some frames here and there. Back in New York City, and still cursing my bad luck, I chanced on a post by Asim Rafiqui, in which he describes his street photography in Lucknow as follows:

"And in the rare moments when something close to a photograph does appear I keep ruining it with poor timing, inappropriate angles or by being club footed and lumbering towards it so slowly that the moment is gone. Yesterday I had waited nearly 3 hours for a frame, arousing suspicions among the many shopkeepers who had patiently tolerated me and my cameras on the corner of their street, and then missed it when it seemed to come together!"

Three hours for a frame! And Asim is one of the better photographers I have come across. So I swallowed my curses, and realized that this is what it takes...this is reality...and street photography and paparazzi-style travel photography are miles apart.

Because of such gems, I am a frequent follower of Asim Rafiqui's The Idea of India project. An extraordinarily erudite, both intellectually and visually, blog in which he examines traditions of social and religious sharing which still exist in India, reports on shared sacred sites like major Sufi dargahs where Hindus and Muslims co-pray and on religious festivals which evolved past their sectarian sources and welcome participants of all beliefs and faiths. A veritable cornucopia for those of us who are eager for deeper understanding of the roots of current events.

The latest blog entry is titled The Kerala Journeys. This is what street photography is all about.

Oaxaca: La Guelaguetza

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
Our "almost-a-week-long" Oaxaca Mini Photo-Expedition™ was replete with daily serendipitous photo opportunities. Lynn Padwe, Carl Meisel, Li Lu-Porter, Maria Dikeos and I roamed the streets of this wonderful town in search of photographic scenes, and we weren't disappointed.

Naturally, it was the Zocalo...the throbbing heart of Oaxaca, that offered the most in terms of photo ops, and we made the most of it. It's always a wonderment that Oaxaca (and certainly other similar towns in Mexico) always has something going on in its main square. During our 5 days there, every evening saw some sort of cultural event; a classical performance by the Oaxaca orchestra, a performance by a wide-throated Mariachi singer, a Guelaguetza festival for young children (above) and the weekly dance event.

After photographing the events, we would invariably make a beeline towards the various cafes and restaurants that line the square for drinks and/or dinner.

Note: I've recently noticed that a number of travel photographers have now started to appropriate the Photo-Expedition moniker that I've used for years. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Ashley Gilbertson: Bedrooms of the Fallen

The New York Times Sunday Magazine has featured The Shrine Down The Hall: Bedrooms of America's Young War Dead, a powerful photo essay in slideshow format by photographer Ashey Gilbertson (VII Network), which looks at some of the empty bedrooms of the over 5000 U.S. military personnel killed in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dexter Filkins starts his accompanying article with the words "Just kids". The ages of these military fallen range from 19 to 25...indeed, just kids.

George McGovern in 1969 speaking about Vietnam said:

"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in".

Now of course, it's also women who die in combat, as indeed Karina Lau did. Her bedroom still has a stuffed teddy bear and floppy-eared rabbit on top of her floral bedspread. She was killed seven years ago when insurgents shot down her helicopter in Falluja, Iraq. She was 20 years old.

In my view, this slideshow should be mandatory viewing by every politician who supported our senseless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I just read that George W. Bush is visiting Haiti. How about visiting these bedrooms first?

Foundry Photo Workshop: Scholarships

Eric Beecroft of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop issued a press release announcing the winners of the Workshop 2010 Scholarships.

It was difficult to choose amongst the plethora of so many superb and powerful entries from extremely talented photographers, especially from those whose work was somewhat outside the "traditional" photojournalism concept.

The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is amazed at the level of unexposed talent it has seen so far, and it is the hope that all who applied continue to pursue their passion for visual storytelling. There will be more scholarships for Foundry, from sponsors - some general and some regional specific- so keep watching.

The FPW Scholarship of the Year 2010 is awarded to:

Doni Maulistya

Three full scholarships have been awarded to (in no particular order):

Tom Jamieson
Yulia Vishnevets
Roubina Margossian


Two half scholarships are awarded to:

Johannes P. Christo
Agata Pietron

The judges included Stephanie Sinclair and Guy Calaf.

There a few spaces left, so don't hesitate to apply!

Ho Ping Coffee Shop (Kopitiam) at Penang Road, Penang

Ho Ping Kopitiam (Traditional Chinese Coffee Shop) (N5 25.161 E100 19.928) it's located in the junction of Penang Road and Jalan Kampung Malabar. (Ho Ping means Peaceful in Chinese) We got attracted by the hawkers in the shop along our walk at Penang Road.

Ho Ping Kopitiam (Traditional Chinese Coffee Shop)

I like the setting of these traditional type of coffee shop...
The two stalls which selling Pork Noodle and Char Kuey Teow (Fried rice noodle) looks really attractive! We went into the shop and ordered the foods without discuss among ourself! Haha!

The Pork Noodle :-
It serve with all the pork intestine, vegetables and mee-hoon (vermicelli). Taste good! We like the soup very much! It cost MYR5.00 each. (Can't see it in JB)

The Pork Noodle of Ho Ping Kopitiam

The other hawker which got my attraction was this Char Kuey Teow stall. The charcoal stove was really unique and I hardly see it elsewhere...

The Charcoal Stove of the Char Kuey Teow hawker

He (the Char Kuey Teow hawker) was preparing about 30 packs for take away when I order mine...so, I have to wait for about 30 minutes...and that situation made me more hungry while waiting...:)

Authentic Penang Char Kuey Teow

Look at the 4 prawns well presented on it! Wah! I like very much! There is NO way to taste this at Johor Bahru at all! It was Delicious! Cost MYR3.50.
Beside the ingredient, the charcoal stove also make the different, it provided the heat for the wok equally compare with the modern gas stove. (Learned it from the local)

By comparing the Famous Char Kuey Teow at Lorong Selamat, Penang (from local recommendation) and this hawker, both of them are equally good! But I prefer this because of the Attitude!

We Rated :-
The pork noodle - 3/5

The Char Kuey Teow - 4.5/5

I will come back again on my next trip to Penang! 

Location map of Ho Ping Kopitiam (Coffee Shop)

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