Adam Ferguson: Orissa

Photograph © Adam Ferguson-All Rights Reserved
Adam Ferguson is an Australian freelance photojournalist currently working out of Delhi. His photographs have appeared in Newsweek, Time, International Herald Tribune, New York Times, Chicago Tribune and many other publications.

I found his images depicting the destitute contract laborers in Orissa to be the most poignant of his photo galleries. Orissa has the richest ore deposits of all the states in India, yet its people are some of the poorest in the country. Naturally, this has much to do with the exploitation of the underprivileged such as the Adivasis and the lower castes, and by the corrupt practices of the mining industry, and of industrialization in general.

A Pilgrimage Special: Sakura in Sarnath!

Sakura in Sarnath?...



I have always been fascinated by photos of cherry blossoms or Sakura from Japan. Accordingly, the blossom which is Japan's unofficial national flower has been celebrated for many centuries and Japanese celebrates with hanami or cherry blossom viewing parties under the blooming trees, something really simple and wonderful, I suppose. In Sarnath, India, just at the entrance of a little quaint Buddhist Temple built by Angarika Dharmapala, there is this lone tree with a profuse of blooms. That was not a Sakura tree of course, but for a minute, I was transported to a make believe world of viewing Sakura. Life is such a delight if you care to imagine!

NY Times: Ansel Adams' Yosemite

Courtesy of the Cedric Wright Family/All Rights Reserved
The New York Times brings us an interactive feature on Ansel Adams' iconic photographs with a narration by his former assistant Andrea G. Stillman.

The accompanying article tells us that Adams' work is the best unpaid advertising for Yosemite because many professional photographers and amateurs spend hours for the perfect minute of the moon rising over Half Dome or a shadow on a fallen tree in Siesta Lake.

A Pilgrimage Special: Performing Dana

While in Sarnath, we visited a branch of the Mahabodhi Society, The ladies made themselves busy buying fruits and other foodstuff to be brought over for the monks there. As usual, the pilgrims were going to perform dana, a practice of generosity or charity. The Mahabodhi Society was a pleasant white building and we walk into a pleasant compound with shady trees, under which some children were studying under the tutelage of a teacher. We were brought to a hall where several young monks and a lone nun were going to have lunch...

Shopping in Sarnath...




The Mahabodhi Society in Sarnath...






Children studying...

The hall...
Performing Dana to the monks...






and the lone nun...

A Pilgrimage Special: Broken Souvenir

Our guide, if I remember right, told us there are thirty two Asokan pillars throughout India. Asokan pillar or pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns built by Mauryan king Ashoka during the 3rd century BCE. These pillars which are dispersed throughout northern Indian are carved with proclamations of Buddhist teachings called the Edicts of Ashoka. The first pillar which we saw during our trip must be the one in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.The pillar here has an elephant capital at the top since the elephant represents the Buddha's conception. The capital however now lies at the base of the pillar and is beyond recognition. The best pillar most probably is the one in Vaishalli where a single lion faces north to denote the direction Buddha took during his last voyage. A lion capital is said to represent the attainment of Buddhahood. At Deer Park in Sarnath, we see yet the most famous of the columns. Strangely, this pillar is in a terrible broken state. The pillar reportedly was broken during Turk invasions and originally was surmounted by the Lion Capital of Ashoka which is now on at display at the Sarnath Museum and is the National Emblem of India.

Asokan Pillar in Lumbini... Asokan Pillar in Vaishalli...



An Asokan pillar near Mucalinda Lake, Bodhgaya...


Broken Asokan Pillar in Sarnath..

Canon USA Jacks Up Prices

Canon USA is informing its US dealers that they should expect price increases on a broad range of its camera gear. Starting May 1, 2008, US dealers will pay 3-5% more to Canon for most Canon EF lenses and all Canon EOS accessories . The dealer net on Canon digital SLRs is unchanged.

I presume that these price increases will not retroactively be applied on available inventory, but for illustration purposes, the increase would cause a price jump in the range of $66 to $110 in the $2200 price of a Canon 5D. Is this why it's out of stock at two of the largest New York retailers?

The reason given for the price increase is that Canon is "not immune to the rising fuel prices or unfavorable exchange rates..."

A previous post on TTP addressed this issue here

(Via Rob Galbraith)

Camera Raw, Bridge or Lightroom?

Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider has an interesting comparison between Camera Raw, Bridge and Lightroom, and it made my day because of what he writes at the end of the post:

"So basically, all the things that Lightroom and Photoshop have in common, Lightroom does much, much better. That’s why I spend about 70% of my time in Lightroom."

Since I started trying out Lightroom 2.0, I've been impressed by its capabilities, and found that I've used Photoshop much less since. I was never a pixel-pusher, nor will I ever be...so while my usage of Photoshop was always minimal, Lightroom makes my image processing even simpler!

Scott Kelby is the editor and publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, Layers magazine and President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

(Via Imaging Insider)