Gianfranco Tripodo: Wat Bang Phra

I saw the work of Gianfranco Tripodo mentioned in a Lightstalkers forum discussion, and noticed he documented the ritualistic tattooing at the Thai temple of Wat Bang Phra, near Bangkok as I did a couple of years ago. His gallery is titled Sak Yant: Thai Magical Tattoo.

Gianfranco Tripodo is a photojournalist currently based in Madrid, Spain, and is a member of Cesuralab Agency, an Italian photo collective under the artistic direction of Alex Majoli, Magnum Photos. He was published in L’Espresso, IoDonna, El Pais and worked with PhotoEspaña Festival.

I've already posted a number of posts on Wat Bang Phra and its tattooing monks here. It's worth casting an eye on the posts to understand the importance of these religious (or "magical") tattoos to the Thais.

My own gallery The Tattooing Monks of Wat Bang Phra is on my website, and I noticed that one of the tattooing monks appears in both Gianfranco's gallery and mine.

Diti Kotecha: Shekhawati

I occasionally, usually by accident, come across work of such fresh creativity and imagination that it figuratively stops me in my tracks.

To me, the work of Diti Kotecha, a photographer based in Mumbai who describes herself as a documentary and travel photographer, graphic designer, cat lover and collector of knick-knacks, qualifies as one of those "stop-in-the-tracks". Her website is not gallery extensive, but it's one that I encourage you to visit and look around.

My favorite multimedia gallery (unfortunately limited in number of images) is the one Diti titles "antique remains". Her images were made in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, and some are of the wonderful havelis in the small town of Mandawa.

The ruling clan in the area were the Marwaris, who built large mansions in Shekhawati and Marwar, which were called havelis. Artists were commissioned to paint the buildings with frescoes depicting Hindu lore and current events of the time. Unfortunately, and despite the havelis being on the tourist circuit, most are largely dilapidated, and some even abandoned.

Diti's blog Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today's OK is also an interesting insight in her photographic style. I'd wager that Diti will go far in her chosen career.

Beyond The Frame: Vedic Master

©Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I'm resuscitating the Beyond The Frame feature on The Travel Photographer blog, which today shows-off one of my favorite photographs from my February photo-expedition in Kerala. One of photo shoots was inside an ancient Vedic 'gurukul' (or training/boarding school, and very similar to the Buddhist monasteries for novitiates), where we were treated to a demonstration of this way of teaching sacred Vedic scriptures.

It is an ancient Indian educational system, which is currently being rejuvenated with the assistance of the Indian government. The young boys who populate the Vedic school usually belong to a caste of Keralan Brahmins, and are responsible to carry on the age-old tradition of chanting Vedas during religious rituals or functions. The chanting is learned by practice, and nothing is written down.

The rhythm of the Vedic chants is followed by the young boys' moving their bodies in cadence to the verses, which reminded me how the Buddhist novices recite their mantras, or how the Islamic students recite the Qur'an at their madrasas.

The photograph is of one of the Vedic masters keeping a watchful eye over the youths, while they're chanting the verses.

Canon G10 & VII Agency

Here's an entertaining advert for Canon's G10 featuring some of the VII Photo agency founding members: John Stanmeyer, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Ron Haviv, Joachin Ladefoged and Marcus Bleasdale (seemingly the only member with no beard).

Technically, the advert is flashy and very well made, however the tips offered by both Gary and Antonin seem to be targeted at an audience who, despite the VII info, may not really know who they are...except that they're working photographers peddling a Canon camera.

Since the ensuing debate on this advert on the internets will also be entertaining, I have no intention of commenting any further, except as I already have.

Brent Foster: Varanasi

Varanasi, India : Holy Waters - Images by Brent Foster

Brent Foster is a photojournalist producing still, video, and multimedia content who is based in Delhi, India since January 2009. He was a staff visual journalist for the Los Angeles Times before deciding to give freelancing a try.

Not content in being an accomplished photographer and multimedia producer, Brent also authors an interesting bog titled Visual Journalist. The above slideshow is of his photographs made during a few days spent in Varanasi. You may want to view the photographs in the large screen format.

I wish it'd had some audio!

My own gallery of Varanasi photographs is City of Shiva

The Travel Photographer's Face-Lift

Many of my readers will have noticed that The Travel Photographer blog has undergone somewhat of a face-lift. Its original anthracite background with a lighter grey logo was over 2 years old, and I felt it was time for a freshening up. After all, I started this anthracite/grey color scheme in January 2007!

Over the past few months, I stealthily increased the size of the photographs appearing in my posts, and while I'm a proponent of the "larger is good" concept, I don't want to increase them further...at least for now.

I hope this white background works well...as well as the anthracite color did for so long.

My Work: Theyyams, Incarnate Deities

One of the most personally rewarding photo~expeditions I organized and led was the Theyyams of Malabar this last February. There are many reasons for this; the synergy between the 9 photographers in the group worked exceptionally well, the pace of the photo expedition was just right, and I fulfilled the ambition of photographing the Theyyam ceremonies over the 5 days we spent in northern Kerala.

To the people of northern Kerala, rituals are enormously important. Theyyam, a word that derives from daivam, meaning "god," is practiced mostly within the so-called "lower" castes of that region. To call it a ceremony would not quite be the word for it, and to name it ritual would only be half right. It is 2000-year-old theatrical performance in which an artist becomes divine and is in incarnated with that deity’s power. The gods and goddesses of Theyyam are not inanimate idols; they are incarnated in the bodies of the artists/performers.

The preliminary ritual is called Thottam, and takes place in the temple's shrine. It is then and only then that the artist receives the deity’s spirit. The deity’s makeup is called "body writing" and is said to have magical and medicinal properties. During the Theyyam the deity converses directly with the devotees, giving blessings, receiving homage and donations, and dispensing advice.

For my new gallery, visit Theyyams: Incarnate Deities

For another interesting post on the background of Theyyam on my blog, go here.

If you missed the verdict on the Theyyam of Malabar photo~expedition, go here and here.