TRAVEL IDEAS

Masr: Javier Morgade

Masr is the Arabic word for Egypt...and it's also colloquially used for Cairo. So in Arabic, Egyptians are called Masr'yeen...which is confusing for non-Arabic speakers, but that's how it is. Egypt was borrowed from the Latin Aegyptus and from the ancient Greek Aígyptos.

Javier Morgade was filming in Egypt for an airline company, and was left with surplus footage for this short movie. It's a documentary made with a Canon 5d Mark II and a Glidetrack HD. It was edited in Final Cut Pro and graded with After Effects. The song is by a contemporary Egyptian singer and is titled ah men al forak, which loosely translated means "lamenting separation".

In my view (and I should know), Javier managed to capture in this short movie the essence of the Egyptian character, the kindness, humor, hospitality and generosity...even their occasional legendary intrusiveness. It saddens me to see the poverty in the alleys of old Cairo, but as always, it's mitigated by the Egyptian talent for being able to share setbacks, poverty, sorrows, and life troubles. No Egyptian is an island...and while they find enormous solace in their extended families and friends, neighbors and even casual acquaintances...they deserve better.

Charlotte Rush Bailey: Kutch Classic

Charlotte Rush Bailey joined my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo-Expedition ™ earlier this year, and has just published her photo book titled Kutch Classic: Portraits from Northern Gujarat of her photographs made on that trip, which is a wonderful visual compendium of this magnificent region of India.

The book is full of photographs of Kutch tribals; most are portraits, some processed in the photographer-author's signature style. Charlotte chose purple as the predominant color for her book, basing it on the lovely woman's veil on its cover. I also happen to think that Charlotte will follow up with another book, possibly titled Portraits from Southern Gujarat, on her return from another photo expedition next January. We'll see....

Published and available through Blurb, the link above provides a preview of some of the book's pages.

For more of Charlotte's work, visit her website.

I really wish that many more of photographers who join my photo~expeditions publish their work in book form. That would be so gratifying! I may be mistaken but I only know of one other photographer-participant who does that. It's not an easy task to prep and publish a book, but the eventual satisfaction is just sublime.

LCD Viewfinder (Meike)

One of the accessories I decided to get for both my Canon 5D Mark II and the new Canon 7D is a LCD viewer. which would be handy whenever I wanted to shoot video on either of these cameras.

Having looked at the B&H et al, I had the choice between the LCDVF at $170 or the much more expensive Zacuto Jr at $252, but thought these prices were too high for an add-on I would not use frequently. Some quick research led me to a post on the delightful Cheesycam website and another one here which suggested a much cheaper LCDVF clone ($59 including shipping et al) from eBay.

I deliberated for about 2 minutes, and ordered the clone from the vendor. Within less than half a day, I got an email with an acknowledgment, and a USPS tracking number. It was shipped from the vendor in Guangzhou (China) on October 20, and delivered to my door on October 26. Not bad, eh?

The amusing thing is it took 3 days to get from Guangzhou to Queens (more than 8,000 miles), and another 3 days from Queens to Lower Manhattan (less than 4 miles) where I live. Yes, I looked the distances up.

The boxed Meike LCD viewfinder and its accessories were well wrapped in a thick envelope, and the mailing address was perfectly labeled. The vendor is clearly professional and was understandably well recommended on eBay. I affixed the metal frames to both my cameras, and will test it soon. My immediate impression was that the camera was much steadier when videotaping with the viewfinder on. It steadies it against one's face.

I examined the LCD viewfinder for signs of poor workmanship but found none, and it comes with a useful pouch and a cleaning cloth as well. Oh, and there's a red plastic thingie around the top part of the viewfinder that matches the red line on Canon's L lenses...color-coordination!

One thing I know for certain: I'll never be a product or still life photographer....ever.

Christian Bobst: Tibetans In India

Christian Bobst is a Swiss photographer based in Zürich who originally studied graphic design, and became interested in documentary photography. While working for advertising agencies, he won several national and international advertising awards. At this time, he works as a freelance art and creative director as well as a documentary photographer.

Dharamsala, or more accurately Mcleod Ganj, is the home of the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government. The Tibetan settlement of Dharamsala began in 1959, when the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet, and was allowed to settle in Upper Dharamsala or McLeod Ganj. It's sometimes known as 'Little Lhasa' after the Tibetan capital city.

Christian's photo gallery of the transplanted Tibetans who live in Dharamsala explores the Tibetans' way of life in this small town in north India in their homes, stores, at the doctor and their places of worship. Even if you've never been to Dharamsala, these photographs will give you an excellent insight on the small Tibet enclave in north India.

The above photograph is a classic street photography gem. The Indian woman in the traditional shalwar kameez eying the passing Tibetan in her own dress.

My Work: Dharamasla Matriarch

Here's an environmental portrait of a Tibetan matriarch in one of the alleys of Dharmasala in northern India. It's been over 5 years ago since I've been to Dharamsala, and my photographic style has evolved noticeably.

I would have photographed this woman differently now. She would have been most certainly less rigid, and I would have spent much more time making her more comfortable before any photographs were made. I occasionally revisit my photographs of a few years back to trace back my photographic evolution; a gradual evolution moving from simple portraits to more complex scenes...moving from travel "pretty pictures" to the less pretty ones, towards more of a documentary style.

I am always attracted to interesting physiognomies...what photographer isn't?...but I now see them more in the context of their environment, of their surroundings and of the story they emanate just by their being there .

Beatrix Jourdan: Clash of the Titans

Here's somewhat of a change of gear from the norm for The Travel Photographer blog, and is about Laamb, which is Senegalese wrestling and a type of folk wrestling practiced in Senegal. It allows blows with the hands, the only of the West African wrestling traditions to do so.

Beatrix Jourdan (Bea Mészöly) is a Hungarian-born photographer currently based in Dakar, Senegal. She's a freelance graphic designer and photographer, and produced catalogs for the Museum of Modern Art in Gent, photomosaics in Budapest and Hajduszoboszlo, numerous posters, book and magazine covers, and brochures. She also She was one of the winners of the André Kertész international photo contest.

Beatrix informs us that Laamb is also a spiritual activity, and wrestlers must engage in various rituals before the contests. No wrestler, regardless of strength, physical or technical abilities, would ever dare to enter the ring, much less fight, without his "marabout" or JuJu Man.

via African Lens (larger photographs available on its website)

The Bat Cave at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island

The Bat Cave (N6 24.112 E99 51.551) is located about 420m away from the Kilim Jetty. The journey only take 5 minutes from the Jetty.

"The bat cave was existed about 440-480 million years ago, and it's lurks quietly in a mangrove swamp in a tributary of Kilim River. The chamber is in the form of a long tunnel. Clinging precariously on the ceiling of hundreds of bats, The stalactites and stalagmites within this cave are of the gigantic proportions. Stalactites on the eastern cave entrance are rather unique as they did not grow vertically downward. The growth of these oblique stalactites is believed to be associated with the deposition of travertine deposits by photosynthetic algae that required brighter sunlight to grow. There are ancient oyster shells attached on certain wall of the cave, a few meters above the sea level, indicating a higher ancient sea level 5000 years ago..."

The Jetty of the Bat Cave

Once we arrived at the jetty, we took the path on our left...which was able to walk though the ancient nature beauty of the forest.

The pathway the lead us to the forest

Along the way, I saw a beautiful RED Spider. Too bad the photo came out blur that I won't be able to show here. :(
There is a T-junction after 50 meters from the jetty, we gotta turn to the right to the Bat Cave. The surrounding fresh air really make us like this place very much!

I like the Green very much!

After another 30 meters, we reached the entrance of the Million Years Bat Cave.

The entrance of the Bat Cave.

I like to see the stone formation along the cave...below was one of nice stone I saw...

It was Total dark in the Cave, our boatman loan us a Torch. My daughter hold my pans tightly!

The pathway in the cave.

We continue to search for the Bats but it was empty all the way...We started to felt some cold wind and creepy! Because we were the only group in the Cave! Oh! My goodness!!

But I insist to continue our walk, so we stepped into the heart of the cave where you can't see any sunlight at all! Then suddenly, my wife said : "LOOK!" Her torch shoot on the wall on top of us and we saw hundreds and hundreds of bats hanging! WOW!

The Bat Cave of Kilim River

And my wife ask me to turn around, that were many behind me! Oh! My...

The closest bat! Less than 2 feet...

During that time, we really enjoyed looking at the bats surrounding the cave...luckily I still remember the time, it was almost dark! So we quickly walked through the cave and back to the Jetty (Where the boatman was waiting), before all the bats wake up! What a Experience! I like it!

That's end our 1 hour Mangrove Tour at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island. You can contact Mr Halimi (boatman) 0175228325 for the Mangrove Tour. He was a nice guide! :)

Mr Halimi - our boatman for the Mangrove Tour.

Related post :
* My Trip to Langkawi Island on September 2010
* Grand Continental Hotel at Kuah, Langkawi Island
* Underwater World of Langkawi Island
* Sunset Of Cenang Beach (Pantai), Langkawi Island
* The Lighthouse Restaurant at Tengah Beach (Pantai), Langkawi Island
* The Langkawi Cable Car at Langkawi Island.
* The Famous Sky-Bridge of Mount Machinchang, Langkawi Island.
* Restoran Nasi Kandar Tomato at Cenang Beach, Langkawi Island
* The Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
* The Eagles Feeding at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
* The Fish Farm at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
* Wonderland Seafood Store at Kuah Town, Langkawi Island
* Hole In The Wall Floating Restaurant at Kilim Geoforest Park, Langkawi Island

Location map of the Million Years Bat Cave

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