Interview on James Robinson's Blog

I'm privileged to have been interviewed by James Robinson for his outstanding blog, which you can find here.

Thank you James for including me on your roster of photographers.

Animation vs Animator

This cute video displays the animation neglects its creator, its animator.

part 1

part 2

bonus : animation vs animator : The Game !

The animator :http://alanbecker.deviantart.com/

Hard Times at Lonely Planet (slight return)

Another report about the recent layoffs at Lonely Planet.

Melbourne-based guidebook behemoth Lonely Planet will announce the sacking of 50 staff tonight -- around 10% of its global workforce -- as the global economic downturn continues to gut the tourism industry and guidebook sales.

Staff at Lonely Planet’s Footscray office were informed of the layoffs this morning with management calling a meeting this afternoon to discuss the changes and tap shoulders. A formal announcement is due at 9pm tonight to tie in with owner BBC Worldwide's London-centric media strategy.

A spokesman for Acting CEO Stephen Palmer confirmed the cuts to Crikey this morning and said they will impact all areas of the business. Affected staff were still in the process of being informed that they were out of a job when Crikey called.

In an emailed statement, Palmer said the situation was a "difficult" one but that the company had no choice in the context of the economic downturn.

"I recognise that this is a terribly difficult time, particularly for those whose jobs will be made redundant. I would like to reiterate that I would not have taken this action if there was any way I could have avoided it."

Palmer said the cuts were spread across the Lonely Planet's US, UK and Australian offices and did not comment on the specific divisions affected. But sources have told Crikey that the entire online content production division has been dismantled with extra cuts to be made in support roles. The book production section is said to be immune while images staff and commissioning editors appear to have also escaped the axe.

The cuts were foreshadowed on Monday when BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons gave a speech in Cardiff indicating BBC Worldwide’s operations will be scaled back to focus on its core commercial business of repackaging the Beeb's archive for DVD sales. UK MPs have savaged the company for the $250 million Lonely Planet purchase, claiming it has no links to its core business. The BBC is also under pressure from the UK government to use its licence fees to bail out Channel 4. BBC Worldwide made 112 million pounds last year.

Louise Connor of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance said she wasn't surprised at the decision in the context of the global tourism meltdown.

"It’s sad to see decisions made in England affecting so many jobs in Australia," she added.

Lonely Planet staff tell of a sense of foreboding that has gripped the Footscray office over the past few months. Palmer has regularly used company-wide meetings to give frank assessments about revenue problems and website cost blowouts. Sources say that once the new website was completed, the heat was on middle management to justify ongoing staffing levels.

In October 2007, original owners Tony and Maureen Wheeler sold Lonely Planet to BBC Worldwide for around $250 million. The Wheelers retained a 25% stake and are still swimming in the proceeds of the deal, reportedly mulling plans to spend $12 million on a lavish production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

The latest lay-offs mirror a move taken by the Wheelers in 2004 when 40 staff were sacked and those remaining told to forgo a 3% pay rise in the midst of the SARS outbreak.

It is not known whether the 120 staff at Lonely Planet’s Oakland and London offices have been informed of the sackings

Crikey

Hard Times at Lonely Planet

The worldwide economic collapse has hit almost everyone, including publishers of travel guidebooks, as shown by this recent announcement from Lonely Planet. Actually, I'm surprised that they only cut 10% of their labor force, but I do expect more retreachment as the year progresses. I've also heard that Avalon Travel Publishing and Moon Publications are in deep shit, cancelling several of their planned Europe guides, and getting lousy reviews at Amazon on some of their replacement guides to SE Asia. They saved some money with lower royalty rates, but cut off their noses.

Lonely Planet tells staff to pack their bags
Chris Zappone
February 25, 2009 - 2:53PM

Travel guide book publisher Lonely Planet has cut up to 50 positions as the demand for guidebooks shrivels in the face of global financial crisis.The cuts will affect staff in Australia, the US and Britain where most of the company's sales and offices are.

Before the cuts the company said it had 500 people on its payroll.The retrenchments are "directly related to the economic downturn because we're a global company,'' spokesman Adam Bennett said."It represents the decline of the guidebook market in tough times.'' Mr Bennett said the US and Britain, both of which are struggling with recession, represented a combined total of 60% of guide book sales.Lonely Planet, which is 75%-owned by the BBC's commercial enterprise BBC Worldwide, said it was consulting with employees, some of whom were not having their contracts renewed, while others were having their positions eliminated.

Acting chief exectuve Stephen Palmer said in a statement that the global market for travel was not expected to pick up soon."Even the most optimistic forecasts do not predict any sustained recovery until 2010 at the earliest, and even then it is likely to be slow and patchy,'' Mr Palmer said."The US, UK and Europe are all in recession, and these territories account for over 80% of our business.''Mr Palmer cited a UN World Travel Organisation forecast for total outbound travel to dip 2% this year.

But he predicted Lonely Planet's core markets would erode further with a 10% fall in the US, 5% in Britain and 2% in Australia."It has become clear that this economic situation is unprecedented, it will not just be a blip and we need to adjust our costs so we can manage through these tough times.''czappone@fairfax.com.au

Madura Island

Madura, from an administrative viewpoint, is a part of the Indonesian Province of East Java. Located of the eastern end of Java's north coast, this long, narrow island measures 160 km from east to west and 35 km north south, amounting to a total area of roughly 4,250 square kilometres. Madura is divided into four Regencies, or Kabupaten, which run consecutively from west to east, respectively Bangkalan, Sampang, Pamekasan and Sumenep. Beside the main land mass, however, there are 67 more small islands and islets, 66 of which lie to the east of Sumenep and are a part of that district, while one island belongs to Sampang.


Karamian Island, the most northerly, and Sekala Island, the furthest east of the Madura group, both lie more than 240 km from the main island. Ocean conditions among the islands are for the most part clear, clean and not so deep, displaying an abundance of sea-life, for example in the area around Mamburit Island near the Kangean Group. Beaches are almost all white, such as at Siring Kemuning, Camplong, Slopeng, Lombang, as well as throughout the Kangean Islands, at Saebus, Mamburit, Saur, Pagerungan, Kangean etc. In some cases, though, there are islands which are totally covered in thick vegetation right to the water's edge. Compared with other areas of East Java, Madura's soil is relatively poor. The land is stony and dry. Yet these conditions have taught the Madurese people to be ingenious and adaptable, two characteristics for which Madura's inhabitants are well known. Lying only a 30 minute ferry ride from Surabaya's harbour of Tanjung Perak, the port of Kamal on Madura's south west coast is easily accessible. Ferries transporting vehicles of all sizes, passengers and goods, arrive and depart at 15 minute intervals around the clock, thus forming a permanent moving bridge connecting Madura with the mainland.

During this period of development, Madura's contribution towards the national economy is growing and diversifying. Besides the traditional farming sector, natural resources such as oil and natural gas are beginning to be exploited. No less tourism. With an infrastructure now deemed capable of handling numbers of visitors, it can be expected that the flow of tourists into Madura should increase rapidly in the near futureIf, in the past, people tended to avoid Madura as a place to visit, then it was because of a lack of facilities. But now conditions are different and good roads run the whole away along the length of the island. Reasonable accommodation, too, can be found in all the major towns. In short, Madura is prepared for tourism and is now looking towards improving super structural aspects, in the form of hotels, restaurants, terminals, shopping centres etc.

Furthermore, East Java's Regional Government is currently planning the construction of a bridge which will connect Tanjung Perak with Kamal. Barring obstacles the SURAMADU bridge project should be underway in the near future. This ambitious task stirs the imagination when one considers standing at the half way point and enjoying the panorama, as well as watching the numerous sea-going vessels which regularly make their way across the straits. The bridge will, without a doubt, prove to be a major tourist attraction and a photographer's dream.Though still receiving comparatively few foreign visitors, the island of Madura is already well known for its bull races, the bold designs and colours of its batik textiles, its sate (cooked meat on skewers) and veto (soup), as well as an enviable number of unspoiled beaches. For plant enthusiasts, the Bonsai Casuarina ( cemara udang ) is unique to Madura. Until now we have only mentioned Madura's main island. In addition, there is a string of around 66 more small islands running off to the east of Sumenep and comprising a part of that administrative district.These islands include the Kangean Group, which lie due north of the island of Bali. Planning and development could turn this beautiful mini-archipelago into an incomparable marine resort, equipped with all facilities, including opportunities for all kinds of water sports and marine activities.

John Delaney: Mongolia

Photo © John P. Delaney-All Rights Reserved
John P. Delaney’s series titled “Golden Eagle Hunters of Mongolia” garnered him one of the International Photography Awards' most coveted prizes. His work was chosen out of nearly 22,000 submissions spanning 124 different countries. Delaney is also a Master Printer working closely with photographers such as Bruce Davidson, Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein, Annie Leibovitz and Irving Penn.

With the Golden Eagle Hunters of Mongolia, Delaney presents a rich and beautiful collection of portraits and landscapes that capture an intimate glimpse of the ancient way of life for the nomadic Kazakh tribe, who date farther back than the 15th century and are once again in danger of being eradicated.

Among many Kazakh traditions is the ancient art of hunting with trained birds of prey. The tradition is believed to originate in Central Asia some 6000 years ago and was adopted in Europe and other countries. Historical chronicles relay records of Kublay Khan's lavish hunting trips in autumn and winter involving thousands of people and horses, with falconers in the thousands.

Kazakhs catch and train golden eagles, common throughout Central Asia. These huge birds weigh up to 15 pounds, and have wingspan of seven or eight feet.






http://www.johndelaney.net/

Bromo - Tengger - Semeru Map

Bromo-Semeru

Semeru

Bromo Caldera

Bromo-Tengger-Batok

WSJ Photo Journal: Kathakali

Photo © Arko Datta-All Rights Reserved
A Kathakali dancer in the traditional South Indian dance, performing at the recent Kala Ghoda Festival of Arts in Mumbai. The nine-day festival showcases Indian arts and heritage.

I'm currently in Kasargod (Kerala) on my Theyyams of Malabar photo-expedition, and on my way to Thrissur and Kochi where we are planning to attend and photograph Kathakali performances.

Baluran National Park

Baluran National Park has some of the few dryland ecosystem types in Java, consisting of savanna. It also has mangrove forest, monsoon forest, coastal forest, swamp forest, and evergreen forest.

About 40% of the Park area is dominated by savannatype vegetation.

There are 444 species of plant growing in this Park, including curious and indigenous species like widoro bukol (Ziziphus rotundifolia), mimba (Azadirachta indica), and pilang (Acacia leucophloea). These three species are able to adapt to very arid conditions, remaining green while the plants around them wither. Other plants in the Park include tamarind (Tamarindus indica), gadung (Dioscorea hispida), kemiri (Aleurites moluccana), gebang (Corypha utan), api-api (Avicennia sp.), kendal (Cordia obliqua), manting (Syzygium polyanthum), and kepuh (Sterculia foetida).

The 26 species of mammal include the banteng (Bos javanicus javanicus), Asian wild dog (Cuon alpinus javanicus), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak muntjak), Timor deer (Cervus timorensis russa), panther (Panthera pardus), lesser Malay mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus pelandoc), fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus); and ebony leaf monkey (Trachypithecus auratus auratus). The banteng is the mascot of Baluran National Park.

In addition, there are about 155 species of bird, some of them endangered species like the green peafowl (Pavo muticus), red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), malabar hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus conversus), rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros silvestris), barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), koel (Eudynamys scolopacea), and lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus).

At Km. 80 on the Batangan-Bekol road there is an old well which has become a legend amongst the surrounding community. Legend has it that long ago, people from the towns of Banyuwangi, Bali and Balurawere simultaneously digging wells in their respective cities. Whichever well was first to gush forth water meant that the city would become a centre of trade and culture.

Interesting locations/attractions:
Batangan: historical site in the form of a Japanese cave. This place is a witness to Indonesias fierce struggle for independence against the Japanese. A good place to observe animals, particularly the peacock dance in the mating season between October and November, and go camping.Bekol, Semiang: watching animals such as the barking deer, banteng, red junglefowl and green peafowl.Bama, Balanan, Bilik: marine tours, fishing, swimming, diving/snorkelling, and watching great herds of deer. During July and August, stags can be seen fighting each other. At low tide, troops of ebony leaf monkeys can be seen fishing for crabs using their tails at high tide.Manting, Air Kacip: a year-round water source, birdwatching in the early morning and afternoon.Popongan, Sejile, Sirontoh and Kalitopo: rowing on the calm sea while watching shoals of ornamental fish, watching migrant birds.Candi Bang, Labuan Merak and Kramat: sites of historical/cultural interest.

Best time of year to visit: March to August.

How to reach the Park: Banyuwangi-Batangan, 35 km; then proceed to Bekol, 45 minutes (12 km); or Situbondo-Batangan, 60 km by car.

"Extremely Wonderful" Tourism Object

Are you bored with your sluggish holiday? wanna something more challenging? take a look at several tourism objects below!

indoor beach - japan

grand canyon skywalk

tennis match - Dubai

Theme park - Las Vegas

Mountain Climbing

Extremely dangerous - bicycling

How? Wanna try?

but please dont ask to me back