Saturday, June 6, 2009

Jember fashion carnafal menjadi icon jember

Daya kreasi busana dari khasana budaya indonesia membuat Jember Fashion Carnafal ajang kreatifitas orang untuk membuat hal yang mengambil dari alam.
semua masyarakat dari semua kalangan turun kejalan untuk melihat penampilan defile - defile JFC. perjalanan JFC dimulai dari Pusat Kota Jember yang nantinya setiap Beberapa Meter Defile -Defile



Jember Fashion Carnafal Akan terus hadir utuk mengisi kreasi utuk jember - indonesia - dunia

Sejarah Pantai Watu Ulo Kabupaten jember

Sekilas mungkin terdengar aneh saat mendengar nama Watu Ulo. Namun itulah nama sebuah pantai yang terletak di sebelah selatan kota jember, Jawa Timur. Menurut warga sekitar pantai tersebut di namakan Watu Ulo sebab dahulu kala ada seekor ular yang sedang bertapa di sebuah Goa yang terdapat di pantai itu. Setelah doa dari sang ular tersebut dikabulkan oleh Yang Maha Kuasa, maka berubahlah ular tersebut menjadi batu yang saat ini terdapat di pantai Watu Ulo ini. Ada juga yang menyebutkan pantai ini disebut pantai Watu Ulo karena di pantai ini terdapat batu yang myerupai seekor ular. Itulah sekilas sejarah dari pantai watu Ulo ini.


Untuk menuju kesana Anda dapat menggunakan kendaraan apa saja, dan dapat ditempuh sekitar 45 KM. Pantai ini masih termasuk dalam pantai selatan yang terkenal dengan berbagai mitosnya. Namun Anda tidak perlu takut untuk berlibur ke pantai ini, karena pesona alamnya yang cukup bagus dan tidak kalah dengan pantai-pantai lokal daerah lainnya, misanya Pantai Grajagan dari banyuwangi.

Kembali pada sejarah pantai Watu Ulo. Pada jaman pendudukan Jepang, pegunungan di sekitar Pantai Watu Ulo dijadikan benteng pertahanan dan pengintaian bala serdadu musuh yang mau menyusup daratan melalui pantai. Benteng Jepang yang berjumlah lima buah tersebut oleh masyarakat setempat disebut sebagai Goa Jepang dan merupakan salah satu lokasi wisata yang menarik untuk dikunjungi.

Disamping Goa Jepang, di sebelah Watu Ulo ada sebuah Goa Lawa (Goa Kelelawar) yang dihuni ratusan ribu kelelawar. Goa ini bisa dimasuki oleh pengunjung dengan menyusuri dan melewati pantai berpasir. Karena tempatnya yang sunyi dari keramaian, goa ini sering dijadikan tempat bermeditasi bagi orang-orang tertentu, apalagi mengingat goa ini mempunyai kedalaman 100 m.

Pantai Watu Ulo, yang terletak di Samudra Indonesia mempunyai panorama alam yang indah. Lokasinya tidak terlalu jauh dari pusat kota (33 km arah selatan). Pantai ini selalu banyak dikunjungi wisatawan baik wisatawan domestik maupun mancanegara khususnya pada saat Hari Raya Idul Fitri.

Di kawasan pantai Watu Ulo ini masih banyak obyek wisata lain yang patut dikunjungi, seperti Pantai Payangan, Gua Jepang dan Gua Lawa yang merupakan tempat bersejarah peninggalan Perang Dunia II. Uniknya untuk mencapai gua ini para wisatawan harus menuruni “Turunan Senggol” sebanyak 66 tangga yang sangat mengasyikan.

Dari kawasan pantai Watu Ulo kearah barat terdapat obyek wisata yang tidak kalah menariknya, yaitu : Tanjung Papuma yang terdiri dari Pantai Pasir Putih dan Malikan. Obyek wisata ini mempunyai kawasan pasir putih yang mempesona dengan panorama yang asri. Dikawasan ini para wisatawan juga dapat menyaksikan kemegahan gugusan Pulau Dewa (Kresnha, Narada dan Batara Guru).

Untuk mencapai kawasan wisata ini, dari pantai Watu Ulo para wisatawan dapat berjalan kaki atau mengendarai kendaraan bermotor. Selain menikmati pemandangan pantai, pada saat cuaca baik, para wisatawan juga dapat bersampan sambil memancing ikan di laut.

Di kawasan Papuma ini masih terdapat kawasan Wana Wisata yang terletak di komplek hutan Londolampesan yang memiliki fasilitas jalan lintas panorama dan pendakian sepanjang 500 meter, bumi perkemahan, Balairung Tanjung Papuma dan kios-kios cinderamata.


Sumber By :http://cujember.blogspot.com


Disebut Watu Ulo karena di pantai itu ada sebuah batu panjang berbentuk ular (Jw. Ulo) dengan penuh sisik. Menurut cerita rakyat dikatakan bahwa pada jaman dahulu kala ada sebuah ular yang sedang bertapa di pantai itu. Setelah terkabul permohonannya kepada Yang Maha Kuasa maka berwujudlah ia menjadi sebuah batu yang persis seekor ular dengan kepalanya menjulur ke laut, sedang badannya berada di daratan.

Sumber By : http://140388.blogdrive.com/


POV: White Judges Only?



Here's an issue that came to my attention via the excellent blog Duckrabbit, which in turn noticed it on the Reciprocity Failure blog.

PDN (Photo District News) has recently announced the results of its Photo Annual 2009 Contest, and also introduced its readers to the 24 judges who adjudicated this hard fought contest. So far so good...however here's the rub: all 24 judges are white. Yes, you've read correctly....all of them are white persons.

Stan Banos at Reciprocity Failure continues his criticism by suggesting that the reasons behind this range from indifference to blatant passive racism. I don't know if I would go as far as to describe it as passive racism...perhaps it is, but my gut feel is that it's principally because of pervasive cronyism in the photography industry...a sort of comfortable "you scratched my back so i'll scratch yours" kind of thing. Of course, it may well be that only whites can scratch white backs.

Anyway, enough about what I think, and let's get someone make serious money by entering duckrabbit's competition and be the first who comes to PDN’s defense and answer Stan Banos' question as to ‘what possible, plausible excuse could exist for an all white jury from a publication of such influence?’.

A tough question to answer. Will Holly Stuart Hughes, the editor of PDN be that first responder? I hope so.

Note (June 10): Well, Holly Stuart Hughes did respond on June 9 to the various bloggers who raised this issue. Her reply is elegant and gracious and I believe is genuine. It can be read in full here, but here's an excerpt:

Yesterday some blogs circulated a note about the fact that of the 24 judges of the 2009 PDN Photo Annual contest, all of them are white. It's a valid point ,and one that everyone who works on PDN’s contests has given a lot of thought. While the lack of any judges of color wasn’t intentional, it is regrettable. Thanks to the huge number of entries it draws from around the world, the Photo Annual offers us our best opportunity to see a wide range of work from different perspectives. We should make sure our judges represent a wide range of perspectives as well.

James Morgan: Kazakh Eagle Hunters


James Morgan is a travel and documentary photographer, as well as a professional writer based in the United Kingdom. Although he specializes in travel and documentary photography, he has also worked on a number of commercial projects. Amongst his many clients are The Sunday Times (South Africa), Foto8 (UK), Dalmatia Creative (UK/US), Baikal Club (Siberia) and others.

He recently documented a Kazakh eagle hunting family in the Altai mountains of Mongolia. Having published the resulting photo essay in a Soundslides format on Foto8, he writes that the spread of the Russian empire some 200 years ago sent many Kazakhs across the border into western Mongolia where they settled in the region of Bayan Ulgii. The current Kazakh government is offering financial and domestic incentives for these Kazakhs to return to their original homeland, but many decide to stay.

James Morgan's Kazakh Eagle Cultures can be seen of Foto8 (an excellent online photo magazine) or on his own website.

Note: The soundtrack is by Kawanduk playing a local instrument called dombra. It sounds very similar to a country & western song!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Galery Foto

FolioLink Does Large


As readers of this blog well know, I'm a strong proponent of large images on websites so I'm glad to see that one of the online website services is now offering such an option to its clients.

FolioLink, an online website service for photographers, has announced the immediate availability of scaling technology in their latest FLASH design. With scaling websites, photographers no longer have to choose between large or small images for their online portfolios. Instead, photographers upload big images that display on large screens while still impressing their clients on small laptops/netbook. The latest FolioLink website design seamlessly scales the images down to fit the viewer's monitor.

For a sampling of this new option, go here.

(via SHUTT3R)

World In Focus Contest


The National Geographic Traveler Magazine and Photo District News announced the World in Focus Photography Contest, which ends on September 8, 2009.

The prizes range from a 10-day safari trip to Tanzania, to various camera equipment prizes.

As in all and every photography contests, I strongly encourage all interested photographers to make sure they carefully read the contests' terms and conditions, especially since misunderstandings between organizers and contestants over terms, prizes and other issues sometimes occur.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Joey L. : Ethiopia


Once in a while, I come across work by a young photographer that is so interesting, so adventurous, so visually compelling, so extraordinarily edgy and so cerebral....that I spend many hours just staring at it. And yes, I'll admit it...it's so good that it's incredibly annoying. I'm a purist and certainly not a fan of photo manipulation, but the imagery I've seen by this photographer is really excellent.

Joey Lawrence is 19 years old (no, that's not a typo, he's really 19..or maybe 20 by now), and has been shooting commercial photography, photojournalism and music videos around the world by the age of 17. He already has a reputation of being a pioneer of new aged digital hyper-realistic photography, lighting and manipulation. All his techniques were self-taught or the result of trial and error with no formal educational training.

His website is replete with phenomenal photography: particularly his work in Ethiopia's Omo Valley of the Mursi and other tribal groups, as well as of Abyssinian Christian holy men, and in India amongst the Aghori sadhus (The Aghoris commune with the dead, live among the dead and practice rituals with corpses in order to make contact with the divine mother, Kali, to whom they pray). As a sideline, I wonder how Joey managed to get access to this secretive and reclusive sect!

I'm bookmarking Joey Lawrence's website for many repeated visits. What a talent by a young man who has his whole life ahead of him to produce incredible work both in terms of quality and content!


Here's a clip (about 11 minutes) of video of Joey Lawrence (he's on the left), his assistant and crew in Ethiopia...working and playing. You'll see how he photographs some of his subjects using strobes and lights. The clip was personally very entertaining because I recall being at some of the very same spots in and around the Omo Valley...Jinka has a special place in my memory because it's where I indulged in tej, the potent (make that very potent) home-made brew of fermented honey.

Mengenal Sejarah Kabupaten Jember

KABUPATEN Jember yang terletak 250 km dari ibu kota propinsi Jawa Timur, Surabaya, merupakan kabupaten yang mengandalkan pendapatannya dari sektor pertanian. Wilayah kabupaten Jember merupakan pedesaan.

Berdasarkan Staatsbland Nomor: 322 tanggal 9 Agustus 1928 yang mulai berlaku tanggal 1 Januari 1929 sebagai dasar hukum, maka pemerintah Hindia Belanda telah mengeluarkan ketentuan tentang penataan kembali pemerintah desentralisasi di wilayah Propinsi Jawa Timur. Antara lain dengan menunjuk REGENSCHAP DJEMBER sebagai masyarakat kesatuan hukum yang berdiri sendiri. Secara resmi ketentuan tersebut diterbitkan oleh Sekretaris Umum Pemerintah Hindia Belanda (De Aglemeene Secretaris) G.R. Erdbrink, 21 Agustus 1928.

Mempelajari konsideran Staatsbland No. 322 tersebut, diperoleh data yang menunjukkan bahwa Kabupaten Jember menjadi kesatuan masyarakat yang berdiri sendiri dilandasi dua macam pertimbangan yaitu:

Pertama, Pertimbangan Yuridis Konstitusional, yaitu dengan menunjuk pada Indiche Staatsegeling (IS), suatu Undang Undang Pokok yang berlaku bagi negara jajahan Wilayah Hindia Belanda khususnya pasal 112 ayat pertama.

Kedua, Pertimbangan Politis Sosiologi, yaitu dengan mendengarkan persidangan antara Pemerintah Hindia Belanda dalam menentukan kebijaksanaannya, memanfaatkan tokoh-tokoh masyarakat setempat.

Hal ini bisa dibuktikan bahwa dari 33 anggota persidangan yang diketuai oleh Bupati pada waktu itu (Noto Hadinegoro), sejumlah 24 di antara mereka adalah orang-orang pribumi. Yang unik dan menarik lagi adalah, Pemerintah Regenschap Jember diberi beban pelunasan hutang-hutang berikut bunganya sepanjang menyangkut tanggungan Regenschap Jember.

Dari artikel ini dapat dipahami bahwa dalam pengertian masyarakat hukum yang berdiri sendiri, tersirat adanya hak untuk mengatur rumah tangganya sendiri. Sebutan regenschap atau kabupaten sebagai wilayah administratif serta sebutan regent atau Bupati sebagai Kepala Wilayah Kabupaten, diatur dalam artikel 7. Demikian juga pemisahan secara tegas antara Jember dan Bondowoso sebagai bagian dari wilayah yang lebih besar, yaitu Besuki dijelaskan pada artikel 7 ini.

Pada ayat 2 dan 4 artikel 7 ini disebutkan bahwa ayat 2 artikel 121 Ordonasi Propinsi Jawa Timur adalah landasan kekuatan bagi pembuatan Staatsbland tentang pembentukan Kabupaten-kabupaten di Jawa Timur. Semua ketentuan yang dijabarkan dalam staatsbland ini dinyatakan berlaku mulai tanggal 1 Januari 1929. Ini disebutkan pada artikel terakhir dari staatsbland ini. Hal inilah yang memberikan keyakinan kuat kepada kita bahwa secara hukum Kabupaten Jember dilahirkan 1 Januari 1929 dengan sebutan "REGENSCHAP DJEMBER".

Sebagaimana lazimnya sebuah peraturan perundang-undangan, supaya semua orang mengetahui maka ketentuan penataan kembali pemerintah desentralisasi Wilayah Kabupaten Jember yang pada waktu itu disebut regenschap, dimuat juga dalam Lembaran Negara Pemerintah Hindia Belanda. Selanjutnya perlu diketahui pula bahwa, Staatsbland No. 322/1928 di atas ditetapkan di Cipanas, Jawa Barat oleh Gubernur Jendral Hindia Belanda dengan suatu Surat Keputusan No. IX, 9 Agustus 1928.

Pada perkembangannya dijumpai perubahan-perubahan sebagai berikut.

Pemerintah Regenschap Jember yang semula terbagi menjadi tujuh Wilayah Distrik pada tanggal 1 Januari 1929 sejak berlakunya Staatsbland No. 46/1941 tanggal 1 Maret 1941 maka Wilayah Distrik dipecah-pecah menjadi 25 Onderdistrik, yaitu:

* Distrik Jember, meliputi onderdistrik Jember, Wirolegi dan Arjasa
* Distrik Kalisat, meliputi onderdistrik Kalisat, Ledokombo, Sumberjambe dan Sukowono o Distrik Rambipuji, meliputi onderdistrik Rambipuji, Panti, Mangli dan Jenggawah
* Distrik Mayang, meliputi onderdistrik Mayang, Silo, Mumbulsari dan Tempurejo
* Distrik Tanggul meliputi onderdistrik Tanggul, Sumberbaru dan Bangsalsari
* Distrik Puger, meliputi onderdistrik Puger, Kencong Gumukmas dan Umbulsari
* Distrik Wuluhan, meliputi onderdistrik Wuluhan, Ambulu dan Balung.

Perkembangan perekonomian begitu pesat, mengakibatkan timbulnya pusat-pusat perdagangan baru terutama perdagangan hasil-hasil pertanian, seperti padi, palawija dan lain-lain, sehingga bergeser pulalah pusat-pusat pemerintah ditingkat distrik, seperti distrik Wuluhan Balung, sedangkan distrik Puger bergeser ke Kencong.

Berdasarkan Undang Undang No.12/1950 tentang Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten di Jawa Timur, menetapkan pembentukan Daerah-daerah Kabupaten dalam lingkungan Propinsi Jawa Timur (dengan Perda) antara lain Daerah Kabupaten Jember ditetapkan menjadi Kabupaten Jember.

Dengan dasar Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 14 Tahun 1976 tanggal 19 April 1976, maka dibentuklah Wilayah Kota Jember dengan penataan wilayah-wilayah baru sebagai berikut:

* Kacamatan Jember dihapus,
* Dibentuk tiga kecamatan baru, masing-masing Sumbersari, Patrang dan Kaliwates, sedang Kecamatan Wirolegi menjadi Kecamatan Pakusari dan Kecamatan Mangli menjadi Kecamatan Sukorambi.

Bersamaan dengan pembentukan Kota Administratif Jember, Wilayah Kewedanan Jember bergeser pula dari Jember ke Arjasa yang wilayah kerjanya meliputi Arjasa, Pakusari dan Sukowono yang sebelumnya masuk Distrik Kalisat. Dengan adanya perubahan-perubahan tersebut, pada perkembangan berikutnya maka secara administratif, Kabupaten Jember saat ini terbagi menjadi tujuh Wilayah Pembantu Bupati, satu Wilayah Kota Adminis-tratif dan 31 Kecamatan, yaitu:

* Kota Administratif Jember, meliputi Kec. Kaliwates, Patrang dan Sumbersar
* Pembantu Bupati di Arjasa, meliputi Kec. Arjasa, Jelbuk, Pakusari dan Sukowono
* Pembantu Bupati di Kalisat, meliputi Kec. Ledokombo, Sumberjambe dan Kalisat; Pembantu Bupati di Mayang, meliputi Kec. Silo, Mumbulsari dan Tempurejo
* Pembantu Bupati di Rambipuji, meliputi Kec. Rambipuji, Panti, Sukorambi, Ajung dan Jenggawah
* Pembantu Bupati di Balung meliputi Kec. Ambulu, Wuluhan dan Balung
* Pembantu Bupati di Kencong, meliputi Kec. Kencong, Jombang, Umbulsari, Gumukmas, dan Puger
* Pembantu Bupati di Tanggul, meliputi Kec. Sembaro, Tanggul, Bangsalsari dan Sumberbaru.

Namun dengan diberlakukannya Otonomi Daerah sejak 1 Januari 2001 sebagai tuntutan No 22/1999 tentang Pemerintahan Daerah, maka Pemerintah Kabupaten Jember juga telah melakukan penataan kelembagaan dan struktur organisasi, termasuk dihapusnya lembaga Pembantu Bupati yang kini menjadi Kantor Koordinasi Camat.

Kemudian dalam menjalankan roda pemerintah di era Otonomi Daerah ini Pemerintah Kabupaten Jember dibantu empat Kantor Koordinasi Camat, masing-masing:

* Kantor Koordinasi Camat Jember Barat di Tanggul
* Kantor Koordinasi Camat Jember Selatan di Balung
* Kantor Koordinasi Camat Jember Tengan di Rambipuji
* Kantor Koordinasi Camat Jember Timur di Kalisat

Sementara lembaga yang baru dibentuk berkaitan dengan Otonomi Daerah, meliputi enam badan, 21 Dinas dan sembilan kantor, sedang Sekretariat Daerah membawahi 10 bagian. Dengan mengacu pada kajian tersebut di atas, maka tepat pada hari jadi ke-72 Kabupaten Jember memasuki babak baru dalam sistem desentralisasi atau Otonomi. Kabupaten ini memiliki kewenangan penuh untuk mengatur dan mengurus rumah tangganya sendiri sesuai keinginan dan aspirasi rakyatnya sesuai per-aturan perundangan yang berlaku.*


Sumber By :http://cujember.blogspot.com

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

RESOLVE: Foundry Photo Workshop

©Kirsten Luce, Courtesy FPW -All Rights Reserved

"But if you’re serious about becoming an international photographer, the Foundry can be like a halfway house. We’re here to help you with the first steps. Student who haven’t traveled, or they’re scared of travel, or they’re scared of shooting internationally — this can bring them to the next level".

So says Eric Beecroft, the co-founder of Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, whose second venue is in Manali, India at the end of July.

Interviewed by Miki Johnson of RESOLVE blog, the discussion highlights how this affordable new workshop is an incubator for emerging international photojournalists, and describes how it ought to be viewed as a "halfway house" helping photographers who may be uncomfortable in shooting internationally.

A must-attend for all emerging photojournalists and photographers!

William Widmer: Between Giants


Here's Between Giants, a feature on a small community in Ladakh by photojournalist William Widmer.

The Changpa are one of several groups of indigenous nomads who inhabited the high plains of Ladakha for generations, and are finding their traditional way of life threatened by modernity and influx of tourism.

William Widmer is a freelance photographer based in San Francisco, who's interested in shifting concepts of community. While most of his work is focused on subcultures within the United States, he also produced photo essays (including multimedia) of India and others. He also works at liveBooks, a company that provides customized, editable websites for photographers.

Don't miss his Soundslides essay on SOFOSH, an NGO involved in childcare, adoption and foster care for children.

DISPATCHES & Foundry Workshop


A couple of news bits from Dispatches:

The Dispatches 2009 Foundry Scholarship in Memory of Alexandra Boulat has awarded Sabhanaz Rashid Diya (Dhaka, Bangladesh) a full scholarship to attend The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop as well as $100 toward travel expenses.

So congratulations to Sabhanaz, and I look forward to meet her in Manali.

Filmed on 22 May 2009 at VII Gallery, Brooklyn, here's a discussion on war & photography, photojournalism and its future involving Gary Knight, Tim Hetherington, MaryAnne Golon, and Ashley Gilbertson.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Franck Vogel: The Bishnois

Photo © Franck Vogel -All Rights Reserved

The Canon Professional Nework (Europe) brings us a feature on Franck Vogel's project photographing the Bishnois in India. The project was recently a major cover story for the 30th anniversary edition of GEO France magazine.

This features dovetails quite neatly into my plans for a photo~expedition in early Spring 2010 to South Rajasthan and the Rann of Kutch to cover tribal life (including the Bishnois and Rebaris, amongst many others), and Baneshwar Fair.

Anyway, back to Franck Vogel and his project. In 2006, he began documenting the lives of the Bishnois in India. This tribal group (the article calls it a "sect") bases its way of life on 29 principles formulated in the 15th century by Guru Jambheshwar. Many of these are involve environmental protection, especially protecting trees and wildlife.

It's an interesting read as to how the photographer went about getting access to the Bishnois. I'm certain that Vogel was able to discern the difference between the authentic Bishnois and those who are featured on virtually all the tour itineraries in Rajasthan..especially the rather demeaning and obviously staged "opium"-drinking ceremonies.

5D Mark II: New Firmware


Canon USA published the recently announced firmware update for its EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR which enables manual exposure during video capture.

As well as the manual exposure video functionality, EOS 5D Mk II firmware v1.1.0 includes fixes to the lens peripheral illumination correction, auto lighting optimizer, battery information display, and depth-of-field preview button functionality, as well as correcting menu errors in certain languages.

You can download it from here

Monday, June 1, 2009

7dot7 Magazine

Photo © Alfonso Moral-All Rights Reserved

7dot7 is an online photo magazine, and a project of the collective of photographers called RUIDO Photo in Barcelona. Its objective is to become a a repository for an independent, social, critic and committed photojournalism.

One of its interesting features in its initial publication is the work of photographer Alfonso Moral with his photo essay on the heroin addicts in Afghanistan. Alfonso studied journalism in Valladolid, and photography in Barcelona. He har worked in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Afghanistan. His photographs has been published in Newsweek, The Sunday Times, El País Semanal, Magazine de La Vanguardia and Foto Magazine, among others. He is a member of the collective Pandora Foto.

His Addicts: A Lost Generation In Afghanistan
is the third reportage on 7dot7 magazine, and consists of large images (almost as large as my monitor) of heroin addicts in Kabul.

Once again, being an advocate for showing large images on the web, I'm pleased to see such large imagery and appreciate its impact when compared to similar work such as Lynsey Addario's for the New York Times titled Drowning In Opium. Which one give the viewer a better visual experience, and which one stands to affect a photo editor more? I'm not too keen on 7dot7's navigation, and hope it'll be worked on soon.

I don't know what the future of this online publication will be, but any effort to widen the exposure of photojournalists in this era of shrinking budgets, and disappearing newspapers is more than welcome.

Alfonso Moral's website.

Saiful Haq Omi: Bangladesh's Coastline


Bangladesh is a country that produces incredibly talented documentary photographers, and certainly Saiful Haq is among those who qualify for the recognition.

Saiful Haq Omi has wanted to tell stories from his very first days as a photographer. His political activism eventually evolved, and he now considers himself as a ‘photo activist,’hoping to use his visual talents to document a variety of unique and vibrant profiles including the former prime minister, migrant workers, laborers, - and victims of political violence.

From his black & white portfolios, I like his Life Along the Coastline the best as it documents a way of life surviving the erosion of land by rivers and sea, surviving the loss of homes and livelihood, and a story of migration against all odds.

I ought to add my thanks to Asim Rafiqui for pointing out, via his erudite post The Dust From Blood-Filled Eyes, that Saiful Haq was a finalist for the prestigious Alexia Foundation Grant, where there's more on his photographic background.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Pacet-Cangar-Batu


Until recently, the only way to get to Batu from the resorts of Tretes and Pacet, aside from walking over the mountains, was via Malang, a distance of some 70 km or more. Now there is a new route, giving direct access to Batu from Pacet. The village of Pacet is not far from Trawas and the site of Reco Lanang. The road winds up steeply through primeval forest in the foothills of Mt Welirang, eventually emerging at Cangar, an isolated hamlet renowned for its hot mineral pools and streams.

From here, the road descends to Batu, passing through a patchwork of fertile hill plantations. The mountain panorama is breathtaking, especially to the east, where the Bromo/Semeru massif dominates the horizon.The scenic beauty of Batu is almost alpine in appearance and the resort is sometimes even referred to as Java's 'little Switzerland'.Of course, there are differences. Bamboo grows in abundance, the wood being split to create a maze of fences surrounding the fruit and vegetable plantations.


The cool climate and fertile soil are ideal for growing fruits like apples, for which Batu is well known all over the island. The town is just 20 km from Malang and offers a good selection of hotels, shops and recreation facilities.There are a number of interesting places to visit in the immediate vicinity, among them the hot mineral pools and ancient Hindu temple at Songgoriti, Coban Rondo waterfall on the road to Pujon, as well as the attractive lake at Selorejo. Interesting day trips from Batu can include Coban Rondo, Selorejo and, further down the hill towards Pare, the 14th century temple ruins of Surawana and Tigowangi.

The NY Times: Sebastião Salgado

© Sebastião Salgado -All Rights Reserved

The New York Times seems to have caught a photojournalism bug these days. Its photographic offerings are getting better by the day. The recent launching of its LENS blog as well as the ever improving One in a Million multimedia series, have made it a must-go-to destination for photo journalistic fix.

It just published an interesting article entitled Back to Nature, in Pictures and Action on the famed photographer Sebastião Salgado written by Jori Finkel, as well as a gallery Nature, Nurtured of his photographs.

Mr Salgado is working on his epic environmental 8-year project named Genesis, and for which he travels to remote jungle and desert locations. He's photographing the most unspoiled parts of the planet, and visited the semi nomadic Zo’e tribe in the heart of the Brazilian rain forest, trekked desolate stretches of the Sahara, and spent two months in Ethiopia, hiking from Lalibela into Simien National Park to shoot the mountains, indigenous tribes and rare species of animals.

His goal for “Genesis” is to produce a total of 32 visual essays, which he hopes to display in major public parks as well as at various museums starting in 2012.

In my view, one of the best photographers of his generation, if not more. Quite a number of posts on this blog were on Mr Salgado and his photographs, such as Ethiopia's Nomad Warriors, and Amazon Tribes.