Nina Berman: Under the Taliban

Image Copyright © Nina Berman-All Rights Reserved
Nina Berman is based in New York City, and has been a documentary photographer since 1987. She worked in various countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, India and Vietnam, but she says that most of her time has been spent traveling the United States trying to understand the American way of life.

She won many awards and grants, and has a long list of clients including Time, Life, National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, and many others.

She earned deserved nationwide recognition for her Purple Hearts project; a series of photographic portraits and interviews with American soldiers returning badly wounded and maimed from the Iraq conflict. The images on her Purple Hearts website are simply heartbreaking.

However for TTP, I feature Berman's gallery with some of her work in Afghanistan which she titles "Under The Taliban". Her website has other galleries which are equally interesting.

Under The Taliban .

Beyond The Frame: Nepali Circus Workers

Image Copyright © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Samantha Appleton's work on the Nepali circus girls which I featured on TTP a few days ago (link) reminded me of my unannounced visit to an Indian circus in Chhattisgarh during a solo photo expedition.

I recall that my fixer Babu had a difficult time persuading the circus manager to allow me in and photograph. He didn't mind me spending as much time as I needed to photograph the clowns putting their makeup, or the mangy lions (covered with tumeric powder to heal their sores), or any of the stagehands...but he was adamant that I could not photograph the Nepali acrobat girls unless he was present. He claimed -with a straight face- that it was to ensure that I didn't ask them to pose in ways that would "embarass" them.

I photographed the young women with the manager hovering nearby, muttering directions as to how they ought to stand and telling Babu that the shoot was taking too long. The Nepali young women were uncomfortable despite their nervous giggling, and my entreaties that they ought to relax. Realizing that the shoot was pretty much useless, I stopped and moved to another area of the circus. Babu told me that the manager had used crude language when instructing the women and that they feared him. I could not then, nor do I now, judge whether that particular manager was physically abusive...but what I sensed was these women were frightened of him. Interestingly, the acrobat in the middle made sure that the cross around her neck was visible when I started to photograph them.

What I didn't know then was that traffickers, both Indian and Nepalese, who are in constant touch with Indian circus management, have a thriving business of procuring girls from in and around certain specific Nepali regions by convincing the parents and the families to send their young daughters to circus industry by making false promises and distorted claims of fortune, and especially by bribing them. These children are brought under a contract for 3-10 years and once signed they became bound. Their meagre salaries are collected by parents and they remain trapped forever and are unable to leave the circus even if they want.

A number of NGOs are fighting this sad problem, and some have succeeded in rescuing many Nepalis from these circuses. One of these NGOs and charities is the Esther Benjamins Trust whose worthwhile work is detailed on its website.

Esther Benjamins Trust

Pentaxians?

The PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the launch of a community-based website developed for PENTAX photographers. The website features videos that share the stories of four Pentaxian photographers. One is a former NASA scientist and computer technology executive turned urban street photographer, another is a former Doctor of Medicine turned freelance international surf photographer, a third is a professional nature photographer and a fourth is a cruise ship marketing executive who picked up her first digital SLR two years ago and now freelances on the side as a photographer.

I think this is a great idea for a camera company to have...Pentax is reaching to non-working photographers and beginners with this slick website, and is creating a community of like-minded people. I wish Canon had a similar one to supplement its professional websites...I think a similar approach to Canon owners could be a huge success...or has it done before?

PENTAX has another companion website designed to give photographers the opportunity to be represented in a gallery.

The links are Pentaxian and Pentax Photo Gallery

[Thanks to Imaging Insider]

Noor

Noor was officially launched during the 19th Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, and is a collective of nine independent documentary photographers, pooling their resources to make impact on world views and opinions through photography.

Noor will promote, sell and exhibit the work of its founding member photographers:

Samantha Appleton
Jodi Bieber
Philip Blenkinsop
Pep Bonet
Jan Grarup
Stanley Greene
Yuri Kozyrev
Kadir van Lohuizen

Noor is the Arabic word for light...and before seeing the list of photographers, I hoped it would've been founded by some of the emerging and talented photographers of the Near and Middle East, however that's not the case.

Here's NOOR (Firefox works better)

Getty Images: Reportage

Image Copyright © Palani Mohan-All Rights Reserved
Reportage is a new website by Getty Images and home of photojournalism work from renowned photographers, and emerging new ones in documentary photography.

It's well produced, and contains galleries of marvellous photographs by Paula Bronstein, Chris Hindros, Farah Nosh, Spencer Platt, Amy Toensing, David Turnley, Reza and Ghaith Abul Ahad among others...most of whom have been featured in one way or the other on TTP's pages.

There's no question that this is an "inspiration stop" for all photographers, whatever we may think of large photo agencies.

Getty Images' Reportage

Samantha Appleton: Nepali Circus Girls

Image Copyright © Samantha Appleton-All Rights Reserved
Samantha Appleton has worked on stories in Iraq, malaria in Africa and fishing communities of Maine. Most of her projects are self-motivated and concentrate on the social and political consequences of conflict and neglect.

She began her journalism career as a writer and became a fulltime photographer after assisting James Nachtwey in 1999-2000. Since then she has been named one of the "30 Under 30" photographers featured in PDN, received the Kodak Professional Award, attended the 2005 World Press Master Class, and won first place from Pictures of the Year for her September 11th feature. Her primary clients are TIME magazine and the New Yorker magazine.

Out of her galleries on her website, I chose the comparatively tame gallery of the Nepali Circus Girls. I had a personal experience with that subject matter when photographing in Chhattisgarh, India. In Raipur, I visited an itinerant circus and persuaded the manager to let me photograph the performers. I spent a few moments photographing Nepali female acrobats but couldn't speak with them unless the circus manager was present. They were shy, downcast and unwilling to say anything...nor even to accept a small tip...within sight of the manager. There was a lot of tension while I was photographing, and my fixer confided to me that the manager had threatned the girls not to speak with me. I may post a photograph or two of these women in a few days.

Samantha Appleton's website .

PhotoPlus Expo: New York City

PDN’s PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo (PPE), the largest and most comprehensive photography expo and educational conference, will be held October 18-20 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Apart from the usual hoopla, there'll be many 2-3 hour long seminars given by industry professionals. Here are some that are relevant to travel photography:

Travels To The Edge by Art Wolfe
Mutlimedia Storytelling by Brian Storm
Travel & Photography by Lou Jones.

If this is of interest, visit its website to register.

Daniele Mattioli: Chinese Street Opera

Image Copyright © Daniele Mattioli-All Rights Reserved
Daniele Mattioli was born in Italy, and started his carreer by working as a photo researcher at the Anzenberger Agency which now represent him. He worked in Australia during the 2000 Olympic Games, and developed a profound interest in Asia that eventually drew him to Shanghai.

Following his numerous visits to Shanghai, and as a consequence of his editorial work, he is now based in Shanghai.His editorial work has appeared worldwide in publications such as The New York Times, Time (USA), GQ, Vanity Fair, Geo (Korea), and various others.

Mattioli's website is flash-based, and I encourage you to explore its galleries...the photograph above is from his Chinese Opera, which was photographed in the streets of Bangkok!!!

His website is here

Books: China, People Place Culture History

The accomplished author Anchee Min writes the prologue to China, People Place Culture History, a handsome book published by DK Publishing. The book runs to over glossy 350 pages and, as it title suggests, covers China's history, geography, and culture with magnificent photographs. For instance, the Songzanlin Buddhist 17th century monastery in Yunnan draped in mist and the Grand Canal near Wuxi in Jiangsu are particularly beautiful examples of landscape photography.

Most of the photographs -and there are over 700 of them in this coffee table book- are by Christopher Pillitz, as well as by Chester Ong and Gary Ombler.

While China: People, Place, Culture History is an exhaustive and comprehensive compilation, I found its section on People to be its most compelling. This carries photo essays (based on the "a day in the life" model) on a variety of interesting people and their professions...some modern, others traditional. Among the best in my view are the Farmer in Shaanxi, the Calligrapher in Beijing, the Tea Pickers, the Musical Intrument Makers of Kashgar, the Buddhist Monks at the Atsong monastery in Qinghai, the Chinese Herbalist in Yunnan, the Cricket Seller in Beijing, the beautiful Jeweller in Suzhou and the Opera Performers in Zhejiang. I was especially drawn to the photo essay on the Mosuo Matriarch in Yunnan.

This book is a must-have for anyone wanting to have a fresh look at China, whether for travel, business or intellectual reasons. I found it extremely useful from a travel photographer's perspective, since I'll use it as an inspiration (and guide) for my own future phototravel plans to this magnificent country.

Phil Borges: Exhibit At Fifty Crows

Image Copyright © Phil Borges-All Rights Reserved
Phil Borges, the humanitarian photographer is presenting his Women Empowered, a collection of 30 portraits and personal stories about women in developing countries who have broken through the barriers of convention and oppression to improve their own well-being and the well-being of their communities.

The Artist Reception, Opening & Book Signing is on Friday, September 14th (4:30 pm - 8:00 pm), while the exhibition is through November 17, 2007 at Fifty Crows, 2nd Floor, Suite 225, 49 Geary Street, in San Francisco.

Further details at: Fifty Crows

Christopher Pillitz: Asia

Image Copyright © Christopher Pillitz-All Rights Reserved
Christopher Pliilitz was born in Buenos Aires, and after graduating from a hotel management school, decided to begin a self-taught career as a photographer. Since then, he traveled to over 70 countries, photographing editorial and commercial assignments for a variety of clients.

He published a number of books, most notable of which is Brazil Incarnate; which delves into that country's body culture. He has now added another fillip to his body of work by being the primary photographer for the book China, People Place Culture History (to be reviewed tomorrow on TTP).

Notwithstanding, I chose the above photograph of an Indian woman bathing an elderly man (her father?), while a child looks on. It tells a story, doesn't it?

His website is replete with lovely photographs of Asia, Cuba and South America. Although his work on the China book is the reason for this post, have a good look at Road Movie, a wonderful gallery on his website that features photographs made during a road trip across South America:

Christopher Pillitz

Canon 1Ds Mark III: Video Interview

If you're interested in this sort of thing, Chuck Westfall of Canon USA gives a video interview on the merits of the new Canon 1Ds Mark III.

Click on Canon 1Ds Mark III

Noorderlicht Photofestival: Act of Faith

Image Copyright © David Farrell-All Rights Reserved
The Noorderlicht Photofestival is scheduled for 16 September – 28 October 2007. This year's main theme is Act of Faith, and the festival is held in Groningen.

Over 130 photographers from all over the world will exhibit their work on faith and conflict, ecstasy and excess. The festival will delve in such topical issues as is faith permissible? Or is faith compulsory? How sacred is the line separating church and state today, long the unquestioned foundation of Western democracy? How firm is the theory of evolution? How conceivable is unbelief?

Noorderlicht Photofestival