Reuters Does Big: Full Focus

Photo © REUTERS/Carlos Barria -All Rights Reserved
Reuters has joined the other news media in featuring large photographs on a blog.

Full Focus, a large format showcase of Reuters award-winning photography, tells global stories. The agency seeks to use this imagery to foster a deeper understanding of current events and social issues, and Full Focus provides an opportunity for its readers/viewers to offer perspectives on the photographs and the topics they address.

The lovely photograph by Carlos Barria and is part of the Haiti Revisited photo essay, and is of expecting women waiting for tent distribution near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince on February 19, 2010 during the aftermath of the earthquake.

I ought to add separate links (to the right of this page) for all the large-sized photo blogs of major news media...Boston Globe's The Big Picture, Sacbee's The Frame, WSJ Photo Journal, The LA Time's Framework, etc.

Kristian Bertel: India

Photo © Kristian Bertel-All Rights Reserved
Kristian Bertel is a Danish photographer who graduated from Aarhus Tech with a degree in graphic design. His passion for photography began in 2006, and it was exercised in India some years later.

Kristian started out in Delhi and ventured into the Thar desert in Rajasthan, and then to the holy city, Varanasi.

There are 12 sideshows of India on Kristian's website, and are mostly of portraits of Indians in the streets, accompanied by Hindi songs and music. The one titled Vijayawada however, is accompanied by Arabic music....possibly an Egyptian rural song.

Apart from this minor lapse, these galleries will satisfy most Indiaphiles as being accurate representations of Indians going about their daily lives in various cities, towns and villages.

Fantastic Dolphin Show at Oasis Sea World Chathaburi

Chanthaburi is the province situated in the eastern seaside of Thailand. Generally, Chanthaburi is not popular city for the travellers to visit  because travellers top destination in the eastern side of Thailand are Pattaya and Koh Chang. However, Chanthaburi also have many beautiful seaside like laem sing beach but the beach in Jantaburi seemed to be second to Pattaya and Koh Chang if compared that is the reason why this province is not popular to the travellers.

However, the interesting spot that you must see in Chanthaburi that you can't miss and you can't find anywhere in Thailand is "The dolphins Show at the Oasis Sea World". Oasis Sea World has been founded about 20 years ago as this place specialized in the dolphins show for a long period of time. All show and activities here are related to the dolphins as you can also swim with cute and clever dolphins if you like and the ticket price is really cheap if compared to other dolphins show around the world, let see the price to see the show and swim with the dolphins;

-To see the dolphins show 90 baht for adult and 50 baht for children (however foreigner must paid for 180 baht)

-To swim with the dolphin, Oasis Sea World charge the same price of 400 baht for all customers.

-Show time is approxiemately 40 minutes started at 9.00, 11.00, 13.00, 15.00 and 17.00

In my opinion, the show is fantastic and the dolphins are really cute and clever as they can do anything that the trainers ask them to do like dancing, kick the ball etc., however, the most fantastic show of the dolphins and the trainers is the one that you will see from video clip below.

I recommend that if you plan to go to koh chang, you should visit Chanthaburi first and don't miss the fanstastic dolphins show at Oasis Sea World. TRUST ME!

POV: Geniuses!

This will probably be one of my shortest POVs...but Stewart and Colbert are absolute geniuses! I prefer the "Keep Fear Alive" rally...its premise is so satirical that I can't wait to see the faces of the right-wing/tea baggers clowns on Fox.

But isn't it also sad that it's up to Comedy Show personalities to satirically stand up to extremism, and to highlight the hypocrisy of our politics, politicians, and mainstream media?

Lens: John Stanmeyer's Island of Spirits

Photo © John Stanmeyer-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times' Lens features John Stanmeyer's Island of Spirits, whose black & white photographs were made using a Holga.

Also included is an interview by the NYT's James Estrin with John, who's one of the founding members of the photo cooperative VII, and whose work appears regularly in the National Geographic and Time. This coincides with an exhibit that opened on Thursday at the VII Gallery, 28 Jay Street, Brooklyn, which I mentioned a few days ago on my blog.

I loved these wonderful photographs made using the lowest technology possible, especially as they are a reminder that it's the photographer, not the camera, that makes them.

Having just returned from a photo-expedition to Bali a few weeks ago, I also marvel at the degree of influence John (and Gary Knight) has had on my own photography. I attended a week-long workshop with both of them a few years ago in Bali, and I can see their "thumbprints" on the images I made during these past 15 days...especially on two black & white projects I am working on at the moment....cockfighting and cremations.

When these are ready, I will feature them on this blog, and you, my readers, can judge for yourselves.

A Guide To Finding The Top Restaurant In Phuket

If you are travelling to Thailand for a vacation or are planning a wedding, Phuket is a great destination that you may want to consider. Part of any trip or wedding will include eating and a guide to finding the top restaurant in Phuket is something that may be of interest regardless of the reason why you may be travelling there.

One thing to look for is ambience. A top restaurant in Phuket is one that will have great scenery and will allow you to eat outside. If you want to have a wedding, Phuket has spectacular scenery that you can take advantage of for your ceremony and your reception. Look for facilities that have modern styling that can allow you to eat inside or out. By picking the right restaurant in Phuket it becomes much easier for you to plan a memorable ceremony and reception that looks stunning as well as one which offers good food as well.

Another tip to finding the top restaurant in Phuket is to find out who is cooking there. The style of the food which is served at a restaurant in Phuket may make or break your experience. There is good news for anyone planning a wedding; Phuket restaurants and venues will often be quite willing to work with you in order to create a custom food or drink menu for your guests. By checking out what is already being offered at a restaurant in Phuket means that you will often be able to get a feel for the style of the place before booking it for an event or even making dinner reservations.

There is more to a wedding, Phuket than just the food, although that does play a huge role in the success or failure of your event. By making sure that the venue that you are working with will accommodate any wedding related needs that you have you will be able to make sure that your wedding, Phuket is still a personal and emotional event for you and your family members. Whether it is a small anintimate gathering or a larger, more formal wedding Phuket has many locations and venues that are perfect for both ceremonies and receptions.

One of the things which make your chances of finding a great restaurant in Phuket so good is the fact that so many cultures have met and melded in this area. The climate is popular with many travelers and many of them have stayed on to add their own feel and flavor to the area’s collection of bars, resorts, hotels and restaurants. Unlike some areas where it can be difficult to find anything other than local cuisine and atmosphere, Phuket is both very modern and extremely traditional. The blend makes for an amazing experience as many people who have been to the area can attest to.

By looking online on websites that you can relate to, you will stand a much better chance of finding the right style of restaurant or facility that can meet your needs. If you are a student and are traveling on a budget, you will likely be looking for qualities that may be very different than someone who is planning a wedding. By keeping this in mind, you will have a better chance of getting the food and experience you have been looking for.

About the author:

If you are trying to find a great restaurant in phuket, check out the White Box. It is a phenomenal establishment that offers amazing scenery, world class views and an extensive menu, making it a great choice for any wedding phuket will be hosting.

Article Source:  http://www.free-articles-zone.com/

WSJ Photo Journal: Kapparot

Photo © Ariel Schalit/Associated Press-All Rights Reserved
The Wall Street Photo Journal featured the above photograph of a an ultra-Orthodox Jewish mother holding a hen that was later slaughtered for the Kaparot ritual. Some Jews believe their sins can be transferred to the chicken (or roosters) during the ritual, which comes before Yom Kippur.

Kaparot is performed by grasping the bird (hen for women, roosters for men) and moving it around one's head three times, symbolically transferring one's sins to the object. The bird is then slaughtered or donated to the poor.

Many religious traditions have more or less the same rituals, including Islam with its prescribed animal sacrifice during Eid ul-Adha, when the meat is partially donated to the needy.

Understandably, the little girl doesn't look very pleased at the prospect of the hen being killed.

Anton Kusters: The Yakuza

Photo © Anton Kusters-All Rights Reserved
Anton Kusters is the well deserved Category Winner, Editorial — Photography Book Now 2010 with his The Yakuza in Tokyo.

The Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan, and are well known for violence and initiation rites. Many Yakuza have full-body tattoos known as irezumi in Japan, which are still often done by hand using needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. ANother ritual for the Yakuza is yubitsume, or the cutting of one's finger, as a form of penance or apology.

It's mind-blowing as to how Anton managed to photograph such a secretive society.

Anton Kusters is a photographer, specialized in long term projects, producing complete experiences with images, film and words. He currently resides in Brussels and Tokyo. He is also a graphic designer and internet specialist, runs his own web and interactive design agency, and he's creative director at BURN Magazine.

Matjaž Krivic's A Day In Varanasi

Set aside about 7 minutes of your time, adjust the volume of your speakers and choose the full screen option on to watch Matjaž Krivic's A Day In Varanasi...and be transported to this ancient city, helped along with the New Age-like music of L. Subramaniam.

Varanasi is also known as Benares and Kashi, and is considered as holy by Buddhists, and Jains, and is the holiest place for Hindus. Hindu cosmology places it as as the center of earth. Mark Twain wrote: "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

In other words...Varanasi is really ancient.

I posted some of Matjaž Krivic's photography before on this blog, and he has some wonderful work for us to admire . For some 20 years, he globe-trotted the world capturing the personality and grandeur of indigenous people and places, and found the time to be awarded many prizes, and recognized in various venues and exhibitions. He traveled in Yemen, Mali, Tibet, North and West Africa, Iran, Mongolia, China, Nepal and India.

In other words...Matjaž is really good.

Hau Hin new interesting spot "Plearnwan"

Hello Everyone, have you ever seen the movie "Back to the Future"? If the answer is "Yes", today, I will bring you back to the good old day of Hau Hin.

This year 2010, hau hin has celebrated its 100 birthday anniversary of becoming one of Thailand popular seaside city. Nowaday, Hau hin has known as the city that never sleep like Phuket and Pattaya as there are many department stores, walking street for shopping, luxury and local restuarant for visitors to enjoy all day and all night. Also, there're many seaside concert events take place at the hau hin beach like Jazz festival.

However, about 30 years ago, hau hin has known as calm and quite seaside city with its clean and beautiful beach which generated romantic emotion to travellers. For the year 2010, it is good news for travllers who want to travel back to feel romantic emotion of the good old day of hau hin because now you may travel back to the old day of hau hin at the new intersting spot of which called "Plearnwan".

Plearnwan is the place that make you feel like travel back to the past via time machine to scence the emotion of Hau Hin good old day. It situated near the King Palace (if you used GPS version 2009 or more updated version, GPS will tell you the right spot) as you can visit Plearnwan for free but you have to pay for parking lot (price is around 30-60 baht). First think that i noticed is most travellers bring their own expensive DSLR camera to find great location and the age of most travellers should be around 18-30 years old as most of visitors are Beautiful and Cute Young Girls! (Trust Me) which make Plearnwan, Hau Hin more attractive.

Okay let get back to the place, as i have accessed to Plearnwan i feel that the place is okay for photographers because you can find many locations to take beautiful and artistic photograph, however, the food and beverage in Plearnwan is quite expensive and its taste is not so good. Like other traveller, i feel happy to visit place like Plearnwan in Hau Hin and also take some images with my Sony Dsc-Wx1 as well. I recommend that you will be more fun and happy if you visit Plearnwan at night because the weather in Hau Hin is very hot as it will make you unhappy for your trip.

In my opinion, Plearnwan is new interesting spot in Hau Hin that you shouldn't miss but keep in mind that food and beverage is expensive and bad taste. Therfore, if you wish to have lunch or dinner, you should find other reatuarant in Hau Hin as there are many good restaurant available for you.

Thank for reading, see you on my next post.

John Kenny: Omo Valley & Africa

Photo © John Kenny-All Rights Reserved
Here's a real treat for those of us who are enamored with Ethiopia's Omo Valley tribes (and we are many), and a treat for "Africanphiles" in general as well. A real trove of magnificent portraits of handsome and beautiful African native people, ranging from the Omo Vallley various tribes to Kaokoland's Himba.

John Kenny's website presents around 100 of these portraits along with a handful of African landscapes, and is a must-have bookmark for anyone with an ethnographer interest.

John started his photography career about 7 years ago, and is self-taught. He first arrived in Africa in 2006, and keeps returning to photograph because he's fascinated to encounter societies that are able to survive in some of the most arid, isolated and difficult environments.

He tells us that he chose to make each and every one of these portraits because the individuals attracted him, and gave him a sense of wonder. He photographs without using flash or studio equipment, preferring natural sunlight. He also tells us that he travels alone, or with a local guide...and uses local transport to get from one place to the other.

I chose a color photograph to accompany this post, but I suggest you visit John's toned monochromatic portraits. The tones of his photographs are earthy, rich and vibrant...perfect for his subjects.

Via Greg Pleak

Bali: Odalan at Pura Desa Sapat

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Here's the first gallery of my own work whilst I was leading the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ last month.

It's a linear photo gallery of about 20 large color photographs made during an important anniversary of a Balinese Hindu temple, and it's titled Odalan: Pura Desa Sapat. It's more photo journalistic in style than travel, and there are graphic photographs of animals being sacrificed, which may be disturbing to some.

This was one of the two most intense photo-shoots during the whole photo~expedition...not only because of the time spent photographing, but also because of the unending kaleidoscope of movements, rituals, rites and activities.

Every temple in Bali has a scheduled festival, an odalan, to celebrate the anniversary of temple dedication. The timing of the anniversaries are either based on the lunar calendar or on a 210-day ceremonial cycle. Depending on the importance of the anniversary and on the wealth of its community, animals are occasionally sacrificed.

These anniversary events are important for the communal harmony of the Balinese, where villages will join other villages to pray at their odalan, adding their blessings for the success of the occasion.

Luxury Travel

The most important part of your luxury travel is how you plan to get out. You can be the most successful travel experience or travel experience that really sucks-it all depends on how much forethought you put into it. That, and the travel agent you want. But even if you choose to travel agents with whom everything seems fine, there are things innumerable could be wrong. So, is there any way you can ensure that you do have a luxury vacation? Here are things you should think about.

Think about the purpose of

Making a lot of research about the destination you choose. And there is an excellent choice for luxury travel there? You may be stuck in a hole for all you know. You need to get three important things that make a luxury holiday accommodation-good, big things should be done and good food. There are many reviews on the Internet can read and find out whether you choose the ideal place for vacations. Take the time to do your own research and not believe everything that says your travel agent.

Place the general tone

If you go to? Is a city? If so, you must ensure that you are put in a good hotel with excellent facilities. The problem is that as a big city, you may find yourself in the middle and the din of urban activity, it will not appear at all during the holidays. At least, relaxing hotel will ensure that you are put in luxury. Or, if you move to a rural town, make sure you have access to all the necessities of life is easy. Keep in mind that you plan to rough it here, you intend to have quality time in luxury here.

Do You Need to spread the money?

Many people believe that if they want a luxury vacation, you will need to spend too much. They believe that they should be ordered to fly first class, five star hotels and so on. But the truth is necessary. Keep looking for your alternative. You can save money, as in last-minute rates. You can also search for hotel rates are available for free cancelations. Not having them at low prices mean they are not a luxury.

Conor Ashleigh: Futu-Manu In East Timor

Photo © Conor Ashleigh -All Rights Reserved
Futu manu means"fighting bird" in the local Tetum language of East Timor. Cockfighting is a tradition that goes back centuries in various countries, and I've witnessed it practiced in India, Mexico and Bali to name but a few.

I was glad to find Conor Ashleigh's website, and see that he has featured a photo essay on cockfighting in East Timor. There, cockfights are complementary to religious rites and ceremonies, but also feed a gambling streak amongst many men.

Conor lives in Australia and works on developing stories that comment on under-reported environmental, political and social issues. He photographed in Egypt, Gaza, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia and Uganda, as well as working on long term projects in India, Nepal and Timor-Leste. His images have been published in New Internationalist, Sydney Morning Herald, Newcastle Herald, The Asia Foundation, Catholic Mission and Oxfam.

I also suggest you check in Conor's photo essay on The Brick Kilns of Bhaktapur in Nepal.

I'm currently working on my own photographs of cockfights in Bali, which will soon be published here on this blog.