30 Days In Muslim America

 Courtesy of Boing Boing

With The New York Times and others reporting discrimination against Muslims in the United States just yesterday, I thought it would be opportune and timely to feature here 30 Days In Muslim America, a photo essay published in the well-known Boing Boing blog, by Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq.

Naturally, discrmination against Muslims has spiked recently as a consequence of the so-called Ground Zero Community Center stupidity and Terry Jones' odious Quran-burning farce, so it's no surprise that The New York Times reported this:

“There’s a level of hatred and animosity that is shocking,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney of the E.E.O.C.’s Phoenix office. “I’ve been doing this for 31 years, and I’ve never seen such antipathy toward Muslim workers.”

I don't think the photographs featured by Boing Boing are designed to allay the racism, fear and suspicion that face American Muslims, but it's one of the tiny steps that hopefully will add up. Muslims in America, as President Obama said, are not they...they are us.

Eventually, perhaps the traditional Islamic way of life will be accepted (and respected) in the United States as that of the Hasidim in Brooklyn and the Amish in Lancaster...but I'm not holding my breath.

Fantastic Trip at Koh Nang Yuan Part 2

Hi Everyone,

Today, i will continue telling you about my fantastic trip at Koh Nang Yuan.

After i checked in to my room at the minor island of Koh Nang Yuan, i wait until the rain stop falling and plan to discover the beautiful seaside of Koh Nang Yuan. Now the time is about 13.30 in the afternoon and the rain is stop falling, then, i walk along the beach of this island and took some images by my Sony Dsc Wx1. You may look for some images of this beautiful Thailand island belowed.

Panorama images of Koh Nang Yuan taken by Sony DSC Wx1

As you may indicated from this image ,  the island at the right side of image is Koh Tao, one of the most favorite island for scuba diver. At first, we plan to take one day trip to Koh Tao and come back to Koh Nang Yuan in the evening, however, we don't have enough time and must change our plan due to the heavy rain today. As i indicated, many travellers come to visit Koh Nang Yuan but most of them choose to stay in Koh Tao because of its various resort and restuarant available. OH i almost forgot, one thing that you should know is Kao Nang Yuan will be close around 18.00, therefore, if you not booked your room with Nang Yuan Diver Resort, you must leave this island before 18.00.

In this island, fin (one of scuba diver accessories) is prohibited as you must leave it to the officer before you access the island, however, scuba diver accessories except fin is available for rent at the rate of 100 baht per day. Generally, Coral in this island is okay but not so beautiful if compared to Koh Tao as Koh Nan Yuan is not outstanding in its coral but it has an fantastic white clean sand and its world class colorful sea water as many travel magazine recommended.

I feel really relax and happy with the attractive white sand beach and colorful sea water of this island as i stay at the seaside until 17.00. At this time, i oberved that most vistors are leaving Koh Nang Yuan and it make me feel like i'm the owner of this island as tht atmosphere after 17.00 is very calm and privacy for me. The next plan for our trip is to witness the attractive viewpoint of this island as appeared in the cover of many favorite travel magazine.

Thank you for reading my post. Next time i will promise to bring you to the beautiful viewpoint of Koh Nang Yuan. See You Then!

Wink Willett: Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat

Photo © Wink Willett -All Rights Reserved

Wink Willett was on the participants in my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, which took place earlier this year between January 23 and February 7, 2010. Due to conflicting time demands, it took a while for him to upload his photographs of the trip, but he finally got them on his website. Here are those I chose to showcase:

To kick the post off, the above photograph is of an elderly Gujarati Rebari with his wife in the background. This is a spontaneous portrait, made whilst the man was greeting someone else.

Photo © Wink Willett -All Rights Reserved

The above environmental portrait is of two Wadha girls with their goats. The Wadha tribe near Bhuj are traditionally involved in the production of wood charcoal, and are extremely poor. Yet, they take enormous pride in their homes (mostly huts with thatched roofs), the cleanliness of their living quarters and use brilliant colors to spruce them up.

Photo © Wink Willett -All Rights Reserved

The photograph above is of two traditional Rabari shepherds which was made in the south of Rajasthan. The Rabaris are nomadic shepherds, cattle and camel herders, and the men commonly wear white, golden earrings, white or red turbans and carry a big stick in the hand. They wear dhoti and  short double breasted waist coat.

Photo © Wink Willett -All Rights Reserved

During the photo~expedition, we spent a few days in South Rajasthan to photograph at the Baneshwar Mela; an annual religious gathering when event tribal people indigenous to the area converge to the confluence of two rivers. It is there that they remember their dead and cleanse their sins by bathing in the ice-cold water.

Wink Willett is an international banker, and brings to his photographic style the lessons he learned from his many overseas senior postings. Check his website for more of well composed travel photographs.

POV: iPad Re-examined

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
Well, I've played with it for about a week now and I still am of the opinion that the iPad is a more of a wonderful display-toy-gadget rather than a useful tool. And I think this is exactly what Apple intends it to be. I also read that new features are being worked on to include Apple’s Facetime video chat capability.

I also have seen articles predicting that most portable computer devices in the coming few years will have touch-screens and if so, the iPad was certainly the precursor.

I currently use it to peruse news websites, play time-wasting games (mostly sniper games), and that's it. The only photography-related app I think is really fantastic is the one by The Guardian called The Guardian Eyewitness app for iPad. I have yet to see another as good. If anyone knows of similar apps, please let me know.

The good news is that SoundSlides (my favorite audio-slideshow making software) now has a beta version of program which is iPad-compatible (it auto detects iPads, and using this version allowed me to view my audio-slideshows on the iPad.

Some of my audio slideshows have also been uploaded to my Vimeo page, and I can watch these on the iPad as well. The resolution is not as great as the Soundslides though.

Bottom line: the iPad is cool.

The above images is on the opening frame of my new (and still unreleased) slideshow of Balinese cockfights.

S&F™ Lowepro: MultiMedia Photographer

Here's what is fantastic about being ad-free and not beholden to any manufacturer (or retailer)...I am free in liking or disliking any product I want, and mention my opinion on my blog. I'm not paid to flog a particular product and ignore others that I like. I can use a product from ABC and another from XYZ...I have no particular loyalty to any manufacturer (unless it produces exceptionally good products), nor do I follow a fad...nor another photographer. I like what I like...period.

Now, I happen to like some of the Lowepro products, and I've used a couple of them myself. I use a Top Loader Pro bought in 2000 or 2001 that still works perfectly well, except for one of its zippers that doesn't work any more...it's been badly abused for the past 10 years, and it's grubby...but that's how I like my stuff. I also have a Lowepro backpack and a Stealth Reporter shoulder bag that I seldom use now, but in their heyday, they were great.

I suppose Lowepro realized it had to come up with a separate line of products for the growing number of multimedia photographers, perhaps following Think Tank which also has an interesting product line, and has recently launched the S&F™ Lowepro for the Multimedia Photographer products, which consist of S&F™ Technical Harness with S&F™ Light Utility Belt, S&F™ Slim Lens Pouch 75 AW & 55 AW, S&F™ Audio Utility Bag 100, S&F™ Laptop Utility Backpack 100 AW, S&F™ Lens Exchange Case 200 AW and S&F™ Transport Duffle Backpack.

I am only interested in the S&F™ Audio Utility Bag 100 at this stage, so I'll probably pop in one of the two photography retailers closest to me, and check it out.

I am still enthralled by my The Travel Photographer Pouches, so it'll be difficult to pry them from my hands...but one never knows.

Jørgen Johanson: Kham & Amdo (Tibet)

Photo © Jørgen Johanson -All Rights Reserved
Jørgen Johanson went on his first trip to Asia in 1982, and completed the Annapurna circuit in Nepal. He was hooked from that moment on travel, photography and on Asian cultures.

He's a software development engineer for companies Norwegian companies, and recently took a 2-3 years sabbatical just to travel. Most of his travel has been trips to Asia, but also made some trips to Africa, where he photographed in Ethiopia and Niger. He's also enamored of India and China...but it's the Tibetan culture and the Himalayas that really fascinate him.

Take a look at Jørgen's Kham & Amdo photo galleries (he's got two on his website), and explore the other galleries which include Myanmar (some good shots of the fishermen of Lake Inle) and Bhutan (stop by the lovely photograph of Wangdi Phodrang Dzong in the mist).

Jørgen also self-published a book "Kham And Amdo" which is available on Blurb, which you can preview in its entirety.

Nguyen Thanh Hai: Hanoi

Photo © Nguyen Thanh Hai -All Rights Reserved
Nguyen Thanh Hai is known as Maika Elan, and is a young Vietnamese freelance photographer based in Hanoi whose work is just delightful.

Maika was a selected participant in the Creative Economies workshop at the Asia Europe Forum for Young Photographers in Malaysia, and at the 2010 photojournalism workshop with the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation (IMMF), where she received awards for the best photo essay and best single photograph.

I was initially drawn to her gallery of classical drama, and then to her photographs of Inside Hanoi...which I strongly encourage you to peruse. Maika's sense of color and compositional skills will impress you. I also urge you to visit her Lomography section, which she lets her color affinity loose.

In my view, Maika has an extremely bright future in photography.

Ralph Childs: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Ralph N. Childs -All Rights Reserved
Ralph Childs is a five time participant in my photo~expeditions, and is the seventh to submit samples of his work made during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™.

The above photograph, which I view as one of the best ones in his Bali portfolio, is of a devotee in a trance during a melasti ceremony at Masceti beach. These trances are not play-acting by any means, and are genuine manifestation of religious fervor which may reach a peak during such important celebrations and rituals.

Photo © Ralph N. Childs -All Rights Reserved
The above photograph was made during a traditional procession on the same Masceti beach on the Balinese eastern coast during one of the melasti ceremonies we photographed. Melasti is the purification of the Pratima deity and other symbols at a beach, and is a fundamental ritual of a temple's anniversary.

Photo © Ralph N. Childs -All Rights Reserved
This is one of the candid photographs that Ralph seeks whenever he's traveling. He pursues the theme of "father & son", and this one of the young boy and his father (under the spring's spout) was made at Pura Tirta Empul, where hundreds of devotees come daily to bathe in the temple's sacred springs.

Photo © Ralph N. Childs -All Rights Reserved
The above photograph is of Kecak dancers in an unusual pose, which I believe is towards the end of the performance. The Kecak dance is a comparatively modern Balinese dance, and is also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant. It is performed by a circle of many performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms.

Chicago-based Ralph Childs maintains the blog RNC Photography where he posted more of his Kecak photographs. He also photographs local assignments during week-ends, and works for one of the largest American aerospace and defense technology company.

Fantastic Trip at Koh Nang Yuan "Worldclass Beautiful Privacy Island"

Hi Everybody,

Today i'm going express on my impression about my fantastic trip at Koh Nang Yuan.

Koh Nang Yuan is situated between Chumporn and Surat Thani province as it known as one of the most beautiful island in Thailand. The image of Koh Nang Yuan viewpoint is popular worldwide as it usually appears in many travel magazine.

I booked the package to Koh Nang Yuan with LomPraYah tour as the package price including bus ticket from Bangkok to Chumporn province and also high speed catamaran ferry to Koh Nang Yuan as you may select at your own choice to go to Koh Tao, Koh Nang Yuan, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan but the package price will be varied according to the distance.  My trip started at Kao San Road one of the most interesting spot for travellers in Bangkok as the bus departed from Bangkok around 21.00 and arrived at Chumporn province around 4.30. After arrived at Chumporn, i wait until catamaran boat arrived at 7.00 and the boat departed at 7.30.

Unfortunately, the storm has just arrived to Bay of Thailand today, therefore, many customers got "Sea Sick" symptom and all passenger room covering with the smell of vermit. The catamaran arrived at Koh Nang Yuan around 9.30 as the island still cover with heavy rain which i have to wait at the only restaurant in Koh Nang Yuan until the rain stop falling because the accomodation in Koh Nang Yuan is situated separately from its main island where the restuarant and all facilities available.



Koh Nang Yuan accommodations image taken by Sony Dsc-Wx1

After the rain stop falling, i walked along the beach which connected three separate island of Koh Nang Yuan together. My room situated in the mountain as it is hardly to see beautiful sea view at my room because i have booked the room with cheaper price than other room that you can see beautiful sea view. The rate for my room is 1600 baht per night (this price is only applicable for low season) including air conditioner and hot water also other simple facilities and the most expensive room which is family extra suite as you can see the most beautiful sea view in Koh Nang Yuan is approximately 11,300 baht (price applicable for low season).

Image of  sea view in front of my rooms taken by Sony DSC-Wx1

If you want to stay in Koh Nang Yuan, you have no choice to choose for other hotels because Koh Nang Yuan is private island and the only accommodation here in Koh Nang Yuan Diver Resort. I have to take breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same restaurant. Therefore, many travellers choose to stay in Koh Tao siutated near Koh Nang Yuan which they may find more hotels and accommodations and more facilities available for them.

The story of my trip to Koh Nang Yuan is not end yet. I will continue telling this story on my next post.

Thank you for reading my blog. See you then!

Greg Vore: Rickshaw Wallah

Photo © Greg Vore -All Rights Reserved
Greg Vore is a New York City-based photographer, and attended three colleges: Duke, The New World School of The Arts in Miami and The North Carolina School of The Arts. He started his photography career assisting in New York City for 6 years, after which he opened a studio on the north side of Williamsburg where his commercial work has been on still life. He completed catalogs and packaging imagery for Kate Spade, Bumble and Bumble, Waterworks, Henri Bendel, Martha Stewart, Intel, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Creative Recreation and others. This work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, New York Times T, The New Yorker, Domino and Lucky magazines.

His travel work has been featured in the Communication Arts Photo Annual, PDN’s World In Focus issue in the extreme exploration category and by National Geographic and CITY magazines.

Here's Greg's Rickshaw Wallah gallery, which features a number of rickshaw pullers (or wallahs) which must have been photographed in Kolkata. Using a simple white backdrop for portraits of rickhsaw wallahs is incredibly effective, especially those that retain some of the natural background. Others are photographed in the "field" so to speak. To underscore how hard these wallahs work, a photograph of calloused hands is added to the gallery.

Also take a look at Greg's other galleries including his India and Africa photographs.

His rickshaw gallery brings memories of the excellent Dominique Lapierre's City of Joy (book and movie) in which Hazari and his family re-locate to Kolkata with hopes of starting life anew, but he ends up pulling a rickshaw. The fabulous Indian actor, Om Puri, delivered an unforgettable performance as Hazari.

Fujifilm's FinePix X100: Digital "Rangefinder"

These are breaking news from Photokina...Fujifilm launched the FinePix X100, a 12.3-megapixel camera styled in a 1950s metal-and-leather body. It features and APS-C sized CMOS sensor and a fixed-in-place but bright and fast 23mm f2 prime lens. It also boasts an ISO range of 200 to 6400, and 5fps continuous shooting.

According to Engadget, this camera will interest many to-be DSLR buyers provided it's intelligently priced. Absolutely, and I would think it would also interest existing DSLR users who lust after a more compact camera.

The Luminous Landscape reports from Photokina that it may cost approximately US $1,700 when it becomes available early in 2011.

UPDATE (Sept 21): Fujifilm confirmed that it will retail for about $1000 and be available in March (via BJP's 1854 blog).

Jan Sochor: The Palo In Cuba

Photo © Jan Sochor -All Rights Reserved
Jan Sochor is a freelance photographer, working between South America and Europe. He lived and worked in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain and the Czech Republic during the past five years. His photographs and stories have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and websites, including Sunday Times, National Geographic, Reuters, Burn magazine, Foto8, 100Eyes, UNESCO, Boston Review, PDN online,and others.

In this 3 minutes audio-slideshow, Jan has now focused his lenses on the adherents of the Palo religion, also known as Las Reglas de Congo. Palo is a syncretic religion which developed in Cuba amongst Central African slaves. Due to forced evangelicalism, Palo adherents gave their deities names from the Christian faith to continue their spiritual tradition.

Palo's main tenets are the veneration of ancestors' spirits, and belief in natural powers. The Palo pantheon starts at the creator god, Nzambi.

Highly recommended viewing for those of us who document, and are interested in, global spiritual traditions.