New Banner!!!

This is an expression of unbridled gratitude to the half-baker's dozen who dismissed my posts as rants and "pontifications". As promised, I've changed the banner of this blog to include this lovely descriptive word, which suits my blog and posts just perfectly.

I regret not having thought of it first, but a banker-turned-photographer is not necessarily a wordsmith.

HabbyCam DSLR Shoulder-Mount

This shoulder mount might be useful to those who use DSLRs for movie making. It's called the HabbyCam (don't ask me why) and it's reasonably priced at $250.

It's essentially a brace, is made of aluminum and stainless steel, and weighs only 3 lbs. The shoulder bracket is drilled with holes that can accommodate other accessories such as sound recorders and the like.

I don't have it so can't recommend it, but it certainly looks as if it could work well. I'm guess some enterprising person will eventually cobble one from hardware found cheaply at Home Depot etc.

Found via WIRED's Gadget Lab.

POV: iPad

Photo Courtesy WIRED-All Rights Reserved
I'm far from being a geek or remotely resembling one, but I still like gadgets provided they're useful and have a purpose...which brings me to the iPad.

Unless you're traveling in North Korea, you must've heard that Apple is launching its iPad in its stores this coming Saturday. I live not too far from its 14th Street store and I intend to walk by just to see the gawking crowds.

The New York Times' David Pogue has an interesting article (and well-balanced) titled Looking At The iPad From Two Angles which I found to be the most intelligent of whatever has been recently written about the device. He concludes the article with this:

"The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you’ll love the machine. The only question is: Do you like the concept? "

And that's the question. The iPad is really a "looker" not a "doer"...in other words, like its midget cousin the iTouch, it'll be mainly used as a reader, as a viewer of text, of website (minus Flash), of emails, of pictures, and so forth. Its success or failure is also dependent on the available applications, current and future, which I understand are close to 1500 in number already.

So far, I haven't seen any merits for photographers to get one. I read somewhere that an enterprising photographer will buy a few and, when asked for his portfolios, will send them out to his best clients instead of the old-style books. I'm quite certain that the iPad will be great in impressively displaying our images, but that's all.

Will it be fun to have an iPad? Of course, but will it be useful? I don't know. I'll wait and decide in another 6 months. Let others be the testers.

WIRED has a roundup on the first reviews of the iPad.

Apple iPad & Photography

Apple announced its newest creation, the iPad, while I was in the Kutch area in Gujarat, and had no reliable internet access so I'm still pretty much out of the loop in as far as its technical specifications are concerned...but that won't stop me from expressing my knee-jerk opinion on it from what I already know.

I gather from a couple of opinions written about the iPad that the jury (from a photography standpoint) is still out. Some say that it will "save" photojournalism and newspapers, while others are more low-key and only say it will provide a new platform to display one's photographs.

I view it as the latter...a magnified iTouch. No more and no less. I initially got very excited, hoping that it could replace netbooks, but it doesn't. From what I seen, it will not enable photographers to use it as a conduit device to download contents of CF/SD cards unto external hard drives. As a portfolio display device, it will do beautifully though. I use the tiny iTouch to do just that, and must say that it's useful in some occasions. The iPad will do the same in large format, and I expect it will be dazzling.

The absence of Flash is disappointing but expected. It's a pity but I imagine that it will not be hard for photographers to convert their Flash-based multimedia photo essays to QuickTime...or some other application...and show them off that way. As for enjoying photo Flash websites, this device will not do it you.

It's been said that Apple has indeed brought us the iPad, but its success or failure will depend on the app developers. Let's wait and see...we'll know soon enough.

Unearthing Asia Magazine

Unearthing Asia bills itself as a travel 'zine focusing on culture, lifestyle and attractions all around Asia.

It was started by Nikolas Tjhin and Michelle Lee, whose initial idea was to publish a travel related real-life publication, but as the costs were prohibitive, decided to publish it online. It's available online and downloadable in PF format.

If my understanding is correct, it can also be found in paper form in South East Asia.

It may be an interesting addition to travel photographers who seek new venues for their photographs.

fotoflōt: Innovative & Cool

I recently received one of my photographs that had been fotoflōt'ed, which means it had been printed on quality photographic paper and then fused on to a 1/8" thick acrylic sheet (10"x15" size).

I chose one of my Theyyam photographs to be fotoflōt'ed, and I'm very pleased by its frameless design, and by the protection it provides to the photograph. The acrylic has low reflection and low glare, and it's a cinch to hang on my walls because of its magnetic wall mounts.

Via fotoflōt's website, I created an account and uploaded (directly from my hard drive...about a 5 minutes wait because of its size) a TIFF version of the Theyyam photograph, and it was totally hassle-free from there on. Within a couple of hours, I received an email from the company saying that my photograph was being processed, and would arrive to my address within two weeks.

Less than 8 days later, I received another email from the company informing me that my fotoflōt frame had been shipped and I would receive it in a couple of days.

I received it as promised, and I ought to add that I really impressed by the packaging, which protected my fotoflōt'ed photograph very well.

An innovative and aesthetically attractive alternative to old-fashioned picture frames. Well recommended.

A Wonderful Concept: PhotoPhilanthropy

PhotoPhilanthropy's stated mission is to promote, support and connect photographers to non-profit organizations around the world. It has created a community for photographers, photo enthusiasts and non-profit organizations to network, to tell their stories, show their work, exchange ideas, find opportunities and financial support for their efforts.

It also encourages student, amateur and professional photographers to publish photo essays designed to educate and engage people in a wide variety of social campaigns.

Interestingly, it has also created The PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Award; an annual endorsement of excellence for professional, amateurs, and student photographers.

For the award, it received 219 essays from 187 photographers residing in over 30 different countries. Of these entries, 150 were from professionals, 49 from amateurs and 20 from students.

The 2009 Grand Prize winner was photographer Zoriah Miller on behalf of the International Rescue Committee.

LumaLoop: Yet Another Camera Strap

After BlackRapid's success, another strap contender LumaLoop is entering the fray hoping that it can also provide an improved camera strap, one of photography's perennial Holy Grails.

James Duncan Davidson (a photographer) designed and made the LumaLoop, an across-the-shoulder strap with a quick-release lanyard, whose main claims are comfort and flexibility.

Those who have already used the strap report they like how the camera can be used while slung over a shoulder, and can quickly be released by squeezing the buckle. When not in use, the camera dangles at one's waist, and can remain there all day long.

The LumaLoop is $60 and comes in three sizes. Each strap comes with a lanyard.

From what I've seen on its website, LumaLoop uses the same general idea for an across the chest bandolier strap as BlackRapid, with the twist of having a quick release lanyard-to-buckle instead of a carabiner.

Here's a previous post as to how I "readjusted" my BlackRapid straps to avoid any unforeseen accidents.

LumaLoop first seen on The Click.

Pictory: Innovative Concept?

Pictory is a photo magazine, and claims to be re-imagined for the web. Photojojo describes Pictorymag as one part Boston.com’s Big Picture, one part This American Life, and one part Laura Brunow Miner.

I didn't know who Laura was but I found out she had been the Editor-in-Chief of JPG Magazine, and Pictory is her brainchild.

Pictory's premise is a simple one: it's a showcase for people around the world to document their lives and cultures, and anyone can submit a picture and a story. The best are featured in large sized photo essays.

Is it a commercially viable project? Time will tell.

The Black Snapper

As my readers know, one of The Travel Photographer blog's objectives is to assist emerging photographers in getting better known, and contribute in introducing their work to a wider audience.

Many other blogs and web magazines do this as well. Burn, 100Eyes, Verve Photo and others are showcasing the work of emerging and creative photographers extremely well, and have done much to introduce new talent into the limelight.

A newly formed web magazine The Black Snapper has joined in this commendable task on August 1st 2009. The Black Snapper daily presents a photographer selected by one of its guest curators, and the expectation is to present a new series of 8-20 photos each day.

According to its About blurb:

The Black Snapper aims to create an online community that will inspire professionals and photography lovers worldwide and expose new talent. In addition, the online magazine emphatically supports the emancipation and promotion of photographers from Asia, Africa and South America.

Coincidentally with the latest features on both 100Eyes and Verve, The Black Snapper has been showcasing the work of Bangladeshi photographers for 6 days already. Today's feature is called The Pavement Dwellers Amrao Manush; a Bangla phrase that means “We are humans too”. The featured photo essay is by Shehab Uddin.

I will add The Black Snapper to TTP's blogroll. I imagine you'll bookmark it as well.

AFAR Magazine

Candace Feit emailed me saying that her photograph made in the Moroccan Atlas mountains was published as the cover of the premiere issue of AFAR magazine.

Coincidentally, The New York Times (and other newspapers) published articles announcing AFAR's "birth", hailing the courage of the two entrepreneurs who started the venture in the current economic climate, despite their lack of experience.

The founders, Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz, describe their magazine (based out of San Francisco) as having an emphasis on "experiential travel". While the magazine will carry conventional travel features, it will stay away from articles on luxury hotels and designer golf courses.

AFAR is scheduled to be published six times of year, with a newsstand price of $4.99.

GAIA Photos

Gaia Photos is a platform and an opportunity for photographers to showcase their work to a broad audience, and it seeks to be a place to explore and discover the issues facing the diverse population and locations of the world. It also seeks to be where professional photo buyers will find international, in-depth, quality reporting from a vast pool of professional photojournalists who can also be contacted directly for commissioned work.

One of its declared objectives is to promote quality and diversity in documentary photography, especially in a time of dwindling editorial budgets.

Some of the photographers working with Gaia are Lisa Hogben, GMB Akash, M. Scott Brauer, Brent Foster, Alex Espinosa, Alex Masi and many others. Unfortunately, I haven't seen Middle Eastern (Arab) or African photographers on the list, and hope that this anomaly will be soon redressed.

Justin Jin: 100Eyes Magazine

Justin Jin worked for more than than a decade as an independent photojournalist with leading magazines and newspapers, specializing in documenting people in hidden, harsh and sensitive situations, such as authoritarianism in Russia, exploitation in China or illegal immigration in Europe.

Based for the last four years in Moscow, Justin is doing reportage and
corporate assignments in Russia, China and beyond. While some of his projects are commissioned, others are self-initiated.

The beautifully produced 100Eyes Magazine features Justin Jin's edgy photo essay Made In China-Blues After Midnight which documents how workers in Chinese factories toil through the night scrubbing, spraying and tearing trousers to create the rugged look of blue jeans so favored by consumers all over the world.

Justin Jin's website is here.

National Geographic: Angkor Wat

Photo © National Geographic
The National Geographic online is featuring a 3D innovative look at the Khmer Empire, which includes Angkor Wat and life as it must have been in the 13th century.

In fact, this animation will provide a sliver of solace to those who heeded the National Geographic's advice of not going to visit the complex. A few months ago, the National Geographic's Intelligent Travel advised people not to go to Siem Reap and to the Angkor complex, and to postpone their visits. It seems the sheer volume of tourists has taken a toll on the Angkor monuments and temples, and that several of the important temples are being restored. Some have unsightly scaffolding with areas just cordoned off. The central section of Angkor Wat is closed to visitors until 2010 at the earliest.


Robot posted as I'm in Morocco

Robin Hammond: Street Children of Delhi

Here's Namaste Delhi, a photo essay on the street children of Delhi, India's capital city, by Robin Hammond, who presents his work in a flip book format. He has also written an essay on these children, so his photographs are arranged in magazine format, which is very attractive.

He tells us that most of the street children in Delhi are originally from Bihar (one of the poorest states in India), and that they're running from poverty, abuse and neglect. One of his photographs is of 12-year old Husina, who makes around 500 rupees a day from selling herself, is haunting. She wears earrings and a ring, probably bought with her earnings, but it's her expression that stays with me...a mask of indifference and resignation to her fate.

Robin Hammond is originally from New Zealand, moved to Britain in 2002, and now lives in London. He currently works for a number of national magazines and newspapers, NGOs and corporate clients. A number of his photo essays on his websites deal with street children, and other social issues such as AIDS and prostitution.

Take the time to explore Robin's other features, where you'll find his work on Addis Sex Workers, Mexico's City Children, and Zimbabwe.

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)

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.

Books: The Photographer

From what I've seen online, The Photographer is an innovative book combining the photographs of the late Didier Lefèvre, and the drawings of Emmanuel Guibert, and tells the story of a small group of mostly French doctors and nurses who traveled into northern Afghanistan by horse and donkey in 1986, at the height of the Soviet occupation.

The fact that a woman, Dr. Juliette Fournot, led the medical mission whilst dressed as a man and managed to command the respect of the French and Afghans (including the war-hardened warlords and local chiefs, is not only a testament to her character, but shatters our stereotyping of Afghan culture and its Islamic orthodoxy.

Chris Hedges reviews the book in The New York Times, and he writes this insightful paragraph at its end:

The power of “The Photographer” is that it bridges this silence. There is no fighting in this book. No great warriors are exalted. The story is about those who live on the fringes of war and care for its human detritus. By the end of the book the image or picture of a weapon is distasteful. And if you can achieve this, you have gone a long way to imparting the truth about warfare.

For more info on Juliette Fournot, MSF has this page, and on Didier Lefèvre here.

Senol Zorlu: Portraits

©Senol Zorlu-All Rights Reserved
Senol Zorlu is a Turkish photographer living and working in Germany, who has an incredibly beautiful website. I hesitate to describe it as "slick" because of the word's connotations, but it merits at the very least the descriptive adjective of "cool". I don't know how efficient this website is terms of SEO and impressing photo buyers, but the photography and his portraits are certainly worth stopping by, and enjoying it.

(posted by TTP's robotic assistant)