Pascal Meunier: Mauritania

One of my favorite travel documentary photographers is Pascal Meunier, the French photographer, who specializes in documenting the Arab-Muslim cultures.

I posted about Pascal's wonderful imagery of the decrepit public baths in Cairo earlier on TTP, and now bring you another of his galleries depicting the oasis of Oualata in the Mauritanian desert. I have some favorites; the one above and another (#09 in the gallery) which contrasts the hennaed design on a woman's palm to the geometrics on a house...maybe a bit of a cliche, but I liked it.

Before you visit the gallery, here's some interesting background on Oualata: it's a an ancient town on a caravan route in south east Mauritania, near Mali.The city was founded in the eleventh century, when it was part of the Ghana Empire, and was destroyed in 1076 but refounded in 1224, and again became a major trading post for trans-Saharan trade and an important centre of Islamic scholarship.

Today, Oualata is home to ancient Qur'anic manuscripts, and is known for its highly decorative architectural style, evidenced by beautiful geometric designs on the red-clay inner and external walls of its houses. It is also a World Heritage Site.

Some of you may find that the concept and designs of Oualata similar to those found in certain villages in Rajasthan. The main difference between the two is the absence of the human form in those of Oualata, because of the Qur'anic prohibition of such images.

Beyond The Frame: Indian Gypsies

At the end of the Pushkar camel fair a few years ago, I traveled in a crowded and creaky train between Phulad and Jojawar in South Rajasthan. The train stopped at Jojawar station, and I disembarked along with a few locals still dressed in their festival finery and carrying shopping bags heavy with presents for their families.

Near the small one-room stationhouse, I noticed a small group of Indians, dressed in colorful dresses and turbans. These were Lambanis or banjaras, who originate from these parts of Rajasthan. They are part of the nomadic tribes of India, and travel from place to place in search of a livelihood. They have their own language which has no script, their own culture and a unique social structure. It is said that the Roma gypsies in Europe are decended from the Lambanis tribes.

A couple stood out because of their dress and friendly demeanor, so I approached them and after a few moments of indecision, they agreed to be photographed. I wasn't sure if they were husband and wife (and I still don't know), but after a few photographs and good laughs, I jokingly gestured the man (who wore a necklace and had long hair tucked under his turban) if he could get closer to the woman. He surprised me by quickly hugging the woman...a public display which is highly unusal in rural India, and which was accompanied by the hoots and catcalls of his group. I tried hard to get him to hug the woman again, but to no avail. The fleeting moment had passed, and it was not repeated.

This photograph appeared in a two-page spread in the Digital Photographer magazine.

Q. Sakamaki: Bangladeshi Sex Workers

Q. Sakamaki graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in International Affairs, Concentration in Conflict
Resolution and Human Rights. Born and raised in Japan, he now makes his home in New York City and has been photographing war zones throughout the world such as Afghanistan, Iraq,Palestine, Liberia, Bosnia and Kosovo - documenting not only the political landscape but people’s emotional relationship to conflict.


His photographs have appeared in books and magazines worldwide including Time, Life, and L’espresso and have been the subject of solo shows in New York and Tokyo. He has published three books, including "Palestine", is a Karate master, and a writer who contributes mainly to the Japanese media. He's represented by Redux Pictures.

To illustrate this post, I chose an image from the Banglan (I'm unsure what Banglan means, but I suspect it's another word for Bangladeshi) Sex Workers gallery on Sakamaki's website. The image is of 15 year-old Rotina, a sex worker who has contracted HIV. Most of his images are toned, and are powerful examples of what responsible social photography is capable of.

Evan Abramson: Bolivia

Evan is a freelance photographer in Bolivia for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald and Bloomberg News. His website tells us that he dedicated the past three years to creating a visual narrative of the lives and experiences of Andean farmers in some of the highest and farthest settlements of humans in Bolivia. He participated in as much of the daily lives and rituals of the Andean farmers as he could, including the Tinku, or “Encounter”—a ritual fight between members of neighboring zones or villages—even going so far as to learn the Pre-Columbian Quechua language more widely spoken in the Andean countryside than Spanish.

He lived and traveled through a wide network of rural Andean villages and provincial lands of barren pastoral settings, meeting mostly farmers, economically impoverished, but humble and earnest in their approach to life.

His affection for the Bolivian people, and his strong connection to Bolivia, are both evident in his powerful, and yet sensitive, work.

This is the second posting on Evan's work. The first was in mid February, when his work on the Tinku festival was published in a slideshow feature in the New York Times. I look forward to admire further work from Evan.

Dirk Panier: 'Must-See' Multimedia

Dirk Panier is a photographer from Belgium, and has created an incredibly beautiful multimedia flash website...probably one of the best I've seen. It's a 'must-see"....not necessarily for the photographs, but for the creativity of the whole feature.

His multimedia galleries are not only creative, but are inventive, of extremely good taste, and are visually and aurally compelling. Cuba, Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Syria, Jordan, Istanbul, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand are represented, and are all exceptionally attractive galleries.

Dirk's galleries are accompanied by interesting music and chants. The gallery of Tunisia is accompanied by an Egyptian soundtrack, but this slight oversight hardly matters. Don't miss the steam coming out of the teapot's spot in the Moroccan feature!!!

I have considerable admiration for the aesthetic skills and creativity required to bring all the elements of this multimedia package together, and I strongly encourage you to devote ample time to savor it and then bookmark it. I'm envious of Dirk's skills...you may be too.

James Nachtwey: United Nations Show

The United Nations is currently exhibiting the superlative photographs of James Nachtwey depicting the pain and suffering of people afflicted with AIDS and tuberculosis.

A poignant passage about the exhibition from the article in the New York Times:

"In Thailand, north of Bangkok, he (Nachtwey) came across an American priest named Michael Bassano who spends endless days with the most desperate of AIDS patients, massaging their feet, changing their diapers, helping them die. Their flesh clings like cellophane to their bones, and their eyes roll up in their heads. In one photograph Father Bassano’s arm just barely extends into the lower right corner of the frame, clasping the tiny wrist of a young woman named Lek. She stares doe-eyed back at him, as if from the grave."

Ami Vitale: Kashmir

I can't believe that I blogged so far and not mentioned Ami Vitale on the pages of TTP!

It's been written of Ami Vitale that she's nothing short than a terrific photographer, whose work is about being with people in every sense. A feature on her from 2003 on the Digital Journalist site says "She does not simply report her stories. She lives them."

Vitale is regarded as one of today's most memorable visual storytellers. In addition to multiple POYi awards, Vitale has received recognition for her work from World Press Photo, the NPPA, Photo District News and the Society of American Travel Writers, among many other organizations. In 2002 Vitale was awarded the first-ever Inge Morath grant by Magnum Photos. The Alexia Foundation has also awarded her grants for World Peace and the city of Gijon, Spain. Vitale's photographs have been published in major international magazines such as National Geographic Adventure, Geo, Discovery, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian and Le Figaro. Her photographs have been presented in international exhibitions including: Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan; Reporters Sans Frontiers, Paris; the FotoArt Festival in Poland; the Open Society Institute and The United Nations in New York.

She believes in spending time on a story, and in living with the people she photographs. This, she says, has helped her to get beneath the surface of a story. In an interview on the Digital Journalist, Ami says: “You have to get into a culture to actually live there to understand things aren’t as sensational when you understand them in their context. I’ve jumped in, parachuted into a few places before and I didn’t like it. It’s very dangerous and I’ve felt like I wasn’t portraying things truthfully, or it was a different truth.” This speaks for itself.

Simon Larbalestier: Cambodia

Simon Larbalestier's photography has moved over the past 20 years from album artwork for iconic rock bands to a more documentary approach. His current work involves detailing and documenting chronic disability in Cambodia through the help of The Cambodia Trust, a UK based Charity that operates in the poorest provinces of Cambodia. He's also interested in working within cultures that are trying to re- establish themselves and gain a new foothold in the 21st century.

He says that he's rooted in traditionalist methods of picture making using B&W film and range-finder cameras, and although now using digital methods to output work for clients, the origination is always from film. He's based between the UK, Thailand and Cambodia preferring to hand print his own photographs back in the UK.

His website has a handful of galleries, and I suggest you start with his beautifully toned images of Cambodia. The gallery then moves to Thailand, Laos etc.

Joyce Birkenstock

Joyce Birkenstock is a remarkable artist and photographer, and a peripatetic international traveler who has visited most countries of the world. She received her training at the University of Dallas, the University of Iowa, the Norton Art School, the Art Students League, and the Vermont Studio Center, and her awards, achievements and professional affiliations are too many to list here. Her artist's statement on her website includes this: "I feel a human connection with the people I paint, and while I may never see them again, I have become a part of them and they have become a part of me."

She traveled on most of my photo expeditions, and the picture above is one of her exquisite paintings made during the photo expedition The Temples of People of Angkor Wat, which I organized and led in February 2006.

Paula Lerner: The Women of Kabul

A few months ago, I chanced upon a well-produced multimedia slideshow of Paula Lerner's arresting images of Aghani women in Kabul.

Paula spent much of her 21-year career as a photojournalist documenting stories for national and international magazines, and in both her professional assignments and personal work, women's issues have been a recurring theme. Knowing that Afghanistan's women face some of the harshest circumstances of women anywhere in the world, she volunteered to work for Business Council for Peace, a nonprofit organization that assists women in post-conflict countries.

Phil Borges

I've had the pleasure of meeting Phil Borges in his home town of Seattle in 2004, and photographed alongside him in Dharmasala in March 2005 when I was assisting in his Bridges of Understanding program. His work is just superlative, and his signature style of black and white portraits with the subject's skin toned in is recognizable anywhere.

As Phil and I were photographing novices at the Chortling monastery in Dharmasala, I couldn't help but notice how our styles were different. I am a fast photographer, triggering the shutter as fast as I can....while he is slow and deliberate. I watched as he left his Canon cameras to the side, while he gently spoke to the novices and made them comfortable with our presence. He studied the narrow rays of sunlight that shone in the room, and set the novices in the positions where he could exploit that light. The setting up probably took 4-5 minutes (a virtual eternity to me), and only when he saw exactly what he wanted, did he pick up his cameras. I learnt more from watching Phil than I did from all the photography lectures I attended.

Phil’s current project, Women Empowered, introduces some of the extraordinary women in the developing world who are breaking through gender barriers and conventions in order to enhance their well being and the well being of their community.

John Stanmeyer

I met John Stanmeyer at his beautiful home and studio in Bali where he was conducting a photojournalism workshop. He is the co-founding member of VII and a contract photographer with Time Magazine since 1998. He has spent over 7 years focusing on Asian issues and has been working on a book about AIDS throughout Asia, as well as continuing his photographic documentation for a book on the radical changes in Indonesia since 1997.

For this workshop, he sponsored two Indonesian photographers who would not have been able to attend otherwise. In an interview, he said “They were taking brilliant pictures with busted equipment but they never photographed enough. At the end of the day, they only showed us a few photos. Finally, I discovered they couldn’t afford flash cards and were using only one 256 mg card. How do you support these talented people who try to communicate in difficult situations under difficult economic conditions? Their homes are in the places that we can afford to fly into and then can leave while they must stay and try to keep communicating.” The last sentence is also applicable to us, as travel photographers...don't you think?

A remarkable photographer, a wizard at photo editing and a genuinely nice guy, here’s John on Apple’s Aperture. I chose this multimedia feature because it shows him at work in his Bali home studio. He was working on that particular photograph when I was there as well!

Sasha Dean Biyan

Sasha Dean Biyan was an aeronautical engineer and a consultant until becoming a full time photographer. He lived among indigenous tribes in Papua New Guinea and Borneo, and spent considerable time in the Amazon jungle living with the various tribes of the area. The technical and aesthetical foundations of his photography are remarkable, but it seemed to me that many of his ethnographical galleries were influenced by fashion. Intrigued, I looked his work up and discovered that he was also a successful fashion photographer. Mystery solved.

His Earth Pilgrim website is flash-based, and its navigation is somewhat quirky. The background music is new age, which I promptly turned off. My favorite gallery of the seven different galleries is Alma (Soul). For the most part, the black and white portraits stunning, and are technically spot on. Just look at the second portrait in the Alma gallery: a portrait of a Muslim Indonesian woman in Solo, whose face and eyes are simply mesmerizing…and how about the expression of the Peruvian man in Pitumarca? Yet, other photographs feel bland and “sanitized”. Compare Sasha’s work with that of Phil Borges, and you’ll know what I mean.

In my opinion, his work hardly qualifies as travel photography, but it’s certainly beautiful. My thanks to Felice for referring me to his website: Earth Pilgrim

Kloie Picot: One Shot More

Kloie Picot is a Canadian photojournalist and filmmaker specializing in documenting conflicts, critical social issues, cultural events and religious rituals from around the world. She is also pursuing the multimedia field by combining her photography, video and sound.

Now based in Taiwan, she travels and works extensively in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East. She spent 8 months in Israel and Occupied Palestine filming 'Shots That Bind' on the lives and work of Palestinian photojournalists in Nablus. It is there where Kloie became enthralled with the split-second capture of moments which conflict photography exemplifies.

Kloie was kind enough to send me a DVD of 'Shots That Bind', and I was mesmerized by the remarkable hard hitting documentary.

Her website is fresh off the press, and I take great pleasure to introduce it here.

Amanda Jones

Amanda Jones is a prolific writer and photographer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work appears in travel magazines, and her short stories have been published in several travel anthologies. She has also done story development for National Geographic television, and her photography series Timeless, black and white photographs of African tribal peoples, was exhibited at a United Nations film festival.

Her photography is essentially aimed at travel magazines and travel catalogs/stock libraries. She photographs 'nice' portraits, mostly verticals and double-spreads for magazines, and to accompany her travel writings. If you thumb through travel magazines, you'll notice the verticals, the wide space to the left or right of images to accomodate text or titles, etc. It's a style of travel photography that generally doesn't appeal to me, but it does sell and I do it as well.

I've chosen her work in the Ethiopian south, namely in the Omo Valley, for inclusion in TTP. She has also written a short article for the London Sunday Times on her adventures with the tribes of the Omo Valley which is funny and informative. Her introduction to the Mursi tribe echoes my own essay Brief Encounters; The Mursi published in Outdoor Photography last year.

Michael Yamashita

For over 25 years, Michael Yamashita has combined his passions for photography and travel by documenting the Asian continent for National Geographic. He has covered such diverse subjects as the Mekong River, the journeys of Marco Polo, The Great Wall of China, and much of Japan.

Yamashita decided that he wanted to become a professional photographer in the mid-70's, and started submitting images and pitching ideas to travel magazines in Japan, as well as in Hong Kong and Singapore. His images were bought by Singapore Airlines, for their brochures and calendars.

Returning to the United States a few years later, he started his career of with the National Geographic where he worked as a free-lancer for over 25 years. His recent Geographic stories have been long-term assignments, many of which have evolved into books.

A thorough professional, and a classic travel photographer. Here's a gallery of his images, courtesy of Double Exposure magazine.

Richard Van Le: Cao Dai

Richard Van Le is a New York City photographer, with impressive images from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

His website has a handful of galleries, and his images of the Balians (Balinese rural healers) managed to capture the mystical elements of these healers' profession. I documented Balians during my stay in Bali, and I recognize some of them in his gallery. However, it is his work on the Cao Dai in Vietnam which I recommend on TTP.

Cao Dai was established in the Southern regions of Vietnam in the early 1920's as an attempt to create a perfect synthesis of world religions. It is a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Geniism, and Taoism.

Van Le's website is Flash-based and you can visit his Cao Dai and other galleries here