Terri Gold: Still Points in a Turning World

Photo © Terri Gold-All Rights Reserved
Terri Gold's artistic creativity and energy were patently obvious during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ , as she moved from one photo shoot in a village to the next photographing with her two cameras; one "normal" like those used by the rest of us, and the second professionally modified to shoot infrared.

She is an award-winning photographer and artist based in New York City, and built an impressive reputation for her rituals, rites of passage, festivals, celebrations and portraits from all over the world.

Her infrared photographs of Rajasthan and Gujarat as an audio slideshow have now been added to her ongoing personal project “Still Points in a Turning World” which focuses on Asia’s vanishing tribal heritage.

With her acknowledged expertise in infrared photography and its intricate post-processing, Terri provides personalized hands-on tutorship to photographers who are interested in the craft. So visit her website, and email her to learn this exciting photographic technique that is growing in popularity.

A previous post on Terri's photography is here.

Luciano Rodriguez Pena: Holi & Kumbh

India Khumbamela from SENSES on Vimeo.

Here's a movie by Spanish photographer Luciano Rodriguez Pena, made during a recent trip to India. It features two main events during the first three months of this year: Haridwar Kumbh Mela and Holi. I liked the colors (as befits a country such as India) and the tremendous energy which the movie imparts. I wish there was a different soundtrack to it, but the stills and the movie make up for that.

Luciano is a Nature & Travel photographer, and teaches digital photography in various photography schools in Madrid.

Holi is a festival of color and was recently celebrated all over India. It's an exuberant festival which aims at infusing fresh hope to people as it marks the end of the winter days and the start of summer. The Kumbh Mela in Haridwar is a three month-long bathing festival along the Ganges river which occurs every 12 years, and about 50 million Hindu devotees performing their prayers and washing away their sins in river's waters are expected in this holy city.

The Hijras (Eunuchs) of Becharaji

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Eunuchs, transsexuals, or transgender men are known as hijras in South Asia. They adopt feminine gender identity, women's clothing and other feminine gender roles. Etymologically, the word hijra is an Urdu word, seemingly derived from the Arabic root hijr or emigration in the sense of "leaving one's family, tribe or country," and it has been borrowed into Hindi.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Many hijra live in all-male communities, and have sustained themselves over generations by "adopting" young boys who are rejected by, or flee their family. Many work as male sex workers for survival. According to estimates by health organizations, only 10% of hijras are actually castrated.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
During my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ , we stayed at the immaculate and well-run Rann Riders resort in Dasada, and its knowledgeable owner Muzahid Malik, suggested we visited Becharaji where hijras frequented its temple.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
As I walked in to the temple ahead of my group, I chanced upon hijras who, upon seeing me, started to clap their hands and laughing. Not really catching on that this was their trademark way of announcing their presence and sexual persuasion, I imitated them and clapped in exactly the same way...one hand on the top of the other, rather than sideways. This drove them to raucous laughter, and eventually to self-consciously pose for our cameras.

There are many stories told about the hijras, and how they extort money by embarrassing shopkeepers and guests at wedding parties, but those we met at the Becharaji temple were friendly and obviously delighted that we took such nonjudgmental interest in them. Naturally, there was some posturing for the cameras, and much competition for the most suggestive poses.

Muzahid invited me to spend a couple of weeks in Dasada. Perhaps I will...After all, there's a hijra festival at Becharaji in late summer. Another potential destination for a photo~expedition?

For a book on hijras, read Zia Jaffrey's The Invisibles.

The Sabarimala Pilgrimage: Asim Rafiqui

Photo © Asim Rafiqui-All Rights Reserved
It's always a pleasure to start off the month with a super interesting post.

Here's a religious event/festival that not only fires up my adrenaline and imagination, but whose descriptive details I savor with relish, particularly as these are written by one of my favorite writers, William Dalrymple, and photographed by one of my favorite photojournalists, Asim Rafiqui.

And naturally, this event (as one of the largest pilgrimage festival in southern India) will be added to my list of possible destinations for a photo~expedition in 2011 or beyond. Not as overhyped as the Kumbh melas, it's the sort of authentic event I would love to photograph and attend...and then produce photo-essays and audio slideshows. It is this kind of destination that I seek for my photo~expeditions, which are destination/event-driven rather than just hopscotching from one tourist spot to the other. The trek up to the temple takes a minimum of five hours on a crowded path and unfortunately, women aged 10-60 are excluded from the pilgrimage.

The festival is the Sabarimala pilgrimage, and it brings Hindus and Muslims together in a fashion that is seldom witnessed. It would be redundant for me to re-post what Dalrymple describes, so here is his article as published in The Guardian.

Here's Asim's post in his opus; The Idea of India, and in which he writes:

"Here, in this small town in Western Kerala, members of two communities have managed, through legend, lore and ritual, to create a shared spiritual and social space and bridged what many claim is an insurmountable divide. The Sabarimala pilgrimage, in the course of about forty days, will bring nearly 50 million pilgrims through this town, and to the Vavar mosque. The seventy kilometer trek from Erumeli to the mountain top shrine of the god Ayyappa at Sabarimala cannot be completed without first paying respects to his friend the Muslim pirate/saint Vavar and asking his permission to proceed."

Asim meets a guruswami who invites him to join his group to Sabarimala and, being of a different persuasion, assumes wrongly that the invitation was only rhetorical. As the guru leads his group towards the mountain shrine of Ayyappa, he waves and tells Asim that perhaps Ayyappan did not call him yet, but that when he was ready he'd ask him to come.

I hope Ayyapan includes me as well.

Paulette Waltz: Tibetans In Exile

Photo © Paulette Waltz-All Rights Reserved
Here's an audio slideshow of black & white photographs of the Tibetan community in Manali by Paulette Waltz.

There are 3 Tibetan monasteries in Manali; two of which are located in the main downtown area of Manali, while the third monastery is on the opposite bank of the Beas river. In common with other Tibetan communities, there are a number of handicraft stores and restaurants. The two I frequented -while teaching at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop- was Chopsticks (not much imagination in the name, but decent and cheap food) and the delightful Peace Cafe which served a wonderful granola and yogurt breakfast, as well as noodle soup and other staples.

Paulette Waltz lives and works in Tokyo, but was born and raised near Washington, DC. She pursued Psychology at Emory University, studying in Europe and Africa. Post-graduation, she traveled Asia and lived in northeast China as well as Japan. She developed her interest in photography in Namibia, where coming across photogenic Himba women.

My Work: Baneshwar Pind Daan

One of the highlights during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ was a few days spent photographing in Baneshwar during its annual fair, or mela.

The Baneshwar mela is popular tribal gathering held in the Dungarpur district in south Rajasthan. The gathering is followed by a fair held at a small delta formed by the river Soma and Mahi. It's a relatively modest event, without the hype and the attendance of the Kumbh Melas, but it's nevertheless a deeply religious gathering with simple and traditional rituals. Bhil and Garasia tribals come from the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, to perform pind daan, and to socialize.

Here's Baneshwar: Pind Daan, an audio-slideshow of photographs made and ambient sound gathered during the mela. Photographed in a documentary style, I chose to process the images in black & white despite their vivid colors.

The audio-slideshow was featured in my March email newsletter sent to my subscribers.

CNN: Haridwar Kumbh Mela

CNN brings us this short video, which was produced by Alex Zolbert, who traveled by train north of Delhi to witness and photograph the Dvitya Shahi Snan, or Second Royal Bath, on March 15, at the Ardh Kumbh Mela.

Photographs by Palani Mohan are included in the piece. Palani's photographic career started at the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, and since then he has been based in London, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and now Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.

As I wrote on my earlier posts about the Hardiwar Kumbh Mela, exuberant hyperbole (and imaginative press releases) describe it as the largest gathering of humanity. It is not. The distinction belongs to the Maha Kumbh Mela which occurs after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas', or after every 144 years. It was held at Allahabad in early 2001, and was attended by over 60 million people, making it the largest gathering in the world. I would also say that, in my opinion and having been to both Allahabad and Hardiwar, that the latter is an unappealing city and its ghats are not photogenic.

Whether it's over-hyped or not, all of the photographers who attended it over the past few weeks had a wonderful time, and captured magnificent images.

Asim Rafiqui: The Kerala Journeys

Photo © Asim Rafiqui -All Rights Reserved
A few weeks ago, I had just returned from my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™, and felt that I hadn't done enough in terms of street photography in the Kutch area of Gujarat.

I, rather ludicrously, expected to photograph non-stop in its small villages that had seen few (if any) foreign tourists and when that didn't happen, I had to content myself with a some frames here and there. Back in New York City, and still cursing my bad luck, I chanced on a post by Asim Rafiqui, in which he describes his street photography in Lucknow as follows:

"And in the rare moments when something close to a photograph does appear I keep ruining it with poor timing, inappropriate angles or by being club footed and lumbering towards it so slowly that the moment is gone. Yesterday I had waited nearly 3 hours for a frame, arousing suspicions among the many shopkeepers who had patiently tolerated me and my cameras on the corner of their street, and then missed it when it seemed to come together!"

Three hours for a frame! And Asim is one of the better photographers I have come across. So I swallowed my curses, and realized that this is what it takes...this is reality...and street photography and paparazzi-style travel photography are miles apart.

Because of such gems, I am a frequent follower of Asim Rafiqui's The Idea of India project. An extraordinarily erudite, both intellectually and visually, blog in which he examines traditions of social and religious sharing which still exist in India, reports on shared sacred sites like major Sufi dargahs where Hindus and Muslims co-pray and on religious festivals which evolved past their sectarian sources and welcome participants of all beliefs and faiths. A veritable cornucopia for those of us who are eager for deeper understanding of the roots of current events.

The latest blog entry is titled The Kerala Journeys. This is what street photography is all about.

Karim Sahai: India

Karim Sahai is a photographer and feature films digital visual effects based in Wellington, New Zealand. Born in Guadeloupe, he worked on blockbusters such as Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, among others.

I was hoping that his portfolio would include a wide variety of photographs from his birth country, but unfortunately he has only posted 5 images of Guadeloupe, a magnificent archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Hopefully, more will be shown.

My Work: Wadha Girl

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
I'm almost done with editing my images made during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™, and have added some images (including the one above) to the gallery Traversing The Kachchh. So drop by the gallery to see these new additions.

This young Wadha girl was determined to be photographed with her pet goat. The Wadha are largely pastorals, and the particular tribe we visited are also involved in making and selling wood charcoal.

I've been asked about my editing workflow, and it's a rather simple one. I initially get a quick bird's view of my RAW images via Canon's DPP, which is somewhat clunky, but it's uncomplicated and I got used to it. I do have a copy of Photo Mechanic somewhere, but until I find it, DPP is it. I make my edits, choose the images I like...and convert these to TIFFs with no color correction etc. Just a simple conversion from RAW to TIFF.

I perform three edits; the first two are for horizontals only (which is what I mostly shoot), and the third is for verticals.

The processing of my TIFFs is mostly done using Lightroom 2.0, and on occasion with Photoshop.

Simple and headache-free (for me).

Sharon Johnson-Tennant: Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
Here are three photographs by Sharon Johnson-Tennant, one of the participants in my Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, which I think exemplify her distinctive multi-faceted photographic style.

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
Sharon is a published photographer, who has traveled and trekked to various corners of the world, on remote expeditions and private explorations in the pursuit of uncommon cultures, unusual places and off the beaten path experiences. Her travels have taken her to Malaysia, Burma, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the Philippines. Her work has been published in various Los Angeles galleries, by Sony Pictures and featured in the movie "Hitch".

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant -All Rights Reserved
According to her artist's statement, she's an absolute purist in her photography...she does not crop nor does she alter her images. Sharon finds that the simplest of visions often convey the true beauty and spirit of a person and place. This rings a chord with me, as I am a purist in my photography as well, and cropping (if not in camera) is a talent which I do not posses.

I would add that Sharon's professional background in textile design and international fashion influences her photographic acuity to the point that during our trip, I frequently wondered at what she was photographing so intently in an isolated spot. Now I know what she saw and what I didn't.

Mark Coughlan: Ardh Kumbh Mela

Photo © Mark Coughlan -All Rights Reserved
A number of photographers (and others are still on their way) have attended the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, despite the restrictions on those who didn't have a Journalist visa and press credentials.

I am told that the restrictions were only applied on the main bathing ghat, and that there were ample opportunities to photograph the spectacular characters who attend such religious gatherings, and who I described (during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2001) as "ascetics, mendicants, mystics, beggars and charlatans".

Mark Coughlan has just posted his work from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela on his website Image The Earth, which documents the fervor of the devout Hindus who traveled for miles and days to attend it, as well as the colorful characters that make the Kumbh Melas what they are.

Mark is a photographer, backpacker, and world traveler based in London. He has traveled to Myanmar, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bolivia among others. He tells us that he likes his photographs to be of vivid colors...he succeeded with his perfect portrait of the sadhu.

Traversing The Kachchh

One of the galleries of photographs made during my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Kutch Photo~Expedition™ is here.

The Kutch or Kachchh district is in the Gujarat state of western India. It's the second largest district of India. It is inhabited by various nomadic and semi-nomadic ethnic groups and minorities. Many of these reached this area after centuries of migration from Western Rajasthan, Sindh, Afghanistan and further.

We came across some of these groups, such as the Leva Patel, Rabaris, Meghwals, Ahirs, the Wadha, Mutwas and the Jats. A few are more difficult than others to photograph, while some refuse point-blank any attempts to do so. A couple of the more interesting tribal groups live semi-nomadic lives at a distance from passable roads: potentially requiring the use of all-terrain vehicles.

My Work: Ranakpur Priest-Caretaker

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
At the outset of my Tribes of South Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, we traveled to Ranakpur, north of Udaipur.

The Ranakpur temple is one of the most famous Jain temple in India, and is dedicated to Adinath, the first Jain Tirthankar, or saint. Jainism is an ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of peace and non-violence towards all living beings. The Ranakpur temple is made of white marble, with more than a thousand columns, none of which are alike.

Having been to Ranakpur a number of times during my traveling in India, I didn't expect to photograph much. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Jain pilgrims we encountered during our visit, and the suffused light in the temple was very helpful. It was almost as if I was photographing under a light tent.

It's Holi Time

Photo © K. K. Arora/Reuters- (Courtesy WSJ Photo Journal) -All Rights Reserved
Holi is a festival of color and was recently celebrated all over India. This exuberant festival aims at infusing fresh hope to people as it marks the end of the winter days and the start of summer. Originally, Holi was a festival to celebrate harvests, and to give thanks for the fertility of the land.

Although Holi is observed all over the north of India, it's also celebrated with considerable zest in Vrindavan and Mathura, and other towns which are said to have housed Krishna. In Vrindavan, Holi takes place over the course of two weeks in Vrindavan, and is observed with numerous processions, folk songs, and dances.

Anamitra Chakladar: Kushti

Photo © Anamitra Chakladar-All Rights Reserved
At the outset of my Tribes of Rajasthan and Gujarat Photo~Expedition, I spent a few days in Delhi where I had the immense good fortune to meet with Anamitra Chakladar, a friend who attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali last July.

Along with Terri Gold and Wink Willett (participants in the photo expedition) we visited a Kushti akhara (a traditional Indian wrestling arena), and spent a couple of hours photographing the wrestlers.

Anamitra was born in Kolkata, and expected by his parents to be a teacher or an accounting executive/CPA (he graduated with an accounting degree), but chose to be a photographer instead.

He joined an established newspaper as a trainee photographer, then moved on to television joining NDTV, and saw more than his share of world conflicts including the first Gulf War, the ongoing conflict over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the coups in Nepal and Bangladesh...and getting shot at during the 2001 attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the Parliament of India in New Delhi.

Anamitra published his photographs of the Kushti training on Photojournale.

My Work: The Rabari & The Charpoy

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
While in Dasada (in the Little Rann of Kutch) during the The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™, we stopped by a small Rabari village to photograph. We fanned out to photograph whatever caught our eye, and whoever was willing to cooperate.

The previous evening at the Rann Riders Resort, we were shown a wonderful book of Olivier Follmi's photographs; some of which were of the area. One photograph in particular caught our attention, and it was of a Rabari shepherd asleep on a traditional rope bed called "charpoy". It was a photograph that I (and others in the group) was determined to imitate, provided I found the necessary rope-bed and a willing and able photogenic Rabari.

I easily found the charpoy, but to convince one of the Rabaris to lay or sit on it taxed my very limited Hindi and my rudimentary sign language. After some insistence (as well as having to literally drag him by the hand) on my part, the chosen Rebari cooperated and played his part...however, feeling self-conscious being watched by some of his fellow villagers, it didn't last very long at all.

Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved
Sharon Johnson-Tennant, one of the group members who was also photographing this recalcitrant Rabari, captured the moment as I showed him the various photographs.

The Rabari tribals live throughout Gujarat, Punjab, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states in India. Some also live in Pakistan, especially in the Sindh. Their principal occupation is raising cattle, camels and goats.

Tribes of Rajasthan/Gujarat Photo Group

Photo © Kantilal Doobal-All Rights Reserved
Kantilal Doobal is the Bhuj-based photographer/guide who accompanied us on our forays in the tribal lands of Bhuj area. He photographed alongside us, and emailed us this group photograph at a Wadha village on the last day in the Kutch.

From left: Sharon Johnson-Tennant, Colleen Kerrigan, Sandy Chandler, Tewfic El-Sawy, Kim McClellan, Terri Gold, Cathy Scholl and Charlotte Rush-Bailey. The fellow in the blue turban is the village's chief. Missing are Wink Willett and Jamie Johnson.

Kantilal Doobal's Flickr stream is here.

POV: The Gulf Between Us?

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey -All Rights Reserved
Oh, how our eyes can deceive us sometimes..and how easily photographs captured in a split-second can convey a very different story from reality.

Here's a photograph of me while at the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad during prayers (called namaz in India), in which I look wary of the man who's crossing my path. Our body language and side glances seem to convey a mutual distrust, with the space between us accentuating that wariness.

But nothing could be further from the truth. A second later I greeted him with the traditional Muslim al-salam aleikum, unmistakably pronounced in Arabic. Surprised, his face immediately softened as he recognized a fellow Muslim, and he responded, with warmth in his voice. We shook hands, then he brought his hand to his heart, and I did the same. I forget his name, but I remember his kind eyes, and that he spoke a halting Arabic (which he later told me he learned while working long and hard hours in Jeddah). He suddenly asked me if I was Sunni. The question threw me off-balance for a moment, but when I replied affirmatively, he once again violently pumped my hand. I was now part of the Umah. If only he knew what my real beliefs were. Perhaps he wouldn't care...to him, the bottom line is that a Muslim born in the faith is always a Muslim, no matter what.

During The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, we visited many villages and a number of tribes of Muslim persuasion. We were frequently asked where we were from, and were greeted with smiles when we replied "Amereeka". Despite obvious poverty, we were welcomed in homes, offered fresh milk, chai and roti , and were considered honored visitors. I wonder how we -in "Amereeka"- would treat these villagers if they dropped by our homes...just like that, to take pictures and to gawk. No, that's not true. I don't wonder. I know.

These are the memories which stay with me for a long time...memories of instances when the walls of mistrust, ignorance and bigotry (on both sides) dissolve because a genuine -and basic- human connection is made. These memories remain with me more so than my photographs of the decisive moments, or photographs with layers or photographs that tell stories.

Kim McClellan: Tribes of Raj & Gujarat

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
Kim McClellan is a professional photographer (as well as working for the SBA in DC), and graduated from the Washington School of Photography in January 2001. She's passionate about international travel photography, and her work was featured in juried exhibitions and shows in the Washington DC Metro Area. She's well-known for her work in fashion, glamour, and classical figures.

Kim joined my Bhutan: Land of Druk Yul Photo~Expedition ™ this past October, and will join my forthcoming Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ in August. On her way to cover the Venice Carnavale, Kim found the time to send me a sample of her work made during The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™, which appears here.

The first is of a traditional Rabari shepherd in Southern Rajasthan; the second is of a young girl carrying a baby in Poshina while the third is of an Agaria salt worker near Dasada.

Kim is a natural story-teller, and had our group mesmerized on many occasions while recounting various life events. She was also firmly in control whenever some of our photo shoots required her expertise in directing models.