New! First Images From The Fujifilm X-Pro1

It does appear the new Fujifilm X-Pro1 will prove to be a tough competitor, not only to the Leica M9 (as I thought it would), but also prove to be a decent alternative to DSLRs. Two Australian photographer who've had the opportunity to test it have extremely positive things to say about it. Take a look at the Vimeo movie above.

The eminent PetaPixel website featured a link to the first images from the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 on the websites of Australian photographers Christian Fletcher and Michael Coyne.

I really can't wait to test it myself!!!

Sharon Johnson-Tennant: Diffusion & Magical Mystery Tour

Pilgrimage Home (Ladakh)- © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Kitchen , Stok Monastery-© Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Morocco-Photo © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

Morocco- Photos © Sharon Johnson-Tennant-All Rights Reserved

di·aph·a·nous/dīˈafənəs/

Adjective:  Light, delicate, and translucent.

Here are a number of photographs by Sharon Johnson-Tennant, a multi-faceted award winning photographer in Los Angeles and a participant in my 2010 Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition.

These photographs are part of a larger number she sent me in connection with her forthcoming exhibition named DIFFUSION; a compilation of 9 years of Sharon's work from travel all over the world. She describes the photographs in this exhibition as "images that seem to have stopped in time, things in plain sight but not always seen" such as the two top ones made in Ladakh, a remote area of India. Apart from India, her travels have taken her to Malaysia, Burma, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and the Philippines.

The exhibition's opening night is March 3, 2012 (7-10 pm) at the Robert Berman Gallery, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. The exhibition will continue until March 31st.

As for the lower photographs, they're part of Sharon's larger body of work (still in progress) which she calls Magical Mystery Tour. Those were recently made in Morocco at twilight. That time of day in terms of light, coupled with the natural reticence of Moroccans to being photographed pushed Sharon to alter her techniques to meet these challenges.

On my blog, I frequently describe photographs as powerful, emotive, and/or well composed.  For Sharon's new photographs, I happily add diaphanous and ethereal to all these adjectives.

For further examples of Sharon's talents, visit her new website...you'll see the versatility of her work.

My Work: Kushti In Kolkata

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

During my Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo Expedition/Workshop, I chanced upon a group of traditional wrestlers near the Armenian Ghat on the Hooghly river. These were Kushti wrestlers, about to practice their sport in a small area, which was being carefully prepared for their bouts.

While I had known of Kushti being practiced in Delhi and Varanasi, I hadn't heard of it in Kolkata and after watching these wrestlers for a while, I concluded that it was different here. In contrast with the ground being moist (as in Delhi), the wrestling area (known as an akhara) here was dry, was swept with young tree branches then covered with bits of leaves, which I believe were from neighboring neem trees (which have medicinal properties).

Kushti is India's traditional wrestling, and is an ancient form of wrestling. It was held in great importance in Indian societies, but its popularity has dwindled over the years, although there are concerted efforts to revive it. Kushti practitioners face grueling daily training, a strict diet and celibacy.

The Armenian Ghat is probably the most interesting of all of Kolkata's ghats. It was built by a merchant of Armenian origin in 1724. Armenians dominated has spice in gem traders in ancient Kolkata. The Kolkata station and Ticket Reservation Room of Eastern Railways was situated in the Armenian Ghat from 1854-1874.

For those who're interested in tech stuff, I used a Leica M9 with an Elmarit 28mm 2.8.

POV: Lost In Translation?

Photo © AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen- Courtesy DenverPost.com

I've seen quite a few errors in the captions of photographs recently, but this one is probably the most misleading. The photograph appeared in the Pictures of the Week on the Denver Post Plog. 

Underneath the photograph is a caption that reads "Eman Mohammed, 7, holds a placard that reads in Arabic, "our army is over our head, and the parliament belongs to the ousted," during a protest in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The parliament elected in Egypt's first legislative vote after Hosni Mubarak's ouster nearly a year ago held its inaugural session on Monday, with Islamists dominating the 498-seat chamber that will oversee the drafting of a new constitution."

This is incorrect, and is at a 180 degrees divergence from what is on the placard. The correct translation of the Arabic words on the placard is "Our Army is over our head (ie a colloquialism for being held in great esteem)...The Council belongs (or follows) the ousted (for the ousted Mubarak)."

The Council referred to on the placard is not the Parliament, but is the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. This is totally divergent from what the caption incorrectly states. The child is presumably one of the protestors who took part in a demonstration against the military council, not against the civilian Parliament.

I always wondered whether in such a case, would the error be that of the photographer (in this case, an Arabic speaker) or someone else?

Josef Tornick: The Hebrides

Photo © Josef Tornick-All Rights Reserved

"I am deeply happy to have found my place, camera in hand, in this world."

I normally do not feature much at all of European subjects, however Josef Tornick's beautiful black & white photographs of the Outer Hebrides and of the Aran Islands (a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and a group of islands on the west coast of Ireland respectively) are so well composed, that I thought I'd redress this failing.

Josef describes himself as project-oriented humanist documentary photographer. After years of deep inward study and reflection, he tells is of an effortless flow of images from his camera, reflecting a long sought integration.

Having followed my blog's posts relating to the new Fujifilm cameras, Josef tells me he just bought a Fujifilm FinePix X100 and is amazed by its image quality, which he thinks is much better than his former Panasonic G1.

POV: 5th Anniversary...Yes, 5th!!!

I always write a post at this time of year to observe the annual anniversary/birthday of The Travel Photographer's blog. I've started the blog five years ago (in London actually, and probably only because I was stuck at home as it was raining) and since then, it attracted an astonishing number of readers and visitors.

On the poster above, I haven't added my 5400 followers on Lightbox, an Android app (and soon to be on iPhone too as well).

Over two million unique visitors! Two million!!!

It established itself as a blog to read amongst a certain segment of the photography industry, and earned me the attention of many photographers (pros, semi-pros and non pros), photo retailers and industry experts. Yes, it's time-consuming (much less so now because it's well known, and requests from photographers find their way to my inbox on a weekly basis), but I still have enough self discipline to attend to it on a daily basis (well, 99% of the time).

And one of the most pleasant thrills I experience is being accosted in public and asked if I was "The Travel Photographer"...and this happens not infrequently, especially in New York City. If I may say so, adopting the brand name "The Travel Photographer" is one of the best ideas I've had in years. A self-pat on the back for thinking of it. A lesson to the younger photographers: brand yourself!!!

Onwards towards the 6th year.

As they say in my country of birth...Insha' Allah!

Mark Carey: Viet Nam In Black & White

Photo © Mark Carey-All Rights Reserved

"My photographic heart lies in documentary, showing things as they really are, not as someone has contrived them to be..."

Here's a photographer who shares my own photographic credo. 

Mark Carey is a London-based documentary photographer, and who tells us he never had an interest in photographing posed or set-up shots, whether for his wedding photography or during his travels. I suggest you view his wedding portfolio, and see this documentary/photojournalism style applied to the weddings he covered.

His travel portfolio consists of three main galleries; Rajasthan, Varanasi and Viet Nam, which I think has extremely well composed black & white (one or two are in color) street photographs. I don't know if Mark shoots from the hip, but the subjects in many of the photographs appear to be oblivious of his presence....street photography at its best.

It's been too long since my last visit to Viet Nam, and I am starting to lay out plans for a photo expedition/workshop at some point to take place in this wonderful country.

A highly recommended viewing stop for all those interested in Viet Nam and solid street photography! Great travel photography does not need to be in color!

A Year Ago...Egypt

Photo © Ed Ou - All Rights Reserved

In remembrance of those who fell in Tahrir and elsewhere. The Egyptian revolution started a year ago today, and is still ongoing.

And to the naysayers, neo-cons and the rest of the mindless individuals who prefer Arab dictatorships, and see democracy (as imperfect as it may be) taking its first steps in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East as an existentialist threat, go screw yourselves.

And to those who are optimistic, here are, via Foreign Policy Magazine, the young Egyptians who will eventually succeed in achieving what they started.

The Year Of The Dragon: Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Photo © Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images-Courtesy Al Jazeera

Ethnic Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese across Asia are ringing in the Year of the Dragon with fireworks, festivals and family reunions. Legend has it that Chinese people descended from a dragon, and it's believed the powerful creature is auspicious. The tradition dictates that those born in Dragon years tend to be brave, innovative and highly driven, regularly making it to the top of their profession. In China, the holiday is known as 春节, the Spring Festival, and kicks off 15 days of celebration.

Al Jazeera's In Pictures, The Atlantic's In Focus, The Boston Globe's The Big Picture and the Los Angeles Time's Framework featured photo galleries of the celebrations all over the world.

Photo © Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-Courtesy LAT

I wish all the very best to my friends and readers in Asia and elsewhere who celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

In New York City's Chinatown, a Lunar New Year parade is scheduled for January 29 on Canal Street South from 11:30 to 4 pm. I bet many photographers will be there!!

POV: Fujifilm X-Pro 1 & Leica M9

One of my most popular blog posts is the recent FujiFilm X-Pro1: Is It A Threat To Leica? in which I thought that it might well be, depending on the X-Pro 1's image quality (of course) and price point. It attracted a large number of emails...some agreeing with me, and others disagreeing.

About two weeks into the announcement, a large number of websites have expressed first look opinions and reviews of the X-Pro 1, and the consensus seems to be that Fujifilm is indeed putting the Leica M9 in its crosshairs with this new camera. Some even say that with the M9 based on the classic rangefinder model, the X-Pro 1 (although not a rangefinder as such) is the future...a reincarnation of that classic model. After all, it's an all-new camera system, with a brand new mount and lenses.

Another clue into Fujifilm's strategic thinking is its announcement it will make available a Leica M-mount adapter for the X-Pro 1, trying to peel off consumers away from the legendary classic but providing photographers the option to use the excellent Leica lenses as well as Voigtlander and Zeiss glass. How many times have I heard from established photographers that they'd love to have an M9, but it was too expensive? Lots.

I recently read in PDN that the lens system for the X-Pro 1 will initially consist of a 18mm f/2, 35mm f/1.4 and a 60mm f/2.4, with more coming down the road such as a 14mm super wide, a 18-72mm f/4 IS zoom, a 23mm f/2, a 28mm f/2.8 pancake design, a 12-24mm f/4 and a 70-200mm f/4 IS zoom.

Quite a broad range of lenses to suit every photography type! Wedding, street and documentary.

On the negative side, I also read in a number of hands-on reviews (of the pre-production models) that its auto-focus will not be as responsive as we'd like it to be. Another thing, the actual retail price has appeared in the UK, and seems to be £1350 (the equivalent of about $2000 including VAT of 20%, or $1600 net pre tax).

Will this Fujifilm newcomer pressure Leica to come up with a mirrorless model of its own? Perhaps. We have all seen countless companies fall by the wayside because they couldn't (or wouldn't) grab the moment...because of managerial inertia, bad luck or arrogance...or all of those.

I am not "dissing" Leica by any means. I own one and I'm very pleased with it despite its shortcomings (and my own), but I have no second thoughts the X-Pro 1 will nibble into the rangefinder market. How much of a nibble remains to be seen.

POV: An Evolution

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

It's a  curious thing evolution. Not the kind of evolution that most Republican Presidential candidates unintelligently profess (or pretend to) not to believe in, but our own visual evolution...our visual maturation.

Last night, I was going through my photographs from the week I spent attending the Angkor Photo Festival in Siem Reap and, whilst I hadn't any plans to seriously photograph there, I nevertheless did manage to grab a few hundred of shots. I had no specific storyline or photo shoots in mind, played the tourist and just photographed whatever took my fancy.

I left my Canon 5D Mark II in my hotel room, and only used my M9 fitted with an Elmarit 28mm f2.8 during that week wherever I went, and it was liberating -but also challenging to some degree- to be using a rangefinder with only one lens.

Looking at my photographs, I isolated the four you see above this post that I believe illustrate the visual maturation I've been through since I started photography in earnest some 12 years ago. The top two are the shots I used to prefer almost exclusively during the first few years of my photographic trajectory...simple, uncomplicated, candid, pure travel photography....those I call perhaps undeservedly the "lazy" shots. Although these are made with a rangefinder and a wide-angle lens, I used to make similar photographs using a 70-200 lens, staying at some distance from my subjects. I no longer do this,  especially with the gear I now prefer to use. That being said, this type of photography is currently my least favored.  It's a milestone in my visual maturation.

The one of the caretaker monk at Wat Bo is a chiaroscuro portrait; the kind I like when making a simple "one-subject" photograph. It takes a little more planning and setting up, and is obviously much more dramatic than the "plain-vanilla" top two.

The bottom image is the type of photography that appeals to me the most at this stage. It's far from being a great photograph, but comparatively is more complex. It's not as multi-layered as a street photograph, and is just of dance performers dressing up for tourists at Angkor Wat...but is much more interesting than the above three; at least to my eyes.

A few years ago, when I definitely moved to digital photography,  I decided -for space reasons- to cull my slides, and must've thrown out thousands of what -to my eyes then- were crappy shots. I only kept the "good" ones which are largely similar to the top two photographs...simple and uncomplicated. Who knows? Perhaps I threw a few slides that would have now been "keepers".

It's why I no longer trash any of my image files....unless they're really bad, really really blurry or beyond any fix. With digital files, physical space (as in filing cabinets or whatever) is no longer an issue, so all images are saved and archived....one day, they may be keepers after all!!

Gul Chotrani: Leica Talk

Photo © Gul Chotrani-All Rights Reserved

Gul Chotrani was just featured in an interview on The Leica Camera Blog, following his return from his July 2011 journey to Ethiopia's Omo Valley.

I met him when he joined my In Search of the Sufis of Gujarat Photo Expedition™ in 2011, and it was during it that he photographed using his M9, S2 and a Nikon D3.

Gul worked as an analyst/economist and later in investment banking in the UK, then spent several years in academia, teaching economics and finance in Singapore and South East Asia. He subsequently served as a consultant/advisor in trade, finance and development issues, and also participated in technical cooperation programs with several less developed countries in Asia, on behalf of the Singapore government, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

"When I’m on a serious photography trip, my total gear consists of three bodies (Leica M9, S2 and Nikon D3X) with perhaps two lenses for each, all meant to complement each other."

He echoes many Leica owners when admitting that using its cameras in the beginning was frustrating, and that he almost gave up on it. However, realizing the superlative optics of the Leica M lenses, and presumably the resultant image quality, is what kept him hooked to the Leica brand.

Interesting thoughts (a second installment of the interview is due to appear soon on the Leica blog) by an enthusiastic and unabashed Leica aficionado, which may influence some photographers to jump in the Leica universe.

For further photographs by Gul, drop by his website.

Russia By Rail via NPR

Photo © David Gilkey- Courtesy NPR

I rarely post on Russia!

On the map that shows where The Travel Photographer blog readership comes from, every continent is dotted with thousands of dots of where the daily hits originate...the least (after sub Saharan Africa) dotted  area is Russia. So perhaps this post will redress the situation.

"Six thousand miles. Seven time zones. And endless cups of hot tea."

National Public Radio's David Greene along with producer Laura Krantz and photographer David Gilkey boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway in Moscow and took two weeks to make their way to the Pacific Ocean port city of Vladivostok, and produced this impressive Russia By Rail series.

The NPR series tells us that it's one of the world's longest train trips, and passes through one of the world's largest forests and runs along the shoreline of the world's largest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal, which holds nearly 20 percent of the world's fresh water.

Interestingly, Gilkey says that their gear included all sorts of recorders, microphones, high-end digital cameras and an iPhone 4. It appears the iPhone was essential because it could be used more easily than regular cameras that are viewed with some suspicion by some Russians. Many of the images in the galleries were made with the iPhone.

Equally interestingly, Gilkey also used new instant film material for the classic Polaroid cameras; results of which can be viewed in the Freeze Frame section of the series. Very atmospheric old timey images.

Eight Lido Restauant & Cafe (Dine, Wine, Unwind) at Johor Bahru.

Eight Lido Restaurant and Cafe (N1.463042 E103.732175) is located along the coastal road - Jalan Skudai of Johor Bahru. Unique name isn't it? It's the lot number of the building, Number 8 along Lido Beach. :)

I was invited by Mr Euginn (Nov 2011) for the foods tasting at the restaurant that night together with others food reviewer and bloggers, it also a good opportunity for me to explore around this nice architecture bungalow house...

Too bad it was dark when I reached the restaurant, I miss the nice panorama view of the Johor Straits...let me show you some photos of the restaurant...

The outdoor drinking area...

The indoor area...

The dining area...

The romantic corner for couple...

Nice lighting...

The bar area...

The wine cellar...

Every corners were decorated nicely and beautiful! The rustic ambience display by the warm light makes the area feel comfort and relax...like the cozy feeling very much!

Once we introduced each others and invited by the Restaurant Manager to the upper lever for some Spanish Tapas.

Everyone were busy talking and chatting before the Tapas serve...

Once the bell rang...the food served!

Spanish Tapas

The lamb meatball...

I like the Yummy lamb ball! The shape of beancurd look alike which had a strong cheese taste was really special and nice! Too bad, I didn't get the name of each Tapas...
Well...as usual, everyone busy taking photo of the foods...

Food photos session...

The friendly Manager - Mr Prakash introduced the foods to the gentlemen...

Mr Prakash and the bloggers...

I finished the lonely prawn (below) without other notice! Ops!

One of the Tapas served...

Next...we were invited to the dining area for western food dinner...

I forgot to tweet...Ops again!

Before the dinner serve, another chit-chat session going on...

After a short speech from Mr Prakash...the dinner started...

First, Mushroom soup with garlic bread...

Mushroom soup with garlic bread...

Figure 'Eight' presented in the soup...

Satisfied! Creamy!

Second course...Twin serving - Smoke Salmon and NZ Lamb Rack.

Smoke Salmon and NZ Lamb Rack

The Salmon was good with the Citrus Mustard Sauce, but the Rack of Lamb was dry and it was not tender enough...maybe I was the unlucky one...

The dry Lamb Rack...

Third course - Lamb Shank and NZ Tenderloin Steak...

Lamb Shank (up) and NZ Tenderloin Steak (down)

Lamb shank was tender and Delicious! Everyone like it and we finished it within 5 minutes! The medium rare NZ Tenderloin was nice and flavourful...but I prefer medium...

Medium rare NZ Tenderloin Steak

I was totally Full after the third course! That made me activated my 'spare tank' for the dessert!

The Trio Dessert served right after the third course...

The Trio Dessert

 

The Bread and Butter pudding

The star-shaped Crème Brulee served with crunchy Caramelized top layer

Sangria fruit pudding

Among all, I like the Bread & Butter very much. The Crème Brulee was nice especially the crunchy Caramelized layer, but it was too sweet for me...I like the aroma of the Sangria fruit pudding, too bad cannot finish it due to my 'spare tank' also Full!

Overall, I like the foods tasting organized by Euginn and thank you very much to Mr Allen from Eight Lido. It was a good opportunity and my pleasure to know others bloggers at Johor Bahru.

Below are the guests photos of the night...

It's Nice environment for dinner and I will come back for other dishes from Eight Lido!

Eight Lido Restaurant and Cafe

No. 8, Jalan Skudai, Straits View,

80200 Johor Bahru.

Tel: 607 – 2227 808, 2227 807  Fax: 607 – 2227 806

https://www.facebook.com/eightlido

Location map of Eight Lido Restaurant and Cafe at Johor Bahru

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