Reader' Poll: Who's The Travel Photographer of 2012?

To end 2012, I thought I'd feature a reader's poll to choose which of a pre-selected travel photographers whose work appeared on The Travel Photographer's blog would garner the most votes for the coveted title of "The Travel Photographer of 2012". 

There are no prizes...just the intangible glory of being nominated by readers of this blog. And yes, I applied the term 'travel photographer' a little loosely. I will announce the winner in a week or so.

Here are the photographers. I list them in no particular order, with a thumbnail sample of their work, the shortcut link to my post on this blog, and a link to their website. The poll is at the bottom of this post.

I also plan to feature at a later stage which 2-3 posts about travel photography/photographers got the highest number of views during 2012.


1. Monica Denevan:

Photo © Monica Denevan

Blog Post

Website

2. Cedric Arnold:

Photo © Cedric Arnold

Blog Post

Website

3. Devansh Jhaveri: 

Photo © Devansh Jhaveri

Blog Post

Website

4. Lisa Kristine:

Photo © Lisa Kristine

Blog Post

Website

5. Denis Rouvre:

Photo © Denis Rouvre

Blog Post

Website

"Beyond" Varanasi Documentary: Cale Glendening

For 12/12/12 (the so-called end of days or whatever it's called), I've featured the trailer (for those with limited time or a short attention span) as well as the full length (43 minutes  of “BEYOND”. A documentary by filmmaker Cale Glendening which features photographer Joey L. and his assistant Ryan McCarney as they complete their latest photo series “Holy Men” in the ancient city of Varanasi.

Beautiful film work, and interesting insight as to how Joey L. works in the field, amongst ancient cultures and with atypical characters as the Aghori sadhus...one of whom speaks almost fluent English. It's also interesting to see how Joey L., a young Canadian commercial photographer, goes about his craft. He's seen working with a medium format digital Phase One camera and portable softboxes.

Very much more commercial (or fashion photographic) work than travel photography, and one that consumes a lot of planning, time and effort. It's gratifying that Joey and his teammates realize the value of making a connection, and friendships, before starting to shoot their camera flashes in the faces of their subjects.

But I'm not sure what to make of the Aghori sadhus who were photographed and filmed here in this documentary.

The Aghori, mostly ascetic sadhus, are a Shaivite Hindu sect, known for violating typical Indian and other social mores, and for unorthodox, taboo rituals such as cannibalism of corpses and using skulls as drinking vessels. My understanding is that they shun the company of others, and follow secret rituals...with no interest in notoriety or publicity of any sort.

So I'm a little puzzled by the two Aghoris appearing in this documentary, throwing some flammable stuff in a small bonfire and holding a skull.

In any event, it makes for good viewing.

8th Angkor Photo Festival: 2012 Prize Winner

Photo © Truth Leem-All Rights Reserved

Angkor Photo Workshops announced its first prize winner last night in Siem Reap. "Island" by South Korean photographer Truth Leem won the award presented by Francoise Callier.

The jury consisted of Andrea Star Reese, Francoise Callier (program director of Angkor Photo Festival), Che Ahmad Azhar,  Mauro Bedoni, Kosuke Okahara, Heng Ting Guan, andWill Baxter.

For her Island essay during the workshop, Truth Leem photographed a series of solitary people. She is a former Reuters stringer.

Out of Eden Walk: 30 Million Footsteps

A few posts ago I suggested there were no more explorers in the mold of Richard Francis Burton.

I was wrong.

An incredible exploration trek is being planned by Paul Salopek, a writer for the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic, who will be walking the journey taken by early man tens of thousands of years ago.

The walk, Out of Eden, will take 30 million footsteps, over 21, 000 miles over 7 years to complete. It will start in Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia, and will cross the Red Sea into the Middle East, cross China, into Siberia, cross the Bering Strait into Alaska and then walk all the way down the western coasts of North and South America.

Graphic courtesy The Observer

Salopek will be taking a micro-light laptop, video and audio recording tools, since he intends to record his journey; including landscapes and voices and faces of the people he meets on the walk. He will also be taking a satellite phone through which he will be uploading his journal's recordings to his his website.

He tells The Guardian newspaper that "We will be creating a family portrait of humanity for the next seven years."

That promises to be one damn exciting journey for all of us.

Sebastião Salgado: The Nenets of Siberia

Photo © Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas/nbpictures

The new work by my very favorite photographer Sebastião Salgado was featured by The Guardian newspaper in the UK. It's been trending very heavily on Facebook and on Twitter, which is not surprising since so many people admire him and his work.

I not only admire his work, but his way of seeing....as he describes it by saying " If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture. That is my way of seeing things."

But back to his new work.

Mr Salgado's Genesis project is now complete after 30 trips made over 8 years. The project portrays the beauty and the majesty of regions still in a pristine condition, areas where landscapes and wildlife are still unspoiled, places where human communities continue to live according to their ancient culture and traditions.

From The Guardian's very interesting accompanying article,   Mr Salgado's latest trip was to the nomadic Nenets of northern Siberia. The Nenets are also known as Samoyeds, and are an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia. There are 40,000 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The Nenets' lives are defined by reindeer, which are the source of their food, clothing and transport. Every spring, the Nenets move large herds of reindeer from winter pastures on the Russian mainland, travelling more than 1,000 kilometers north to summer pastures in the Arctic Circle.

I ought to also mention that London's Natural History Museum is scheduling an exhibition of Genesis on 11 April - 8 September 2013. There is no way that I will miss it...no way.

Thomas Cristofoletti: Once Upon A Time In Burma

Photo © Thomas Cristofoletti-All Rights Reserved

I thought I'd feature work of Myanmar (Burma) which is rapidly becoming the must-see destination in South East Asia after its 'opening' up. I'm told that tourists are descending on this lovely country like hungry locusts over Biblical Egypt, and that hotels and flights are difficult to come by.

Ah, well...I hope the benefits accruing to the touring agencies from this surge trickle down to the people of Burma.

I thought I'd feature Thomas Cristofoletti's photographs of this magnificent country, especially as they're different from the standard travel photo portfolios of posed photographs of Lake Inle fishermen or Buddhist monks in Mandalay or Bagan. His photographs are, for the most part, unposed and natural. And his website includes well composed photography of Burmese people in Yangon's streets, on the ferries, in train stations, and on Inle Lake.

Thomas Cristofoletti is an Italian freelance photographer & videographer based in Phnom Penh, who's working in several social video & photography projects in South East Asia and Europe for international NGOs. His photographs were eatured in international magazines and newspapers, such as The Herald Tribune, The Guardian.co.uk, El Pais, Afisha Mir Travel Magazine, LaRepubblica.it, In Style Russia, and others. 

Jan Schlegel: Pain & Beauty Redux

Photo © Jan C. Schlegel-All Rights Reserved

Oh, followers and readers of The Travel Photographer blog will like this!

Ethnophotography, traditional process, photographs made with a 4x5 field camera (Ebony SV45 Ti) on Kodak Tmax 400, and negatives developed in Kodak D76 Developer 1+1 dilution...then selenium toned. What's not to like?

"None of the people photographed wear special make-up or were specially dressed before the photos were taken. They were all captured in their own habitat — at the market, in the village square, or simply on the roadside." Jan Schlegel

Jan C. Schlegel is a German photographer, whose ethno-photographic work is in the tradition of Phil Borges.  In 1998, he began traveling throughout Asia and Africa with the objective of photographing diverse people groups and tribes, and has so far traveled to 61 countries and is still in pursuit of the beauty and diversity of the nations.

The quality of these photographs are just remarkable. His website claims that he succeeds in not only creating artistic photographs, but in documenting the uniqueness of his subjects...the people who posed for him. Absolutely.

And I have a lot of respect for a photographer who doesn't follow the fad of making demeaning portraits of Ethiopian tribal people wearing ridiculous ornaments. Speaking of ornaments, take a look at the magnificent jewelry of the Himba women...and don't miss the beautiful eyes of the Kalash women.

I had posted Jan's work some years ago here, but it seems he changed his website, and added much more work.

Another visit to The Big Red Strawberry Farm at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

Due to the early rain (about 4pm) in Cameron Highlands, we visited the The Big Red Strawberry Farm (N4.49624 E101.38656) in Brinchang town because it's fully cover in the farm. This was our second time visiting the farm and we like the way they arrange the plants and vegetables nice & neat, and it's clean too!

Initially, I was thinking to buy some plants or flowers for my garden...but just worry about the weather is different from the Highlands and it may not grow properly....

The flowers that I like...

Nice and colourful!

The prices of the flowers and the plants are much cheaper compare with the nursery around Johor Bahru  sell here. End up, we just bought some nice cactus...6 for RM10.

Lovely Green flowers...

The water stayed in the middle of the plant after rain...

Then we walked into the Lettuce and Strawberries area...

The Hydroponics Lettuces...

Lettuce seeding and the growing lettuces

Now they allow visitors to enter the Cassarova Strawberries area to pluck the strawberries, the fees is RM25.00. The Cassarova Strawberry is different from the normal strawberry where you can see it everywhere in Cameron Highlands, it's bigger, much sweeter and not that sour.

'Cassarova' Strawberries farm

We spent about 30-40 mintues to 'harvest' in that area and this (below) was what we got ...:)

Cassarova strawberries from The Big Red Strawberry Farm

The Strawberry Chocolate Fondue is the popular dessert at Cameron Highlands during our visit. It's widely available on the highlands including this strawberry farm...

I didn't take note on the price for the Fondue package at the cafe....

I think we will visit the farm again on our next trip, just felt very comfort walking in the farm...the staffs in the farm also freindly as usual...

We were hanging around the farm until the rain stop, then went back to the hotel for some rest...

The pink Hibiscus

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012

Location map of The Big Red Strawberry Farm at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

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POV: The Subway Picture

Appalling and disgusting. How else can anyone describe this? The New York Post, known for its sensationalism, and one of the rags belonging to Rupert Murdoch, has deservedly earned the opprobrium of every sentient being.

What does it have to do with travel and documentary photography? Nothing, other than it involves a so-called "freelance photojournalist", who through his action in taking this horrific picture, sullied the profession's reputation...which wasn't that stellar in the first place.

I saw a post on Facebook linking to an article published on Gawker bearing the title of Would You Have Taken The Subway Photo? asking that question to a bunch of Pulitzer-winning photographers.

I don't give a rat's ass what the Pulitzer winning photographers think, or what they would have done. Does winning the Pulizer prize bestow upon them more morality than the rest of us? This has nothing to do with taking a picture. This has to do with being a human being. And don't take me for a fool by saying that it was the duty of a photojournalist to document such an event.

I can only judge others' action by what I would have done had I been in this "photographer's" shoes.

I would've been frozen in my tracks at the horrifying scene unfolding in front of me over the course of 20 seconds...there's an infinitesimal chance that I might have run towards the man in a doomed impulse to do something...but I suspect I would've been transfixed at what I was about to witness. The last thing on my mind would've been to raise a camera and take a picture.

But let's pretend my nerves are made of steel, that I'm a hard-core photojournalist on the NYC subway beat for a while, and that I took the picture. I would have never given the picture(s) to the New York Post. Never.

But let's assume that I had to...perhaps because I'm a hardened hard-core photojournalist, or because of a contractual obligation that prevented me from deleting pictures, or because I felt the need to give them to the NYPD.  I would have refused to take a red cent for it.

But let's pretend that I lost my moral compass for a moment and took the money. I would regain it and give the money to the victim's kin to defray the burial cost, and try to cleanse my soul.

Yes, Mr R. Umar Abbasi...you need to cleanse your soul. And don't describe yourself as a "photojournalist".

As for The New York Post...you know what you are. I won't waste time telling you what you already know.

Ian Ruhter: The American Dream Project

If I'm to believe my blog's statistics, posts dealing with photographic alternative processes are hugely popular...as popular as comparisons between the Leica M9 and the Fuji X Pro-1.

So here's one about photographer Ian Ruhter (whose website's front page describes him as an "alchemist"...I think a well deserved self accolade). He processes his large format photographs using the collodion wet plate process, a photographic process used in the 19th century. He also authors the Silver & Light Tumblr blog that has some of his images. By the way, the above video on Vimeo registered some 104,000 plays.

Ian Rihter is traveling across the United States photographing the people and places with a delivery van that he converted into a giant camera. This collodion wet plate process was the fashion during the Civil War era and creates unique images on metal plates. Each plate is hand-coated, exposed and then hand-developed. The plate becomes both the positive and the negative, so each image can only be produced once; creating a singular photograph that can't be replicated.

Photo © Ian Ruhter. All Rights Reserved

Uncle Chow Kopitiam (The Hidden Gem) at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

Recommended by one fo my friend - Ben, and read a lot of positive review of this cafe...we decided to give a try during lunch time.
From the guide of Garmin GPS device, we drove into Taman Royal Lily which is located at the inner part out of Tanah Rata town. The Uncle Chow Kopitiam (N4.46722 E101.37244) is situated at the corner unit of Jalan Royal Lily 4/2.

Uncle Chow Kopitiam, Tanah Rata

No problem on the parking area and the shop just next to a small hill, cooling and refreshing!
The setting is simple and cozy, even it called it kopitiam but I'm quite disagree with it because of the comfort, clean dining area, it should at least name it - Cafe. :)

The setting and environment

The kopitiam is selling Local, Chinese and Western food, beside that...they also have many type of snacks and dessert, a good place for afternoon tea break too...

The dessert of the day...

The snacks and kuih-kuih displayed in the glass cabinets next to the counter...I saw some Nyonya kuih (snacks) also available, surprised! :)

Kuih-kuih (snacks)

We placed our orders...with the lady boss. She was friendly!

I had a Nasi Goreng Kampung (Traditional Fried Rice), my wife and daughter sharing a bowl of Chicken congee and order the Aloe Vera dessert...

Nasi Goreng Kampung ( Fried rice)

Chicken Congee

Aloe Vera Dessert

Food taste were above average!
I like the fried rice with the sambal chili. Nice!

The sambal served with the fried rice

My wife and daughter were happy with their Chicken congee and especially the Aloe Vera Dessert! The dessert was nice and not too sweet...
The Damage : RM21.00 for the meals above included drinks.
Too bad we will leaving soon, otherwise I would like to have the tea break again in this 'Kopitiam'.

I had a chat with the friendly lady boss and realized that the cafe awarded the 2nd position in Cameron Highlands by its Cleanness and Comfort by the town council, another award was 'One of the Top Restaurant at Cameron Highlands' by Cameron Highlands Online.

The awards for the restaurant

Do visit the Kopitiam if you happen to be around at Tanah Rata town, I think you will like it! Recommended cafe in Cameron Highlands.

Uncle Chow Kopitiam

 C2-G-01 Block C2
Jalan Royal Lily 4/2,

Taman Royal Lily,

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands.

Business hour : 8am - 4pm.

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012

Location map of Uncle Chow Kopitiam at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

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Sungai Palas BOH Tea Centre at Cameron Highlands

The farm alley is still narrow and winding all the way till the visitiors parking of Sungai Palas BOH Tea Centre (N4.51579 E101.41634). The total journey from the Brinchang Main Road to the Tea Centre parking area is approximately 3.5KM.

BOH Tea Vivitor Parking area

Once we got out of the car, there still a short distance to walk to the Tea Centre, it's locate at the small hill in the Tea Farm. The walk was refreshing and relax, it took about 10-15 minutes.

It was a nice walk within the Green...

The BOH Tea Centre is one of the Famous Attracttion in Cameron Highlands. I had been attracted by the unique structure of the tea centre on the hill which is not too far away...

The unique structure that protruded on the hill

If you notice the stairs next to it, that will be our return path later...

Sungai Palas BOH Tea Centre at Brinchang Town

The place was crowded! Yeah...it's a tourist hotspot. :)

I like the design very much. Let me share some photos in the cafe...

The Cafe area of the BOH Tea Centre

Everyone is busy queuing up for their snacks and drinks...included me...

There are indoor and outdoor area in the cafe...

The ourdoor or so call balcony area of the cafe

The scenic view...

We had 2 cups of BOH milk tea and a sausage with the unique name - 'Firecracker'. I bought it cause by the name...total bill was around RM15.

The sausage

The 'tea' was quite bland and the sausage was cold, not crunchy...but all of this was not our purpose to visit, it was actually the 'View'!
Look at the Breathtaking view from the cafe! It was Fantastic! We were relaxing at the cafe for more than an hour...Nice!

Scenic view from the cafe

This was the place where I can forget about everything and just sit at the cafe to enjoy the Marvelous view of the tea plantation! We can see the small village (where we parked our car) clearly from the cafe...
The photo above was on my right and the photo below was on my left...

Scenic view from the cafe

There is a small session selling all the tea leaf produced by the farm just within the Tea Centre, beside that you can also read the history of BOH Tea Farm at the gallery...

The BOH Tea Centre Gallery

That is the machine to grind and dry the tea leaf (correct me if I'm wrong) which is still in operation at the factory.

Had our factory walk after the tea break, and it's open for public.

BOH Tea Factory

Once we stepped in, there were 2 machines grinding the tea leafs....there's no clear explaination on the operation, so we have to base on what we saw within the production area.

The grinder machines

The word 'Sirocco' at the machine, I guess that's the Brand...too bad I can't find any information online...

The next session is where all the grinded dried tea leafs send for packing...I guess...

The tour was rather short, it took only 10-15 minutes to glance through the operation in the factory...

We chose to walk through the tea farm in our return path to the parking area. You can smell the tea leafs while walking...nice!

The path where we walked back to our car...

It was a nice experience having the tea break at the cafe! Especially the fresh air! I wish they can provide some info at the production area, and all visitors can understand the process of the tea leafs, that's make the perfect trip to BOH Tea Centre of Cameron Highlands.

History of the BOH Tea Plantation at Cameron Highlands
"BOH Plantations was founded in 1929 by J.A. Russell, a British businessman during the British colonial era in Malaya. He was optimistic of the tea plantation business due to huge demands despite of the world-wide Great Depression at that time. As a result of the potential, he applied for and was granted a concession of land for his first tea garden in Habu, Cameron Highlands.
Today, BOH Plantations owns three tea gardens - the first garden in Habu, Fairlie Tea Garden and Sungai Palas Tea Garden. To ensure the freshness of its tea products, BOH Plantations also set up a packaging factory near its main garden. BOH tea products are distributed both in domestic and international markets." Source from Wiki.

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012

Location map of Sungai Palas BOH Tea Centre at Cameron Highlands

View Larger Map