My Work: I'm Getting Serious Now....Muay Thai

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I was very glad to have attended a late night Muay Thai at the Loi Kroh dingy and grubby boxing ring. I had access to wherever I wanted to go, which included chatting up the bar girls (and the ladyboys) who work at the bars and drinking spots surrounding it. The most incongruous was a store selling Muay Thai paraphernalia such as gloves and shorts at the entrance of the area, and owned by a veiled Muslim woman. She didn't seem to be fazed by the going ons at the abutting girlie bars.

I had my Fuji X Pro1 fitted with the 18mm lens, and used it whenever the fighters came close to the edges of the ring such as the one above. I also had my Canon 7D with a 70-200 as reserve when I needed the reach.

I am buzzed by the scene in that area....the hardness of the Muay Thai fights and the "softness" of the bar girls...two extreme, and probably motivated by the same thing; the need to make money.

NYC's Hudson River Pageant With The Fujifilm X Pro-1

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- (Click To Enlarge)

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- (Click To Enlarge)

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- (Click To Enlarge)

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- (Click To Enlarge)

Chancing upon the Earth Celebration Hudson River Pageant on Saturday gave me the ample opportunity to try out my new Fujifilm X-Pro1 in a non-street shooting situation. As it was almost noon, the sun was really quite harsh, and I had to make do with intense glare off the concrete boardwalk, and rather deep shadows.

I had the only lens I have for the X Pro-1; the Fujinon18 mm f 2.0. Two of the four images were made at f16, and two others at f5.6...and all were at 200 iso. Oh, and I had neglected to bring the lens hood!

It was a pleasure to shoot with such a small unobtrusive camera, although I had to get  really close in some cases to get the photograph I wanted. There were some other professional photographers there; some with the almost obligatory 70-200 lenses, who probably made some lovely close up portraits (I did too...later on when I trooped back to the Hudson River Park with my own Canon 5D Mark II and the 70-200 f 2.8.

But back to the Fujifilm X Pro-1...these were made by choosing the Velvia Film Simulation setting, and Auto White Balance. I intended to get an overly saturated result for all these colored costumes, and I think I chose right.

By the way, Thomas Menk's Fuji X-Pro1/Scoop It website is one of the best ways to keep track of various reviews for this camera, and for its rumor, samples and news. If you're interested in the X Pro-1 or thinking of buying one, follow it.

And for those ecologically minded, the Hudson River Pageant was part of Earth Celebration’s fourth annual events to restore the native species and habitats of the Hudson River.

Update: Kathakali Photo Shoot

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Last night saw one of the most intense Kathakali performances I have ever witnessed (and I have seen quite a few of those in the last few years of my traveling to India). As followers and readers of this blog know, I am leading my The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™, and a two day stop in Cheruthuruthy was planned for a photo shoot involving the performers of this ancient art form, as well as attending a private almost 2-1/2 hours performance.

The performance and the earlier 3 hours make-up session took place at the Kalatharangini Kathakali School, and I, for one, sweated so much at the intensity of it all that I had to wipe my hands continuously to be able to shoot. I almost filled 3 full 16gb CF cards during that one photo shoot which started at 3:00 pm and ended just before 9:00 pm. On top of that, I probably videoed some 20 minutes of the performance with my Canon Mark II.

We will spend most of today in class to work on our individual multimedia photo essays, since we need to catch up with that element of the workshop. With all the photography we do, we really need to set time aside to work on these projects.

I am also preparing an evening surprise for the group members, which I think they will find very interesting.

The above image is of one of the Kathakali performers, and was made with my iPhone4s.

Note: This post's actual date is March 20 as it's written in India.

Poll: Which Cover Is Best?

Which Cover Should I Use For My Forthcoming Book On Kolkata?

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I am thinking of self-publishing a photo book on Kolkata, which will group photographs of the Durga Puja festivities, along with environmental portraits and street photography of this iconic Indian city. My first preference is for the photographs to be black & white, although I may decide for color once I have them all lined up.

I thought of asking for my readers to vote on which cover they prefer...the two suggestions above are just quick dummies. The final cover and typography will be better produced.

My thanks to all who take the time to vote.