Kris Bailey's Durga Puja: The Spirit of Kolkata

"Durga Puja is a celebration of the Mother Goddess, and the victory of the revered warrior Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura."

Kris Bailey recently sent me her audio slideshow made during my Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo~Expedition & Workshop™ which took place a little over a year ago (how time flies!!!).

It's Durga Puja time right now in the wonderful city of Kolkata. Kolkata, the city that to my mind epitomizes India more than any other city in India.

You ought to watch it as it encapsulate very well the tradition of this annual religious event and its rituals, especially as it is the most important observance in West Bangal. I had encouraged the participants in this workshop to produce monochrome photo essays, and Kris's work is unquestionably one of the best I've seen so far.

Apart from being an attorney in Northern California, Kris is a photographer who's keenly interested in South and South East Asia, and is particularly attracted to unusual rituals and religious festivals. She's already been on two of my most intense photo expeditions workshops, and that doesn't seem to deter her in the least.

You may want to drop by her Vimeo page where she has 4 videos of her audio slideshows, and by her blog, on which you'll find examples of her still photography in India and elsewhere.

Karl Doyle: Nomadic Souls

Photo © Karl Doyle-All Rights Reserved

Karl Doyle's Nomadic Worlds Series is the type and the quality of work you don't want to miss, especially if -like me- you're interested in ethnography and ethno-photography.

Karl Doyle is originally from Ireland, and relocated to London working with many visual artists. He traveled to Mongolia on the Trans-Mongolian Express train from Beijing to Ulan Bator, and spent weeks on horseback to capture the true essence of the Mongolian nomads. 

In this Nomadic Worlds gallery, he merges the Mongolian Nomads, and the Harajuku Girls of Tokyo and New York’s stylized sub-cultures into one continuing series...to highlight the diversity of their environment.

For larger projects, Karl uses a Sinar 4x5 for studio/interior settings, and a Wista for outside work.

The Travel Photographer's Hát Tuồng

© Tewfic El-Sawy (click to enlarge image)

One of the cultural highlights during my Viet Photo Expedition-Workshop was the Hát Tuồng performance we attended at the Vietnam National Tuồng Theatre in Hanoi.

The Hát Tuồng theatre came from China in the 13th Century when Vietnam was warring against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. It's said that a famous actor named was imprisoned by the Vietnamese, and the imperial court asked him to spread his knowledge of Chinese theatre to the children of the elite, thus its origins were in the royal court. It was subsequently adapted to travelling troupes who entertained commoners and farmers.

Regrettably, there were only 12 or 13 spectators during the hour-long performance, out of which 10 were the photographers in my expedition-workshop. It's rather sad that Hát Tuồng, which is certainly an important part of Vietnam's rich cultural heritage, is not more popular amongst the Vietnamese themselves, as well as tourists. The performers are all proud professionals, and I believe are employed by the state which wants to retain this culture alive. That said, its music is somewhat of an acquired taste.

In any event, I had a ball photographing some of the troupe members using my Fuji X Pro-1/Fujinon 18mm f2.0 whose low-light capabilities are really astounding.

All the photographs were made without flash, at f2.0 and the iso set at 3200.

The rest of the photographs are on my Hat Tuong Backstage gallery.

David Michael Kennedy: American-Indian Dance

©David Michael Kennedy-All Rights Reserved

I infrequently blog about photography projects or galleries of American subjects on The Travel Photographer simply because it's not really one of my self-professed purviews, but once in a while I stumble on photographic work that easily transcends this reference point.

The work of David Michael Kennedy is one of those.

David Michael Kennedy is an art photographer from New Mexico who lived in New York City, specializing in portraits of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Muddy Waters for magazine and album covers. Having moved to New Mexico in the mid 80's, he focused on Native American culture, and more recently wandered back roads photographing preachers, craw-fishermen  RV-ers, buffaloes, longhorns, cowboys and mystics.

He wandered in a 1959 Airstream trailer outfitted with a wet darkroom, and took all his photographs with a handmade 4x5 camera using Polaroid positive/negative film, which he developed in the trailer then made contact prints using the archaic platinum palladium process.

Having worked with a 4x5 camera, he is now revisiting the square format with a Hasselblad.

An interesting interview with NPR is here.

H.K.Rakit Seafood Restaurant at Jalan Pantai Kampung Pasir Puteh - Pasir Gudang, Johor.

The H.K. Rakit Seafood Restaurant (N1.42801 E103.95605) is located at the Kampung Pasir Puteh, behind the Tanjung Puteri Golf Club of Pasir Gudang, Johor. The word 'Rakit' (in Malay) means 'Floating'...well, it's because the restaurant was built on the sea (Johor Straits), and it looks like (kind of...) floating on the water...but it won't shake! :) And H.K. is 'Hock Kee', might be the name of the owner...

H.K. Rakit Seafood Restaurant

There is a 'unpaved road' to drive through which about 1.5KM...we like this place because it won't be over crowded and you can enjoy your seafood dinner quitely...

The timber small alley that lead you to the restaurant...

The restaurant has indoor and outdoor session. It was a nice weather that evening, so we prefer to dine at the outdoor area...

The outdoor dining area...

There is another 'floating' dining area which is Really 'Float'. But the staff said because of low tide, and they temporary close that session. According to the staff, this area also become a beer garden when almost midnight...

The floating area of the H.K. Rakit Seafood Restaurant

The peaceful and calm environment is the main reason attracted us to dine here, especially accompany with a Nice sunset...unfortunately, we didn't manage to see the Red Ball that evening...

Peaceful and calm environment

The owner also has a mini Orchid garden in the dining area...are you a Orchid lover?!

 The orchid at the restaurant

The seafoods sell in the restaurant all are alive, well...they are Fresh!

The prawns

The crabs - my favorite!

Our order for the dinner :-
*  Steam fish (sea bass)
*  Steam clam (la-la) mixed with chili padi
*  Hot Plate bean curd (tou-fu)
*  Crabs in two flavor - Sweet sour & salted egg
Their signature dish is Salted Egg crabs

Steam sea bass

Clams

Hot plate bean curd

Sweet sour crabs

Salted egg crabs - signature crabs

All seafood dishes tasted above average, I like the Steam Clams which was really special cooking method with the chili padi. The Salted Egg Crab was Nice and you can taste the salted egg even in the crab meat! Excellent!

We enjoyed the seafood dinner in the scenic view for more than 2 hours...with the company of Tiger beers. It is not complete having a seafood dinner in the nice environment, cool sea breeze without the company of beers! At least for me...:)

The Salted Egg Crabs

The Damage : RM222.00 for 4 adults and 3 children included drinks. Reasonable price for the different dining experience!

Due to the restaurant situated quite far away from Johor Bahru town, otherwise...I will visit it every month!

If you haven't try it before, please visit the seafood restaurant at least Once. :)

Hock Kee Seafood Rakit & Restaurant

111, Jalan Pantai Kampung Pasir Puteh,

81700 Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Mobile Tel : 012-7309777 / 012-7134455 / 012-7984577

Loaction map of H.K. Rakit Seafood Restaurant at Tanjung Putri - Pasir Gudang.

View Larger Map

POV: The Travel Photographer's Vietnam Mourners

click image for larger version

click for larger version

All Photos © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

It's always a difficult decision to photograph moments and scenes of personal (and even public) sorrow for me (and certainly other photographers as well). 

Traveling in our bus during my Vietnam Photo Expedition-Workshop on our way back to Hanoi, and passing a small town, I saw a funeral by the side of the road and asked Maika to inquire whether we could photograph it. I made the decision to do so in a few seconds, principally because the funeral seemed to be public, not enclosed in a private space or in a home.

"The photographer in me wanted to stay as long as possible..."

The head of the family readily agreed provided I lit an incense stick and presented my respects to the memory of the deceased. This I did, and planted the stick at the shrine. The deceased was born in 1925, and his name was Cu Pham Van Bao. That done, I invited the rest of our group to join the congregation. Some did photograph, while others thought it would be too intrusive and didn't.

I was invited to drink green tea, and sat amongst the head table along with our host. The funeral rite is called le dua tang, and the mourning garb seemed to be made of very coarse white gauze...sort of what surgical bandages are sometimes made of. The women wore the cloth wrapped around their heads with straw crowns and a sash. The male mourners used walking sticks made of bamboo and acted as if they were limping and could fall without the stick’s support. These are indications of how overcome the mourners are.

I was surprised that there was a funerary band...and one of them seemed to be a professional wailer.

The photographer in me wanted to stay as long as possible...(had I been alone I probably would have), but while being allowed as a group into their midst by these Vietnamese mourners was immensely gracious, I also knew we were a distraction, and that our time was up after 15 minutes or so.

The Travel Photographer's "Cafe Dao (& Love)"

"No one in our village was as beautiful as she was...we liked each other since we were 12 years old..."

A foreign stranger suddenly walks up to you while you're relaxing on your front porch, with cameras dangling off his shoulders, asking to document your daily life. What would your reaction be?

Well, Thai Truang Dao happily said yes. Of course, Maika Elan was there to explain my purpose, but Mr Dao's hospitality went beyond the inherent politeness shown to a foreign guest. Allowing me into his home (and his life)...and at one point, gesturing me to go up the creaky stairs to photograph a now little used second floor, where his family's shrine and portraits were carefully laid out...is a testament to his kindness.

His candor during the lengthy interviews was natural, and brought Maika and I into their life which they shared for over 60 years.

Thai Truang Dao is a 92 years old Vietnamese, living in Hoi An with his wife, Thai Mo Ba. He established Cafe Dao in the mid forties, before the battle of Dien Bien Phu and much before the Vietnam War (known as the American War in Vietnam). He recalls Cafe Dao as being a meeting place for socializing, gossip and friendship, not only for good coffee.

Bao and his wife were school mates but after graduation didn't meet until she was 28 years old. Very unusually for a Vietnamese woman at that time, Ba hadn't married...waiting for Bao whom she loved but had never shown nor expressed. Meeting again by happenstance, they got married.

Bao wasn't drafted by the Vietcong during the American war due to his Chinese ancestry.

Snippets of their lifestory in just over 3 minutes.

You can also watch it in its native Soundslides format below (it's a better resolution).

©Tewfic El-Sawy- Maika with Mr Dao during the photo shoots.

©Maika Elan. Tewfic with Mr Dao at the end of the photo shoots

Initial Draft Story Board For Cafe Dao