Ron Haviv: Asia Society

Photograph © Ron Haviv/Courtesy Asia Society
Bill Swersey has recently joined the Asia Society and, as as a long-time photojournalist, is leading the revamp of the global non-profit's website. He plans to expand the use of photography on the website, which has already published several photo projects on Asia-related themes. Also in the works is PictureAsia, a section of the site dedicated to showcasing great photography about Asia.

Here's its first multimedia project The Fires Within: Sri Lanka at War by VII photojournalist Ron Haviv, that looks at the civilian toll of 25 years of civil war in Sri Lanka.

Also available is Photographing Conflict to Give a Voice, an interview with Ron Haviv

Coincidentally, Ron was at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City last week, where he presented The Fires Within. An extremely powerful and poignant multimedia portrait of the 25 years of civil war in Sri Lanka.

Matt Wright-Steel: Migrantes

Photograph © Matt Wright-Steel-All Rights Reserved
Here's one of the many excellent multimedia photo essays presented at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (FPW). "Migrantes" is produced by Matt Wright-Steel, a photojournalist based in Texas who participated in FPW.

"Migrantes" was photographed in an area nicknamed El Lecheria of Mexico City, where migrants from Central America and beyond slip on freight trains heading north to the United States borders, hoping for a better life and opportunities. It's estimated that in recent years at least 4.5 million migrants made it through the border.

Foundry Workshop: Verdict

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Well, I'm back home in New York City after participating as an instructor at the phenomenally successful Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City. The event was initiated by Eric Beecroft who, along with brilliant staff members, managed the Herculean task of putting together the workshop attended by over 140 emerging and established photojournalists/photographers.

The event offered the 140 photographers (and instructors) the unique opportunity to mingle, establish contacts, find peer support, discuss, debate, argue and agree on the innumerable facets of photojournalism and photography. It was enlightening to witness and appreciate the photographic depth, wisdom and generosity of Kadir van Lohuizen, Stanley Greene, Kael Alford, Hugo Infante, Michael Robinson Chavez and Adriana Zehbrauskas, to name but a few.

The absolutely stunning presentations by the talented "students" ranged from documenting the Santa Muerte cult, the dancing Aztecs, female wrestlers, gay life in Mexico City, women's prison, street clowns, to a hospice for elderly ex-prostitutes, and farmers' demonstrations. There were many more!

A fuller report will soon be posted on the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop blog, so I intentionally kept this report brief, but I have the absolute certainty that the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop will be an annual event. There's already talk of next year's venue being in India or Morocco.

The above photograph is of a commercial photographer at the steps of the Basilica at the Virgin of Guadalupe. I thought it would be an amusing addition to this post.