The Travel Photographer's Awards Go To....

In February 2009, I offered two scholarships to the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, and both Eric Beecroft and I (as jurors) are delighted today to award them to two photographers. We also chose two runners up should one or both of the winners be unable to join the workshop.

1. Winner of the TTP Full scholarship of $450 for a South Asian photojournalist is Jyotika Jain. (Runner Up is Vivek M.)

2. Winner of the FPW/TTP scholarship of $900 for a photojournalist of any nationality is Martyn Aim. (Runner Up is Mike Terry). This scholarship is equally funded by the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop and The Travel Photographer.

It was an exceedingly difficult task to choose 2 (plus 2) from the many submissions, and we took both the quality of images submitted and the photographers' statements in consideration.

Congratulations to the winners, who will be contacted by the Foundry Workshop soon.

Ajmal Naqshbandi: The Fixer

Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi is a feature-length documentary that follows the relationship between an Afghan interpreter, Ajmal Naqshbandi and his client, American journalist Christian Parenti. This intimate portrait of two colleagues shifts dramatically when Ajmal is kidnapped along with an Italian reporter.

The documentary also examines why was the Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, released in exchange for five Taliban prisoners while Ajmal was left behind and beheaded by his captors.

It is produced by Nancy Roth and directed by Ian Olds. Fixer will be screened during the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2009.

I've posted about Ajmal Naqshbandi two years ago on this blog, and hope this documentary does his memory justice.