Rahgu Rai: Interview With The Guardian

Photo © Raghu Rai- All Rights Reserved

"Most people don't see, they just glance. When we take a picture, we have to be aware of every inch of space we're dealing with" -Raghu Rai

An interview with Raghu Rai in The Guardian newspaper was published to coincide with his work being featured in a retrospective at the Aicon Gallery in central London and in a landmark exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery.

A gallery of his work is also featured on The Guardian's website.

Raghu Rai is a Magnum photographer who spent 40 years photographing India. Born in a small Pakistani village and moving to India during Partition, he was witness to some of the most significant events in his country's recent history. He was one of the first photographers on the scene after the 1984 Bhopal industrial disaster and has produced acclaimed documentary series on Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Via Wendy Marijnissen's Twitter feed.

Leila Alaoui: The Moroccans

Photo © Leila Alaoui - All Rights Reserved

Leila Alaoui is a young French-Moroccan portrait and documentary photographer living in both Morocco and Berlin. She received a B.S. degree in photography from the City University of the New York Graduate Center.

With a number of international exhibitions under her belt, Leila has also featured her portraits of Moroccans at the Palais Es Saadi in Marrakesh.

One of my favorite in her small gallery of Moroccan portrait is the one above of a traditional "guerrab"...or water-seller. This one is from a souk in Boumia (near Meknes), but most people who visited Marrakesh's Souk el Fna have met these water-sellers who now make a living by posing for the cameras. They are a ubiquitous presence in other Morocco's cities.

I'm especially glad when I discover the work of promising (and established) Arab photographers, especially if they're women...and they'll always figure prominently on this blog.