NYT's LENS: A.K. Kimoto

Photo © A.K. Kimoto-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times' LENS blog features a poignant photo essay on opium addiction in Afghanistan by the late A.K. Kimoto. The photo essay is in black & white; dark and brooding as befits such a subject matter. See it...I highly recommend it, along with its accompanying article.

Kimoto was a 32-year-old Japanese photographer based in Bangkok, who died in March while traveling to Australia.

He spent years photographing families in the remote northeastern mountains of Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban. He roamed remote settlements in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, to find out why so many of the inhabitants (even the young) had become addicted to opium. As Emily Anne Epstein explains in the piece: "The poverty in this region is so harsh that parents blow opium smoke into their children’s noses to soothe the pangs of hunger."

A.K. Kimoto wrote:

“I offer to transport the mother and child to a clinic. One of the elders cuts me off before I can finish my thought. He smiles gently as he tells me that the child would never survive such a journey in the cold rain, and anyway, this way of life and death have been repeated for centuries in these mountains.”

Coincidentally, the New York Times reported yesterday that the United States has discovered nearly "$1 trillion" in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, which translates into approximately $35,000 for every inhabitant of the country. Naturally, massive investments will be required to mine these deposits, but in any event there's little chance that the poor of Badakhshan will see their lives improve from this eventual wealth. Cronyism, and venal corruption are endemic to the region...and only those with the power and connections will reap the benefits.

Trevor Snapp: La Santa Muerte

Photo © Trevor Snapp-All Rights Reserved
Trevor Snapp is a self-taught photographer with degrees in anthropology and African studies, and his work is syndicated with Corbis and Millennium Images. His clients include Stern, National Geographic Traveler, BBC, Time.com, Chicago Tribune, Marie Calire and others. He has also worked for a variety of NGOs such as Heifer International, Gates Foundation, and Intrahealth in Africa.

Now based in Kampala, Trevor photographed La Santa Muerte in Mexico, among other galleries of Central Amercia

The cult of Santa Muerte is unusual because it's the cult of the drug lords, the dispossessed, and criminals. There are many shrines to Santa Muerte in the capital city, but Tepito is where the most popular shrines are. Tepito is an infamous barrio and its tough reputation dates back to pre-Hispanic times. The neighborhood is a warren of mean streets and alleys, lined with auto-body shops and small stores. It's here that the prostitutes, drug dealers and petty thieves come to pay their respect to the saint. It's also where the common folk; housewives, cab drivers and street vendors come to make their offerings...tequila bottles, candles, money and flowers.

The gallery strikes a chord with me since I photographed in Tepito in 2008, along with two other photographers, when we were within a hair's breadth of being mugged.

The Daily Beast: Veronique De Viguerie

Photo © Veronique de Vigurie-All Rights Reserved
One of my favorite photojournalists, Veronique de Vigurie, was featured on The Daily Beast blog in an article/interview titled The Bravest Photographer.

Veronique de Viguerie is based in Paris and, at the age of only 32, has already won prestigious awards including Canon’s coveted Female Photojournalist of the Year Award in 2006. Her photographs regularly appear in Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Marie-Claire, and The Guardian.

She's known for her empathy with her subjects, and that trait got her in hot water in 2008 when she photographed a group of Taliban fighters who had killed 10 French soldiers. Paris-Match published her photographs, and her critics accused her being used to spread Taliban propaganda.

I recall writing about this, and suggesting that if anyone was to be accused of anything, it should have been the Paris-Match editors.

The article quotes Régis Le Sommier, deputy editor in chief of Paris Match, that he believes de Viguerie is "one of the most daring and promising photographers of her generation."

More of de Viguerie's images are on Getty Images Reportage website.