Monday, July 19, 2010
Mervyn Leong: Hammams, Spreader of Warmth
Here's a lovely audio-slideshow by the gifted Mervyn Leong W.Y. which you can either view on Vimeo (click above) or via his website here. The quality of the latter is better.
Mervyn attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul (he also attended last year's in Manali), and participated in Rena Effendi's Telling A Human Story Through A Compelling Portrait class. I spent time with Mervyn as he prepared to photograph inside the less-than-hospitable-for-photography interiors of the hammams, and can vouch for his meticulous planning, and how he took pains to wrap his camera, lenses and audio gear in saran-wrap (to protect them against moisture and steam).
An engineer by profession, Mervyn took photography and photojournalism more seriously a couple of years ago, and has made impressive strides in his work. He's also endowed with an encyclopedic knowledge of gastronomy, cooking and food in general.
I think that Hammams: Spreader of Warmth is a very well made audio slideshow (I particularly like the opening image of the slideshow, which is almost a painting), and the audio tracks are well sync'ed. You'll find it a delight to watch...and like the patrons enjoying the turkish bath, you may feel equally relaxed and refreshed.
The hamams in the Ottoman culture started out as annexes to mosques, and quickly evolved into institutions and eventually into monumental structural complexes in the mid 1500s. Typical hamams consist of three interconnected rooms: the sıcaklık which is the hot room; the warm room which is the intermediate room; and the soğukluk, which is the cool room.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Mugur Vărzariu: Pillars of Faith
Mugur Vărzariu is a photojournalist based in Romania who attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul, and was in Adriana Zehbrauskas' On Assignment class.
It's a testament to Mugur's intrinsic talent that he started as a photographer less than four months ago. Yes, you read that right...less than 4 months ago, and he also just won the ‘Leica for AICR’ People Photo Contest, where one can read his interview.
He tells us that his first choice for a photojournalism project was to document faith, and to stress through his imagery that, despite the difference in the names or sites of worship, people’s faith is the same. Largely self-taught, he also attended a workshop in Italy with Paolo Pellegrin.
Mugur graduated in economics, and worked in marketing strategy (or brand positioning) for 15 years, when he helped position hundreds of brands. This, he believes, has helped him position his own craft...and from what I've seen from his work at the Foundry and on his website, he has succeeded.
I predict we'll hear and see more of Mugur Vărzariu. Have a look at his website, and you'll agree with me. The above images are from his Pillars of Faith gallery.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Daniel Berehulak: Kashmir
Daniel Berehulak is based in New Delhi, working for Getty Images News Service and covering the South Asia region and beyond. He joined Getty Images in 2002 in Sydney and relocated to London as a staff news photographer in 2005. Daniel’s work is regularly published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, Stern, Time, Newsweek and many more.
With his image (the B&W version) of a Kashmiri girl mourning the death of teenager Zahid Farooq during his funeral on the outskirts of Srinagar, Daniel was awarded First Prize: News Folio of the Year in the Press Photographer's Year 2010, which is the only competition to showcase the best photography used exclusively by the UK media.
I recommend not only his arresting (and recent) photographs of Kashmir, but also his lovely medium format work in the gallery titled I-ncredible India....especially the photograph of the two Muslim boys reclining on some blankets in an Ahmedabad storefront.
My thanks to Eric Beecroft for the heads-up.
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