Diego Verges/Javier Fernandez del Rivero: Addis

Photo © Diego Verges/Javier Fernandez-All Rights Reserved

Diego Verges was at it again...this time with a friend and collaborator Javier Fernandez, and produced interesting set up visuals of various Omo Valley tribes, such as the Mursi, Hamar, and Tsamay.

Here's the background story as told to me by Diego. Having won a photographic contest last November, with a trip to Ethiopia for two as grand prize, Diego and Javier traveled to Southern Ethiopia where they stayed for about 2 weeks. With time on their hands, and an impulse to produce something unusual, they decided to work with studio backgrounds cheaply cobbled together locally.

The goal was to produce photographs more akin to anthropological portraits than travel images, but that would also accentuate the studio-like poses rather than the candid.

Diego tells me he was inspired by the work of John Kenny and Sarah Elliot, who were both featured on my blog, as well as by Isabel Munoz. I also see the influence of Joey L. in these, especially in the use of strobes and lights.

Some of those who describe themselves as purists may well view this work as demeaning to the Omo Valley tribes people and their age-old culture, as well as exploitative to a certain degree. Unfortunately, this has been the case for a number of years, and I understand through a number of conversations that commercialization is now running rampant. I was there last in early 2004, and noticed how the various tribes were adept in soliciting money for images and how prepared they were to pose without any guidance from me. And that's why I qualify my use of the term "exploitative"...perhaps this is a case of what came first...the tourists with their cameras giving out a handful of birrs...or the demand for birrs from tourists for each snap. I don't know the answer to that.

While I am saddened by the economic situation these tribes find themselves in, I pass no judgement. There's always the good and the bad in situations such as these.

Whatever side of the fence you end up on, there's no question that Diego and Javier have done an excellent job in featuring the beauty and majesty of the Southern Ethiopian tribes.

And no...I don't know why Diego decided to title these new galleries as "Addis"...instead of Turmi or Omo.

Note: Diego clarified the reason the reason for choosing Addis...it means "New"...as in new work.

My Work: Flower Girl At Ahmed Shah Dargah

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Near Ahmedabad's main mosque, Jama Masjid, is the tomb of Sultan Ahmed Shah I (1411-1442), the founder of the city, who was a sultan of Gujarat's ruling Muzaffarid dynasty. The tomb is revered by Sufis and Hindus alike, who visit the shrine to pay their respects, and to offer "prasad" in his memory.

The above photograph made during my In Search of Sufis of Gujarat Photo-Expedition  is of a flower girl who, along with a number of family members, sells flowers and offerings such as coconut flesh to the supplicants who visit the shrine every day.

She probably lives in one of the hovels amongst the graves of erstwhile Muslim royals of Ahmedabad which dot the area around the shrine, coming here to sell her wares for a pittance.  Not only did I think that this young woman was attractive, but she also had a great deal of femininity, poise and an innate elegance within her,  so I asked if I could spend a few moments photographing her in her environment. She readily agreed, as I had previously given her sister a print of the photograph I had made of her last year, and I had gained her trust.

Prasad is an offering of sorts (usually edible) to a deity or a saint, in Hinduism...and yet, the same offerings are used by Muslim and non-Muslims alike when visiting the shrine of Ahmed Shah. One of the numerous examples of syncretic traditions still existing in India.

Robert Gauthier: China Journal

Photo © Robert Gauthier-All Rights Reserved- Courtesy Los Angeles Times

As I'm still "suffering" from the afterglow (albeit, and regrettably, only a second-hand one) of the momentous events in Cairo, and from the visual overload of my 2 weeks photo expedition in Gujarat, it was about time to feature photographic work from a different part of the world...

The Los Angeles Times' Framework featured Robert Gauthier's Behind The Lens: A Photographer’s China journal.

I find similar behind the scene journal entries by photographers and photojournalists very interesting, as these provide insight as to what worked, what didn't and what went through their minds as they go about doing their business....whether it was jubilation at getting a "money shot"...or the disappointment at not getting what was expected.

Gauthier writes:

"Here’s the money shot,” I thought. As a photojournalist, I try to anticipate moments that help illustrate the thesis of the story. In my mind’s eye, I pictured Li, arriving home after months away. Children scrambling into his arms, a loving wife’s long embrace, tears of happiness streaming from everyone’s face.


Zonk! Instead, a hesitant father politely introduces his reluctant wife as the children stay outside. We all stand awkwardly in a dimly lighted living room. Li nowhere near his wife. No Norman Rockwell moment here. This is how stories like these generally go. You have to expect the unexpected."

We have all experienced this very same feeling. We build our expectations up; partly because we are wishful thinkers when it comes to our photography, and imagine the "perfect" scenes before we get to them...and partly because we frequently misinterpret how other people react.

Yes, indeed. We have to expect the unexpected...and be realistic in our expectations. I know...that last bit of advice is silly. We can never do that.