Luke Duggleby: The Art of Kathakali

Photo © Luke Duggleby-All Rights Reserved

Luke Duggleby is a British photographer with a degree in photography from the University of Gloucestershire. Currently based in Bangkok, he's shooting assignments and personal projects from India to Indonesia, China to Cambodia for various publications and NGOs.

His photography has been featured in The Sunday Times Magazine (UK) , The Independent on Sunday Review, Stern, Monocle Magazine, TIME, The Telegraph, GEO France, GEO Germany, The New York Times, The Times (UK), Geographical (UK), The Wall Street Journal Asia, and the USAID, amongst others.

Out of his many galleries, I chose two that I particularly admired; The Art of Kathakali, and The Last of the Bound Feet Women.

Kathakali is one of the oldest theater forms in the world, and originated in the area of southwestern India now known as the state of Kerala. It's the classical dance-drama of Kerala and is rooted in Hindu mythology and literally means "Story-Play". In my forthcoming 2012 photo-expedition to Kerala, I am planning an exhaustive photo shoot at a Kathakali school (as I did in 2009).

As for the Bound Feet Women, NPR featured an article on this practice and its history here, where it tells us that millions of Chinese women bound their feet to turn them into the prized "three-inch golden lotuses." Footbinding was first banned in 1912, but some continued binding their feet in secret. Some of the last survivors of this barbaric practice are still living in Liuyicun, a village in Southern China's Yunnan province.

Marty Stalker: Egypt-After The Revolution

Here's an impressive documentary on Egypt during the heady days immediately following the revolution, filmed by Marty Stalker. Marty is a writer/director living in Northern Ireland with a passion for film-making. He recently graduated from the Lights Film School in New York City.

His Vimeo page informs us that the documentary was filmed on the Canon 5D Mark II with Zeiss compact prime Lenses in March 2011, and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 with Magic Bullet Mojo.

You can read Marty's notes on its production on his Scattered Images website.

The yells of the crowds one hears in the opening few moments of the movie are interesting since these are "Here's The Thief" (presumably about Mubarak), and "We Want Our Money". I liked how grainy black & white newsreel-like clips were inserted among the main colored movie. I am certain you'll be impressed by Dr Kamal Aboumagd, the wise constitutional lawyer, a gentleman who, in his demeanor and style, exemplifies the Egyptians of yore.

Well done.

POV: I Told You So....

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy - All Rights Reserved

On November 8, 2010, I wrote a post titled "Photo Tours Are Useful But..." in which I suggested:

"However, let's take this a step or two further because, simply put, there are photographers who market their workshops (and there are many these days) whose work may be phenomenally beautiful and inspiring, but who are unable to lead, who can't/won't teach and are unable/unwilling to share. It's simply not enough that the photographer's work is good...not at all. There are many more factors that come to play in one's decision in choosing a photo workshop."

It seems my advice is valid because the blogosphere is currently abuzz with news that the photo workshops/tours conducted by a famous photographer are really not worth the trouble nor do they warrant their lofty prices.  So let me reiterate what I say over and over again:  If I wanted to go on a workshop I'd rather go with a grunt...not a celebrity/famous photographer....I wouldn't want to be patronized nor palmed off to an assistant...that's my personal view, and you can read the whole post via the link above if you need to.

I certainly don't need to beat the caveat emptor drum louder than what has been written in the courageous and eloquent  Reflections on Steve McCurry Myanmar Workshop (don't miss the comments from other participants in the workshops) nor can I top Duckrabbit's witty rapier thrust to the jugular in the Competition: Please fill in the missing word post....

And how can I not provide the link that may have started the whole fuss, which appeared in the brilliant A Photo Editor, in which a Craiglist ad for an exploitative internship is deservedly criticized.

As always, make up your mind. It's your money and your time after all. Naturally, if you still want to spend over $10,000 on a workshop and learn how to make children cry, then by all means join up.

Oh, you may wonder why I chose a Balinese Arja performer to accompany this post. Well, an Arja actor is a man disguised as a woman...and a visual metaphor for things sometimes not being what they are advertised as. I could have used an image of a kathoey, but I don't have one.