John Moore: Libya, Egypt & Bahrain

The current upheavals in the Near and Middle East are providing substantial opportunities for photojournalists and conflict photographers to report on the latest battles, revolts and revolutions.

Here's a 6 minutes video interview of photographer John Moore who has just returned from Egypt and Libya as well as Bahrain, where he witnessed the uprisings first hand. This is a must-see for all emerging photojournalists and conflict photographers.

From the PBS NewHour blog: Photographer John Moore is no stranger to combat. As a member of an Associated Press team in 2005, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for coverage of the war in Iraq and he's done extended stints in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, South Africa, Mexico and Nicaragua and elsewhere in the last 20 years.

Yet despite his relative comfort with being on the frontlines, Moore told the NewsHour from his hotel room in Cairo that his latest assignment -a six-week trip that took him to the uprisings in Egypt, Bahrain and Libya - might have been his most dangerous. Moore recorded the interview for us after sneaking out of Benghazi, Libya en route back to his home in Denver.

Via A The Click Tweet

POV: Size & Watermarks

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Yesterday's post with a couple of large photographs of Holi from The Atlantic's In Focus blog prompts this short POV.  I wrote that In Focus' photographs are super compelling because they are viewable either in 1280 or 1024 pixels, depending on viewers' choice.

If the 1280 option is chosen, and  the images fill virtually all of one's monitor...and give the viewers an incredible sensation of proximity to the scene...and no watermark to deface them either! It's the same feeling I get when I open up a double-truck image in a glossy large format print magazine, if not more.

I'm all in favor of large images on the web...whether it's on magazines' websites or personal websites. Another recent example is my post featuring Cristina Mittermeier's work; River People of the Amazon. Cristina's personal website has a handful of full screen photographs of these Amazonian people that are just breathtaking.

I don't think many photographers disagree with the notion that larger is better.  I've blogged about that a couple of times, and there's no question in my mind that large sized photographs are better received by photo editors who no longer have the patience to view small-sized portfolios.

The other issue is that of watermarking. I don't watermark, and instead embed my information in the photographs' metadata.  Some photographers insist in watermarking to protect their images from being pilfered on the web, and that's their prerogative. I just think it detracts from their work being considered by legitimate buyers...and it's aesthetically unpleasant. Just look at the above photographs!

NYT's Special: Asia Up Close

Georgetown, Penang. Photo © David Hagerman/NYT-All Rights Reserved

The New York Times featured its Asia issue this past weekend, and listed 37 Asian Odysseys to this remarkable continent, ranging from Bali to Vietnam, passing through Hong Kong, Laos and India. It's easy to dismiss these features as being tourist-targetted, but I've learned that it's not always the case.

Firstly, let's talk photographs. The feature is accompanied by over 40 images by Asia-based photographers; some of which are postcard-like but others that are real gems, such as the one above of Georgetown by my friend David Hagerman, others of China by Shiho Fukada, of Vietnam by Justin Mott and of Myanmar by Kevin Maloney...so quite a lot of talent there.

Surprisingly, Bhutan is not mentioned! It is in Asia isn't it?

The other reason is this: I discovered an extraordinary (and unexplored) location in Varanasi through a New York Times article, and it launched one of my long term photographic projects. So my suggestion to travel photographers is to keep an eye on all these special features...yes, the majority will be fluff, but sometimes there'll be one that may just launch you into a new direction...and success.

Naturally, such these features also provide if not outright ideas, but inspirations for photo itineraries.