Tom Bourdon: Dayakan Dance

Tom Bourdon was recently in Java, Indonesia where he photographed a traditional Dayak dance near Borobodur. He captured the ambient sound with the new and popular Zoom H1, and put together this audio slideshow. You can also view it here.

The Dayak are the native people of Borneo, who live principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture. Dayaks also live in Indonesia, and have their distinct culture as Tom Bourdon documented.

The Dayak were animist in belief, however many converted to Christianity, and more recently to Islam. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.

Tom is a documentary travel photographer specializing in recording cultural festivals & celebrations across the globe. His work has been published in the national & international press as well as guide books & numerous online locations.

I thought I'd add this review of the Zoom H1. It's by B&H, and while it's short and to the point, it gives a reasonable appraisal of the device.

Prantik Mazumder: Kolkata (Calcutta)

Photo © Prantik Mazumder-All Rights Reserved

I am on the look out for street photography out of Kolkata in anticipation of my forthcoming Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo Expedition™ scheduled from September 29 to October 13, 2011.

Although I've already featured the work of Prantik Mazumder on The Travel Photographer's blog last year, I re-visited his website and discovered his Calcutta gallery which has a number of very well composed street photographs...vibrant colors, and lots of shadows. The combination of these colors, especially the red and orange, and the deep black of shadows really make these photographs stand out.

Prantik is a self-taught photographer, and is originally from Kolkata, India. He is now settled in Ithaca, New York, pursuing a career in scientific research.

Here's another of Prantik's photographs to show off his shadow play, which is from his PBase photo website.

Photo © Prantik Mazumder-All Rights Reserved

Brandon Stanton: Humans of New York

Photo © Brandon Stanton-All Rights Reserved

Here's a really great project!

As many of us who follow photography and photojournalism remember, and still frequently refer to, The New York Times' series of One In 8 Million were superb multimedia visual narratives about interesting New Yorkers...and photographer Brandon Stanton has followed with his compelling Humans of New York; portraits of New Yorkers of all stripes, shapes and background.

Brandon's goal is to gather 10,000 street portraits and plot them on an interactive map. More than 2000 portraits have been gathered so far, and even include stories about some of the fascinating people photographed.

One of the stories I especially liked was the one about The Poet. I have seen this guy a few times...and saw his sign.

Ah, if only these stories were also captured by using a handheld sound recorder!!! The audio could then be added to the portraits, and we'd be in incredible multimedia paradise!

According to Brandon Stanton's biography, he has had a colorful background. He currently lives in New York, where he’s on a mission to find every interesting person in the city, and take their photograph.

Gone Fishin'

Have a good Memorial Day!

Alexander Martirosov: Venice & Its Carnavale

Photo © Alexander Martirosov-All Rights Reserved

Alexander Martirosov is a photographer from St. Petersburg, Russia, and specializes in portraiture, fashion and fine art photography. He recently staged two exhibitions, opened his own studio, formed a team of associates, and became a finalist in several competitions held under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art, FIAP.

Alexander's background is in fashion retail, and he is the founder and owner of one of the largest retail chains of Italian fashion shoes in St. Petersburg. Previously, he graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Technology, majoring in Radiation Processes in Nuclear Energy. You'll agree that his luminous photographs of masked characters at the Venice's Carnavale betray his fashion background and affinity...they could be featured in all the major international fashion glossies.

The Venice Carnavale is the most internationally known festival celebrated in Venice, Italy, as well as being one of the oldest. This congregation of masked people began in the 15th century, but the tradition can be traced back to the beginning of the 14th Century.

Angkor Photo Workshops 2011

Now in its 7th year, the free 2011 Angkor Photo Workshops is now officially accepting applications from all young Asian photographers.

To get started, photographers can download and read through the application guidelines and the application form below:

• APWS 2011 Application Guidelines
• APWS 2011 Application Form

The guidelines and form contains all the information needed on how to apply for this year’s workshops. However for clarifications and or questions, the Angkor Photo Workshops can be contacted email at angkorworkshop [at] gmail.com .

The workshop will be held from November 17 – 23, 2011 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. As per the previous years’ workshops, 30 participants will be selected from amongst the applications received. The deadline to submit the application is July 15, 2011.

Since its inception in 2005, more than 180 young photographers from all over Asia have been selected to participate in the annual free Angkor Photo Workshops. Conducted by renowned international photographers who volunteer their time, the Angkor Photo Workshops provide participants with firsthand training, invaluable exposure and a chance to perfect their art.

Over the years, the workshop has highlighted emerging talent from the region, and many previous participants go on to embark on successful photography careers both regionally and internationally.

I'll be there!!

Lola Akinmade Åkerström : A GeoTraveler

Photo © Lola Akinmade Åkerström _All Rights Reserved

Since today is the (un)official start of the summer season in the United States with an exodus of people towards vacation destinations for the long Memorial Weekend, I thought I'd feature a renowned travel expert on The Travel Photographer blog.

Lola Akinmade Åkerström does everything; she's a photographer, a writer, an editor, a photojournalist and worked for NGOs. She has won countless awards for her photography and travel writing from the National Geographic magazine to major newspapers. In her photography, she specializes in travel photography and is known to be a food photographer as well, especially if in exotic locales.

I chose to feature Lola's exquisite image of a pensive Egyptian overlooking the Nile for this post. She has many more, and although her imagery is not grouped by country...she classified her work in groups instead.

For those who are on their way for the long week end, let's go let's go let's go!