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Freelance Travel Photography

Freelance travel photography is a simple approach to earn money with you guessed it-your camera. Even though you do not travel a lot or perhaps believe that you simply can't manage to freelance travel photography remains to be wealth creation alternative for the majority of us.

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This allows an opportunity for that you acquire photos in the specific location your geographical area. Furthermore whether or not we understand this you aren't, the majority of us live near place in which men and women interested in or even should travel to.

Understanding this should in a position one to start to make a generous earnings marketing travel photography. Need more very good news? Once you begin making revenue along with your new business, you'll be able to travel more frequently. In the event you may take photos while traveling do you know what? Marketing those also.Freelance travel photography is amongst the most effective ways to start an excellent enterprise which allows you the chance to work your personal hours and make a large earnings while traveling for you to spectacular locations.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2013: Sarajevo!

Eric Beecroft, the co-founder of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, has just announced the tentative dates for the 2013 workshop which is to be held in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The door for Pre-Registration is already open!

The tentative dates for the workshop are July 14-20, 2013. The initial list of instructors consists of Ron Haviv, Robert King, Andrea Bruce, Maggie Steber, James Whitlow Delano, Alison Morley, Tewfic El Sawy, Paula Bronstein, Kael Alford, Thorne Anderson, Adriana Zehbrauskas and more to come.

The cost:

Local Tuition: $475. Any photographer from the Balkans/Former Ottoman Empire (Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Moldavia, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus

BONUS: Anyone coming from South or Southeast Asia, since 2012 workshop was in Thailand, gets one year of locked-in tuition at: $475 for this year's workshop.

Standard tuition: $975.

What are you waiting for?

The Travel Photographer's On His Way To Hanoi

I'm on my way to Hanoi to start my Vietnam: North Of The 16th Parallel Photo Expedition/Workshop.

During the coming two weeks, my posts will not be as frequent but I'll try to update my readers as to the progress of the workshop, and upload a few photographs.

Cedric Arnold: Sacred Ink

Having just spent some 10 days in Chiang Mai, I'm glad to have found Sacred Ink, the impressive work of photographer Cedric Arnold featuring the tattooing culture in Thailand.

The sacred tattoos in Thailand are much more than just an art form, and with a culture deeply rooted in superstition and spirituality, such tattoos are believed to have magical and healing powers. Thai men and also women have their sacred tattoos done at Buddhist temples, for protection against evil spirits, and as good luck charms.

Cedric Arnold's website tells us that these sacred tattoos can be scripts based on ancient Khmer, and the original Buddhist Pali, along with figures and mythical creatures. Using large-format and Polaroid cameras, formal black-and-white portraits were made of boxers, monks, construction workers, policemen, soldiers, taxi drivers, shipyards workers, a shaman, and tattoo masters.

A few years ago, I photographed at Wat Bang Phra, a Buddhist temple about half an hour's drive from Bangkok. It is here that every March 30 thousands of Thais and foreigners gather to watch or participate in the 'Sak Yant' festival. Sak means "tap tattoo" while Yant translates into "sacred design".

After being granted permission by a head monk, I photographed during a non-festival day, a couple of Buddhist monks were already busy tattooing Thais. The 'sak yant' is done with a 'mai sak'- a long bamboo stick sharpened to a point. The ink is said to be made from various ingredients including snake venom, herbs and cigarette ash. I was told these was no payment made nor expected, but that gifts of cigarettes and food were accepted by the tattooing monks.

The above short clip is also by Cedric Arnold and I believe must have been filmed during the annual Sak Yant festival at the Wat Bang Phra temple.

Thumb Rests For The Fuji X Pro-1

Back in April 2011, I was getting used to the ergonomics of my then-new Leica M9 and found that it needed an add-on in the form of the extremely well made Thumbs Up EP-1, produced by matchTechnical (see above photo). It has remained on my M9 since then, as I found it to be invaluable while shooting with it...adding stability and improved handling.

With the advent of the Fujifilm X Pro-1, I was expecting a similar add-on from matchTechnical, and true enough, it has recently produced the Thumbs Up EP-75 specifically made for it.

The quality seems to be as high as the remaining models by matchTechnical, and is claimed to provide the most efficient shape for holding your Fuji camera more securely and more comfortably...reducing any camera shake. It also claims that it would not inadvertently disturb the position of the program control buttons on the X-Pro 1.

Without seeing it, I'm certain about the quality of the Thumb Up EP-75 ($118 inclusive of shipping), but hope it doesn't interfere with the X Pro-1's Command Dial.

Since well-thought and successful products are frequently imitated, I should also mention the Lensmate Fujifilm X-Pro1 Thumbrest is also available. It's described as being milled from a block of 6061 T6 alloy, and has the fit and finish equal to the camera itself. It sells for $75.

The Lensmate Thumbrest

I have no relationship with either matchTechnical Services or with Lensmate (and/or any of its retail outlets) other than having bought a Thumbs Up EP-1 from the former.

New Fujifilm X-E1

Fujifilm has just announced the new X-E1 mirrorless camera, which is a smaller sibling to the successful X Pro-1. It features the same 16.3 mp CMOS sensor as the X-Pro1, but has a smaller and lighter body.

It features a 2.8-inch LCD, a pop-up flash, ISO of 200-6400 (expandable to 100-25600), and RAW and built-in RAW conversion, but doesn't have the hybrid viewfinder found on the X Pro-1. It only has a EVF. It's much lighter than its larger sibling, and in terms of size, it's 30% smaller.

I haven't used my X Pro-1's video mode (relying on the Canon 5D Mark 2 when I needed to) but the X-E1 can shoot 1920×1080 video at 24fps, and Fuji's Film Simulation option can be enabled during video recording...nice!

I leave it to you to decide if the X-E1 will be as successful as the X Pro-1. My initial reaction is that it might be too small...even for a second body. However, it's supposed to have a retail price of $1000...$700 cheaper than the X Pro-1.

Vietnam Is Next....

In under 10 days, I'll be once again back in South East Asia...this time in Hanoi, to lead another of my photo trips Vietnam: North Of The 16th Parallel Photo Expedition/Workshop™!

The itinerary will only include the northern half of Vietnam...so the title of the photo expedition is based (almost) on The Seventeenth Parallel, which was the provisional military demarcation line between North and South Vietnam established by the Geneva Accords of 1954. It will include Hanoi, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and naturally Sapa and Bac Ha.

On this itinerary, the participants will be emulating real-life photo assignments, and produce multimedia bodies of work ready for publishing. The workshop is devised for photographers interested in documentary photography, ethno-photography and multimedia, and for those ready to create visual projects from their inventory of photographs, and learn how to control story length, intent, pace, use of music and ambient sound, narration, field recordings and interviews.

The participants are from the United States, Canada, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Australia...a veritable multinational group. I will be assisted by Maika Elan (Nguyen Thanh Hai), an award winning freelance photographer from Hanoi.

From a technical standpoint, I will be putting my two "rangefinders" (M9 and the Fuji X Pro-1) through their paces on this trip. Probably shooting in monochrome in the Sapa and Bac Ha, and color (with the Canon 5D Mark II) on the rest of the itinerary...with mostly wide angle lenses on all my cameras.

Everything is prepared and ready...the hotels, the visas, the internal flights...and even the local eateries seem to have been alerted of our arrival.

KL Photo.BOM: Asia By Asians

One of The Travel Photographer blog's objectives has always been to provide a modest platform to further the exposure of emerging travel and documentary photographers from all over the world, so it's a distinct pleasure to feature a slideshow of photographs by KL Foto.BOM, a collective of documentary photographers from Asia/Malaysia. The actual slideshow presentation was held at The Leica Store Malaysia, Avenue K on 2 September 2012.

The photographs/photo essays are by Andri Tambunan, Adli Ghazali, Maika Elan, Edward Khoo, Lim Paik Yin, Binh Dang, Azahari Salleh, Ahsan Qureishi, Ridzki Noviansyah, Mervyn Leong, Azreen Madzlan, Izzat Yahaya, Khairil Safwan, Vignes Balasingam, Rahman Roslan, Javad Tizmaghz, and Hanif Maidin.

Some of these photographers are alums of The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop and others of the Angkor Photo Festival...and some of both. Accomplished photographers and photojournalists, they have varying styles and different visions...but all of them are united by the common thread of creativity and dedication to their craft.

The slideshow can also be viewed directly on YouTube

Ed Peters: Beyond The Indus

"It’s the challenge of capturing the texture of life, created by these contradictory elements, which draws me to India’s streets." -Ed Peters

And so writes Ed Peters prefacing his Beyond The Indus photo gallery... and what a photo gallery of captured moments of life! Just take a look at the photograph above...a man asleep, horizontally inert..and sort of Hindu angel floating above him, next to an askew small painting of the Taj Mahal, and a sliver of a woman staring at the photographer...

I was torn between featuring Beyond The Indus or Mexican Proximity (many of the photographs are from Oaxaca, my favorite Mexican town), but I decided to feature Ed's work from India because I was so taken by the above image.

A New York-based retired photojournalist, Ed is a Leica M9 user, as well as a Canon 5D Mark II for his photographic work. Possibly influenced by the work of Costa Manos and Alex Webb, Ed is obviously drawn to color...to the interplay of contrasts between shadow and light...and to the streets.

In an interview with Leica Liker, this is what he says about why he does street photography:

I find it enjoyable. Otherwise why bother? I like the process of walking, the challenge of making successful images, and the element of gamesmanship involved.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Ed Peters worked as a freelance photographer, before joining the staff of The Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. He subsequently relocated to Asia where he photographed the plight of Burmese refugees, and the pro democracy movement in Nepal. Returning to the United States, he joined a photo agency and photographed a wide variety of stories. These include the famine in Somalia, war in the former Yugoslavia, traditional wrestling in India, and the continuing AIDS crisis. He is now focusing on his personal work, especially street photography.

Victoria Alexander: The Gurukul Newspaper

"I’m happiest with a camera in my hand, photography keeps me fresh, when creating or making something, anything, a home, cooking or writing."- Victoria Alexander.

Here's The Gurukul Newspaper; an audio slideshow by Victoria Alexander, whose resume is not only lengthy, but extraordinarily varied, multi-layered and complex.

Victoria was a fashion editor for Vogue and Cosmopolitan and a freelance stylist and art director for stills, film and television commercials. She established the television production company, The Film Business, and a small boutique hotel, The Russell, in Sydney, and built The Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant and café in Balmoral. She also completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) at the National Art School.

She's also the author of three books: The Bathers Pavilion Cookbook, One, and Colour. Colour is due to be released in England, New Zealand and Australia on 1st November. She's a photographer, and a home making consultant, and an inveterate traveler...to India, Bhutan, Cuba, Ethiopia, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Namibia, Vietnam, Laos and Bali to name but a few.

I encourage my readers to log on to Victoria's blog, and explore her multi-faceted talents directly from her posts.

Her lastest (to be released in November) 300+ pages book Colour is described as "Lyrically written and thoughtfully illustrated with photography by Victoria Alexander (stylist, fashion editor and passionate traveller), Colour is interspersed with poignant reminders on how to use colour to transform your mood and brighten your life."

Amy Helene Johansson: A Lost Revolution?

"My heart is beating for this project and it would be wonderful if as many people as possible see it and get enlightened about the situation. " -Amy Helene Johansson

Prior to the boom in the garment industry, almost no women in Bangladesh worked outside of their family or marital homes, and had few opportunities to earn money. However today, the female garment workers are the backbone of the Bangladeshi economy in an industry that generates billions of dollars each year. It should be a women’s revolution, but is it?

While academics and economists agree to some extent that Bangladeshi women are in the midst of a revolution, they are still not empowered financially or socially. And are not strong enough to demand a fair remuneration. Multinational companies such as Nike, Levi Strauss and H&M are generally unaware of the life situation of sewing machine operators; their housing conditions, family structures, and food provisions.

Amy Helene Johansson is a photojournalist who studied film and theatre theory before earning a BA in fashion design. However, after a decade of working for H&M as a fashion designer, she discovered photography. Her work has been published in leading broadsheets and magazines in the UK and Sweden, including the Sunday Times UK, Dagens Nyheter and Sydsvenska Dagbladet. Her work has been awarded Asian Geographic Magazine ‘Faces of Asia Award’, the Foundry Emerging Photojournalist Award and the Swedish Picture Of the Year ‘Multimedia Category’ and been shortlisted for ELLE commission award and a National Geographic award.

She's also a Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (Manali, India and Istanbul) alum. A Lost Revolution was produced in collaboration with the Bombay Flying Club.

Filitheyo Resort In Maldives

Stunning Filitheyo is that the solely resort island within the remote North Nilandhe coral reef. It's an a good looking and classy resort that provides a really high normal of accommodation in attractive and spacious rooms. Filitheyo may be a medium sized island, simply 900m by 500m, with a densely vegetated interior of palm trees, rubber trees, mangroves and Scaebola trees.

The resort of Filitheyo lies between 2 channels on the jap aspect of the coral reef. the good advantage of its secluded, exclusive position lies within the unknown reefs that provide excellent diving for guests staying on this remote resort. The triangular formed island, with its white sandy beach and turquoise laguna, has been developed with careful thought for the surroundings and is ideal for diving and snorkelling. Filitheyo Island Resort remains a wonderful alternative for making those sorcerous vacation recollections, that may stick with you for years to come back.

Your Accommodation choices

Superior Villa

There ar ninety four Superior Rooms engineered round the fringe of the island simply set back from the beach however at intervals the treeline. All rooms ar semi-detached and provide a very wonderful normal of trendy accommodation. The cool rooms ar elegantly provided with massive four poster beds and enticing hardwood piece of furniture.

All rooms ar equipped with a well-stocked mini-bar, telephone, safe safe-deposit, tv and CD stereo-player. The partly out-of-doors bogs ar virtually as massive because the bedrooms and have twin sinks, desalinated hot and cold water shower and separate WC. All bogs have hairdryers and bathrobes ar provided.

Deluxe Villa

The fifteen Deluxe Rooms ar placed on the south west beach and every one rooms ar detached. likewise as providing all the facilities of the Superior Rooms, the Deluxe Villas feature a bigger rest room that includes a tub likewise as a shower.

Water Villa

16 luxurious Water Villas are engineered on stilts round the south of the laguna. These provide the peak of luxury together with double doors that open out onto an outsized shaded sundeck space. From here, there ar steps leading down into the laguna and an extra platform provides many space for sunbathing.
The Rooms have four poster beds and also the massive bogs have a whirlpool tub.

Mark Carey: Muay Thai In Black & White

Here's a gallery of monochrome photographs of Muay Thai training made in Bangkok by the talented Mark Carey. These appealed to me as they were photographed away from the glitzy lights of the top Muay Thai arenas in Bangkok, but show the rather edgy side of the sport...as I tried to do in my recent photo essay of the Muay Thai ring in Loi Kroh Road in Chiang Mai.

Mark Carey is a London-based documentary photographer, who tells us he never had an interest in photographing posed or set-up shots, whether for his wedding photography or during his travels. I think he somewhat bent his rule with some of the frames of the non Thai fighter in the Muay Thai series, but these are the exception and are well worth adding to the gallery...the fellow looks absolutely fierce.

Muay Thai is a combat fight practiced in Thailand, and referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact".

By the way, I credit Mark's Vietnam gallery (which I posted about earlier this year) as being one of the catalysts for my forthcoming/imminent Vietnam Photo Expedition-Workshop.

Roger Anis: The First Stone

"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

Roger Anis is a photojournalist at the Egyptian daily newspaper Al Shorouk, and is based in Cairo. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts, and was awarded a scholarship for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, during whch he attended Hemrik Kastenkov's Storytelling For An Online Audience class.

His project is titled The First Stone, inspired by the passage in the Bible in which Jesus confronts the Pharisees over whether an adulterous woman ought to be stoned.

The project was filmed and photographed in Loi Kroh Road, a well known area in Chiang Mai where bar girls can be seen plying their occupation, providing company (and more) to Western tourists. The story is of Un, a 36 year old bar girl, who agrees to be featured in Roger's project and opens up about her life and her future.

I find it remarkable that Roger was able to gain the trust of Un and others to make this project in such a short time. Filming, photographing and editing this 5 minute movie was made over less than a week...in less than ideal conditions, and under constant pressure. It's a testament to the dedication and perseverance that Roger, and the rest of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop attendees, bring to it...and succeed.

Roger is thinking of smoothing some of the frames in The First Stone, and even translating it to Egyptian Arabic. That would be interesting! I think the title of the project is particularly smart...the perfect title.

Miguel Candela: Living In Darkness

“If I could go to another place, marry someone who would know nothing about my past, maybe I could escape this shame that I feel”

In Bangladesh, on the banks of the Padma River, is Faridpur. It is here that the largest brothels in the country thrive. The sex workers have usually been kidnapped by gangs, sold by their families or step families or tricked with promises of good jobs. It's estimated that there are 100,000 women selling sex in Bangladesh despite Muslim strictures on sex outside marriage.

Brothels: Living In Darkness is a photo essay by Miguel Candela, a Spanish documentary photographer currently based in Hong Kong.

One of the most touching captions underneath an equally compelling image of a sad young woman is this "Society has forced them to live in darkness while men love them and hate them in equal measure, demanding their services while trying to get rid of them permanently."

Miguel Candela is interested in documenting the human drama of life, and to that end has traveled extensively to various countries in order to photo-document the people and their community way of life in Mali, Kenya, the Philippines, Bangladesh and across China, and in his current base of operations in Hong Kong.

His photographs have been published in CNN, CNNGo, South China Morning Post (SCMP), Grupo Vocento, Piel de Foto, La Voz de Galicia among others.

David Lazar: South Asia Collection

It's not the first time that I post about David Lazar's excellent work on The Travel Photographer's blog. Far from it. But he has just revamped his website, and it has vastly improved the layout of his many collections.

He suggested that I feature his new Kenya gallery which he titled Wildlife & Warriors which has photographs of Masai tribal people, but since I have recently had a post about the Masai, I thought I'd choose his South Asia Collection gallery to headline this post instead.

David is a travel photographer and musician from Brisbane, who is drawn to locations with rich cultural backgrounds, and is especially interested in portrait and landscape photography. His work is frequently published in photography and travel magazines, and in 2012 he won the Travel category in the Smithsonian Photography Competition.

He has been travelling annually since 2004, the year in which he became interested in travel photography.

No two ways about it....this is travel photography in the very sense of the word!

Ian Terry: Bangkok Offerings

Here's Bangkok Offerings, a short movie (with very nice time lapses) by Ian Terry, a Seattle-based documentary photographer and journalist, as well as an alum of Henrik Kastenkov's multimedia class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop*.

Alms giving ceremonies around Bangkok involving thousands of monks are held to celebrate certain auspicious dates in the Buddhist calendar. However, on regular days monks take to walk along the streets of towns and villages on their alms round. This is done throughout the year whatever the weather.

You may also want to view Ian's photographs of a cockfight in Mae Khue, a small town in rural Thailand. According to his entry, the fights he witnessed were not to the finish, and ended when one of the roosters either lost interest or was too exhausted to continue the fight. This is different from those I've seen in India or Bali...where cockfights end with the death of one of the combatant birds.

* Bangkok Offerings wasn't produced for that class.

Sasson Haviv: The Jewish World

Sasson Haviv is an Israeli photographer, currently living in New York. He is passionate about people and their life stories, and delves into rarely seen cultures and religions through his lens.

His website galleries include photographs made in the bars of New York, of the Occupy Wall Street movement, A Sikh community kitchen, an Orthodox Jewish family, and The Jewish World; a collection of images which Sasson describes as documenting the unique Jewish Orthodox world.

In this gallery, he sought to capture the intense spirituality and beliefs of the Orthodox people, and using a mix of fine art and documentary styles, these photographs depict the traditions of an extremely devout and spiritual community. The images were taken both in Israel and New York.

NB: It's pure coincidence that my recent posts were of monochrome photography. Color will shortly return!

Christina Malkoun: 'Loun' Steve

Christina Malkoun is another graduate of my Multimedia For Photographers class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop held in Chiang Mai, and possibly influenced by the successful multimedia series One In 8 Million of the NY Times, she produced an exceptionally touching human interest story titled Loun (Uncle) Steve during the workshop.

The audio slideshow is a personal insight into the life of an American expatriate living in Chiang Mai, afflicted by Tourette disease and Huntington's Disease who, because of these genetic diseases, is unwilling to have children on his own, and consequently adopts a local family.

Getting up close and personal in the short time given to the participants on the Foundry Workshop is singularly tough, but Christina was able to do so very successfully with Steve and his family. It's not easy for anyone to be so open as he was, especially in circumstances such as his. This 'connection' is how and why human interest stories attract us as viewers.

Christina is Art Director at ELLE Magazine in Beirut, and is a graphic designer with over 7 years of art direction experience.

You can watch 'Loun' Steve on Vimeo as well.

The Leica Monochrome...And Other B&W Thoughts

Through the PetaPixel blog, I viewed the video of Chris Niccolls from the Canadian camera shop The Camera Store who was able to test a pre-release Leica Monochrome M, and which shares his thoughts on the camera. He also reveals a new feature in the Leica MM which delays the shutter sound camera for stealthier street photography.

For further technical specifications, there's also DPReview's webpage.

This gives me the opportunity to share brief thoughts on the monochrome capabilities of the Fuji X Pro-1, and compare these to the Leica M9's color photographs converted to black and white. As the Leica M is rumored to be released at the end of this month, I don't know how the monochrome photographs generated by the Leica MM will compare to those altered by the traditional post processing, nor to those made in-camera by the Fuji X Pro-1...but I thought I'd post two monochrome photographs made during my recent trip to Chiang Mai.

One of these photographs (the top one) was made with my Leica M9, and post processed in monochrome in Photoshop, while the bottom one was made using the Fuji X Pro-1, and using its B&W film simulation setting, then sharpened (with some added contrast) in Photoshop. Click on the photographs to enlarge.

I pass no judgement at this stage on the merits of the Leica Monochrome, and whether its $8000 price tag is justified or not. For a few photographers, it will be...for the majority of us, it certainly isn't.

However what I can say is that I'm extremely pleased with the Fuji X Pro-1's film simulation settings, as I am pleased with the Leica M9's images when converted to monochrome. I found shooting monochrome with the X Pro-1 to be a cinch, and enjoyed every moment I used that setting. I didn't think I would before doing so in Chiang Mai's streets. But seeing the monochrome images on the X Pro-1's screen helped my visualization process, and reassured me that my camera settings were correct.