POV: The Agony (or Ecstasy) of Choice

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

The agony (or ecstasy) of choice between color or monochrome usually hits me when I start editing my images on returning from one of my photo expeditions/workshops or from a personal project/assignment. It's a feeling probably shared by a multitude of photographers at some point...but with me, it has recently become quite acute.

Not too long ago, images generally screamed 'color' at me whilst making them or when I edited them, but that's not the case any longer.

While photographing the Mother Goddess ceremonies in Vietnam last month, I was ambivalent about making that choice during my photo shoots. Despite the flamboyance of the mediums' costumes and the brilliant color of the altars, shrines and religious displays, the jury was still out as far as I was concerned.

I decided that I'd work first on squarish and simpler portraits of the mediums (see The Spirit Mediums) keeping them in vivid colors as I originally shot them...but left open the choice of monochrome vs color for another photographic series which will be more documentary in style, and have less portraiture. I am currently leaning towards monochrome, giving it a more photojournalistic style, and this means I have to process two versions of each image for the time being.

In this particular instance, it's not only an aesthetic case, or a choice of travel vs documentary... but is also one that has to take into consideration the quality of the images. The ceremonies are usually held in temples (pagodas) where the harsh sunlight (if held during the day), where the hideous tungsten lights dangling from the ceilings or walls are difficult to avoid; where votive material and gifts to the deities are stacked on one or more side, providing a busy background, and where assistants who, while doing their job, often intrude in the scenes.

Processing the images to monochrome diminishes the messy impact of these visual issues, and makes them less distracting. That said, does it reduce the 'authenticity' of the ceremonies...in a way, seeing them not as they happened?

I haven't resolved this question yet.

Hầu Đồng | Exposure | The Power of 'So Mang'

As readers and followers of this blog probably know, I've spent about two weeks in Hà Nội on a personal assignment to document The Spirit Mediums of Vietnam, who perform the rituals of Hầu Đồng; one of the main elements of Đạo Mẫu, the Mother Goddess religion of the indigenous Vietnamese people.

My passion for photographing esoteric religious and spiritual traditions, coupled with a thrilling sense of discovering a new one in Đạo Mẫu, made these two weeks one of the most rewarding periods of my photographic career. Overall, it exceeded my results expectation.

For the genesis of this project, let me briefly backtrack. 

Leading my September 2014 photo expedition-workshop to Vietnam, I accidentally stumbled on a Đạo Mẫu rehearsal ceremony in Sapa, and an actual Hầu Đồng ritual the following evening in the northern town of Bac Ha. Serendipity (or perhaps it was what the Vietnamese call số mạng) was certainly on my side on these two days, because I was completely in the dark about this religion and its rituals. 

Returning to New York, I started to research the subject, garnered as much information as I could, established the ground contacts through social media and resolved to return to Hà Nội to document as much as I could over a period of about 2 weeks; hardly enough to do a exhaustive job of it but sufficient to give me a solid head start.

I was extremely fortunate to have Ms Trần Thị Thanh Tú, a talented Ha Noi-based photographer herself, helping me every inch of the way. She generously took time off from her regular job and was instrumental in introducing me as a trusted friend to the Hầu Đồng community. Without her, this project wouldn't have taken off an inch off the ground. Her introduction and their acceptance were key to the success of the assignment.

Treated with nothing but over-the-top hospitality by the Hầu Đồng community, I made friends with Trịnh Ngọc Minh, Ms Lê Ánh Tuyết, and Ung Anh Tuan, to name but a few. News of my interest spread amongst other contacts, to the point where I was invited to a ceremony by the gracious Ms. Nguyễn Thanh Mai; owner of the Golden Silk Boutique Hotel in Hà Nội, where I stayed for these two weeks. Even the hotel's receptionists were intrigued by my progress and would ask how it was going on my return at the end of each day. Some of them were unfamiliar with Đạo Mẫu, so I was pleased to share my knowledge of this Vietnamese ancient religious ritual.

As I put together this gallery of the mediums, I realized I had barely scratched the surface of the Hầu Đồng ritual so, for example, I confused many of the names of spirits until Ms Tu corrected them. The difference between a Chầu đệ nhị thượng ngàn (the Second Lady) and a Cô Chín Sòng Sơn (the Ninth Princess), obviously significant, didn't come easily to me, no matter how much I relied on the material I had downloaded from the internet.

Despite the best efforts of my hosts and friends, my inability to speak Vietnamese, or even understand a few words of it, did reduce my understanding of the intricacies of the rituals. For this, I naturally blame my own shortcomings.

I've added some background information on Đạo Mẫu and Hầu Đồng on The Spirit Mediums of Vietnam for those who are interested. It's a fascinating syncretic religious practice mixing a number of artistic elements, such as music, singing, dance and the use of costumes. It also happens to be a joyous religious ceremony, without the dour, morose, guilt-ridden and fearsome ambiances of some other established religions we all know about.

What next? Well, I plan to return to Vietnam in the coming months to work on another phase of this project, and I'm also toying with the idea of eventually publishing a book of these photographs.

Let's see what số mạng has in store for me.

Supranav Dash | Varanasi

Photo © Supranav Dash-All Rights Reserved

It's a little over a year that I was last photographing in Varanasi; in my view, certainly one of the most photogenic cities on earth, and I thought I'd "reconnect" visually with it through the work of Supranav Dash's Varanasi.

I miss India and its infinite layers of culture, traditions and religiosity... and photographic work such as this one rekindles the attachment.

The above photograph is of a pehlwan training area overlooking the city's ghats, where presumably a practitioner of this ancient wrestling sport is seen making puja before his training.

I posted Supranash's work Trades Portraits earlier on this blog, which I thought were lovely monochromatic images of fast disappearing occupations in India.

Supranash Dash was brought up in Kolkata, India. He started his a career in Fashion/ Advertising/ Editorial Photography in that city, and later went on to work for a magazine in Mumbai. He has a BFA in Photography (Honors) from the School of Visual Arts, NYC. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, and has a long list of awards. His areas of interest are Fine Art and Social Documentary.

Diego Ibarra Sánchez | Children of Shah Daulah

Photo © Diego Ibarra Sanchez - All Rights Reserved

Followers of this blog and of my photography work will know of my visual and cultural affinity to South Asian Sufi shrines, and my interest in this particular branch of Islam from a historic standpoint. I have photographed at quite a number of Sufi shrines in India, but never in Pakistan, and documented a variety of its festivals, rituals and cultural phenomena.

Whether it was in Ajmer during the death anniversary of the Sufi saint Chisti or at the shrine of Mira Datar, I witnessed manifestations of mental illness by pilgrims who went into trances when nearing the tombs of the saints, and I saw first hand the venality of the shrines' keepers who exploited the visiting pilgrims, and conned them out of their meagre savings.

But I never imagined what seems to occur at the shrine of Shah Daula Shrine located in Gujrat in northern Pakistan. It is here that women wanting to bear children come - as others have done for more than 400 years- and pray at the saint's shrine. If their prayers are fulfilled, they have to donate their first-born to the caretakers of the shrine. Thousands of such children have been left here, and forced by the caretakers to wear iron caps on their skulls for the first 12 years of their lives in order to look like rats. They are called the rat children or chuhas.

Shah Daula, a beloved Sufi Muslim mystic, was said to be a kind man who surrounded himself with children born with microcephaly, and the caretakers seek to populate the shrine with such disfigured individuals since pilgrims believe that being touched by these unfortunate individuals will bless them and have them bear children.

Diego Ibarra Sánchez's gallery Children of Shah Daula features photographs made at this shrine.

Diego is a documentary photographer currently based in Lebanon. Graduating with a degree in Journalism in 2005, he has published many of his stories in numerous newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times and Der Spiegel among others.

In 2006 several grants made it possible for Diego to spend a year in South America to improve his storytelling process. Upon returning to Spain he worked for two years for the Catalan newspaper Avui, while still continuing his own photography projects. In 2009 Diego moved to Pakistan where he developed a strong visual body of work. He also continued travelling to several other countries including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Libya, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

He left Pakistan in 2014 and he is currently based in Beirut, Lebanon.

Hà Nội Color | Exposure | Leica M9 & X Pro1

I've just published Hà Nội Color on the Exposure platform, using a Color Efex Pro 4 "soup" to punch the colors up, and boost their saturation. The photographs were made with a Leica M9 with Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 and the Fuji X-Pro1 with a 18mm Fujinon f2.0. Most of the photographs were shot from the hip.

The streets and alleys of Hà Nội's Old Quarter (referred to in Vietnamese as Phố Cổ) are enormously interesting in terms of history, culture and visual vignettes of everyday life; life that is carried out in the open for all to see. Whenever I could, in between long and frenetic photo shoots of the Hầu Đồng assignment, I would wander around somewhat aimlessly...just waiting for life snippets to happen.

Perhaps because I was in Hà Nội in September 2014, and roamed these streets as well, I was a lot more discerning in what I photographed this time....principally looking for colors.

I have no idea if I actually walked all of the Old Quarter's 36 streets, but I did smell the famous grilled fish on Cha Ca, glanced at the silver trinkets on Hang Bac, ignored the endless displays of shoes and sandals on Hang Dau, the silk boutiques on Hang Gai (where my hotel was), entered one of the wonderful old houses on Ma May, passed by the bamboo products (Hang Buom), peeked in a shop selling medicinal herbs on Lan Ong, pushed my way through the female crowd on Hang Dao the "underwear" street and was tempted to drink beer on Ta Hien street but didn't.

After perusing Hà Nội Color, you may want to drop by Hà Nội Noir which is a selection of monochromatic photographs also made in the Old Quarter.

The Hát Văn Singer | Trịnh Ngọc Minh

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

"My life is a calendar of memories." -Trịnh Ngọc 'Tony' Minh

Hát Văn is a form of ritual music played by musicians known as 'cung van' as an offering to the various deities pertaining to the cult of Mother Goddesses in Vietnam. The songs and musical accompaniment call the deities to attend the Hầu Đồng rituals, and create the right atmosphere for the medium to go into the requisite trances welcoming these deities.

These musicians require considerable training and stamina; often helped by various traditional concoctions, since the rituals can last as long as 8 hours with non-stop music and singing.

At the start of my two-weeks stay in Hanoi, I was fortunate to be introduced to Mr Trịnh Ngọc Minh, known to all as Tony, a very generous man, who not only is a well-known (and a very talented) Hát Văn singer, an excellent musician and expert in the two-stringed đàn nguyệt, but also one of the better Hầu Đồng practitioners I've seen during my almost daily attendance of these rituals.

During one of our many meals together, along with other friends, he also displayed his talents as a fortune-teller and palm reader, and I was quite happy to learn that I was blessed in having four lines in my palm rather than the normal three...and other stuff that has no relevance to this post.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Trịnh Ngọc Minh studied literature and theater in 2006, and since then has been singing, teaching, researching and writing songs on a daily basis. He's passionate about his chosen profession, especially as it requires a high degree of spirituality. The study of Hát Văn takes 2-3 years, and to be reasonably proficient, one has to study and practice it for at least 5 years. My understanding is that there over 2000 singers in Vietnam, but only 10 of them can write and sing this traditional style of music.

He also delighted his audience at an all-nighter Hầu Đồng ritualistic performance at the Đền Tam Phủ temple in the outskirts of Quang Ninh. Members of the audience were ecstatic despite the late hours (or early morning hours), and he -to use a Western expression- rocked the place.

At Hanoi's wonderfully atmospheric Văn Miếu (Temple of Literature), we had the opportunity of photographing Tony playing the two-stringed đàn nguyệt (top photograph), and I recorded a Hát Văn song.

Ca Trù | Vietnamese Sung Poetry

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

One of the most authentic cultural performances of Northern Vietnam has to be Ca Trù (pronounced 'Ka Tchoo'); a complex form of sung poetry using lyrics written in traditional Vietnamese poetic forms. It flourished in the 15th century when it was popular with the royal palace, and was a favorite activity of aristocrats and scholars. It was later performed in communal houses, inns and private homes.

I was first introduced to Ca Trù during my 2012 Vietnam Photo Expedition-Workshop when I spotted a pamphlet in our hotel lobby. I gathered the group, and we attended one of its evening performances in Ha Noi's Old Quarter. Due to a time conflict, I wasn't able to attend one in September 2014 during another Photo Expedition-Workshop, but I vowed I'd do so when I was next in Ha Noi...which was last fortnight.

Thanks to Ms Trần Thị Thanh Tú, a Ha Noi-based photographer, I attended two Ca Trù performances and photographed at will. Ms Phạm Thị Huệ is a virtuoso practitioner of the art, and is actively engaged in preserving, reviving and popularizing this cultural heritage.

Ca Trù singing is a traditional Vietnamese folk art, and is believed to have religious origins. It is said that it is a very noble and elegant form of art, not just singing but also for its poetry.

Not understanding a word of Vietnamese, the beauty of the sung poetry is lost on me but I was nevertheless always impressed by the overall atmosphere of these performances, by the poise and talent of the singers/musicians and by the elegance of their costumes.

For further background on Ca Trù, drop by THE ANCIENT ART OF CA TRÙ; a gallery of my  large photographs made during my recent visits to the Ca Trù Thang Long Club, at 28 Hang Buom Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi.

And take a listen to one of the songs performed by the group on April 2, 2015 which I recorded live.

 

France Leclerc | Nomads In Ladakh

Photo © France Leclerc-All Rights Reserved


"I have always been a traveler and a wanderer. Travel for me is not about vacations; it is my way to learn about a world that I care deeply about."

Here's the latest from a peripatetic photographer, who's unflinchingly merging ethno-photography, pictorial anthropology and travel photography together in interesting and informative blog posts and galleries.

France Leclerc has been everywhere, and puts other seasoned travel photographers to shame in terms of their geographical coverage. Let me try to list where she's been: India (including Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Assam, Nagaland, Maha Kumbh Mela, Kolkata and Varanasi of course), Philippines,  Myanmar, Ethiopia's Omo Valley, Namibia, Cambodia, and yes, even Paris.

Based in Chicago (when she's not on the road), she developed a passion for photographing the more remote regions of the world, and sharing her experiences visually and in her writings. A self-taught photographer, she describes herself as a traveler and wanderer, and is turned by photographing people...not just portraits but what she calls 'snippets' of their lives...sort of environmental portraits that tell stories about the people.

Her latest blog entry is Nomads in Ladakh; about the Changpa (also called Champa), a semi-nomadic Tibetan people she encountered whilst traveling in the Rupshu valley, a high altitude desert in the southeast of Ladakh. They are high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats. Though only 100 miles or so from Leh, the Rupshu valley is only accessible by driving many hours and travel over the Tangla La at an altitude of over 17, 000 feet.

Mostly a color photographer, France seems to have adopted the monochromatic look for her latest work of Ladakh. Let's see if that trend continues.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop | Bali 2015

You'll have the time of your life. That's it...a few simple words that sums it all up.

In my view, this is the best photojournalism workshop for the advancement of emerging photographers/photojournalists, already emerging ones, established ones, mature ones and veterans.

Mind you, it's not only the phenomenal experience of working cheek to jowl with some of the best and selfless photographers-instructors in existence such as Maggie Steber, Ron Haviv, John Stanmeyer, Matt Black, Thorne Anderson, James Whitlow Delano, David Storey, Michael Robinson-Chavez, Andrea Bruce, Kael Alford, Adriana Zehbrauskas, Henrik Kastenskov, Paula Bronstein, Claire Rosen and Neal Jackson....but it's also enhancing your craft by rubbing shoulders with other participants, whether peers, or just starting their photography careers, or veterans, and with all sorts of other styles of image-making....it's also about augmenting your exposure to different worlds, about exposing yourselves to divergent thought processes, to varying points of view, and in doing so... grow as human beings (and yes, as photographers too).

It was a little over 7 years ago when I received an email from Eric Beecroft inviting me to join as faculty member the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop which was still be established, and that would take place in Mexico City. It was 2008... and the workshop has been going from strength to strength since then, holding annual events in Mexico City, Manali, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Chiang Mai, Sarajevo, La Antigua...and now Ubud, Bali.

I was (and am) privileged to have been chosen among the thousands of photographers who are certainly more deserving than I am to be part of the faculty, especially as I'm a travel photographer rather than a conflict -or otherwise- photojournalist.

My involvement in the Foundry since its inception, meeting and viewing the work of my fellow instructors, as well as that of the students, has inspired a shift in my travel photography trajectory...and caused an evolutionary progress in my way of seeing...from the narrow focus on stock travel photography to a more documentary type of travel photography.

This is my take on the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop...honest, unbiased, and straight.

So join and you'll see I'm right.

Hanoi Report 6

Well, here I am at the end of a wonderful, extremely enjoyable and highly productive 12-13 days in Ha Noi. I entered a world that perhaps few non-Vietnamese are familiar with, and made friendships that I wouldn't have made otherwise had I not traveled on my own.

It was capped last night by a Ca Tru performance at the Guan Yu Temple on 28 Hang Buom Street in the Old Quarter.

I am bracing myself for the extremely long flight to New York with a stop over in Hong Kong, and for the re-entry in a much colder environment. It was in the upper 90s in Ha Noi yesterday.

All Photos © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved