POV: Retouching Photographs

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

Since starting on my photography trajectory some 15 years ago, I've been consistently adamant about not spending much time on post processing my images. Whether it was Photoshop, Color Efex (and its derivatives), Silver Efex or even Lightroom, I resisted the lure of "improving" the photographs I made whilst leading my many photo expeditions-workshops and solo assignments.

It's an aesthetic decision coupled with a genuine disinterest in spending time poring over digital images and pixel-peeking. I just don't have the patience to do what other photographers seem to revel in.

With the advent of Color Efex, I softened my resistance. With just a click or two (or three) on a preset filter, I could change (and improve) the photographs that I liked... and that was almost a revelation to me.

It was easier. I liked the results. I didn't have to spend an hour over a single image.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

And then earlier this year, I started the long journey on my personal project "Hầu Đồng: The Spirit Mediums of Viet Nam"; researching, documenting and photographing the Vietnamese religion of the Mother Goddesses, and the practice of mediumship. The project is currently taking shape, and ought to culminate in a book, combining photographs and text.

As I progressed and added more photographs to my inventory, test prints were made, and I was generally pleased with the results. 

I also just chanced on a photo retouching software program, and as Hầu Đồng ceremonies involve women mediums, colorful brocade costumes, a degree of exotic background pageantry and rituals, dance and songs, it certainly has a connection with fashion photography.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved

Fashion photography? Yes, I'm serious. And fashion photography needs retouching software....so I put two and two together, and acquired the software*. Boom! Another revelation of sorts to me. 

It proved to be a cinch to use. A click here and there, and I could tackle the facial and skin imperfections that I would've normally have had to fix in Photoshop, or more probably just ignored. The key is to avoid overdoing the degree of "fixing" as it would alter the physiognomies of the subjects I photographed (as in botched face-lifts), and pushed to the extreme would render them unrecognizable. We've seen this on the covers of fashion magazines, and we wonder if it's really Julia Roberts or not.

The usefulness of this retouching software will be proven or disproven when I run a few test prints. I'd like to see whether it is a non-destructive image editing software  (it claims to be) before I run it on the Hầu Đồng photographs.

* PortraitPro...

The 5 Most Popular Posts of 2015

I always think it'd be interesting at the end of each year of blogging to highlight the five most popular posts on The Travel Photographer blog... and this year is no exception.

In first place (by a significant margin) is:

Fuji X-T1 | Fuji 56mm f/1.2 | Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8

While I seldom post about gear (since there are more qualified people who do this better than I can), this post was about my impressions on two Fuji lenses used during trips to Hanoi and Bali. The two lenses were the Fuji 56mm f/1.2 and the Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8. 

I'm always taken aback by the popularity of any of my posts dealing with camera gear, but I guess it's because readers are interested in hands-on experience rather than technical nitty-gritty.

In second place is:

A Fuji X-T1 In Bali | Kuningan Ceremonies & More

This was also a post about my hands-on experience the Fuji X-T1 which I used almost exclusively during my week-long stay in Bali. I used it with a Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 and a newly acquired Fuji XF 16-55mm f/2.8. Following a firmware installation, I noticed a slight improvement in the X-T1's auto-focus speed and accuracy.

The third post in terms of popularity is:

Agung Parameswara | Devotion

While at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Bali, I chanced upon the work of Agung Parameswara is a Bali-based freelance photographer specializing in documenting social cultural issues, delving in travel, and documentary photography. His focus is on Bali and his native Indonesia with a passion in capturing culture, folklore, landscape, and human events in conjunction with their surroundings.

Very nice work!

In fourth place is:

Hà Nội Color | Exposure | Leica M9 & X Pro1

I'm gratified that one of my favorite galleries of photographs made in the streets and alleys of Hà Nội's Old Quarter (referred to in Vietnamese as Phố Cổ) was so popular. These streets 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. I used a Leica M9 and a Fuji X Pro 1 to make these photographs.

In fifth place is:

POV: This Thing Called 'Vision'

I'm also chuffed my favorite POV post of 2015 was so well enjoyed by readers. In the post, I quote myself as saying (and believing):

"Vision? What vision? I have no vision. I am a documentarian. I see something I'm interested in and I photograph it. That's my vision."

Many friends and followers on my Facebook page agreed with my premise and candor.

That's all, folks!!!

End of 2015

Due to my involvement in my long term personal project, I have been rather neglectful in updating my blog in the past few weeks. Researching, editing, writing, revising, are all tasks that are extremely time and attention consuming, and updating my blog has been one of the 'victims'.

This ought to change in the new year, when I will -hopefully- have more time on my hands to update its contents much more frequently.

 In the meantime, I wish all my readers a very happy Christmas and holiday season, as well as a wonderful 2016.

The "Look-Back" Images of 2015

Here's a short movie slideshow consisting of some of my favorite images made during 2015. As I'm taking a hiatus from leading photo expeditions-workshops in order to complete a forthcoming photography book tentatively titled "Hầu Đồng: The Spirit Mediums of Viet Nam, all my travels this year have been to that country to build an exhaustive inventory of photographs relating to this subject matter.

I've included a few street photographs of Hanoi; probably one of the most photogenic cities for the genre since its life spills unto its alleys and streets. I've also included a few photographs of Ca Trù; an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists, with northern Vietnam origins. 

And naturally, I've included just a handful of the literally thousands of Hầu Đồng photographs I've amassed since I've started this book project in March.

For more still photographs, drop by Hầu Đồng, and Cháu Ba.

Travel Photographer Asia 2016 | Photo Contest

Following my earlier post on Travel Photographer Asia's a 4 day Workshops in Kuala Lumpur between May 26 and May 29, 2016, here is its highly anticipated photography contest.

The contest is travel-photography biased, and will be judged by a panel of jury consisting of some of the world's most renowned photographers.

There are 5 categories in the travel photography contest. The categories are:
People
Daily Life
Sense of Place
Nature
Beautiful HomeThe prizes are substantial and include, inter-alia, free entries to The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop and to the Obscura Festival Masterclass 2016 Penang. These are two of highest rated workshops for emerging and established photographers.

The judges are Dr. Shahid ul Alam, Ms. Huang Wen, Ms. Gwen Lee, Vignes Balasingam, Che’ Ahmed Azhar, Drew Hooper and myself.

If you're interested in the quality of the submitted photographs to Travel Photographer Asia 2015, here is the link to last year's contest results.

Aik Beng Chia | Lao Sai Tao Yuan

Teochew opera, or Chaozhou opera, is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, and originated in Chaoshan region in south China. It was popular in Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. 

Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is a composite performance art mixing various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century during the Song Dynasty. It evolved to include various art forms, such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, as well as literary art forms to become Chinese opera.

Above is a photo slideshow by Singaporean photographer Aik Beng Chia of Lao Sai Tao Yuan, the only group that survived all these years. It was formed in early 19th century and is the oldest remaining Teochew Opera in Singapore.

Photos © Aik Beng Chia-All Rights Reserved

I liked the way that Mr Chia juxtaposed the portraits of the Teochew opera performers side by side; the monochromatic ones in their daily street clothes, and the colored ones in their costumed regalia.

Aik Beng Chia started photographing the daily lives of people on the streets of Singapore in 2008. Since then, these images have earned him a strong following on Instagram numbering over 20,000. They have also caught the attention of UK newspaper, The Guardian, which let him take over the Guardian Travel Instagram account for a three-day special feature on Singapore as seen through his eyes. He has also been invited to be a contributor to Everyday Asia on Instagram, and his works have been exhibited and published internationally.

Aik Beng started the “Singkarpor” project in 2011, and of the thousands of photos taken since, a carefully curated collection will be shown at its exhibition. In 2013, he launched his first monograph "Tonight The Streets Are Ours" published by the Invisible Photographer Asia, which showed Singapore's Little India after dusk. 

Travel Photographer Asia 2016

I've been very glad to be involved with Travel Photographer Asia since its inception last year, and I'm doubly gratified to have been re-invited by its founder, Ahsan Qureshi, to participate in its forthcoming event as a judge of its travel photography contest, and in giving a 4 day workshop in Kuala Lumpur between May 26 and May 29, 2016.

There will be a master class with Dr. Shahid ul Alam and workshops with Ms. Khaula Jamil and myself. Master Class In Story Telling, Basics of Photojournalism and The Travel Documentary!

So hurry, and join these unique opportunities!!!

The Master Class with the legendary Dr Shahid ul Alam will explore the basic structure of storytelling and with practical examples and simple guidelines, provide the framework for utilizing the remarkable tools at our disposal today to create, deliver and propagate engaging stories. A component on social media, including the recipes for engagement and reach will also be included.

Amongst his many celebrated accomplishments, Dr Shahid ul Alam has set up the award winning Drik Picture Library, The Bangladesh Photographic Institute, Pathshala, The South Asian Media Academy, and he is a also member of advisory board of National Geographic Society.

Ms Khaula Jamil will present the Basics of Photojournalism workshop; a 4 day visual storytelling and photojournalism class. It will involve both theory and practical sessions. Lectures and highly interactive discussions on various genres of photojournalism/key practitioners/ ethics/ social issues /examples and presentations will be conducted.

Ms Khaula holds a MFA in Photography at Parsons School of Design in 2009 on a Fulbright Scholarship and is now an independent freelance photographer. She founded "K For Karachi" a collection of silver jewelry and is well known for her on-going photo project “Humans of Karachi”. She also teaches part-time at the Indus Valley School, and is a member of Majority World, a photo agency started by Dr. Shahid-ul-Alam.

As for me, I shall present The Travel Documentary, a 4 day visual storytelling and travel photography workshop in Kuala Lumpur. Participants will photograph in the field, while indoors time will be devoted to weaving the material into still photo stories and travel documentaries.

To repeat the obvious, I plan, organize and lead photo expeditions-workshops for other photographers, with emphasis on travel photography, multimedia storytelling and documentary photography. I am also the founder of The Travel Photographer blog, and I'm proud to be a faculty member in the Foundry Photojournalism Workshops. Interested in traditional and non-traditional religious manifestations, I am currently working on a long term personal photographic project titled “The Spirit Mediums of Vietnam”.

The Fortune Teller Told Me | Nguyễn Ngọc Vi

As readers of this blog probably know, I'm immersed in a personal photographic project documenting the Spirit Mediums of Vietnam; a project which is slowly progressing and will eventually result in a photo book.

One of the derivative 'sub-projects' from my traveling to Vietnam is documenting the life story of Ms. Nguyễn Vi, who is not only an active Hầu Đồng practitioner and a medium, but also is a psychic, a clairvoyant and a fortune teller. She tells me that her innate insight into people's futures helps them in their lives. As with many Vietnamese Buddhists, Vi embraces its teachings on compassion and altruism.

I started documenting Vi's life story in July when she graciously invited me to her family home in Hanoi. It was there that she worships, actively follows her belief system, and deploys her fortune telling skills. In our conversations, it was evident she hasn't had an easy life, and had suffered a number of personal setbacks over the past years until finding her calling in the Đạo Mẫu religion. 

Not only was I privileged to have been invited to her home again in October, but we became friends, and I was glad to be amongst her group that traveled to the north of Vietnam to attend one of her ceremonies.

She is one of the best practitioners of Hầu Đồng I've seen, using her personal charisma, fashion sense and considerable experience to enthrall her audiences. Extremely talented in many fields such as graphic design, photography and fashion, Vi has nevertheless chosen a life path that is difficult; almost monastic to a certain degree.

As I intend to produce a much lengthier documentary on Vi's life, I consider this short movie as a trailer for what is about to come in the near future.