from Russell Boyce:
Asia – A Week in Pictures February 27, 2011
- The World's gaze at events in the Middle East was broken last week after an earthquake of 6.3 destroyed many buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand; the death toll now stands at 147 with 200 still missing. This was the latest disaster covered by Tim Wimborne. In recent weeks he has been to Toowoomba and Brisbane for the floods, Cairns for the typhoon Yasi and now NZ to cover the earthquake. Tim worked closely with stringer Simon Baker to produce a file that saddens the heart, buildings normally seen on holiday postcards now forming the tombs of those who have died and as yet have not been pulled from the rubble. For me one of the strongest images is that of a man picking through the rubble of what was once his home. With Tim's birds-eye view we see that nothing is really worth saving amid the dust and rubble, a photograph, a smashed lamp and a model boat.
Resident of the beach-side suburb of New Brighton, Julian Sanderson, searches for personal items through the remains of his house, destroyed by Tuesday's earthquake, in Christchurch February 25, 2011. International rescue teams searched through the rubble of quake-ravaged Christchurch on Friday for more than 200 people still missing, but rain and cold were dimming hopes of finding more survivors in the country's worst natural disaster in decades. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne
A rescue worker (R) looks through the rubble of the Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch February 24, 2011. International rescuers intensified their search for earthquake survivors in New Zealand on Thursday, spurred on by reports of a faint female voice heard beneath a collapsed church, even as the official death toll of 71 looked certain to climb. REUTERS/Simon Baker
In China the word Jasmine has taken on a new meaning. For most it means a flower or tea; to the authorities it means dissent and potential danger to the given order. Social networkers have called for a "Jasmine Revolution" in China inspired by the demonstrations in the Middle East. The government's response was swift, crushing any demonstrations, which are now planned on a weekly basis. The word Jasmine was blocked on the China internet as was the professional social network service LinkedIn. Photographers Carlos Barria, David Gray and Aly Song were quickly onto the streets to cover the demonstrations being snuffed out by the authorities. Communist party officials' were quick to blame the unrest on "hostile western forces". What fascinates me about these three pictures is the calm look on the faces of the protesters. I suppose one has to wonder if these lone activists have been released from custody and if not what conditions they are being held under now and for how long.
Embedded in Afghanistan
Reuters photographer Finbarr O’Reilly recently spent a month with the U.S. First Battalion Eighth Marines in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province. While embedded at the remote Outpost Kunjak with the unit’s Third Platoon’s, Fourth Squad, O’Reilly documented camp life, patrols and combat operations, including one battle that saw four squad members suffer concussions from grenade explosions, including squad leader Sgt. Thomas James Brennan. This is Sgt. Brennan’s personal account of that day, and his reflections on what it is like living and fighting on the front lines of Afghanistan’s war.
Tremendous video that gives great insight. Thanks to you and your men for all you’ve done and sacrificed.
from Russell Boyce:
Asia – A Week in Pictures 14 November 2010
A salute to all those who managed to get pictures, text and video out of Myanmar (Burma) of the release of Nobel Peace Prize winner and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a truly historic moment. No foreign journalists were given visas to cover the election or Suu Kyi's release and there's no Internet. Respect to you all.
Aung San Suu Kyi (C) waves to supporters gathered to hear her speech outside the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party in Yangon November 14, 2010. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on Sunday for freedom of speech in army-ruled Myanmar, urged thousands of supporters to stand up for their rights, and indicated she may urge the West to end sanctions. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
Aung San Suu Kyi speaks with supporters after she was released from house arrest in Yangon November 13, 2010. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
U.S President Obama's wrapped up his visit to Asia, where he visited India, Indonesia, Korea for the G20 and Japan for APEC. Having sat and edited the whole G20 Summit I can tell you first hand it is not the easiest place to try to shoot good pictures. Organisers try to create sanitised PR images that attempt to show the event in the best light; top leaders in an atmosphere of unity and cultural understanding where, hopefully, nothing uncontrolled happens. Good to see that the organisers placed Obama and the photographer, Jim Young, in just the right position to ensure that the most important person, Obama, has the biggest white hat. Respect to you all. Below that are two more pictures where a coincidence of background and foreground has come together in an unexpected unity that allows the viewer enough visual ambiguity to ask questions. "Mr President: Do you feel that on the international stage you are a shadow of your former self after your poor US election results? And "Prime Minister do you feel that as your austerity measures bit really hard, sparking violent demonstrations in London that will it undermine your position as leader of the coalition government with calls for a change in leadership and direction? "
Good thinking on that G20 line-up, Jim Young. These events must be supreme exercises in diplomacy and tact -one doesnt realise how much and this pix is a reminder.
from Russell Boyce:
Asia – A week in Pictures 7 November 2010
A continual struggle with writing this blog is trying to keep it picture led and not wander off into the top stories from the week that may not have produced the best pictures. This week in Asia we have seen the arrival of U.S President Obama in India, U.S Secretary of State Hilary Clinton doing the rounds, the first election in Myanmar for 20 years (no prizes as to who will win though) not one, but two Qantas jets getting into engine difficulty, the continuing tensions between Japan and China, the failed bid by BHP Billiton to take over of Potash, currency woes as we prepare for G20 in Seoul later this week and let's not forget Afghanistan and bombs in Pakistan. So where to start? Mick Tsikas produced my favourite picture of the week, a fan at the Melbourne Cup; one can only admire the oral control it takes to shout in celebration while holding firmly onto a lit cigarette. I thought this was a skill that died out with the passing of Humphrey Bogart.
A race-goer cheers as jockey Gerald Mosse of France rides Americain to victory in the Melbourne Cup at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne November 2, 2010. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas
In Indonesia the stark realities of living in the shadow of an erupting volcano continue to be brought home by Beawiharta. Try as I might I could not edit out any of these four pictures. So with cries of "overfile ovefile" ringing in my ears I will shamelessly re-publish. Wearing a hat to protect yourself from the hundreds of tonnes of hot ash raining down, you've been made homeless and the air is filled with dust and smoke - what do you do? Light up - a perfect moment caught as life stoically goes on. The strong diagonal lines and planes of tone in perfect monochromatic harmony.
A man smokes a cigarette in front of temporary shelter in Jumoyo village in the city of Magelang as Mount Merapi volcano erupts November 4, 2010. Mount Merapi has killed at least 39 people since it began erupting on October 26. Over 74 have been injured and more than 70,000 people have been evacuated, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Board on Wednesday. REUTERS/Beawiharta
Aditia Surya's brutal image of the twisted ash covered bodies of the victims brings home the speed and destructive power that the eruption of Mount Merapi has brought to Indonesia. To counter this brutality are two images of the beauty by Beawiharta; the angelic figure walking through a camp set up for those made homeless by the eruption and the sheer might of natures forces as Merapi erupts surrounded by lightening strikes.
Congo on the wire
Finbarr O’Reilly talks to the CBC about his coverage of the Democratic Republic of Congo and his photographic exhibition “Congo on the Wire” that was displayed as part of the Contact Photography Festival in Toronto.
Great work Finbarr O’Reilly!
Lucas
http://www.pictobank.com
Hardship deepens for South Africa’s Poor Whites
Children walk through a squatter camp for poor white South Africans at Coronation Park in Krugersdorp, March 6, 2010. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly
Sitting in a deck chair at a white South African squatter camp, Ann le Roux, 60, holds a yellowing photo from her daughter’s wedding day.
Taken not long after Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president in 1994, it shows Le Roux standing with her Afrikaans husband and their daughter outside their home in Melville, an upmarket Johannesburg neighborhood.
Sixteen years later, she lives in a caravan and a tent shared with seven other people, including her daughter and four grandchildren, at a squatter camp for poor white South Africans.
She is one of a growing number of whites living below the poverty line in South Africa who blame affirmative action and the ANC-led elected government for their plight.
Le Roux had to sell her house after her husband died and she lost her job as a secretary at the city planning council — where she had worked for 26 years — after she took time off work to recover from the loss of her husband.
“They wouldn’t take me back because of the political situation,” she says, looking down at the fading photo.
In order to lessen racial tensions, maybe America could trade her black people here for the whites in South Africa. That way, the blacks could return to their homeland in Africa and the SA whites could live here in America with more people of European descent.
South Africa’s child-rape epidemic
“Don’t ask me to smile, I don’t know how to smile,” says Fumana Ntontlo, as she poses for a portrait, hands folded in her lap, on the bed of her one-room shack in South Africa’s Khayelitsha township.
The walls and roof of her tiny home are made from corrugated metal, insulated on the inside with splintered and stained plywood, from which hangs a faded blue fabric pouch holding several pairs of well-worn shoes. Some yellowed and curling magazine pictures are taped at eye-level and a lace curtain flutters in the breeze of a small window protected by metal burglar bars. A bare bulb hangs from the ceiling by a wire.
Ntontlo is a “survivor” – the word used by health workers to describe victims of sexual violence.
She was eight years old and playing hide-and-seek at a cousin’s house when another distant relative, who was about 15 at the time, convinced her to hide behind the couch with him. He then lay on top of her, pressing down hard on her small frame. He lifted her skirt and entered her, says Ntontlo.
“I was crying, but he slapped me and threatened to beat me more.”
Now 30 years old, Ntontlo was too embarrassed and confused at the time of the incident to tell anyone.
These people need to find a place to go to heal. Please see http://www.thelamplighters.org. They are an international organization for recovery from incest & childhood sexual abuse. They currently have 65 chapters in eleven countries; 7 of their chapters are in Africa. If Lamplighter chapters can be started in South Africa it would help a great deal. It doesn’t cost anything and is is so easy to start. The Blog site is also in 6 languages and the Guide to starting a chapter can be accessed from the site (also in 6 languages).
Congo On the Wire exhibition, Bayeux, France
When I first started reporting from Africa eight years ago, it was almost impossible to generate any interest in the Western media for a story about Congo. This was immediately following the 9/11 attacks on the United States and the world was still reeling in the aftermath.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have since dominated our news coverage and resources during the first decade of the millennium.
Even as Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-related death toll rose above a staggering five million, making it the most lethal conflict since World War Two, the war in Central Africa remained largely unnoticed and under-reported.
But lately there has been a slight shift. In October 2008, a fresh upsurge of violence drove some 250,000 people from villages in the country’s eastern Kivu provinces, bringing to more than one million the number of internally displaced Congolese.
Congo’s war victims usually perish far from sight, deep in the bush, the latest ghosts in that country’s turbulent history. But last October, the war was accessible. Foreign journalists descended en masse into Goma, a town bordering Rwanda, and booked into hotels with picturesque views of smouldering volcanoes overlooking Lake Kivu.
The media could enjoy coffee and croissants for breakfast, drive up to the front line fighting or the squalid camps home to hundreds of thousands of displaced Congolese, then return to file stories and pictures in time for dinner and a night at the bar.
Thanks for the article. Photographers are often the first “eyes of the world” that are watching. It’s tragic when the photos remain silent and just can’t compete with the rest of the noise in the world. It’s hard to fathom 5 Million deaths in the bloodiest conflict since WWII, just passing under the radar.
I wish I could see the exhibit. I hope it goes on tour. I like what you’ve written about using the shallow depth of field to pull the subjects out of the environment/context, to focus on the fact that they are human with a narrative that we can probably relate to somehow. THey are not just more black faces in a news story about strife in Africa.
I had the good fortune to travel to West Africa, to The Gambia, this past March, to shoot a short educational documentary that aimed to show the resilience and savvy of the people there. Had the same experience where meeting the people one on one made us feel so surely that this is not a lost continent.
Finbarr from the field
On Jan. 14 Reuters hosted a live video Q&A with our renowned photographer Finbarr O’Reilly about his experiences in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Finbarr addressed what drew him to Africa and the most difficult aspects of being a photographer in a war zone.
Finbarr is still available to answer questions, submit them in the comments section below or send a Twitter message with the hash tag “#finbarr” .
Check out “Death all around,” his multimedia report from a Congolese refugee camp, dispatches from Chad and Afghanistan, selected photos from his portfolio, and an audio slideshow from his most recent Congo assignment.
Finbarr,I’m a photographer with the U.S. Army, and have built up a fairly good portfolio over the course of my work in Iraq and stateside. I would like to continue working as a photojournalist using my experience in conflict zones, but outside the military, but am not sure where to start. What would your recommendation be for a starting point in a photojournalistic career of this kind?
Death all around
A Congolese refugee in a tattered baseball cap, worn clothes and blue flip-flops begged me for a cigarette at Kibati, a camp for 65,000 people displaced by fighting in eastern Congo.
I scolded him, saying smoking was bad for his health, as if anything could be worse for your health than living in this conflict-racked corner of Democratic Republic of Congo.
Machine gun fire erupted nearby and people dived for cover, ducking into rows of flimsy tents made from torn sheets of white plastic stretched over sticks.
“Mister, mister, come lie down in here,” a voice called from one tent as bullets hummed nearby like an electrical current.
I snapped a few blurry pictures of people running before crawling through the curtain door of the tent, where a man and two children huddled on the ground. I kneeled above them and took a few more photographs.
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