Photographers Blog

By Eddie Keogh

As part of our photographic coverage of Euro 2012, Darren Staples and myself from England and Michael Dalder from Germany are covering all the group games in Kiev and Lviv in Ukraine. Our first game was between Germany and Portugal last Saturday in Lviv and proved to be a very interesting day.

Saturday is a busy day to get married in Ukraine and as the city was also packed with fans it was only time before both parties would meet.

Tina Lemboke and her friends from Rostock in Germany were the first to grab a souvenir photo with a wedding couple. The couple were more than happy as it was a good opportunity also for them to get an unusual wedding picture. Tina said’ “They are so friendly here, everyone has been so welcoming.” That proved to be very true as a member of the wedding party opened the boot of his car and presented Tina with a bottle of vodka.

As they left another group of German fans spotted the wedding couple. Five students from Ulm in southern Germany, who had travelled for 24 hours by train to get here. Students being students, a normal picture wasn’t good enough. To everyone’s surprise Paul Schlenker wrapped his German flag around the wedding couple and there was another picture sure to be a hit on Facebook. These fans had a marathon schedule ahead of them as Markus Gamm pointed out. “We have no accommodation tonight and a 25 hour bus ride back to Germany. If we win tonight, we will party all night and sleep on the bus. Hopefully the full 25 hours. ”

Some couple’s managed to find a quieter spot in a local park to celebrate their wedding.
As I took a picture from a distance I was spotted and asked to join them. I ended up sharing a glass of red sparkling wine to toast the marriage of Ivanna to Yaroslav Rotchuk.

Their photographer was even happier when I offered him the loan of my Canon zoom so he could shoot some portraits.
Germany won the match 1-0, let’s hope all those newlyweds don’t get substituted in the biggest match of all.

By Beawiharta

Walking with two cameras, a small bag and a ladder is a daily activity for me. But today, I have a different assignment. I must change into a different kind of clothing to cover the marriage of GKR Bendara (youngest daughter of Yogyakarta King Sultan Hamengkubuwono X) to her husband KPH Yudanegara.

Since it’s not an ordinary assignment, today I will need more help in dressing for the wedding ceremony. Usually I wear something simple, but now I need something more traditional. Out of respect to the old traditions of my country, I figure I must dress the part or else I won’t be able to take pictures inside the palace.

The wedding ceremonies don’t happen in just one day, but over the course of three days. Sultan Hamengkubuwono X spread out the 4,000 invitations across two receptions in two different palaces, as well as stationed around 200 street food vendors to serve people out in the streets.

This picture will be printed big on glossy paper, framed and hung.

It’s the wedding of Sarina and Kurisem: the moment they’ve been waiting for. Excitement and pride radiates from their families as Sarina’s parents send their daughter to a good family and for Kurisem’s parents, their son becomes a man.

The photo shows happiness, joy and a hope for a better future. Two beautiful young people smile in front of a golden background, plastic flowers and gifts. A synthetic carpet covers the mud and a silent fan prevents the scene from melting in the heat of southern Thailand. Two hearts, their names and the date are written in a strange combination of languages to remind us of a happy day.

Or, maybe, the day was not that happy?

The official wedding photographer, over whose shoulder I shot this very frame, was not really interested in what was happening outside of the golden moment. However, it was what made me rush to the wedding after hearing the news of violence on the police radio. I was driving when I heard about the shooting so I rushed to the scene. The wedding photographer is accustomed to the violence; he focuses on what photos sell instead. The age-old journalism expression “No bleed, no lead” doesn’t work here in southern Thailand. In the photo album, that filtered reminder of our past, this smiling wedding portrait will be the only picture.

First, congratulations to Pakistan Chief photographer Adrees Latif and Bangladesh based photographer Andrew Biraj for their competition awards this week.  Adrees is the winner of the photojournalism category of the ICP Infinity Awards 2011 for his pictures shoot during the floods in Pakistan last year.  Andrew won third prize in the singles category of daily life in the World Press Photo Awards for his picture of an overcrowded train in Bangladesh.

Marooned flood victims looking to escape grab the side bars of a hovering Army helicopter which arrived to distribute food supplies in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province August 7, 2010. Pakistanis desperate to get out of flooded villages threw themselves at helicopters on Saturday as more heavy rain was expected to intensify both suffering and anger with the government. The disaster killed more than 1,600 people and disrupted the lives of 12 million.  REUTERS/Adrees Latif

An overcrowded train approaches as other passengers wait to board at a railway station in Dhaka, November 16, 2010. Millions of residents in Dhaka are travelling home from the capital city to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday on Wednesday. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

As the anniversary of the 9/11 attack coincided with Eid celebrations, Florida based Pastor Terry Jones announced that he would burn the Koran as a protest  to plans to site a Muslim cultural centre near Ground Zero , stoking tensions in Asia.  Add into the mix millions in Pakistan suffering from lack of water, food and shelter after floods, a parliament election in   Afghanistan and a U. S. -led  military campaign against the Taliban around Kandahar -  photographers in the region had lots of raw material to work with.

Raheb's picture of relief and joy caught in the harsh light of a direct flash seems to explode in a release of tension as news spreads that Pastor Jones had cancelled his plans to burn the Koran. It has to be said that ironically earlier in the day in Pakistan US flags were burned in protest against the planned protest.

 Afghan protestors shout anti U.S slogans as they celebrate after learning that U.S. pastor Terry Jones dropped his plans to burn copies of the Koran, in Herat, western Afghanistan September 12, 2010. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi