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Monsoon | Sturla Gunnarsson

I saw this trailer posted on Facebook the other day, and thoroughly enjoyed the few minutes it took to tell the story of the monsoon in India. Most time lapses I've seen are irritating, but here they're relevant and well-done.

Cherrapunji in the Indian state of Meghalaya is credited as being the wettest place on Earth. According to records, it received 366 inches of rain in July 1861 and a whopping 1,041.75 in between 1 August 1860 and 31 July 1861. In comparison, Seattle got a record of 16.25 inches of rain in December 1917.

Travel Photographer Asia | Contest

I'm very pleased to introduce the Travel Photographer Asia Contest to my readers.

As I've always evangelized, travel photography is a complex and varied discipline that includes a wide range of genres and subjects, from cultural events to food, from architecture to people and from reportage to wildlife. Travel photographers must be able to capture these diverse genres using all sorts of techniques, and resources.

Spearheaded by Ahsan Quraishi, the Travel Photographer Asia is a travel photography contest aimed at professional and amateur travel photographers who have travelled in Asia. Through the submitted photographs, it seeks to highlight the undeniable vibrancy of the people, places, food and festivals in Asia.

The best 50 photographs will be chosen by a panel of judges, and will be exhibited for a week at one of Kuala Lumpur's best exhibition venue, MapKL@Publika and the winners will be unveiled in a gala prize giving ceremony on the opening night.

I am also very glad to have been chosen as one of the 4 judges on the Travel Photographer Asia panel, which includes photography heavyweights Khaula Jamil, Eric Beecroft and Rahman Roslan. The winning entries will be first shortlisted by the judges, then chosen via social media.

The rules governing the contest are simple and straightforward. Submissions to the contest start on January 21, 2015 and all entries must be submitted on or before midnight on 20 April 2015. The winners will be announced on May 29, 2015.

The prizes are very generous, but I would be remiss if I didn't highlight that both the Winner and First Runner-Up will be each awarded a spot in the fantastic Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (held on 19 -25 July in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) inclusive of tuition fees, 7 days 6 nights accommodation and return flights (ex KL).

There's no question there is an incredible amount of photography talent amongst Asian and non-Asian photographers who make images in Asian countries, of cultures, people, its food, festivals, religious events and its landscapes. I am certain that this contest will brings phenomenal imagery to the forefront, and will introduce new names to the multitude of people who love photography.

So if you traveled to and photographed the Asian continent, participate in this inaugural photo contest, and let us see your photographs!

Darkness - A Short Story

The 12th and 13th floors of 'Sunlights' used to be lit for the entire night.

This opaque trend used to amuse both Meera and Krish alike.

Both used to pity their fate of being alone, while envying the next door happiness of a complete family.

Their continual silent ordeal was witnessed just by their loneliness.

The morning after, they used to steal routine glances through the panes, little to realize that the bond between them was not of the morning Sun , but that of a .... Darkness Inside.



This post is author's entry to Five Sentence Fiction.

Theyyam | Tewfic El-Sawy

Being stuck indoors because of a 'monstrous' snowstorm in NYC has some advantages, after all. I pulled some of my photographs made in 2009 at various Theyyam performances in the region of Kasargode in northern Kerala, picked those that appealed to me and published "Theyyam: When Men Become Gods" on Exposure .

These performances were some of the most unusual I've ever witnessed...not in terms of violence (real or manufactured) because there was none of that (except for chicken sacrifices), but because of the sudden metamorphose of essentially what are human actors into weird creatures that adopt eerie mannerisms and surreal voices. These were not trances...just a morphing into weird beings.

The term Theyyam is derived from the Malayalam “daivam”, or deity. It is a religious event practiced only in India’s North Kerala, observed by its rural inhabitants, and follows a cult consisting of several thousand-year-old traditions, rituals, and customs. Virtually all castes and classes of Hindus in the region are involved in the cult, and its adherents consider Theyyam performers as incarnations of local deities. During these performances, they are granted the power to foretell the future, to give counsel, and to resolve minor communal disputes.

The amount of care and meticulous artistry that produces the face-painting, the costumes and the building of the headdresses are nothing short of breathtaking...mostly everything is made at the location of the performances a few hours before.

Theyam performances are only held during the early months of the year, and are indigenous to the rural regions of north Malabar.