Truyen Than: The Art of Conveying The Soul

TRUYEN THAN

(click on image)

With my photo expedition-workshop to Vietnam looming, I revisited some of imagery made during my earlier visit to Hanoi in 2012, and decided to rejig some of the photographs which had appeared on a gallery I had titled The Portraitist Of Pho Hang Ngang onto Medium, a blogging platform.

The portraitist is Nguyen Bao Nguyen, and he works as a “Truyền Thần” artist. The art aims at conveying the soul of a person from a photograph to a drawing-painting.

Speaking of Medium, I'm a fan of these new platforms; noting that some are free while others are not, since they provide an easy way to feature one's work, whether prose, photographs or both...and these promise to widen the reach of such "publications".

Apart from Vietnam being on my mind, the other prompt for uploading Truyen Than is the recent photo essay appearing in The New York Times titled To Be A Russian, which follows the same design characteristics as Medium...large photographs filling the whole viewing real estate on one's monitor (if one chose the photographs to do that), sparse prose (but to the point) interspersing these images.

I recall some years ago various POV posts encouraging fellow photographers to go big...that the era of small dinky photographs on websites didn't cut it any more. One of these POV posts is dated April 2009, some 5 years ago...and since then, we've seen a proliferation of large photographs on websites.

But back to Nguyen Bao Nguyen...I read somewhere that he had passed away, but I believe that the information is wrong since it pre-dates the dates (September 2012) when I met with him in Hanoi. I hope I find him well and healthy when I'm back in Hanoi in a couple of months.

I'd like him to see this photo essay.

Les Stone | Pelerinaj Voudou

Photo Les Stone-All Rights Reserved

I'm of the view that when properly used, Facebook is an extremely useful tool for photographers and others...and my introduction to Les Stone is proof of that.

And yes, this is my second post on the religious tradition of Haitian voudou in a row. I'm interested in syncretic religious traditions, and voudou is certainly that. The practices of contemporary vodou are descended from, and closely related to, West African Vodun, and incorporates elements and symbolism from other African peoples including the Yorùbá and Bakongo; as well as Taíno religious beliefs, and European spirituality including Roman Catholic Christianity, European mysticism, Freemasonry, and other influences. So uber syncretism if you like.

But back to Les Stone. He directed me to his phenomenal work titled Pelerinaj Voudou (pelerinaj is the Haitian word derived from the French pèlerinage, or pilgrimage. It's a multimedia photo-book of his many photographs of Haitian practitioners of voudou accompanied by a chilling pulsating sound track, presumably recorded on site. Turn on your computer's loudspeakers, find a comfortable chair, and brace yourself for an incredible audio-visual experience. You won't regret it.

This wonderful work further reinforced my objective of photographing voudou during 2015. As I said in my previous post, it'll most certainly happen.

Les Stone is a New York City born photographer who worked in corporate and fashion photography. He has been photographing in Haiti since 1987, and traveled over 150 times to Haiti to cover Voudou ceremonies. He also photographed the assault on the Vice President-elect of Panama Guillermo Ford by members of the Batallón Dignidad, a paramilitary group employed by Generalissimo Manuel Noriega. He was one of only two American photographers to capture the attack on camera. Asked by Sygma to work with them for the next 11 years. He subsequently traveled extensively throughout the world, covering conflict in the Middle East, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Kurdistan.

Les' photographs have appeared in the National Geographic, the cover of Time, Life, Paris Match, Stern, Fortune, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Smithsonian Magazine,Newsweek, Mother Jones, Panorama, GEO, TV Guide, and US News and World Report. He chronicled conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Kosovo, Liberia, Cambodia and Haiti.

Yes, that kind of a heavyweight.

Hue's Imperial Citadel in tour Vietnam Travel

Announcing himself Emperor Gia Long, he started development on an excellent fort castle in Hue in 1804. Today the sovereign's development is referred to in Hue simply as "the Citadel", and its inward sanctum, once the home of the ruler and his family, is called "the Purple Forbidden City". Despite the fact that the Citadel and its Imperial City were seriously harmed amid the Vietnam War in 1968, they stay one of Vietnam's top vacationer ends.

In the same way as other of Asia's pioneers of the past, the sovereign depended upon conventional systems for divination, called geomancy, to pick the area for the Citadel. With a wish to make a kind of small Forbidden City like the one in Beijing, a huge number of workers were recruited to build his fortification and royal residence. They dug a ten kilometer canal, alongside thick earthen dividers, to make the Citadel's edge. Replicating the French military modeler Vauban, these earthen dividers were later supplanted by two-meter-thick stone dividers. Inside the external border, a more modest channel and littler block dividers limited the sovereign's Purple Forbidden City. The Purple Forbidden City, other than fancy habitations, likewise incorporated a system of entryways, yards, and regulatory structures. The sovereign didn't live to see the fruition of his design gem; passing on in 1820, the Citadel was at last finished in 1832 by Gia Long's child, the Emperor Minh Mang.

See more: Vietnam travel deals

The Nguyen Dynasty finished in 1945, when Bao Dai surrendered the throne to the comrade pioneer and originator of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh.

For quite a long time, Vietnam had been affected by the French, however the Japanese changed that in 1940 when they attacked French Indochina at the begin of the Second World War. The Emperor Bao Dai was a pawn of these bigger worldwide powers, first acting under the course of the French, and later pressured by the Japanese to proclaim Vietnam a part of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The disagreeability of the Japanese made it decently simple for Ho Chi Minh to persuade Bao Dai to resign.

Throughout the following ten years, the ruler left the Purple Forbidden City, and Vietnam slowly plummeted into confusion, as French, comrade, and magnificent powers vied for force. Amid this time, the Citadel experienced both tropical storm and termite harm, and was by and large disregarded. In 1968, amid the tallness of the Vietnam War, socialist powers surpassed Hue and involved the Citadel. As a major aspect of the Tet Offensive, the Vietcong sneaked into the Citadel, slaughtering the South Vietnamese monitors, and opened the path for some Vietcong to enter. In an odd touch of destiny, the hundreds of years old, royal Citadel substantiated itself a commendable military post in the hands of the opposition to radical communists. Americans had a troublesome time dislodging the North Vietnamese from the Citadel, prompting one of the bloodiest clashes of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hue.

American shelling amid the fight obliterated a great part of the Citadel, particularly smoothing the inward Imperial City, of which few of the first structures remain today.

The remaining structures in the Citadel have been painstakingly restored, and in 1993 the Citadel and its Imperial City was pronounced a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. A great part of the land that used to be the Purple Forbidden City, nonetheless, is today simply rice fields.

What stays of Hue's amazing Citadel is still an advantageous fascination for guests. In spite of the fact that it will never have the capacity to recover its previous superbness under the Nguyen heads, the Citadel regardless is an excellent and captivating chronicled site. For anybody going to Hue, going by the Citadel ought to be at the highest point of the schedule.

Stan Raucher | The New Israelites

Photo © Stan Raucher-All Rights Reserved

Over five decades ago, Ezequiel Gamonal, a humble Peruvian cobbler founded an evangelical sect called Asociación Evangélica de la Misión Israelita del Nuevo Pacto Universal, and declared he had been chosen by God to build a new Israel in the Amazon wilderness, and many people answered his call and formed this sect.

The members of Ezequiel's followers strictly observe the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath and, imitating the ancient Israelite "look", the men grow out their hair and beards while women keep their hair covered with kerchiefs...a sort of Israelite hijab. The cult founder is said to have been an admirer of  Cecil B. DeMille’s work, and based his belief system on these biblical movie epics.

During weekdays, the men wear regular clothes and baseball caps as they go about farming and farming. The women teach in the local school and care for children. However when Saturday arrives, the cult members meet for elaborate, day-long festivities with bible readings, singing of hymns to the tune of a brass band and a feast.

Stan Raucher's Los Israelitas features 15 gorgeous monochromatic photographs of members of this sect, made as he traveled down the Amazon River by boat with several members of this Peruvian evangelical sect.

The UK's Daily Mail newspaper also featured a whole spread of Mr Raucher's photographs, along with interesting captions.

Stan Raucher, now based in Seattle, was born and raised in Minnesota during the age of black and white television, and LIFE magazine photo documentaries. Although he did not begin to do photography seriously until 2003, these early influences are reflected in his work. His work was widely exhibited, with three recent shows: the 2013 Newspace Juried Exhibition, in Portland, The Decisive Moment, Black Box Gallery, Portland, and 2013 B+W Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins. After 36 years as a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington, he retired in 2011 and now devotes his time to photography, travel and outdoor activities.

Private Tours - Are you a foodie?

Dislike any of our different visits or  know all the spots you'd like to visit? At that point you can construct your uncommon visit!

Maybe you'd like to visit the mystery noodle shop you read about in Time Magazine, where the patriarch of the now well known "Peace Noodles" shop or Pho Binh as its known to local people permitted the Viet Cong to hold military gatherings on the top floor of his restaurant while serving nourishment to their foes underneath.

On the other hand possibly you ran over the definite Wall Street Journal article on Cholon and you need to look at the congregation where Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem and his more youthful sibling hung out in 1963, preceding they were caught and killed.

Related post: Vietnam travel packages

Is it true that you are a foodie? What about a custom gastronomic visit where we'll take you to attempt the most delightful Vietnamese dishes in Saigon! Is it true that you are a maturing photographic artist searching for some extraordinary shots? Don't confine yourself to the touristy areas...let us reveal to you the "genuine" Vietnam.

"Private Tours" offer a more customized experience than our different visits. The rate for a private visit is $60 for every individual for the initial 2 hours and $30 for every individual for every extra hour. We require no less than 3 days perceive so as to plan a custom visit for you.

Need a chill keepsake to show to your loved ones? We have cap mounted cams which we can use to film your ride (for an additional $35)  and make an exceptional feature of your Vietnam Adventure! We can likewise blend in a custom music track in your feature upon appeal.

Video of the South Pole Quest Team

Remember the South Pole Quest Team, which consisted of Ray Zahib, Kevin Vallely, and Richard Weber I followed them fairly extensively during the Antarctic season that has just passed as they made their record breaking run from Patriot Hills to the Pole in just 34 days time. Well, a new video has been released highlighting their efforts, and it's extremely well done. It does a great job of showing the challenges and hardships of life in the Antarctic for these expeditions, so I thought I'd share. Check it out below.


South Pole Quest Trailer from Nick Gravel on Vimeo.

Sebastian Schnuelle Wins 2009 Yukon Quest

I'm a couple days late on this one, but on Tuesday, Sebastian Schnuelle crossed the finish line in Fairbanks, Alaska, to claim the 2009 Yukon Quest championship. He was followed closely by Hugh Neff, who finished just four minutes back, which is quite remarkable in a race that is over 1000 miles in length. Musher Jon Little arrived in third place, another 1 hour and 4 minutes behind.

The Yukon Quest is one of the top sled dog racing events in the world, and is held annually between Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, and Fairbanks, Alaska. In winning this year's race, Schnuelle completed the epic course in 9 days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes. That's a new record time, besting the old record set in 2007 by Lance Mackey by 3 hours and 17 minutes. In fact, the top three racers would all have beaten Mackey's record, giving you an indication of how fast this year's race was. Four-time defending champ Mackey was at the finish line to greet the teams.

Sled dog legend Martin Buser finished in 4th place overall, and was followed very closely by Michelle Phillips who claimed fifth. Some of the mushers and their dogs are still coming in, but the majority have now crossed the finish line. Many will now begin preparing for "The Last Great Race", the Iditarod, which will begin in just 8 days, with the ceremonial start set for Saturday, March 7th.

For Schnuelle, history is not on his side for winning the Iditarod as well. Mackey is the only man to win both in one year. Still, coming of a huge win like this one has to give plenty of confidence as he heads for Anchorage, and his date with destiny.

The Oracles of Kerala | Medium

The Oracles of Kerala

I've played around with Medium, which describes itself as "a place where people share ideas and stories, designed for little stories that make your day better and manifestos that change the world, and is used by everyone from professional journalists to amateur cooks". It also claims that it's simple, beautiful, collaborative, and helps you find the right audience for whatever you have to say.

I suspect that the photo story I chose isn't going to make anyone's day any better, nor will it change the world....but I can attest that it's an easy and beautiful platform to use. I have the feeling it's more adapted to text...articles, essays and such, although the uploading of edge-to-edge images is simple, and quick. Medium recently introduced an app for the iPad.

As to whether it helps me to find the right audience will be tested over the course of the comings days and weeks.

Take a look at my first effort; The Oracles of Kerala.

Museums in Saigon in VietNam tour

ietnam has a fascinating 2,000 year history and there is abundance to research the country's past and how it impacts life today. Shockingly, on the other hand, while there are some fantastic verifiable focuses in Vietnam not all fulfill the same standard - quite a few people are extended photo shows with few English understandings of the settings or history behind the photos, leaving the visitor overwhelmed paying little respect to the way that they have some previous learning of the subject.

That being said, in case you pick the right authentic focuses on your outing you can take in a fantastic plan and begin to recognize more the rich history of this country.

Possibly one of the best verifiable focuses we've seen in Vietnam, the trademark history exhibition of Ho Chi Minh City evaluates how to chart the country's history from antiquated times and 10,000 year old relics to the wars with China and the different customs that have formed the change of the Vietnamese nation about whether. There are some wonderful delineations of model and workmanship from the Cham and Oc Eo city foundations, statues of Buddhas from over the range, collections of porcelain and craftsmanship from distinctive true periods and an even a mummy found spared in Saigon. The records on the dividers all through the authentic focus similarly go some way or another to helping the visitor grasp the various times of Vietnamese history, with simply several openings. Exceedingly recommended.

Basically obliged audit for any visitor to Ho Chi Minh City, the War exhibition is a broad collection of photographs, peculiarity and other affirmation determining the loathings of war and the repercussions of unexploded statute, napalm and diverse legacies of the fight. Strikingly the display evaluates how to refrain from being unreasonably political, rather demonstrating the finger at the senseless nature of war itself instead of focusing exorbitantly about on selecting flaw. It is a bleak and moving foundation, yet it is significantly proposed both to help fathom what Vietnam accomplished and as an evidence of the essentialness of battling for peaceful responses for differences between nations.

Housed in a stunning old building from the explorer period, the Fine Arts Museum has a captivating amassing of works from both contemporary and standard specialists, furthermore an enamoring get-together of statues and aged rarities going again the degree that the first century AD on the third cover.

Related post: Vietnam travel deals

Just over an expansion from the downtown scopes of Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi (the development is ghastly so we'd provoke jumping in a taxi as opposed to walking around the platform!) on the banks of the conduit is an exhibition provided for Ho Chi Minh. It is arranged in an engaging building and plan with extraordinary viewpoints of the stream, and contains a possibly fascinating social occasion of photographs pointing out the life of Ho Chi Minh. Tragically this potential is lost as so immense quantities of the photos subtitles, really when made a translation of, disregard to illuminate the giganticness of events or social occasions depicted in photographs, making the experience to a degree disorienting for those that have not focused on the life of Ho Chi Minh (which, clearly, most Vietnamese people have)

While the photos themselves are interesting, the show corridor is not by any stretch of the creative ability recommended unless you have a lot of time gazing you in the face or a robust speculation (and prior knowlege) in the man that lead Vietnam's battle for independence.

Change in Schedule for Primal Quest

We've had a slight change in schedule for Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT this year. I posted an announcement to the PQ website this morning that the start of the race has actually been moved up one day to Friday, August 14th to help better facilitate the event. That also means that the race will now end on Sunday, August 23rd, as opposed to the following Monday. Should work out better for everyone involved.

We've posted a schedule with a few more details on the site, and looking it over, you can get a few insights into what is going to happen. For instance, we're going to load up the busses starting at 3 AM on Aug. 14 and teams will be shipped out to the starting line to promptly get underway at 5:30 AM. This is a completely different kind of start from Primal Quest Montana, in which the teams started off at mid-morning instead. And on the schedule for the 13th is a "Surprise Event". What could that possibly be? I'm not saying! But you'll notice that we're holding the maps and passports until after that event! ;)

On a personal note, I'm excited about the change in schedule. August 14th also happens to be my birthday, and this year is one of those monumental ones. I'm going to be turning 40 on the day the race gets started, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to kick off Primal Quest Badlands. Should be a blast and I can't wait.

Ruben Vicente | Varanasi Ganga Aarti

Ruben Vicente was a member of my The Sacred Cities Photo Expedition-Workshop last month which saw us photographing in the ancient city of Varanasi, and in the sacred city of Vrindavan during the festival of Holi. He is a first time participant in my expeditions-workshops.

Ruben just published his first multimedia project of the photo expedition-workshop, and titled it Varanasi Ganga Aarti. The multimedia features photographs of the nightly religious ceremony, which is held on the banks of the Ganges, on the most popular ghat; Dashashwamedh Ghat.

The aarti is a devotional nightly ritual that uses fire as an offering, usually made in the form of a lit lamp, and in the case of the Ganges River, small "boats" with a candle and flowers is floated down the river. The offering is made to the Goddess Ganga, goddess of the most holy river in India.

Ruben tells us on his own blog that because of the awful artificial light illuminating the ceremony, he decided to convert his photographs to black & white. He recorded the audio on location, and despite the amplification distortion, managed to produce a compelling audio slideshow. I described one of his images of the pandit gesturing with incense sticks as magical...

See if you agree.

Ruben Vicente is travel photographer based in Lisbon who, apart from loving photography, is an IT consultant in the financial industry.

Bijoyeta Das | India's Jewish Tribe

Photo © Bijoyeta Das - All Rights Reserved- Courtesy Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera's In Pictures blog features non-news photo essays, and these occasionally are of ethnic minorities that are infrequently showcased on other similar mass media blogs. It has recently featured "Indian Jewish Tribe Heads Home" about the Bnei Menashe tribe who live in India’s northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur.

Around 7000 of these Bnei Menashe members claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel; ten lost tribes refers to the ten of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel that were deported from the Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by Assyria in about 722 BCE.

Most historians consider the Lost Tribes as nothing but a myth, and DNA studies have found no evidence of any lost tribes. Yet their emigration to Israel is supported and sponsored by a non-profit organization that aims to reconnect "lost and hidden Jews" with the people and state of Israel. Skepticism and debate over their ancestry and faith abound in Israel and India, and view this as nothing more than opportunism, and a desire to improve their living conditions.

Bijoyeta Das is a journalist and photographer. She has reported from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea and USA and holds a masters degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, and a photojournalism postgraduate diploma from Ateneo de Manila University.

North Pole 2009: The Joys of Negative Drift!

The weekend brought a number of updates from the Arctic as teams seem to be getting into their rhythm now.

The Catlin Arctic Survey Team got their first real taste of the frustrations of negative drift over the weekend. The crew has been battling 25 knot winds (29 mph), which has made it very tough going at times, and despite a long, tough day on the ice yesterday, the woke up this morning to find that they were two miles further south than they were before they started yesterday morning. Temperatures continue to hover around -40ºC and the journey has reportedly already begun to take it's toll on the team, who are suffering from a number of bruises, aches, pains, and varous other ailments that are common in the frigid conditions. That said, they continue to take ice sample and record reading from their high-tech gear, focusing on their mission, even while progress is slow.

It's been slow going for the Victorinox North Pole Expedition as well. The team has been moving through a rubble field, strewn with giant blocks of ice, which are not uncommon in the early parts of a a journey to the North Pole. On Saturday the team covered just .97 nautical miles as they carefully crawled through the ice blocks, and around other obstacles that included a deep trench. Despite the slow going, the team is still upbeat and optimistic about their progress thus far.

The Peary Centennial Expedition is having similar issues, but in their case it's mostly thanks to the weather. In an audio dispatch they reported a "balmy" -34º F yesterday, but high winds made for poor visibility, so the team elected to take a rest day and wait for better conditions. They hoped to be back on the move today. They also noted that they are navigating using the position of the sun and through the use of the winds, as they are too close to the magnetic north pole at the moment to have their compasses be of much use.

The latest update from the Baffin Babes indicates that they are finalizing their preparation and should be heading out on the ice soon as well. The dispatch, which has no time or date, indicates that the girls are in Qikiqtarjua on Baffin Island, and were up well into the night finishing their packing. Since there is no time stamp on the post, it's quite likely that they've already set out on their journey, which will include 80 days out on the ice, skiing across Baffin Island, where they will examine the effects of global climate change on the region, and the people that live there.

Finally, Christina Franco is dismayed to be off the ice after so much preparation and planning. But, she says that she is now more determined than ever to reach the North Pole, and will return next year to give it another go. You may recall that she was forced to abandon her attempt at a solo expedition to the Pole after her stove experienced a double equipment failure, rendering it useless. The human body adapts magnificently under a lot of stressful conditions, but weeks in the arctic with out heat for your tent or the ability to cook warm food just isn't going to cut it. While it is disappointing for Christina, she is already planning to make a "last degree" journey to the Pole this year and is already planning for 2010.

The Travel Photographer's Favorites of 2014

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

I'm perhaps jumping the gun; but anticipating an imminent flurry of "The Best of 2014" articles and posts, I decided to be ahead of the pack and feature my photographs which I view as being my overall favorites of this year. I'm not claiming these are my best. I leave it to others to make that judgement.

No, these are just my own personal favorites just because I like them, and because they remind me of the precise circumstances in which I was while making them...and I can "smell" and "feel" them.

One of these favorites is the one (above) of Flower H'mong women discussing the merits of a traditional skirt being offered for sale at the Bac Ha market in northern Vietnam. I processed it with Color Efex Pro4 software to give it this sort of blurry-glow effect, which I think works well with the dark wooden background.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Another of my 2014 favorites is a photograph made in the streets of Ha Noi's  Old Quarter. It's shot from the hip (as I often do when doing street photography), and shows two well-to-do affluent Vietnamese women doing their grocery shopping, while an older shopper uses her bicycle to carry her purchases. What made it one of my favorites is the contrast between the styles, the old and the new...the affluent and the less so. But despite the obvious contrast and different social status, both women in the foreground wear the traditional non quai thao conical hats, and shop at the same stores in the old neighborhood's maze of alleys and tiny streets.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

One of the streets of the Hanoi's Old Quarter is lined with traditional restaurants and coffee shops, and I spent a few hours ambling along it for photo opportunities to appear. Again shooting from the hip, I stood next to this woman waiting for the right scene to develop. I used a wide angle lens, and after a cursory look at me, she was oblivious to my presence.

I liked the contrasting scene of the older woman engrossed in a game of Candy Crush (I'm not kidding) on her iPad, while a woman street vendor approaches with a đòn gánh tre (bamboo carrying pole) perched on her shoulders.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

During my photo expedition-workshop to Vietnam in September, we spent a few days in Hoi An; one of my favorite towns in that wonderful country. I had arranged for a dawn photo shoot with a local photographer to photograph the traditional fishermen of Hoi An. We boated to the mouth of the Thu Bon River to photograph these large fishing nets, that are lowered into the water to catch fish during the night. They are slowly raised and lowered by the fishermen using foot-powered winches.

This is one of the many I made when the sun was rising at that photo shoot. I used my least favorite lens (18-135mm Fuji) with my Fuji X-T1, and was pleasantly surprised at its sharpness. The beads of water on the net prove that sharpness.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

While at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in La Antigua (Guatemala), I took to its cobblestone streets, and photographed during the annual fiesta of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala.

La Antigua's Parque Central is a magnet for the Maya vendors of traditional textiles, and this one was awaiting the influx of tourists and celebrants to peddle her wares. Her expression is that of resignation but I also saw a glint of hope in her eyes. The Maya face discrimination, isolation and poverty in Guatemala, and selling textiles and trinkets to tourists is often the only way to make a living.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Just before the parade started for the fiesta of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, this group of young women stood with their umbrellas deployed, waiting for the signal to march. I liked the way they were standing; anticipating the signal, nervous perhaps to take part in their town's main event... dressed to the nines in the Sunday best, and totally serious. It was not easy to photograph at this time of day, with intervals of bright sun and thick clouds.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

One of the most intense and difficult festival to photograph was India's Holi. Framing the frenetic action during the peaks of that festival, ducking handfuls of colored gulal, and avoiding being doused with water was a challenge, but one that -in retrospect- was not unenjoyable.

This particular photograph was made in the Banke Bihari temple, the "belly of the beast" and epicenter of Holi in Vrinadavan, the sacred city of Krishna. Unseen in this photograph is a stage where the Hindu priests periodically lift a curtain to reveal the deity, and every time the curtain is lifted the crowds go wild with fervor and joy. This sadhu caught a glimpse of the deity, and displayed his emotions by chanting and dancing. He might been also encouraged to overdo it by the presence of my cameras.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Here's another of my favorites made at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan during Holi showing the degree of faith and spiritual belief that has infused these three women in the presence the deity. Covered with colored powder, they had just made their way through the throngs of devotees and fell to the floor in reverence and supplication.

This photograph is one of many that exemplify the reason I am drawn to religious festivals in order to document the display of human beings' utter absence of artifice when in the presence of what they believe is a higher power.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

During my Sacred Cities photo expedition-workshop, we left the chaos of Holi in Vrindavan for a whole morning, and followed the pilgrims' trail for a few miles to the banks of the Yamuna river. It was there that I captured one of the pilgrims performing a personal puja by scooping water with one hand, and flicking her fingers. One can see the drops of water twirling above her head.

Contrary to what was happening just a few miles away in Vrindavan, this place was peaceful, and not a  sound marred its calm.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Not only is this photograph one of my favorites for 2014, but it was also made in one of my very favorite places in India; the dargah of Nizzam Uddin in Delhi.

Here again, this photograph was made by shooting from the hip. I was intrigued by the dynamics of this group of Indian Muslims, who had come to the Sufi shrine to seek some sort of spiritual fulfillment, and I captured the moment where the man in the center glared at the woman who is both recoiling and defiant at the same time. I don't know whether the man is her husband, father or a stranger she just sat next to. I don't know if he's rebuking her or whether he's coming on to her.

Whatever it is, it's certainly a story.

Biking MeKong Delta on 4 day - VietNam travel

Spin through the rich field and sluggish towns of the Mekong Delta on this four-day biking endeavor that takes you profound into the rural heart of the nation. Known as Vietnam's "rice bowl", the rich fluvial soil of the delta helps plentiful plantations and fields creating rice, coconuts, sugar stick and all way of intriguing leafy foods vegetables...

Revel in an exceptional biking excursion through the Mekong wide open, burnning through country terraces to find the nearby life and society. At 8:00 AM, your driver and aide will reach you at the lodging and drive you in the help van to the Mekong Delta. Touch base in Ben Tre around twelve and revel in lunch at a riverside restaurant while your group sets everything up for the bicycle visit. Toward the evening take a two hour bicycle ride through the wonderful farmland to the Cai Mon District, where you will stick with it at a nearby agriculturist's home. Cai Mon is a residential community made celebrated by its plentiful nursery enclosures and apples and oranges plantations. Upon landing in your homestay, meet the family and appreciate a welcome tea. In the late evening, join the family and help to get ready supper, figuring out how to cook delectable, neighborhood food. At night relish a mouth-watering, welcome feast with family.

See more: travel Vietnam

Begin your day the neighborhood way, waking ahead of schedule to visit the clamoring morning business sector. Come back to the home for breakfast then set out on an alternate day biking along the delightful fluvial wide open, passing through nearby towns, under verdant plantations and navigating emerald-green rice paddies. Stop along the best approach to visit the neighborly neighborhood individuals and flavor a scrumptious lunch of credible food. Touch base in Can Tho City in the late evening and register with your inn. Revel in whatever is left of the day free at your recreation.

Climb early and take a vessel to visit the Mekong's greatest coasting business sector. Here ranchers from everywhere throughout the district meet up to hawk their crisp produce. This is an immaculate chance to specimen a portion of the crisp tropical apples and oranges developed along the Mekong. After the pontoon ride, you will set out on a going visit through the wonderful farmland on a biking course voted Vietnam's best in 2006. Use the evening unwinding by the pool and appreciating the quietness of the Mekong's field and watch the nightfall over the slowing down.

Eat at the inn then revel in the morning at your relaxation. Withdraw from Can Tho around twelve, halting for lunch on the way and landing in Saigon toward the evening. Visit closes

Bernat Armangue | The Copts of Egypt

Photo © Bernat Armangue-All Rights Reserved

Amongst all the angst and hubris of the events in Egypt during the past few years, attention should be given to its largest minority group; the Copts, the native Christians of Egypt.

Wikipedia tells us that "Christianity was the religion of the vast majority of Egyptians from 400–800 A.D. and the majority after the Muslim conquest until the mid-10th century and remains the faith of a significant minority population."

"Significant" is the word used by the online encyclopedia, since it's almost impossible to get an accurate number from Egyptian governmental sources.  I also read in The Guardian that no one in Egypt can agree on how many people live in Cairo, let alone the precise ratio of Muslims to Christians. But senior government clerics are quite sure of one thing: there are exactly 866 atheists in Egypt – roughly 0.00001% of the population. Ridiculous, and somewhat reminiscent of Ahmadinejad's assertion that there were no gays in Iran...and the same flaky arithmetic applies to the Copts.

Bernat Armangue's 15 photographs in his Copts In The New Egypt provide us with a sliver of a glimpse in the daily lives of Egyptian Copts. In the current religious climate, no one can tell the Copts' future in their own land, and whether this will lead to increased emigration to other countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia.

Bernat is a Spanish photographer born in Barcelona. He freelanced for various Spanish newspapers, and has been working with The Associated Press since 2005. He covered the Middle East (mostly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and recently moved to Delhi to cover South Asia.

What Makes Top Adventurers Tick?

Outside Online had a cool article up, which also appears in the April print edition of Outside Magazine, in which they ask 15 top adventurers why they do the things they do.

The list of people they asked this burning question to is quite impressive, with some of my favorite adventurers giving insights into what makes them tick. People like polar explorer Mike Horn, who simply loves the challenge of facing the elements in the places he visits. Dean Karnazes admits that he likes the honesty that comes with suffering, while Ed Viesturs says he loves the payoff he gets at the end of a climb, having put months of planning and preparation into an expedition. Long distance rower Roz Savage admits that she's learned that nothing worthwhile comes easy, but what she does inspires a lot of people.

Sadly, one of the men that Outside spotlighted was Shane McConkey, who passed away recently in a terrible BASE jumping/ski accident. Shane tells us that he simply loved catching big air, and what he did was "ingrained" in his DNA. With his passing, the adventure community lost a great person, but shane was living the life he wanted and going after his goals.

There is al of wisdom and inspiration in the words of these adventurers. Each of them as a little something to share with us all.

Kilimanjaro Climbing Video - Part II

U.K. outdoor magazine Trail has released the second video of their recent climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro. I posted on their first video a few weeks back, and that video showed the prep for the climb and the first few days.

This new video, found below, begins on Day 3, and continues the journey with a hike up to the famous Lava Tower, before settling into Barranco Camp. Then it's up the daunting Barranco Wall, and the team starting to feel the effects of the altitude, before skipping ahead to Summit Day with some eventual shots at the Roof of Africa.

All in all, both videos are well done, and I recommend them for anyone considering Kili. The second video skips ahead fairly dramatically and glosses over a good portion of the trek, but I suspect that was for production reasons. Still, this is a good introduction as to what you can expect on the mountain, and a glimpse of what a week long climb is like there.

Classic Vietnam Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh

Experience clamoring Hanoi, cruise on a garbage pontoon through Halong Bay, shop in sentimental Hoi A, crush through the Cu Chi passages, taste Vietnamese frosted espresso, individuals watch in tumultuous Saigon

Cruise through limestone karsts on board a conventional garbage vessel and walk the avenues of majestic capitals. From lively Hanoi, the characteristic magnificence of Halong Bay, the environmental majestic capital of Hue and the charms of Hoi A to the advanced life of Saigon, experience the vitality of Vietnam in 10 jam-stuffed days. An accomplished CEO will lead you to must-see highlights yet permit a lot of time for you to do your thing.

See more: Vietnam travel packages

Land in clamoring Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. As travelers will be landing at different times today, there are no arranged exercises. A few proposals include: Taking a stroll through Hanoi's Old Quarter – a maze of roads, every one generally gave to an alternate item or industry. At night go to an execution at the well known Water Puppet Theater. The Mausoleum houses the remaining parts of Ho Chi Minh, the establishing father of the bound together Vietnam (the mausoleum and historical center are shut in October-November). You will have a planned gathering at night around 6pm. If you don't mind check at the gathering work area or search for a G Adventures notice load up with subtle elements of the real gathering time. At this gathering your CEO will ask to sight your travel protection, twofold check your Vietnam visa and finish some other paper work. If its not too much trouble note that most nationalities obliges a visa to enter Vietnam, please twofold check this with your travel executor or nearby Vietnamese Embassy. After your gathering, you may decide to take off for a discretionary supper to further get to know your CEO and individual gathering parts. We overnight in the downtown area of Hanoi. Our lodging is spotted in an Old Quarter. All rooms are twofold or twin offer with ventilating and en suite lavatory. Complimentary wireless internet and a machine are accessible in the anteroom.

A large number of islands climb drastically from the waters of Halong Bay and, to further their excellence, perplexing hollow frameworks commonly exist all through these limestone karst developments. Our cruising garbage will take you to visit a percentage of the islands and holes. You could revel in a nighttime drink on the deck underneath the stars. Our settlement today evening time is a genuinely uncommon experience – thinking about a vessel encompassed by high limestone karsts. All lodges are twofold or twin offer with ventilating and en suite lavatory. On day 3, after an early lunch ready for watercraft we head once again to Hanoi. You have room schedule-wise to do some last moment shopping. The sleeper prepares all through Vietnam are very agreeable. Each one lodge rests 4 individuals in 2 cots. You will have the capacity to bolt the entryway from within. All bedclothes is given. The train is aerated and cooled and has squat and Western style toilets with a wash bowl at the end of every compartment. Sacks can be put away in your lodge and got to at whatever time. Nourishment and beverages are accessible for buy ready for. Approx travel time: Private transport Halong Bay to Hanoi: 4 hours every path Transfer to prepare station: 15 min Overnight prepare Ha Noi to Hue: 14-15 hours

In the wake of registering with our inn, we begin our day with a visit to the grand Tien Mu Pagoda. Assembled in excess of 400 years prior, and at seven stories high, Tien Mu is still the tallest and maybe the most exquisite pagoda in Vietnam. These tombs are greatly elaborate and grasp the idea of Feng Shui. Thereafter, you may decide to appreciate a vegan lunch at a neighborhood convent and there are different alternatives to take off by bicycle to investigate the nearby wide open. It would be ideal if you approach your CEO for more data. At night, take the risk to attempt some neighborhood Hue claims to fame, for example, banh khoai (Hue exquisite flapjacks), and banh bot loc boc tom thit (slim rice paper loaded with meat and shrimp). You may need to wash everything down with a Hue lager. Yum! Our settlement today is halfway spotted in the primary road of Hue. All rooms are twofold or twin offer with ventilating and en suite washroom. A swimming pool and wifi are likewise accessible.

Toward the beginning of today we'll begin our day visiting the magnificent remnants of the Imperial Citadel, from where the entire of Vietnam was once dominated. You'll delight in investigating the numerous royal residences and doors, patios and enclosures of this lovely mind boggling and obviously listening to the stories of the rulers who once existed here. In the wake of traverse the Hai Van Pass, with phenomenal perspectives in all headings, we will stop at Lang Co Beach, landing in Hoi A toward the evening for our three night sit tight. Once known as Faifo, Hoi A was a critical exchanging town with solid south Chinese impact and associations. You can take a mobile voyage through this living historical center which incorporates the Museum of History and Culture, the Tan Ky house, the Japanese span, the Fujian Assembly Hall and lunch at a riverside restaurant to example a percentage of the neighborhood luxuries. Hoi An is likewise a shopping mecca for travelers in the locale. Tailors can deliver practically anything overnight, with garments, silk lights, polish product and numerous different specialties proliferate. For sun admirers, Cua Dai Beach is just 4kms from town and it is a simple bike ride to reach. All rooms are twofold or twin offer with cooling and en suite washroom. Complimentary wireless internet and an open machine are accessible in the hall. The lodging likewise has a swimming pool to unwind adjacent to. Ap

Anthony Pond | Spice Wallahs of Khari Baoli

Photo © Anthony Pond-All Rights Reserved

Just off Chandni Chowk Market is Khari Baoli, the core of Asia's largest wholesale spice market. It's here in small wholesale shops that large bags, stuffed to the brim with chili, turmeric, ginger and various other spices are sold. Things have changed little in this market for centuries. Huge sacks of herbs and spices are still brought to the wholesalers on long, narrow barrows pushed by daily laborers from Bihar and Rajasthan. The wholesalers are ninth- or tenth generation spice traders, and are direct descendants of the founders of such establishments which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

It was our first stop in Delhi during The Sacred Cities Photo Expedition-Workshop, and Anthony Pond, a second time participant in my expeditions-workshops, photographed the activity in this market, producing Spice Wallas of Khari Baoli, a photo essay of about 29 monochrome images that perfectly capture the bustle and hustle of the frenetic to and fro of this market. The images were converted to black and white with Nik's Silver Efex Pro.

Anthony Pond worked for more than two decades in the criminal courts in California as an attorney for the Public Defender’s Office. Now pursuing his passion for travel and photography, he travels repeatedly to South East Asia and India, amongst other places, to capture life, the people and the culture. He has been a frequent contributor to The Travel Photographer blog,