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Charlotte Rush-Bailey: Tribes of Raj & Gujarat

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey- All Rights Reserved

Charlotte Rush-Bailey is the second group member of The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™ whose work is being showcased here on TTP.

As demonstrated by her photographs here, and by those on her impressive website, Charlotte's quest to explore the unknown and learn from it has always been with her. Her career covered three decades of marketing and communications positions in a variety of global industries including energy, financial services, media, conservation, technology and professional services. This gave opportunities to work with people all over the world, and to learn to appreciate cultural nuances and the influences of socio-political forces.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey-All Rights Reserved

This is no idle claim by Charlotte. I saw her engage people in the remote villages of Kutch and in the warrens of the walled city in Ahmedabad with an incredible ease, which led her to have no difficulty obtaining the photographs she wanted.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey-All Rights Reserved


Charlotte immersed herself in her passion of photography, and attended numerous workshops including those at the Palm Beach Photographic Workshops and Santa Fe Photo Workshops. She traveled to more than 90 countries, with a camera as a constant traveling companion. She believes that it was this that gained her more intimacy with people, places and nature.

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey- All Rights Reserved

Charlotte's statement on her website reads:
"These explorations have enriched my life beyond imagining. Most important is the confirmation that humans – regardless of race, creed or tradition – share core values that far outweigh the differences that are so often the cause of conflict. The importance of family, community and spirituality are universal. Beyond humanity, nature has taught me complete humility and reverence. Nothing we humans do can repeal the laws and forces of nature; nothing we create can compare with the beauty, elegance and resilience of the natural world."

She's absolutely right.

Tribes of Rajasthan/Gujarat Photo Group

Photo © Kantilal Doobal-All Rights Reserved

Kantilal Doobal is the Bhuj-based photographer/guide who accompanied us on our forays in the tribal lands of Bhuj area. He photographed alongside us, and emailed us this group photograph at a Wadha village on the last day in the Kutch.

From left: Sharon Johnson-Tennant, Colleen Kerrigan, Sandy Chandler, Tewfic El-Sawy, Kim McClellan, Terri Gold, Cathy Scholl and Charlotte Rush-Bailey. The fellow in the blue turban is the village's chief. Missing are Wink Willett and Jamie Johnson.

Kantilal Doobal's Flickr stream is here.

Alessandra Meniconzi: The Roitschäggätä

Photo © Alessandra Meniconzi -All Rights Reserved

Photo © Alessandra Meniconzi -All Rights Reserved

Alessandra Meniconzi's work has graced the pages of The Travel Photographer blog on many occasions, with photographs of far-away and remote areas of the world, however she sent me some of new work made in her back-yard. Yes, literally in her back-yard in Switzerland, although when I first viewed the photographs, I took them to be from Mongolia or even perhaps Papua New guinea.

But not at all...these were made in the villages of the Lötschental valley. It's the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, which lies in the Bernese Alps.

The masks are worn by the Roitschäggätä, who are unmarried young men from Lötschental villages who hide behind handmade wooden masks and are clad in fur, scaring passersby and playing pranks.

Starting as early as February 2, this tradition has been repeatedly prohibited by the Church, but without much success. The Roitschäggätä roam through the valley on Maundy Thursday, while there is a masked parade in the village of Wiler on the Saturday prior to Ash Wednesday.

NPR: The Mekong, A River


Here's a wonderful multimedia piece The Mekong: A River And A Region Transformed, which is produced by NPR, as only a sterling institution such NPR would know how.

It documents the Mekong through a 3,000-mile journey from the river’s source on the Tibetan plateau to its mouth at the South China Sea, relying on Michael Sullivan and photographer Christopher Brown examine the turbulent history and uncertain future along the Mekong.

The Mekong is one of the world’s major rivers, and is its 12th-longest, and the 7th-longest in Asia. According to Wikipedia, its estimated length is 4,350 km or 2,703 miles, running from the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

I've traveled to most countries through which the Mekong runs, and it was at its most spectacular at Khone Phapheng, in southern Laos with its borders with Cambodia, during monsoon season.

Apple iPad & Photography


Apple announced its newest creation, the iPad, while I was in the Kutch area in Gujarat, and had no reliable internet access so I'm still pretty much out of the loop in as far as its technical specifications are concerned...but that won't stop me from expressing my knee-jerk opinion on it from what I already know.

I gather from a couple of opinions written about the iPad that the jury (from a photography standpoint) is still out. Some say that it will "save" photojournalism and newspapers, while others are more low-key and only say it will provide a new platform to display one's photographs.

I view it as the latter...a magnified iTouch. No more and no less. I initially got very excited, hoping that it could replace netbooks, but it doesn't. From what I seen, it will not enable photographers to use it as a conduit device to download contents of CF/SD cards unto external hard drives. As a portfolio display device, it will do beautifully though. I use the tiny iTouch to do just that, and must say that it's useful in some occasions. The iPad will do the same in large format, and I expect it will be dazzling.

The absence of Flash is disappointing but expected. It's a pity but I imagine that it will not be hard for photographers to convert their Flash-based multimedia photo essays to QuickTime...or some other application...and show them off that way. As for enjoying photo Flash websites, this device will not do it you.

It's been said that Apple has indeed brought us the iPad, but its success or failure will depend on the app developers. Let's wait and see...we'll know soon enough.

POV: The Gulf Between Us?

Photo © Charlotte Rush-Bailey -All Rights Reserved

Oh, how our eyes can deceive us sometimes..and how easily photographs captured in a split-second can convey a very different story from reality.

Here's a photograph of me while at the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad during prayers (called namaz in India), in which I look wary of the man who's crossing my path. Our body language and side glances seem to convey a mutual distrust, with the space between us accentuating that wariness.

But nothing could be further from the truth. A second later I greeted him with the traditional Muslim al-salam aleikum, unmistakably pronounced in Arabic. Surprised, his face immediately softened as he recognized a fellow Muslim, and he responded, with warmth in his voice. We shook hands, then he brought his hand to his heart, and I did the same. I forget his name, but I remember his kind eyes, and that he spoke a halting Arabic (which he later told me he learned while working long and hard hours in Jeddah). He suddenly asked me if I was Sunni. The question threw me off-balance for a moment, but when I replied affirmatively, he once again violently pumped my hand. I was now part of the Umah. If only he knew what my real beliefs were. Perhaps he wouldn't care...to him, the bottom line is that a Muslim born in the faith is always a Muslim, no matter what.

During The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition, we visited many villages and a number of tribes of Muslim persuasion. We were frequently asked where we were from, and were greeted with smiles when we replied "Amereeka". Despite obvious poverty, we were welcomed in homes, offered fresh milk, chai and roti , and were considered honored visitors. I wonder how we -in "Amereeka"- would treat these villagers if they dropped by our homes...just like that, to take pictures and to gawk. No, that's not true. I don't wonder. I know.

These are the memories which stay with me for a long time...memories of instances when the walls of mistrust, ignorance and bigotry (on both sides) dissolve because a genuine -and basic- human connection is made. These memories remain with me more so than my photographs of the decisive moments, or photographs with layers or photographs that tell stories.

Foundry PJ Workshop: Istanbul


If you haven't checked the updated website for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop recently, do yourself a favor, and do so. Not only has it been totally revamped (I believe it's the work of the talented Chilean photojournalist and webmaster Gabriel Morty Ortega Berger), but it also showcases work by FPW's astoundingly creative alum such as Monte Swann, Dhiraj Singh (who attended my multimedia class in Manali), Tristan Wheelock and Mansi Midha.

Wait...there's more! Not only are many of the FPW instructors(such as Andrea Bruce, Ron Haviv, Guy Calaf, Adriana Zehbrauskas to name only four) returning for an encore, but their ranks will be augmented in Istanbul by absolutely brilliant photojournalists such as Tyler Hicks, David Bathgate, Lynsey Addario and Adam Ferguson!

The registration details are up, so if you're up to it...go for it. I don't really know what you're waiting for. Do I need to mention that FPW is held in Istanbul...an incomparable city?