Hanna Bernhard Turtle Pin

In Asia, the turtle represents cosmic order: its shell is symbolic of the enlightenment/heavens, its body symbolic of earth, and its under-shell represents the underworld. The turtle has been known as a symbol of longevity, protection, strength, and patience. To me, its a symbol for being lucky. I've noticed that every time when I see a turtle, a good thing will come to me. Is it too superstitious? Anyway, I love turtles.

I adore this Hanna Bernhard turtle pin. It also can be a pendant necklace. Hanna Bernhard jewelry is always special.

It was on the stand.

I wore this outfit long ago to meet the Hanna Bernhard team for lunch when they visited Dallas; my old Dries sweater, old Marni shoes, MMMargiela, and F21 legging.

Photos were taken by my husband and me.

Wishing you all a longevity and a lucky life!!!xo...Hanh!

Zite: An iPad App

Having noticed that a fair chunk of visits to The Travel Photographer blog come from a Zite.com source, I looked it up and discovered that it's a free new iPad app called Zite, a personalized magazine that accurately targets your reading preferences.

I tried it yesterday, and I'm quite impressed with it. I chose Photography and Photojournalism as two of my sections on it, and it pulled out some interesting articles from a variety of source...including from The Travel Photographer blog. In fact, a bunch of my recent posts appear under both the Photography and Photojournalism sections...and this one will probably make it as well.

Here's a review on the Wall Street Journal.

ps. I have no connection with Zite. It's just an app that I happen to like.

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Foundry Photojournalism Workshop: 3 For 2

Seriously...I don't know what anyone is waiting for...Foundry Photojournalism Workshops are extending its "three-for-two" deal until May 15th.

As announced by Eric Beecroft, the rules are:

1. Deal is good now thru May 15, 2011.
2. You get THREE FULL TUITIONS/student slots for the PRICE OF TWO.
3. You MUST have three persons sign up together.
4. You must pay for the two at the same time, via PAYPAL (preferred) or Western Union.
5. Latin American Tuition- $950 for 3 students (instead of $1425).
6. All other students- $1950 for 3 students (instead of $2925).
NO MIXING AND MATCHING- locals sign up with locals only, non locals with non locals.
7. We need all three person's NAMES and EMAIL ADDRESSES to get you registered- send them with payment, at the SAME TIME.
8. If you like, you can use The Foundry's Facebook Page to make a request to find partners to get this deal.

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Ed Kashi At The World Financial Center

Photo © Ed Kashi-All Rights Reserved

Purely by happenstance, I stumbled on Ed Kashi's two exhibitions at the World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery. Ed's large photographs of his work Madagascar (in color) and Aging In America (black & white) were hung in two connected galleries on the second floor of the magnificent building in NYC's Battery Park. The exhibits are free to the public, and are sponsored by American Express and a bunch of the financial institutions.

Leaving aside Aging In America (a social issue not within this blog's purview), I liked a number of photographs in the Madagascar exhibit which "delves into environmental concerns, documenting the delicate balance between economic development and ecological preservation in the lush island nation."

The one photograph that appealed to me the most is the one illustrating this post. Its many layers and shadow are framed just perfectly. It's of a water collection point on the island. Another one (I couldn't find it on Ed's website) is of a banana stand; the fruit protected by an umbrella, and a woman vendor in a flowery dress.

Ed Kashi is a well known photojournalist, who's represented by VII. He's been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition.

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Thomas Jeppesen: Vietnam

Thomas Jeppesen is originally from Denmark, and currently working in Vietnam as the director of an advertising agency in its capital, Hanoi. This gives him ample opportunity to photograph its streets and its vicinity.

He bought his first DSLR a couple of years ago, and developed the photography bug. He enjoys the post-processing phase of digital photography, and this shows in his gallery of Vietnamese portraits, which are mostly in black & white. Some would say they're somewhat overly contrasty, but that's a look that many B&W photographers seek.

Thomas also has a set of galleries of Hanoi street scenes and Vietnamese fashion models.

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My Work: Washington Square Park Swings

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy- All Rights Reserved. 1/125 sec f2.8 iso 160 Elmarit 28mm

With the weather improving, NYC's Washington Square Park is starting to swing...and is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon...apart from lurking "peddlers" who may ask you, as they asked me, if you're "shopping" today (is the NYPD off on Sunday?).

The musicians and buskers are entertaining the tourists and locals alike. A band that many enjoy a lot is the Baby Soda Band who play great old-time swing and New Orleans jazz numbers...and proud to tell you they're from Brooklyn.

NYU students came to watch the band, and joined in the dancing. These two were quite good, and might have been dancing school students.

While the Leica M9 is a great tool...it sure ain't an action camera though!

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The Invisible Ph t grapher: Liz Loh-Taylor

Photo © Liz Loh-Taylor-All Rights Reserved

If you haven't bookmarked the Invisible Ph t grapher Asia, I suggest you do. The Invisible Ph t grapher Asia (IPA) is not only a collective of photographers in Asia mostly involved in street photography and visual journalism, but is also a very clever brand name.

Kevin WY Lee founded the collective in early 2010, and although it's based in Singapore, it covers  Hong Kong, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.

I've been following it for a while now, and I liked a recent interview IPA has had with Liz Loh-Taylor, a young full-time documentary photographer, based in Australia, who only entered the profession in late 2009, but who has already won awards, and important recognition.

Although Liz had joined the finance industry, she also worked with disadvantaged children and communities in Africa, and decided to document their stories through a camera. She gave up her corporate career late 2009, and committed to photography since then.

If you poke around The Invisible Ph t grapher Asia website, you'll find a section on street photography with a number of photo essays related to that style. There's also a street photography contest that is open and free to photographers of any level, and in any country of residence, but submissions must be in the street photography genre and photographed in Asia within the last 12 months.

The prize? It's a street photographer's classic. A black repainted LEICA M2 Rangefinder Camera, and a brand new Nokton 35mm F/1.4 lens.

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