2010: BACK&FORWARD... FAST FORWARD

2010 is almost here... welcome! 2010 will reveal us some important news.. News about what our job will really need to become to survive. And what our life will become if we really want to follow up the news. Some guys are already opting for the way back: film, black and white, and a different job to make enough money to live. Others are decidedly going forward: photo, video, audio, mixed together and web-ready. Some keep covering news, in a good way sometimes, and wish for the world to show some interest. Many seat and wait. They wait to see where we are really heading, planning to join on the way. As usual they will not make it.
Me? Well, "me" is planning to keep doing what "me" likes, finds interesting, and hopes others will find interesting too. Mostly "me" will try to put a lot of evolution in his photographic style, in his way to show a situation and his way to tell a story.
2010 will be a difficult year. But is in difficult times that the best comes out, or disappear forever. Happy 2010!

VENTURA X-MAS

Many (but really many, many) years ago, feels like another life, while shooting the book on LA for Bonechi publisher, I was driving with my friend Graziano my convertible on the Ventura Highway going to Santa Barbara to visit my friends at Islands magazine. Then the radio played Ventura Highway by the America, and, gosh, the feeling for two former DJ was amazing.. like being in the real thing come true from just a song..
Yesterday I had almost the same feeling hearing the children of the Christian school just outside my window in Bangkok singing Christmas songs. Well, honestly my first reaction was "I can't escape X-mas even in Buddhist Thailand!" But then, well, I had to realize that the world is coming to this. This amazing mix of cultures and traditions that will make everybody better (??!!??)...
It's useless to escape life.. Better try to understand and embrace it with all what it takes.. After all, before Christians transformed it, this was the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, the beginning of nature rebirth after the fall.. Let's look at it this way.. I don't know how real this rebirth will be in our world, but better be part of it then consider it an alien celebration..
So, "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence"...

ETHIC & AESTHETIC

I was at a documentary photography show here in Bangkok recently. Some well known photographers (I'll skip the names) are exposing some strong images of news events around the region. At first I was impressed, but then the familiar sensation of uneasiness came to me.
The photos were perfect, just too perfect. Perfect balance in light, composition, combination. Nothing against it, of course: I am a strong supporter of well composed images. But I find questionable the intentions behind them. After many years of profession, living in the photography environment, doing and seeing workshops, I know that the photo itself is the real scope of many authors. The suffering of the subjects is just an excuse, a drama addition to a purely aesthetic project.
I think a great misunderstanding has developed in the photographer's scope. The famous photos of Life magazine, the perfectly composed Ethiopia and Workers images of Sebastiao Salgado, have been seen as something different from their journalistic message. Photography has become self-referential. This is a major problem that, I think, will lead to the end of photojournalism as a real profession leaving only artists on the way.
One should be honest in declaring his own intentions. Too much talking about style and technique and no mention of the situations photographed is a clear sign of this trend. Years ago, Alexandra Boulat, while we were teaching at TPW, talked to me after my slide show. She had the same feeling I had and criticized the easiness with which a tragic moment can add strength to an image. Her photos were journalistic, she died searching stories, not aesthetic options.
Young photographers should keep this in mind. Using the suffering of people as a mere addendum to their composition is not only ethically unfair, is also the betrayal of a honest documentary photographer.

CALENDAR 2010.. BUT FOR YOUR DESKTOP ONLY!

Sorry guys, no printed calendar for 2010! We have to save money to keep the studio going! But I asked Walter (Manolesta) to design one for your desktop anyway.. Not same same, as they say here, but better then nothing!
You can download the images from my website at THIS LINK in different formats, depending on your screen. Only the largest are full frame, otherwise they are cropped.
If you encounter any problem let me know. Thanks! And let's wish ourself a better 2010. As Garfield says "good times are in the past, good times are ahead, one thing is sure, they are not here right now!"

A HOUSE ON THE LAKE

Just back in Bangkok after two weeks in Burma. I find the modern city a bit deceiving. Over the border the air is less tense then usual, and bits of openings are clear. You can have a telephone card, although very limited; you can browse most of the Internet except sensible sites; you can use your GMail account (all the others are blocked, probably because checking a single one is easier). People are also much more relaxed and hopeful: next year elections are seen as a great opportunity, even if other occasions have failed in the past. But to a more attentive look you can't miss the obvious: the menacing grim on the soldier faces; the privileges that the few in the establishment have, preserve and show-off; the sense of fear that emerges when one's feel has gone "too far".
Once again I understand that the international community may push the military rulers to release some of the control, convince China that it's control would be not compromised by a bit of freedom, but in the end only the people could change things. That people have the government they deserves is a fact. Burmese are really lacking the urge to react, the will to change for good. It's true that the country separation in major ethnic groups plays in the hands of the dictators, but every group seems to be minding it's own interests only. And the Burmese, the ruling group, are not willing to give up their control, with or without the military in power.
What will happen in this wonderful land is not easy to guess, although probably change will be slow, to avoid an inter-ethnic bloodshed. And when change will come everybody is ready to jump in. The cultural and artistic treasures, really unique, will be surrounded by fast development like in the rest of Asia, and most of the soul will vaporize. "Freedom" will be costly, right but costly.
Enlightened Burmese know this danger, and demand evolution rather the revolution. But the outside pressure will be too big to hold. China is already building a major containers port on the Indian Ocean and the road to carry it's merchandise there. Thailand is pumping most of the country gas. India is using it's oil. While in here electricity is scarce, gasoline expensive, vehicles 20 years old.
There is this house on the lake in Yangon. Aung San Suu Kyi lives here, less guarded then the houses of her jailers. She represents the contradictions of this nation, but also the right to determine freely everybody's own destiny. As far as the world will let Burmese awake and grow.

OFF TO BURMA... OFF THE CONNECTED WORLD

Time do head to Myanmar. Two weeks in the beloved land of smiles, of shadows, of fear. My travel plans there are not clear, and even if they were it would be better not to announce them on line. They will change daily anyway, given the punctual obstacles created...
Just to say that I'll be back in Bangkok around December 13th...
Oh, yes: Max has a new apartment here in Bangkok. This is HIS private view... Don't jump!

WHERE ARE THE PROSTITUTES? WHERE ARE THE PEDOPHILES?

We (me and Massimo Morello) were really enraged last night. We were told on how some colleagues, or kind of, and obviously with a larger wallet and narrower experience, on a well paid assignment in Cambodia, were asking to visit the "brothel area" in Phnom Penh (there is not such thing here, although prostitution is widespread) possibly to catch pedophiles in action..
How can a professional be so narrow minded? How can he fall into such superficial reading of a tragic reality that is not unique to this country? What is this, "pedophiles wonderland"?
Reading the Italian newspapers these days one should think that trans-gression is as common in our Catholic nation as it is in here... At least here they post large billboards advising against it: do use child prostitution and you'll end in jail.. for good!
It's the same common place I have to face every time I say I'm based in Bangkok for months in a year: smiles, chit-chat, requests of practical indications. Like if the Orient has one thing only: long strips full of brothels. And brothels full of children for sale. Come on!
Yes, this is a tragic problem (of which, by the way, our magazine refuse to talk because it's well too known, and not interesting anymore!!) but is common to many parts of the world. To our cities suburbs, per instance (see my post on Vigevano, for once).
But this problem has a different background in this part of Asia (also different dimensions, I agree) and is part of a cultural reality that deserves to be analyzed. Asia, and South East Asia are a complex reality that is more vital, both economically and socially, then the west. They are overtaking us, guys!!!
So, stop thinking of this part of the world as a gigantic open-air brothel: this is the Asia Century going fast.. with a lot of problems and contradictions yes! That's the larger story! Dear colleagues, read more and open your mind..
(By the way, for those who need indications.. this picture was taken last Friday, in remote Koh Kong. There there is a brothel alley, with huts hided in the countryside, full of young, destitute girls. They wait for Indonesian sailors, and costs 4 Euro an hour. No telephone though.)

HANDS ON... HANDS OFF... CAMBODIA'S UNCERTAINTY..

"Nice nails, miss... but keep that passport behind... please?" She pushes her way to the hole in the customs window, on the Thai-Cambodia border. Standing in line is not the national sport here, but the farang (foreigners) still gain some respect, or contempt... enough to keep your position anyway!
This may be one of the many growing contradictions in today's Cambodia: pink fake nails change the look, not the attitude...
Cambodia is changing, yes, but how? The hundreds of NGO, that have been creating for years now a kingdom of privileges inside the kingdom of poverty and desperation, are finally achieving some evident results. Something eventually ended to the Cambodians too. To some Cambodians, at least. Lexus and Hummers are to be seen in the jam of motorcycles and Tuck-Tuck, and elegant villas are visible behind trees, high walls and tons of barbed wire. Elegant malls are appearing, but small shops still prevail. No big names in the windows, yet.
NGO Land has it's own quarter in the capital city: small "boutique" hotels and trendy cafes respond to the young "volunteers workers" need to feel comfortable -like modern colonialists- but not guilty, patronizing large estabilishments.
The Phnom Penh contradictions are on every corner and every street. You don't need to go in the suburbs or in the countryside (that would make an easy target for critics like myself). The fact is I don't really grasp the sense of the place: sitting on the Mekong riverside, in the French-style bistro, I feel comfortable, like in the old-backpack-smart-times. In the Silver Pagoda walls I see the frescos falling and decaying: how nice for pictures. And then there are shops, boutiques, Chinese stands, food... If it was not for the guy walking on his hands, reminding me that we are in a country where arms and legs are an optional, I would wonder... Where am I? In the heart of Asia's transition? Transition?

ONE VISA FOR HELL, ONE FOR NIRVANA...

Got the Visa to enter Burma, once again... This time it sounded less obvious, even if they say the country is "opening"... I really thought they would deny me the possibility to go back into the land I really love, as photographer as well as traveler..
My first time there was in 1998, and very little has changed. Practically nothing for the Burmese. This may be a photographer paradise, but represents a drama to the population. We know and understand why. I have some difficult program there: let's see what I'll be able to achieve..
At the same time we keep working on the magical tattoo practice between Thailand and Cambodia: and this is considered a Visa stamped on your body for protection, or for a straight passage to heaven!
Hard to believe how easier it is to get a Visa for Heaven instead of one for Hell..

WHILE MY ICE IS MELTING...

When the sun is hot (really hot) and you need a break, you seat and drink.. Here, in Malacca, the day was really hot.. They say that a Coke is as good as Polase to reintegrate your salts.. But even a Coke is no help when the heat cooks your brain. So my mind wanders as my iPhone takes pictures of the melting ice, but with little avail..
With Massimo we talk of ideas, projects, coming travels.. and then we realize the desolation of what we left home, the scarcity of stimulus, the absence of counterparts.. But, we tell ourselves, with indomitable optimism, that this is the time to chase new ways and evolve old ideas.. This is the time to put our many years of experience at work.. It's on us, the experienced, the task to trace new ways, eventually new patterns.. But is it worth, is it required, is it wished for?
And so we keep cooking our brains until they melt like my Coke ice.. And finally it's time to stand up and go back to shoot. Colonial Malacca is out here, full of the global stereotypes.. What a drag!

THE JUNGLE MAKES ME ROMANTIC...

Well, sort of.. romantic! Walking again in (what is left) of the original forest in Cameron Highlands, in the heart of the Malaysian peninsula, allows my thoughts to flow.. and they flow far, probably as far as they can from the daily reality..
Ok, I could talk of those buildings emerging from the trees (destruction of the environment, disappearance of the forest).. Or I could remember the desolation I find back home when I try to communicate these stories (crisis: editorial, economical, cultural).. Or, well, more empty glasses..
But I rather talk of the Dragon I found in George Town, Penang, exactly 31 years after.. Still on the tile of the Chinese Clan House, still looking with a mix of compassion and longing the other Dragon swallowed by the waves.. Still sweet and reassuring in it's kindness..
Well, we live in a age of snakes, but some are dragons, and it's worth looking for them.. Keep look for them..

VIETNAM WORKSHOP ON MARCH 2010

The TPW HANOI WORKSHOP is now officially planned. Below is the presentation. For more detail visit the TPW website.

The soul of contemporary Vietnam is a mosaic of histories. Those that left their mark more than others are the thousand plus years of Chinese domination, French colonialism, and the final push westward in the war of liberation against the United States. However, it is the personality of the Vietnamese that emerges intact overall: proud, indomitable nationalists, flexible and resistant like bamboo. Hanoi is the city that best synthesizes this reality: the least recent history in the Taoist temples, the charm of French architecture and habits, and the desire for American modernization. The millions of motorcycles that flood the streets are the blood of a rapidly-growing body, despite its one thousand years of life. In the semi-darkness of the houses, there are scenes of life that go from one extreme to another.

Our workshop wants to try and document this exact variety. Not the distraction of monuments that don’t exist or fading panoramas, but rather the research of human stories that are different, yet parallel. The exploration of different quarters, different souls, and contrasting cultures despite the same past and a common future.

To establish a relationship with the Vietnamese is easy. The challenge will be to go beyond, to deepen the acquaintance, gathering it in particularly conspicuous aspects and significant images. In other words, to construct a history of today’s Vietnamese, very far from those represented in post-Vietnam movies on the war (an event that, on the other hand, the young Vietnamese don’t remember at all). Finally, a “dissertation” on Halong Bay, one of the natural wonders of the world. Even the Chinese emperors considered it a tourist destination. For us, it will be a further chance to see how the modern Vietnam deals with tourism.

We will spend one day and night on a junk (small boat) and will visit small towns like Cat Ba, which have transformed into small Miami Beaches where kitsch dominates.

A FEELING I LIKE...

What is the "feeling at home" sensation we always talk about? Is it the reassurance of a place, a house, friends and family or familiar faces? Maybe the knowledge that such a place exists even when you are away for long periods, and that you'll find it when you'll be back? Or is just the familiarity of a street corner where you cross the road every day, have your food every night, smile to smiling faces?
To me it's difficult to say nowadays. I feel like I'm achieving that state of mind when your home is more then one. Your friends are widespread in the whole world (this was happening from a long time, though) and I thank Facebook because I can keep contacts that were long faded before..
My project for life, roughly decided when I was 18, at the very end of my first trip, was to dedicate it to discover this world. The meaning was different then: people and customs were different from a country to the other, let alone continents. What my life experience can testify is how humanity has globalized itself. Europeans are much more similar and united then their governments; developing countries are now becoming super-powers and soon will be controlling their controllers.
And so I find myself in this global environment, feeling comfortable among the food stalls of Bangkok as sitting in my Tuscan garden. Achievement or Loss? Achievement, I hope... Even in these hard times, even in the face of a worldwide crisis with deepening prospectives, I think I can cross the patterns of humanity with relative ease.
Exotic is nothing, except what we want to see as such... The tale we need to tell, to photograph, is not that of different places but rather that of common people with common life goals...

FOIANO FOTOGRAFIA FRIENDS & Co

Thanks everybody for the time, energy and ideas shared at Foiano. The show has a great environment and presentation, yes, but above all is all the enthusiasm emanating from the young photographers that is a beam of light in this time of darkness... keep the light alight!!!

MILIONE WORKSHOP FINAL SHOTS

Was a good, intense, working weekend in Pisa, at the Milione Travel Writing and Photography workshop. As usual the best feeling is coming from the enthusiasm of the participants, but also from sharing experiences and ideas. I need to thank all of the guys there, Alessandro and all the stuff for keeping the intense program going.. And here are some images from all of the 19 protagonists: not bad for just 3 hours of shooting..