Ed Ou - Egyptian Youth

Longtime dvafoto favorite Ed Ou’s ongoing project, Egyptian Youth, is a fascinating look at one of the driving forces behind current Egyptian politics. Much of the work has been published over by the New York Times over the past year, and collected in a recent video produced for the paper with Ben Solomon, but the best place to see the work is on Ou’s own website. The essay both looks at the role of youth in recent protests and uprisings gives the viewer a glimpse into the everyday lives of these people who are both transforming their country and caught in the middle of unprecedented change. It’s well worth a look.

Screenshot of The Photo Society website with image by Melissa Farlow

‘Explaining the diversity of this group is the easiest way to answer the question, “How do I become a National Geographic photographer?” I usually answer this question by saying: “It is not easy or glamorous (see Reality Check). And this is not where you begin your career. You are competing with world-class documentary photographers and within that genre there are men and women who are the absolute best at their specialty. There are a number of specialists — underwater photographers with different skills — one works in very deep water; a couple photograph at all depths and temperatures; one dives in caves, another holds his breath under whales; and then there is a guy who just works in puddles. One photographer travels all over the world to strap a big fan on his back to shoot aerials. There is a bug guy, an archeology specialist, and a number of folks that photograph critters. There are climbers, conflict photographers, portrait photographers and landscape specialists.” Then I usually end with how amazed I am that I can survive in this crowd as a generalist… in such esteemed company.’ -Randy Olson, About the Photo Society

The Photo Society site’s been live for a little while, and it’s got a wealth of information for those wanting to learn a little more about the people and processes behind National Geographic’s photography. Started at the behest of National Geographic’s Photographer’s Advisory Board, the site collects stories and snippets from a host of the magazine’s contributing photographers. Initial momentum, and what got me to peek at the site initially, started with a list of the various ailments and mishaps encountered by these photographers while on assignment. They’ve had 90 cases of severe diarrhea, 16 parasitic infections, 33 arrests, 21 paraglider crashes, and 1 viper in a camera bag, among other things. But there’s more to the site than that. The blog is frequently updated with links and original content. A few posts of note: Bill Allard Explains How He Became a National Geographic Photographer, I Went Blind in One Eye Shooting First NG Assignment, and How to respond to requests for free photography. That last one shouldn’t be surprising to me…there’s a certain comfort in knowing that even at the highest levels of photography, you’ll still get asked for free work.

“The authorities are handing down at least six months in a labor-training camp to anybody who didn’t participate in the organized gatherings during the mourning period, or who did participate but didn’t cry and didn’t seem genuine.” -unnamed source from North Korea, quoted by Daily NK

I knew there was something suspicious behind all of those images and video of North Koreans mourning the death of Kim Jong Il, and now come reports that harsh punishments awaited those who didn’t mourn authentically enough. Reports state that those who did not fully and genuinely participate in the widespread organized mourning have been sent to re-education camps and labor camps.

Bear in mind, the only source for this information is a North Korea-focused newspaper in South Korea (hardly unbiased), but MSNBC and Business Insider have published similar stories. CNN reports that North Korea has denied any such punishments relating to the mourning. The CNN report says that North Korean officials “attributed the allegations [of punishments] to ‘reptile media under the control’ of a group of ‘traitors’ that it said were connected to President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea.”

As with any report from North Korea, truth is hard to mete out, and reality is likely much different from what we see.

Related news: We previously mentioned that the Associated Press planned to open a full-time bureau in North Korea. In spite of what must be a very uncertain time in the country, this week the AP finally opened its North Korea bureau. From the AP’s own coverage, “AP writers and photojournalists will also be allowed to work in North Korea on a regular basis. [...] The AP bureau will be staffed by reporter Pak Won Il and photographer Kim Kwang Hyon, both natives of North Korea who have done some reporting for AP in recent weeks on Kim’s funeral and the mass public mourning on the streets of Pyongyang. The bureau will be supervised by Korea Bureau Chief Jean H. Lee and Chief Asia Photographer David Guttenfelder, who will make frequent trips to Pyongyang to manage the office, train the local journalists and conduct their own reporting. Lee and Guttenfelder, both Americans, are longtime AP journalists with broad international experience.” It will be very interesting to watch the AP’s North Korea coverage over the coming months.

This first came to my attention during the holidays, and I’d hoped to have heard good news since then. Unfortunately, Kontinent photographer Johan Persson and writer Martin Schibbye remain in jail after being found guilty of supporting terrorism in Ethiopia in late December 2011. The two Swedish journalists had been investigating recent oil discoveries in the region for Filter magazine, their travel in the area having been arranged by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel group, which Ethiopia considers a terrorist organization. Ethiopian troops captured the pair in July as they traveled with the ONLF.

The Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a statement on the Swedish government’s website that Sweden has made high-level contact with Ethiopia in the matter. Reinfeldt backs the notion that Persson and Schibbye were working as journalists and says the pair should be freed immediately. Meanwhile, the journalists remain in jail in Ethiopia and have decided not to appeal the verdict, opting instead to seek a pardon on the advice of experts in such matters.

Martinandjohan.org publishes updates on the case and provides details for ways to support the pair while they remain in prison.

We hope for speedy and safe freedom for both.

W. Eugene Smith / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images - Never before seen image from Country Doctor

It was looking through an anthology of old photography and seeing W. Eugene Smith’s iconic “Country Doctor” essay that first showed me the power of narrative photography. If you haven’t seen the series, look now. Life.com has just published a short selection of images from the shoot that have never been published before. As with many collections of previously unpublished work, many of the shots lack the intensity and emotion that have made “Country Doctor” such a seminal work. But, they offer a deeper look into the methods of the photographer–at times more literal, at times less so–that gesture toward different visual approaches to the story.

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Former congressman Rick Santorum speaks to the Queen City Rotary at the Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire. Santorum is a candidate for the GOP 2012 presidential nominee.

Led by security and followed by the media, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich returns to his campaign bus after a town hall meeting in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Gingrich is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

While speaking at a town hall meeting in Northfield, New Hampshire, former congressman Rick Santorum holds on to a gilt-edged copy of the US Constitution that he keeps in his pocket. Santorum is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

A campaign sign for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich hangs next to a sign reading "closed" in Manchester, New Hampshire. Gingrich is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

People listen to former congressman Rick Santorum at a town hall meeting in Northfield, New Hampshire. Santorum is seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for president.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista shop at a general store in Littleton, New Hampshire. Gingrich is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

Pins and buttons designed by Tom Bragg of Dallas, Texas, hang on a board for sale at a Rick Santorum town hall in Northfield, New Hampshire. Santorum is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president. The buttons sold 3 for $10.

Members of the media and the public listent to former congressman Rick Santorum speak at a town hall meeting in Northfield, New Hampshire. Santorum is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

Former congressman Rick Santorum speaks to the media after speaking to the Queen City Rotary at the Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire. Santorum is a candidate for the GOP 2012 presidential nominee.

An empty volunteer form lays on a table with Newt Gingrich campaign materials outside a town hall meeting in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Gingrich is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

Members of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's security detail eat lunch while waiting for Gingrich to finish a radio interview at the Northern Grafton County Republican Committee offices in Littleton, New Hampshire. Gingrich is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

In partnership with BagNewsNotes (first post), I’m photographing the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary race this week. I’ve photographed the candidates over the past few months, but it’s crunch time now.

It’s a fast-paced environment filled with a lot of media and political players and a few members of the local public. I’ll post updates periodically here, and BagNewsNotes will have some analysis of the themes that may or may not be seen in general media coverage of the race. The pageantry of it all interests me, but so do the little details hard to see on TV or away from the main events, such as you can see above: Santorum’s gilt-edged Constitution that looks like a Bible, Newt Gingrich’s security team eating cheesesteak sandwiches, the media scrum surrounding candidates everywhere they go, etc.

You can see more from yesterday in my archive: NH GOP Primary – 2012 Jan 5 – Gingrich and Santorum

Editors, get in touch if you need anything from up there.

moving forward – a call for help from This Wild Idea on Vimeo.

“On New Years Eve, $6000 in gear (and damage) was taken from my truck. Most heart breaking is that these folks found both of my external drives. Every single image created for the past 5+ months was lost. After spending 3 days hitting in the streets – passing out flyers, talking to the Police, knocking on doors, going to every pawn shop, scouring Craigslist…we have to move on!” -This Wild Idea help page

We last spoke with Theron Humphrey when This Wild Idea was a 30-day lark of a project. He drove around for 30 days and met and photographed a new person each day. It was a great idea, and after a very successful kickstarter campaign, This Wild Idea turned into a year-long project. Humphrey had been on the road for 5 months when tragedy struck on New Year’s Eve. Thieves broke into his pickup in Jackson, Mississippi, and stole his gear and drives. Cameras, lenses, computers, and (most saddening) his last 5 months of work on the project were gone. As Humphrey told a local news report, word on the street is that everything was sold for “40 bucks and some crack.” He’s borrowed some equipment, but he still needs your help to keep the ship afloat.

Donate to help keep This Wild Idea on the road.