A young teenage Palestinian couple defy a curfew and dance together during their wedding ceremony in the West Bank city of Nablus. A British non-governmental agency recently reported that Palestinians are currently living in a state of extreme, worsening poverty and fear for their future. Almost three-quarters of Palestinians now live on less than US$2 a day, below the United Nations poverty line.
Author: Ami Vitale
Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic magazine photographer Ami Vitale has traveled to more than 90 countries, bearing witness not only to violence and conflict, but also to surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” In 2009, after shooting a powerful story on the transport and release of one the world’s last white rhinos, Ami shifted her focus to today’s most compelling wildlife and environmental stories.
Her photographs have been commissioned by nearly every international publication and exhibited around the world in museums and galleries. Recently, she joined Ripple Effect Images, an organization of renowned female scientists, writers, photographers and filmmakers working together to create powerful and persuasive stories that shed light on the hardships women in developing countries face and the programs that can help them. She is also on the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation.
Currently based in Montana, Ami Vitale is a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine and frequently gives workshops throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. She can be reached at ami@amivitale.com.
Kushti Wrestling
Indian men practice the three thousand year old sport known as “Kushti”, a form of wrestling, in its traditional form in Kolhapur, India. In this south-eastern Indian city Kushti has a long tradition. Wrestlers continue the rigorous schedule of waking up at 3:30am six times a week and practicing more than 6 hours every day. They live together in one small room above the arena and their only belongings are a blanket, a few items of clothes. They have been compared to holy men because of their celibacy and dedication to the sport.
Guinea Bissau
Adema Balde washes near her family’s rice fields in the village of Dembel Jumpora located in the West African country of Guinea Bissau.
Gujarat
Muslim children sit inside Dariya Khan Ghhumnat Rahat refugee camp set up outside a school in the state of Gujarat in Ahmedabad, India May 10, 2002. The extent of the damage and displacement of more than 120,000 people has threatened the secular ideals of India and left the government under attack for its inadequate relief arrangements….
How do you prepare for an assignment?
It depends where I am going and what the climate and nature of the assignment is but one piece of advice I could give is the old adage…”less is more”. The more you bring, the more you must carry. The less you bring, the more lightly you tread and leave behind. It is much better to try to adapt and fit in and to contribute to local economies. For example, I buy local clothes and food (minus high altitude or specialized equipment). Very often I see people bringing bags and bags of powerbars and supplies and clothing which is completely unsuited to where they may be. In my opinion, you are the guest to this country and place and respecting and taking part in the life around you is an important component to getting the most out of your experience traveling. The more we try to create what is familiar to us, the less experiences we will have and after all, what is the point of traveling if you just want a repetition of what you have at home? It is all about adaptation and experiencing where you are.
The W. Eugene Smith Fund
The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith’s concerned photography and dedicated compassion exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist.
India: Kashmir 1
Mirages: A Video Shot for Nikon with the D300s
This was my first attempt at shooting video with a still camera. I used the Nikon D300s and experimented in different situations from riding on the hood of a taxi in Mumbai, India to the deadly, blowing sands of the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Or maybe its the other way around.. more deadly is sitting on the top of an Indian taxi just to get a few images. Dai Sugano, an absolute genius and wonderful journalist, helped me with the editing. Check out his work. Its very inspiring. David Barreda and Ashima Narain assisted me in the field. Not only are they both talented photographers and story tellers, but they also happen to be lovely people. I’ll be posting a blog soon to discuss how I created the video as well as some tips I have for still photographers making the transition into shooting video. These cameras are revolutionizing the business of photography and opening up more avenues for us to develop our story telling.
New Beginnings
Thank you Jayson Singe of Neonsky.com for helping me design my original website which was created almost nine years ago. Nine years… eternity in the world of the web. I am grateful for his immense talent, sensibilities and innovative ideas. The site helped launch my career as a photojournalist and also became a prototype for many of the online flash portfolios that photographers and artists use today. It has taken me much too long, but with help from another wonderfully talented designer, Mike Schmidt, www.mohawkstreet.com, I have a new design that fits my needs in today’s ever changing online world. One of the main considerations was to use HTML and the challenge was to design it elegantly without the slick capabilities of Flash. HTML can be inflexible; the confusing array of screen resolutions makes design imprecise and often frustrating. Mike managed to find ways to merge WordPress with Photoshelter.com, an online archive, and I have a site that I hope will engage you. I’ll be adding more material weekly so please check back and thanks for taking the time to look! Please feel free to send back ideas, criticisms and suggestions.
India
Camel fair-trading-Camel traders from India look at the vast offerings as sun falls at the largest camel fair in the world in Pushkar, India in the state of Rajasthan November 26, 2001. Thousands of camels and traders come to the annual event which some say have been going on for centuries.
