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2013 - A Year in Rectangles

(Above : A vendor gets in an aerobic workout in between customers in Hanoi's Chau Long Market).

Another year passes and I'm again reminded of all the great places my camera has taken me to. Extensive travel and a workshop in Turkey, plus assigments and travel in Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan and Vietnam. A move to our newly renovated shophouse in George Town and work in my 'home town'. Everytime I push the shutter I am reminded how lucky I am to be able to do what I do. Here are a few images from the year. I hesitate to say 'best of' because frankly I am probably the worst judge of what is good or bad in my collection. What I can say about these images is that I hope that when I look back on them in a couple of years that I still remember exactly what I was feeling when I took the picture. I can't say that about every picture I take but some stick around longer than others. Let's see if these do.

(Above : An autumn moon rises over Eminnou, Istanbul)

(Above : Sunset from the 360 Degree Bar at the Bayside Hotel, Penang, Malaysia. Part of a advertising campaign I shot for Penang Global Tourism. Below : A fire burns out of control on a 'super moon' night in Detroit). 

(Above : Taipei, Taiwan for Travel & Leisure SEA. Confession time - I love George Town but I would move to Taiwan in a second if I could. Taipei is probably the most liveable city in Asia and a great jumping off point for exploring Taiwan's deep, deep culture).

(Above : Street food (char koay teow stir fried over charcoal) and a hidden shrine in George Town. Part of a personal project documenting religious shrines that dot the back alleys of George Town, Malaysia). 

(Above : Top - Fishing on the Bosphorus. Second - Barbunia fresh from the Black Sea). 

(Above : The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir on a toasty 42 degree C afternoon).

(Above : The Kadikoy ferry terminal (minus the 'ballon') at sunset. I try to end every trip to Turkey with a sunset ride on an Istanbul ferry. It never gets old). 

(Above : Colombo's Maning Street Market. I spend a lot of time in markets but Maning market blew me away. My time in Sri Lanka was way to short. Such a colorful country and truly lovely people. Hopefully, 2014 will see this story in print). 

(Above : Thaipusam in Penang  part of a customized photo walk. Below - Butchers at a pork shop in Chow Rasta market, George Town). 

 

(Above : top - Banana sellers in Madurai's morning market. Middle : Dressing to match your house (part 1), Rajakkad, Tamil Nadu. Above / Third - A worshipper at a temple outside Madurai, Tamil Nadu. India was such an eye opening experience. I need to find a way to get back there. Look for articles in early 2014 and more images on this blog to follow. Below : Tea shop in Mylapore, Chennai. Tea - but who knew India has such a big coffee culture? Check out my slideshow here in the Wall Street Journal Asia).

So what about 2014? Well, to start with we SOLD A BOOK! So look for more travels in Turkey now through 2015 (yeah). If you are looking for something to do in April join us in Sapanca, Turkey for our second cooking, food and photography workshop. I will also be doing a similar workshop in Penang mid-2014. Watch this page for details.

Beyond that - who in the heck knows? I wouldn't have it any other way. Swing on over to my Facebook page here for quick posts, tips and updates. Or follow me on Twitter @davehagerman. See ya!

 

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I'm on assignment in Tamil Nadu. Leaving the city of Madurai we stopped the car to check out a wedding celebration that was taking place at the side of the road. A small crowd was gathered opposite and I strolled over to check out what was happening. A boy was getting his hair cut for the first time to mark his first birthday. The barber uses a straight razor to shave the child's head. His hair is given as a gift to the God. The 'gift' will be given again to mark his third and seventh birthday. I suspect it will be awhile before he doesn't run from the room when he hears the words 'hair cut'. 

This Fire is Out of Control

I'm back in the US for a quick trip and had the opportuntity to hang out in Detroit for an evening with fellow photographer and Detroiter Tim Galloway. In addition to his editorial work Tim is also a fire chaser which as it turns out is a nearly full time past time.

Detroit has roughly 100,000 abandoned structures creating what seems to be a cottage industry in burning down buildings for profit (or possibly just fun). It is strange to see block after city block with perhaps on one or two houses still standing. The firefighters we met that night said that basically their job in these cases, where the building was not occupied, is to contain the fire so that it does not spread. This particular fire involved (as I recall) 4 fire companies, but would not make the news. That is how prevalent the fires are. Detroit fire fighters take on more fires per head than any other fire fighters in the country. The odds are that this trend will continue as the city continues to cut back on fire fighting services. Check out the excellent documentary film Burn for the real story. My hat is off to these guys.

(Above : Super moon and house bathed in the glow of the neighboring fire).

Much More Than Gore : Thaipusam

'Quick, some dude is getting pierced over here!' This is what I overhear as I'm watching preparations for Thaipusam, outside Penang's City Stadium.

I have attended many religious celebrations in my time, some that also involved piercing or similar physical acts of devotion. But I have always avoided Thaipusam like the plague. I figured it would be something like a circus with the devotees placed at the center of a freakshow.

And in many ways my fears were confirmed.

Rarely have I photographed at an event at which common courtesy was so absent. I was pushed and shoved. People who really should have known better (I'm looking at you Mr. 2 D800's) didn't think twice about stepping in front of my carefully framed shot, or on my foot, or even -- much worse -- stepping on the offering a devotee had laid on the ground to get that all important shot.

Yes, it really was the freakshow I had tried so long to avoid.

At one point I really contemplated pulling the plug and getting out of there. But I had committed to a fellow photographer to attend, and I felt an obligation to stick it out. So I did.

My approach was to get close and personal with the devotees. To show them in positions of power. To capture life and color, not just shocking scenes of physical extremes.

In other words, to treat people with dignity.

And I found that as the devotees finished their piercing rituals many of the gawkers moved on and the 'real' Thaipusam began, as participants - families, individuals, friends - made the walk from the stadium to the Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple (Waterfall Temple).

Will I attend next year? Maybe. My uncertainty is due partly to the fact that I don't know if work will take me elsewhere during the festival. But also, I feel that I need to get beyond the obvious, to go deeper and show all that Thaipusam is about.

I need a personal connection to the event -- ideally I would follow a devotee through the whole process from fasting and cleansing in preparation to the day's events and beyond. 

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Postcard from Sinop : Working in a Grey Area

Day 6 in Sinop and I've seen the sun for 2 maybe 3 hours. The sky is just grey, grey. I was working around the ports, shooting fishermen as they repaired nets and details on boats. I'm starting to get that panicky feeling when you're shooting a travel story and the weather isn't helping. Give me a storm, or sun - but not this pea soup. I'm about to head back and a fisherman calls me to join he and his friend on his boat. The boat's owner tells me his family came to Sinop from Crimea some 300 years ago. He shows me a Russian book from the 70's with pictures from the village where his family came from. He makes tea, the friend reads the paper and asks a few questions. We watch the dolpins as they surface around the harbour. He offers me more tea and I accept. We're just hanging out. Something I had forgotten how to do.