October 3, 2011
On assignment in Wyoming in May I photographed the daily chores of Deb and Jon Robinett on the Diamond G Ranch in Dubois.  The Robinetts live and work in a beautiful and remote area in the Dunoir Valley, where they have to deal with bears and wolves in the wild. Though they’ve lost several pets and livestock to predators, Jon Robinett advocates cohabitation and works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, capturing and tagging wolf packs on his property.   Here Deb opens the barn to gather hay for the horses.  Ann Hermes/Staff Photographer

On assignment in Wyoming in May I photographed the daily chores of Deb and Jon Robinett on the Diamond G Ranch in Dubois.  The Robinetts live and work in a beautiful and remote area in the Dunoir Valley, where they have to deal with bears and wolves in the wild. Though they’ve lost several pets and livestock to predators, Jon Robinett advocates cohabitation and works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, capturing and tagging wolf packs on his property.  

Here Deb opens the barn to gather hay for the horses. 

Ann Hermes/Staff Photographer

8:46am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfxAEMp26
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: wolves news photo photo 
October 1, 2011

Elegance in the rust

Joanne Ciccarello, staff photographer

It is rare to get an assignment to photograph the transformation of a decayed building from the beginning. Sheep Dog Hollow in Connecticut was a treat. How can a photographer resist the visual appeal of weathered wood, rusted metal, and abandoned items? It’s the photographic equivalent of comfort food. Little was left in the house when I arrived. But a few abandoned chairs, an old dresser, and an archetypal red barn provided enough material for exploring after the key images for the story were made. A red velvet chair sat regally in front of a haystack in the barn. The blue peeling paint retained its vivid color behind a rusted switch plate. Discarded tools lay haphazardly on a cracked concrete floor. A bureau in reasonable condition made it through the entire construction process without being marred. The photos are simple reminders of this farmhouse’s history.

1:06pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfxA9NZkS
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: photography news features 
September 30, 2011

The Aral Sea begins to trickle back

Story and photos by Nadia Shira Cohen and Paulo Siqueira (watch video)

Contributors to The Christian Science Monitor

Zhalanash, Kazakhstan In the 1960s, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya rivers were diverted by the Soviets to irrigate cotton plantations. Deprived of its major tributaries, the Aral Sea began to recede – taking with it the fishing industry and much of the sustainable agriculture. Miles of desert appeared where expanses of fresh water had lapped. What remained of the inland lake became hypersalinated and contaminated with agricultural pesticides. Fish died. Wildlife died. Even the weather grew more harsh – drier summers, colder winters. Unemployment and illness rose among residents. Many left. It was an environmental disaster. In 2005, after years of failed attempts by locals, the World Bank and the Kazakh government completed the eight-mile-long Kok- Aral Dam, an $86 million project designed to raise the water level of the North Aral Sea by containing the flow into the vastly diminished southern part. Fish were reintroduced; a Danish charity donated fishing nets to villagers. Catch levels are still low, with an annual yield of 10,000 metric tons projected for 2012. But the newly returned fishermen of Tactubek are a testament to the human desire to try to correct the wrongs of the past.

(Source: csmoniitor.com)

1:11pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfxA6qi0b
(Notes: 35)
  
Filed under: aral sea dry lake Kazakhstan csmonitor 
September 27, 2011

A Himalayan trek with former Timber smugglers shows the cultural, spiritual, and emotional endurance of Kashmir.  In Taking a hike where nuclear powers once clashed, Christian Science Monitor’s Ben Arnoldy recounts his experience.

4:11pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9-xuge
(Notes: 1)
  
September 22, 2011
A couple in wedding outfits pose for a photographer in Chaoyang Park on a Sunday in June in Beijing. The park is a popular backdrop for wedding album shoots. I heard about these hardworking photographers who shoot wedding albums and was happy to find them working throughout this enormous park in central Beijing. Apparently, the couple rent these outfits for the photo shoot and the photographer sets them up in, dare I say it, sometimes ridiculous poses - like a bride holding a watering can over fake flowers. The photographers work really hard - constantly shouting out commands for poses and facial expressions. Most photographers have several assistants with props, ladders, makeup and lighting equipment. My translator explained that the album bears no resemblance to the wedding itself - which is a simple affair in regular clothing. The album is a treasured keepsake - even though it’s all a set up. I love how the bride in this photo is standing on a little wooden box to make her taller. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer

A couple in wedding outfits pose for a photographer in Chaoyang Park on a Sunday in June in Beijing. The park is a popular backdrop for wedding album shoots.

I heard about these hardworking photographers who shoot wedding albums and was happy to find them working throughout this enormous park in central Beijing. Apparently, the couple rent these outfits for the photo shoot and the photographer sets them up in, dare I say it, sometimes ridiculous poses - like a bride holding a watering can over fake flowers. The photographers work really hard - constantly shouting out commands for poses and facial expressions. Most photographers have several assistants with props, ladders, makeup and lighting equipment. My translator explained that the album bears no resemblance to the wedding itself - which is a simple affair in regular clothing. The album is a treasured keepsake - even though it’s all a set up. I love how the bride in this photo is standing on a little wooden box to make her taller.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer

12:16pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9p6-96
September 21, 2011

Two things stands out in the central square in Skopje, Macedonia, the construction and the numerous statues. The capitol city is undergoing a huge renovation project called “Skopje 2014,” in which fountains, an arch and several new sculptures are being built. On a recent trip to Skopje I saw one of the most notable of the new sculptures, a 24-meter-high statue of Alexander the Great. The statue was dedicated on September 8, 2011 during Macedonia’s 20 year independence celebration, and it’s something to behold. 

Ann Hermes/Staff Photographer

10:00am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9mhKpY
(Notes: 16)
  
Filed under: photo macedonia statue skopje 
September 20, 2011

The scale of the disaster that struck Japan six months ago is difficult to grasp: The 9.0 earthquake moved Japan eight feet closer to the United States and knocked the planet off its axis by four to six inches. The tidal wave generated struck 500 miles of coastline, reached heights of up to 130 feet, and penetrated up to six miles inland. The total bill for reconstruction – including the shutdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant – is estimated at up to $300 billion. It’s an effort that has barely begun.
But of greatest concern to survivors in the region is that the nation’s attention is shifting away. “What the people want more than anything at all is the sense that other people – the rest of Japan – are keeping a careful watch over them and are ready to help,” says Yuka Kusano, leader of the Miyagi Jonet aid group for victims. “Instead, they fear that the rest of Japan … [has] forgotten about them.” 

Owen Thomas - Deputy editor, Monitor Weekly

(Source: csmoniitor.com)

12:01am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9jr5uF
(Notes: 48)
  
Filed under: JAPAN MONITOR PHOTOGRAPHY ANNIVERSAY TSUNAMI QUAKE 
September 15, 2011
Dignity in the face of tragedy On a recent trip to Japan, I photographed mostly the physical aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami tragedy: flattened coastlines, carefully separated piles of debris, untouched towns abandoned to radioactivity. But I also experienced things most rarely get to see.  A memorial service for the 5,000 people lost from the city of Ishinomaki was held inside a huge white tent. Every seat was taken. The service was in Japanese, so I couldn’t understand what was said, but many times I had to hold backmy own tears and would turn away to compose myself. In Japanese culture, people don’t usually cry or hug in public. They remain stoic; they bow. But it was impossible not to feel the emotion at the service. In the past, Japanese stoicism felt cold to my American sensibilities. Now I only feel respect for their strengthand calm in the face of unimaginable tragedy. I am reminded, again, that most cultural differences are only on the surface. Inside, we all feel the same. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer

Dignity in the face of tragedy


On a recent trip to Japan, I photographed mostly the physical aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami tragedy: flattened coastlines, carefully separated piles of debris, untouched towns abandoned to radioactivity. But I also experienced things most rarely get to see.  A memorial service for the 5,000 people lost from the city of Ishinomaki was held inside a huge white tent. Every seat was taken. The service was in Japanese, so I couldn’t understand what was said, but many times I had to hold back
my own tears and would turn away to compose myself.


In Japanese culture, people don’t usually cry or hug in public. They remain stoic; they bow. But it was impossible not to feel the emotion at the service. In the past, Japanese stoicism felt cold to my American sensibilities. Now I only feel respect for their strength
and calm in the face of unimaginable tragedy. I am reminded, again, that most cultural differences are only on the surface. Inside, we all feel the same.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff photographer

4:05pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9Ys1W8
(Notes: 1)
  
September 15, 2011

We all have to eat. But what we eat, where and how we eat it, is consuming our attention at mealtime. There is a food renaissance in America and the Monitor’s Kendra Nordin explores the why of it all. There’s a visit to Oleanna’s Restaurant, a favorite of locavores. The choice between “blue” and “yellow” at the Night Market attracted a youthful crowd where food and art blended; an up and coming chef served his glamorous version of the humble clam fritter; and the faithful gathered at a weekly farmers’ market for their fresh produce.  Joanne Ciccarello/staff

12:13pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9YT9JE
(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: photography photojournalism features food 
September 15, 2011
thepoliticalnotebook: rubenfeld: Freedoms Flourish On Walls Across Tripoli “In Tripoli, residents are painting the town red, green and black, the new colors of the Libyan revolution.”

thepoliticalnotebook:

rubenfeld:

Freedoms Flourish On Walls Across Tripoli

“In Tripoli, residents are painting the town red, green and black, the new colors of the Libyan revolution.”

(via thepoliticalnotebook)

10:27am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZbBEfx9YL0Bc
(Notes: 55)
  
Filed under: photo credit - jason beaubien/npr 
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