Enjoy the Links this week, we are going from the last Olympics, to Japan, back to China and then to India.
Photobooks of note: Leaf Peeper by Tim Bowditch
Such a journey is a Japanese tradition called Momijigari, where Japanese people visit scenic places in the autumn to see the leaves of trees turning red, says the photographer.
The images are accompanied by a text by de Kersaint Giraudeau, who shares "a story of insight, ignorance and blocked sinuses", in response to Bowditch's work.
The Rising Waters of the Yangtze
Nadav Kander: Yangtze, The Long River is a photography book, the size and weight of which matches the magnitude of the subject matter. Photographed between 2006 and 2008, Kander travelled along China’s largest river in a period of rapid transformation during the construction and completion of the Three Gorges Dam. The vast landscape photographs, too, highlight the sheer scale of a number of important tropes represented in the images: the size of the river, the millions of people living along the river, and the country’s unprecedented economic ambitions.Leopard in dramatic photo traced to 2004 camera trap
The photo, taken by Indian photographer Vinay S. Kumar, was initially submitted to Conservation India, a not-for-profit portal to enable conservation action. Intrigued by the picture, CI's editors sent it to researchers at Wildlife Conservation Society's India Program who have been running a tiger-monitoring program for over two decades – the longest in the world. Their huge database of camera trap pictures also includes hundreds of pictures of leopards.
So You Think Photographing the Olympics is Fun
A great, long, article that talks about the difficulties and rewards of being a photographer at the Olympics.
Security has become an ever-increasing necessity at any public event. The Olympics are a prime target for terrorism and even in 1996 security was tight. You may remember that there was a bombing in Centennial Park in the heart of Atlanta about mid-way through the games. My writer colleague from the magazine and I were there a few hours before the bombing (right at the spot where it happened). After the bomb went off, security was increased dramatically. Even those guards who knew you (after screening you and your bags many times a day for more than a week) were forced to require that every piece of equipment go through X-ray and then be taken out, lenses uncovered to see through, cameras opened, etc.
Photographing the Beijing Olympics
Another great article from a Sports Illustrated photographer along with some great photos!
This trip dominated much of our thinking for the 18 months prior. Leading up to the games, every major and some of the minor events we covered would help us generate ideas, refine techniques, and perfect our partnership. When you are running as many as 30 cameras simultaneously, being inside each others heads is very important.
