I managed to finagle my way onto the walk up the Volcano de Agua. We set out at 4:00am to catch the buses from Antigua to the town of Santa Maria where the hike began – at 5:30 we started the hike up the volcano.
One of the narrower parts of the trail
The altitude, terrain and number of participants made for a hike that was fairly strenuous. As I was walking I found it interesting and encouraging that the majority of the participants were men since this was an event to bring about awareness to and reduce domestic violence.
Above the clouds
After about 4 hours I made it to the top where people were waiting for the announcement to create the human chain. There were plenty of reporters and helicopters with film crews to document the event. Spread out across the crater was a gigantic piece of nylon with a huge heart printed in the middle of it. Everyone gathered around, picked up the canvas and began to wave it up and down.
Preparations to form the heart in the center of the crater.
At the heart of the crater
Further down the volcano thousands of people lined up to pass a flag up the mountain to the crater. The trip down with thousands of people trying to negotiate a mostly one lane path, in addition to the dust they created made for a very long and uncomfortable descent. Once we were back in Santa Maria the number of people that took part in this event overwhelmed the busses that were designated to take them back to Antigua. I understand that some people waited about 3 hours for a bus.
The dusty trail
The masses waiting for a bus to return to Antigua
On a whole I commend the organizers – while there were many things that could have been done much better, the idea and the amount of work and organization to pull off something like this was still impressive. This event was organized by Ensena Amor: No Violencia (Teaches Love)
Currently I’m in Antigua, Guatemala to finish production on this film about Population Council Guatemala for the UN Trust Fund to End VAW.
Volcano de Agua outside of Antigua
It just so happens that tomorrow, Nov 21st, a huge event will be taking place right outside of Antigua on the Volcano de Agua which has an elevation of 12,336 feet. 8000 Guatemalans are scheduled to participate in a human chain up the slopes of the summit of the volcano – 1500 people will actually form a heart in the crater of the crater. This event was organized by Ensena Amor: No Violencia (Teaches Love)
The purpose of this event? To inspire a generation change in attitude against domestic violence, ultimately to reduce levels of violence in Guatemala and to raise funds to help victims of domestic violence. Each participant paid to participate and a charity will be chosen through a democratic vote on their Facebook page.
I understand that the event is sold out but I will be trying to join them. If I am able, I will be sure to share more photos after the event.
I recently learned about a new project lead by a friend of mine, Anne Medley. I have been a fan of Anne’s and her work to empower communities in the developing world to tell their own stories ever since she shared her Congo in Focus project with me.
Speak Out Tunisia
Now, with Speak Out Tunisia, Anne and members of the Tunisian citizen group PaCTE aim to teach a diverse group of Tunisian citizens about digital media and online journalism. Their citizen journalism training project seeks to leverage the power of a free and fair press to guarantee and sustain Tunisia’s transition to democracy.
You can learn more about this Speak Out Tunisia and support their project on kickstarter here.
Sorry, but I debate with this post. I actually do delight in your particular blogging site though and will likely continue to keep moving back for the latest.
I was just in Antigua, Guatemala in November documenting an innovative program teaching young Mayan girls about their rights and opportunities. The program called Abriendo Oportunidades teaches the girls how to use video cameras and interviews to become aware of social norms in their culture—some of which, like violence against women, are dysfunctional.
Maria - Intern for Abriendo Oportunidades.
I am excited that next month I will be returning to Antigua to teach the workflow I use while making social documentaries for print and film. This workshop will explore the process of building a photographic project from initial conception, to production, and then distribution through exhibits, books, magazines, and electronic media. I will be sharing my experience in developing the initial and final concept, then finding partners to help finance and distribute the final product.
Girl leader in participatory video workshop.
For the workshop participants who want to do a project around a social theme we will be working with local non-profit organizations like Abriendo to facilitate a real world experience. To learn more about the workshop go to http://juliadean.com/
Participants in video workshop for Population Council which supports Abriendo Oportunidades. .
I like the subject to look as directly into the camera as possible when being interviewed. This has proven to be a difficult thing to achieve. One of the ways I have attempted this is to use a long focal length lens and place the camera behind the interviewer and slightly to his or her side. This has its limitations. For one the subject is still not looking directly into the camera even though the parallax has been greatly reduced. Also unless the interviewer is very still there is a chance that they will pop into the frame from time to time as they engage the subject.
Today I’m going to try a simple solution from VFGadgets called from EyeDirect.
It’s a cold winter day in Seattle but I wanted to see how this would work outside with a lot of light coming in from all directions. I’m glad I did this test before committing to take the rig down to Guatemala next week for a film on Violence against Women for the UN.
I learned that the interviewer has to appeared dead center in the mirror or the slight shift in the subject’s eye contact was noticeable and distracting. It would have been better to have the typical off camera eye contact.
The EyeDirect unit is built like a prototype and could use a lot of refinement, especially considering its $1500 price tag. It’s rather clunky to set up—needs an allen wrench to make adjustments and set up instead of knobs or wing nuts.
The mirror tilt adjustment knob did not hold the adjustment and I had to use waded up tape to hold the mirror tilt adjustment.
After using it on two subjects their comments were– it did take a little while to get used to talking with a disembodied head in the mirror but after a few minutes they forgot about it.
Here are the results.
Conclusion: Although a bit clunky I will probably rent the unit for the Guatemala film. If anyone knows of a better solution please let me know.
I’ve been browsing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be much more useful than ever before.
Thanks for the tech talk. Very helpful.FYI, your book now has gone through the next level of critical review – my 17 year old, whose interests range from AD/DC to boa constrictors. He spent over an hour by the fire, studying the pages your book, marveling at the images and asking questions about the people, the lifestyle, families, Tibet in general, and my pilgrimage there. Sometimes it just has to be someone else’s dad! Thanks again,
R
Thanks for the kind words, Phil. I’m honored. After NX2, I usually go to Nik – Viveza2, ColorEfex4, Silver Efex and Sharpener. Although I do use Nik for a punch, I really love that their algorithms allow for a lot of subtlety in post.
Best,
R
The Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Bonpo regard the sacred Mount Kailash as the heart of the world. One full circumambulation around the thirty-two mile trail around the mountain is said to erase the sins of a lifetime. Pilgrims on this kora will leave cherished personal items behind like a piece of clothing, a braid of hair or even a tooth to symbolize their death and rebirth. While on the journey they contemplate the nature of impermanence by taking time to imagine their own deaths. In actuality the Kailash Kora claims a few lives every year. While it took me three days to complete the full kora many Tibetans are able to do it in a day.
Pilgrims on Dolma La Pass--Kailash Kora
At 18,500 feet the Drolma La Pass is the highest point on the Kailash Kora and is known as the “hill of salvation.” The pass offers every pilgrim the possibility to be cleansed of all previous sins and a transition from their old life to a new one.
Phil:
Congratulations on the book. I’ve purchased it and its powerful..a joy to see Tibet again, and a heartache to see how much has changed in four years (for me). Also, how wonderful to see Drolma La again. It’s hard photographing after summiting the pass…very well done.
A technical question – feel free not to answer if its proprietary info. In your close-in portraits, it looks like you shoot wide open as best you can; are you using a mid-prime for those shots? 35mm, 50mm? & a ND to stay so wide open?
Hey, thanks for the positive feedback on the book Richard! Very much appreciated. I’m always happy to share my methods, none of it is a secret. My favorite lens is a 24-70mm but I do a lot with 24mm and 35mm primes. Many outdoor shots I am shooting with a polorizer at f4 to f5.6. It falls off in the background because I am very close to the subject. I am currently shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II.
Cheers,
Phil
Our book TIBET: Culture on the Edge was just released this week!! I must say I’m thrilled with how it turned out.
The idea for a second book on Tibet came quite by accident. ( My first book Tibetan Portrait was published 16 years ago.) In 2009 I had traveled to Lhasa to document the work of the US based organization OneHeart that was working to reduce the high rate of maternal mortality on the Tibetan Plateau.
My equipment in the bag on the left.
Unfortunately, because of the riots that had taken place in Tibet just before the 2008 Olympics China decided to shut down all foreign non-profit organizations in Tibet. I arrived and soon learned I had nothing to do! Since I was already there I decided to take a trek I had always wanted to do so I hired a guide and a couple of yaks and headed out. Almost three years later I have a book in my hands!
It's always tense crossing water. Yaks like to cool off by laying down in the water.
Birthing a photo book is definitely a labor of love. After spending eighteen months collecting the content I’m usually faced with at least a year of postproduction editing, researching, writing and designing. In this case the process went ever so smooth thanks to my agent John Campbell who introduced me to a wonderful production team at Rizzoli. Most heartfelt thanks to Jim Muschett and Melissa Veronesi for editing and hassle free project management. I want to give special thanks to Susi Oberhelman for her beautiful design. It was so amazing that we all saw eye to eye 99% of the time. Truly a wonderful experience for me.
Just received your Tibet – Culture on the edge for Xmas. Very happy to have discovered your work through it.
Was in Tibet in August and happy memories have come back (and looking forward to going back in couple of years).
Loved the way you have the portrait and a strong background – giving us an idea of the surroundings and lifestyle of the subject. Not many photographers think of that.
Looking forward to next book.
Cheers,
Chris
The typical way I work when producing a book is to choose an issue I feel strongly about then finding an organization (usually an NGO) that is aligned with the same interests and partner with them to collect the content necessary for the book. The partnership is not only valuable in helping to cover the costs of travel but in providing access to the subjects I’m illustrating. After we have collected the images and text I usually shop the content and theme of the book as a package around to different publishers.
Jinzhu Road—went from 2 lane road to 6 lane divided highway in 15 years
My book TIBET: Culture on the Edge that is to be released this October 4th, took a different course. Rizzoli, the publisher of three of my previous books, approached me and asked if I would consider doing another book on Tibet. My first book with Rizzoli Tibetan Portrait in ’96 had done very well and they wanted a book with a general theme of ‘Tibet 15 years later’ through my eyes. Tibetan Portrait’s theme concentrated on the Tibetan’s struggle to maintain their Tibetan Buddhist Culture in the face of occupation by a foreign culture.
Desertification on the Plateau
My trip to Tibet after a 15 year absence was absolutely shocking to me!! The amount of development that had taken place in that short time was unbelievable. Furthermore, the evidence of climate change became very real for me as I crossed from the most eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau to the most western border. The Tibetan Plateau is heating up twice as fast as the global average and my interviews with the nomads and farmers confirmed the speed at which the climate is changing there.
Flooding Caused by the Rapidly Melting Glaciers
I found the one constant that had not changed was the devotion of the Tibetan People to their spiritual practice. So the theme of TIBET: Culture on the Edge revealed itself during the year and a half I traveled across the plateau. The book became about a culture struggling to survive in the face of massive technological and developmental changes all the while trying to adapt to the displacement caused by the changing environment.
Thanks so much for these updates. I was in country just a few years ago, and these photos and others are terribly beautiful and disturbing. Knowing the conditions of such travel, the expense, details, unexpected challenges (as well as miracles) …over and again, I am grateful for the work you do. Good luck with the new book. I look fwd to seeing it.
Om a hung, vajra guru padme siddhi hung.
Blessings,
R
I shoot my documentaries with both the Sony EX1 and the Canon Mark II 5D. I love the 5D for the shallow depth of field I can achieve with a variety of lenses. It has some very definite ergonomic issues so I mainly use it on a Tripod. I often set it up as a second camera on my interviews.
During my recent trip to Liberia, there was one issue that was constantly bothering me and limited my use of the 5D. In many situations I get those annoying moire patterns and aliasing artifacts.
Example of Moire
I’ve just heard that there is a fix although fairly expensive. It is the VAF-5D2 filter. The cost is $375 and ¼ stop of light lost.
If anyone has had experience with this filter could you let me know? Other than the loss of ¼ stop of light I was wondering what would be the disadvantage of leaving it in all the time. It seems like it would be such a pain to have to stop and insert it every time you encountered moire or aliasing problems.
I have 3 cameras that I use to shoot video for my social documentary work in the developing world. My main camera is a Sony EX1, however, since I’m carrying a Canon Mark II 5D I often use it as a second camera in my interviews. Also when I want a short depth of field or to use special lenses I use the 5D. I also carry the small Panasonic TM 700 when I want to be more inconspicuous, like shooting in Tibet.
Sony EX1
For those of you who use any of these cameras and want to combine and sync the footage you may find the following useful.
Each camera produces files in it’s own proprietary format. The problem arises when I try to bring these different formats into Final Cut Pro 7. Sony’s XD Cam; Panasonic’s MTS files; and the 5D format are best converted to ProRes 422 to be edited in FCP. I just spent 3 days online trying to find the easiest way to convert the files to bring into FCP. Finally out of frustration I turned to an editor friend, Ryan Horner. His workflow is to bring everything in via the Log and Transfer window, however, before you do you need to get the proper plugins. You can find the following plugins below:
For the 5D–Canon EOS movie plugin for Final Cut Pro -
1. Go to this site
2. Select your computer OS (Mac) from the drop down menu.
3. Choose Mac OSX not Mac OSX with a version number on it.
4. Choose 3rd one down called – ce1120x.dmg.zip
5D Mark II
For the Sony EX1–Sony XD Cam plug in for Final Cut pro (Use FireFox instead of Safari)
1. Download the plugin here
2. Move the zip file to your desktop.
3. Double click it and follow the steps.
The Panasonic TM 700 doesn’t need a plugin, but does require transcoding software.
Panasonic TM700
For the best quality I shoot the Panasonic TM 700 at 1080/ 60p. Unfortunately FCP 7 does not handle 1080/60p. The AVCHD files must first be converted to Pro Res 422. The best transcoding software I have found for this job is Clip Wrap. Once transcoded you can bring in the files through the Log and Transfer window.
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Thank you for your posts. I do similar work, and it’s interesting to see your workflow. How do you carry your ex1, 5d, and lenses on the airlines? Do you carry everything on board?
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile…
Great article! I really enjoyed reading it. I’m hoping to get to more articles by you. You have a lot of insight and vision. I am highly impressed with this.
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Sorry, but I debate with this post. I actually do delight in your particular blogging site though and will likely continue to keep moving back for the latest.
I always appreciate feedback Nickolas. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.