“In ‘Born into Brothels,' the filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman visited Calcutta's squalid red-light district and befriended the often talented, attractive children of prostitutes. Ms. Briski, a professional photographer, gave the children cameras and photography instruction, took them on field trips to the zoo and to the ocean, and arranged an international exhibition of their work. Ultimately, she tried to arrange for as many as possible to attend private boarding schools, their only hope of a better life. Some make it; others don't.”

The 2004 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will be soon underway at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center. Tickets: $10; students, $7; 65+ and ages 6 to 12, $5 at weekday matinees. Screening times and other information: (212) 875-5600 or www.filmlinc.com. The New York Times today published a review today.

Ronald Reagan, the former POTUS, died last week. The media has naturally been abuzz, forgetting that we are at war in at least two fronts. While the death of a former president is definitely newsworthy, the voice of dissent (especially in this case) is smothered out of earshot as praise and primrose laurels are heaped on a shady memory.

Add to this the choices two editorial magazines, Time and Newsweek, have made to publish the same image of Mr. Reagan on their covers. It's not as if President Reagan wasn't photogenic or well-photographed during his tenure in office and beyond. When the left claims that there is some unambiguous conspiracy in the way information is collected, collated and then disseminated in this country, we finally have a shining example to look at now.

It's a fine image, no doubt. It's iconic; the former president as a cowboy, in a Stetson, smiling gently. It's an image that Goldwater types will cherish, put on their mantles and perhaps salute every morning. But the rest of the world will choose to see it and him differently. For Americans, however, Reagan will always be remembered as the Great Communicator, a gentleman, a man greatly protected and loved by Nancy, his wife and a president who brought conservative politics and thought to the forefront.

As the New York Times article sent to me by John Laxmi points out, the choice made by both magazines is only a coincidence. But it is a coincidence that occurs much too often. I am downright uncomfortable when I see something like this happen.

While the competition in the media industry is fierce, one would think that variety will impose a clear winner. Not in this case. What's making the newsstands these days is the same old drivel; celebrity profiles, shrinking space for images and real content, the rise of sidebars, sound-bites and eulogies that sell.

Is this what we really want? What does the mirror on your wall say?

The NYPD (New York Police Department) and the MTA (Metropolitan Transport Authority) in their exuberance to protect the security of passengers have banned the act of photography underground or any where near a subway stop.

The photographers – about 100 of them – gathered to express their outrage at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposed ban on taking pictures in the subway system. Meeting at Grand Central Terminal, they rode the trains for upward of an hour, shutters clicking, flashes popping, in a filmed rebuke to the idea that photography is somehow a national security threat.

Read the whole story in today's New York Times.

This policy, set in place by the MTA, is sheer lunacy! It further provides for the “authorities” to infringe on people's rights. Imagine something newsworthy happening down in the subway and a photojournalist not being able to do her/his job because of this crazy rule? How about a citizen's first amendment rights of free speech and press? Photographing underground or in the subway trains in no way endangers the lives of other passengers. As Joe Anastasio says in the article, much of the subway system is already well documented. So new images will not pose any kind of threat.

Right after the September 11 disaster in NYC and Washington, DC, I was stopped by a MBTA police officer at the Davis Square T-stop, in Boston for no apparent reason other than for my brown skin and the two very large cameras and lenses slung over my slouching shoulders. The questioning lasted about 10 minutes; who was I, what was I doing there, why was I carrying cameras into the subway station?

I showed the officer my California driver's license and enough respect to show him that I meant no harm to anyone, in anway. But I decided the man had the brains of a weasel when, struggling over my first and last names, he suggested that I change them into something easier to pronounce!

Over the din of the Red Line trains, he yelled into his walkie-talkie to his sueriors way above ground to clarify my American citizenship. Then he smirked and let me go. Did I feel like I was harassed? Yes. Would it be the last time? Nope.

SAJA, or the South Asian Journalists Association, in which I serve as a board member, has announced its annual awards.

I am particularly proud to let you all know of the photographers who won this year are some of my personal favorites:

William Albert Allard, National Geographic, for “Untouchables.” A photo essay about the lives of India's lowest castes.

John Stanmeyer, Time & VII, for two photo essays about Pakistan, “Live and Die in Karachi” (about the country's biggest city), and “Lost Lives” (about the lives of the mentally ill). This is Stanmeyer's second SAJA Award.

Robb Kendrick, National Geographic for “The Sherpas.” A photo essay that ran as part of the magazine's 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mt. Everest.

According to the press release, “The awards will be presented on Saturday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. at a gala awards ceremony at the Roone Arledge Auditorium at Columbia's Lerner Hall (115th St & Broadway) as part of the four-day SAJA Convention.”

Couldn't they have made it an even $100k? That was my initial knee jerk reaction until I read the fine print and found out that this contest was based out of England where the currency is pounding (pun intended) the crap out of the US dollar. Regardless, it's a photography contest that I think might be worth looking into.

$95,000 PRIZE PACKAGE IN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

The Travel Photographer of the Year competition (TPOTY) is going from strength to strength. Following a very successful first year in 2003, in which photographers from 34 countries submitted just under 10,000 images, this annual competition for amateur and professional photographers now features: four portfolio categories covering every aspect of travel photography; a Single Image category; a special Young Travel Photographer category; Student Awards – and a remarkable $95,000 prize package.

Category winners in the 2003 competition included American photographers Kurt Stier and Mike Matlach. See www.tpoty.com for the 2003 winning and commended images. Hasselblad, Hewlett Packard, Land Rover, Star Alliance and Tribes Travel have joined the founding sponsor line-up of Adobe, Avery, Calumet, Discover the World, Fujifilm, G.A.P Adventures, Guerba, Islands of the Bahamas, Light & Land, Plastic Sandwich, Resolutions and Wacom. The result is a line-up of prizes that any photographer would be delighted to win, including some superb travel and the very latest photographic equipment and software.

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2004
The photographer who demonstrates the greatest skill, diversity and creativity in two different portfolio categories will follow in the footsteps of 2003 winner, the British photographer Peter Adams, and earn the prestigious title of Travel Photographer of the Year and the satisfaction of being judged the very best travel photographer in 2004.

The winner and a companion will be able to take the photographic trip of a lifetime with their choice of a pair of round the world air tickets or two Business Class tickets to any one destination served by the Star Alliance network, the global network that brings together 14 of the world's finest airlines. Added to this is an enviable $3,000 spending spree in a Calumet photographic store, plus Adobe CS Collection Premium and Video Collection software, to optimise the images they shoot on their travels.

‘MY WORLD, MY VIEW' – YOUNG TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Photographers aged 16 and under can submit four images on the theme ‘My World, My View' which show what travel means to them. It's free to enter and the prizes are fantastic. The winner receives a top of the range HP Pavilion Photosmart PC with integrated camera docking station and 6-1 memory card reader, plus a top-spec HP Photosmart digital camera, photo centric scanner and photo printer, a unique photography masterclass with renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite, courtesy of Light & Land, and Adobe CS Collection Premium software.

The new 2004 competition categories are:

Peoples and Cultures Portfolio
This portfolio celebrates humanity in all its many guises, and the diversity that different cultures bring to the travel experience.

Prize: the brand new, state-of-the-art Fujifilm S3 Pro digital camera and lens, a superb 22-day overland adventure for two through Kenya and Tanzania with Guerba, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.

Essence of Travel Portolio
This encompasses places, festivals, leisure, architecture, food, transport, tourism and history.

Prize: the highly desirable new Hasselblad XPan II Pro panoramic camera; a 12-day fly/drive adventure for two people to explore Sweden with Discover the World, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.

Spirit of Adventure Portfolio
This category allows entrants to capture the thrill of adventure – however large or small – that challenges the traveller.

Prize: a once in a lifetime expedition for two people with Land Rover's global conservation partner Biosphere Expeditions to the Tatra mountains in Slovakia; a custom-built website from web wizards Resolutions, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software. To prepare them for their expedition, the winner will also spend a day at one of Land Rover's off-road driving centres.

Living Planet Portfolio
This encompasses landscape, the environment, and wildlife.

Prize: the top-of-the-range Wacom Cintiq 18SX Interactive Pen Display with TFT monitor; a tour for two people around the stunning Galapagos Islands on board a motor yacht with G.A.P Adventures, and Adobe CS Collection Standard software.

‘Celebration' – The Single Image Category
Entrants can submit one beautiful, uplifting image that captures the theme of ‘Celebration' within the context of travel.

Prize: a 10-day holiday for two to the photogenic Islands of the Bahamas, plus Adobe
CS Collection Standard software.

Runners-up and Highly Commended entrants will receive tripods or Tenba camera bags from Calumet. Runners-up in the four portfolio categories will also receive off-road driving training from Land Rover, to help them travel to those difficult-to-get-to, but eminently photogenic, places.

Special Awards
Awards will be presented for the best three portfolio entries by students in full-time education, with the winners receiving beautiful leather print books from Plastic Sandwich, made in their choice of size and format and personalised with their names.

In addition, a number of special awards from Avery and Tribes Travel will be given for individual images nominated by the TPOTY panel of expert judges and the general public visiting the 2005 TPOTY exhibitions. Details will be announced later this year.

A chance to give something back
Another new element for TPOTY 2004 is the option to make a $1.50 charitable donation with the entry fee. The funds raised will be split between Tourism Concern and The Tribes Foundation. Tourism Concern is dedicated to campaigning for change in the world's biggest industry – working to ensure holidays are as good for the people living in our holiday destinations as they are for us. The Tribes Foundation helps indigenous communities, preserves cultural heritage and ecological biodiversity in areas impacted by tourism outside the UK and encourages education in global cultural diversity within the UK.

Entry fees and closing dates
Photographers can enter as many categories as they like, as many times as they like. To compete for the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2004 they must enter at least two different portfolio categories. The fee structure has been revised for 2004, making it more cost- effective to enter. Entry costs from just $7.50 for one portfolio category or up to four entries in the Single Image category, is completely free for under-17s and there is a discounted flat rate fee of $7.50 for students. Entries are now open, and close on September 17, 2004. Full information and entry forms are available from http://www.tpoty.com or by sending a stamped addressed envelope to PO Box 2716, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7ZN, England.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
If you would like to publish examples of the 2003 winning photographs, please visit the Winners' Gallery at www.tpoty.com, choose the photographs you want and then request them by emailing press@tpoty.com. For further press information or a high-res version of the competition logo, please contact Karen Coe on 01628 773445 or email: press@tpoty.com

Contact:
Karen Coe
Travel Photographer of the Year
+44 (0)1628 773445
press@tpoty.com