Those of you who have decided to subscribe (thank you!), have you noticed something different in your emails from TIFFINBOX? I hope so. Thanks to Anand, all the way in my hometown Chennai, India, I finally figured out how to include the TITLES of my blog posts in the emails you receive. You may also see a truncated version of the post, inviting you to click the link and read or see more. If you are having problems with this service, please let me know. Thanks again for your interest. As always, your suggestions are welcome.

Via Sheila Krishnan, a photojournalist:

I recently bought the book Baghdad Blues by David Turnley from Barnes and Noble, and think its awesome. I just think he's a great photographer and I got the opportunity to meet him at MSU a couple years ago, and he was also a real down-to-earth guy. About the book, he includes personal journals of his experiences in Baghdad along with the images, and thats one of my favorite parts. For young photojournalists who are just starting like myself, learning about how you live and how you shoot in different environments (like war) is really interesting.

Also, here are two images Sheila made at her last internship:

This from Marianne Pearl‘s essay, The reporter they left behind, at Salon.com.

After the first three sleepless nights after Danny had been kidnapped, there was no sense of time in our house and only one reality, at least for Captain. His only aim was to save Danny, because I was there, because I was pregnant, because Danny was innocent, because Captain was a Muslim and a patriot who felt deeply ashamed by those who kept Danny in captivity. When it was learned that Danny had died, it was Captain who had to tell me. Because he said so, I knew it was true, the same way I knew what he said next will be true. It was another pledge: “I will pursue those who did this and bring them to justice even if it is going to take a lifetime, my lifetime.”

I only wish others who promised their resolve at that time — including Danny's employers at the Wall Street Journal — had kept their promises, too.

Ouch!

Pablo Bartholomew, a leading photojournalist based in India was commissioned by the Asian Cultural Council to document the Indian Emigre. While the photographs are beautifully crafted, it's unusual to find a photojournalist conducing an interview with his subjects and publishing it. The interviews with Mr. and Mrs. Ohri on pages 4 and 5 are a must-read. It reminded me of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a collaborative book by the writer James Agee and the Depression-era documentarian Walker Evans. Goes to show that photojournalists can be both photographers and journalists. Thanks Pablo for leading by example.

The International Center of Photography in New York City is one of my favorite places to visit. It's a teaching institution of great repute and the exhibits and lectures there are top-notch. If you are ever in the city, I urge you to check out both their locations. Invariably you will be inspired by the work you see and the people you meet there.

United Press International reports that the ICP, as it is commonly referred to, is having an exhibition that deals with the issue of photography “creating and perpetuating racial stereotypes.”

“The show is wide-ranging, drawing on social documentary, photojournalism, ethnographic and scientific photography, straight portraiture and even erotica. It includes many of the big names in American photography — Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, Man Ray, Edward Weston, Walker Evans, and Margaret Bourke-White — as well as such contemporary camera artists as Cindy Sherman, Andres Serrano, Glenn Ligon, Nancy Burson and Nikki S. Lee.”

The show is on now through February 29, after which it will travel to other states in the US.