Devalina Guha Roy wrote in to say that she and a group of other photographers are showing their work in Philadelphia. The show, an Asian Arts Initiative called A Different Lens runs from now through June 3.

“A Different Lens exhibition, a collaboration with the Philadelphia chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), focuses on the unique perspectives of Asian American photographers and challenges the distinction between photography as an art form and photojournalism. The Asian Arts Initiative is interested in how Asian American photographers depict and portray Asian and Asian American culture and experience, particularly in terms of people, locations, and objects/artifacts.”

Documentary photographer Srinivas Kuruganti tipped me off about the Alexia Foundation announcing their 2006 fellowship winners; Balzs Gardi for the professional grant and Melanie Blanding of Western Kentucky University for the student grant.

Also, Pictures of the Year, International or POYi have also announced 2006 winners. The POYi winners gallery is here.

Speaking of winners, photographer G.M.B. Akash from Dhaka, Bangladesh chimed in modestly with some great news. He says, “You will be happy to know that I have won third prize from World Press Photo 2006 contest in daily life single category.” Bravo! This is well-deserved accolade for one of South Asia's rising photojournalism stars. Keep an eye on this guy. He is off to doing some incredible things in the years to come.

Here is G.M.B. Akash's winning image of a child laborer being threatened bodily harm. I can't think of a better image that so lucidly illustrates the abuse these young garment workers face every day.

Clemente Bernad wrote in yesterday to tell me that he had updated his website and that he was being represented by Contrasto, the Italian photo agency. Skimming through the names of the other photographers at Contrasto, I came upon Shobha‘s name.

Shobha's biography is impressive, though I have to confess I haven't come across her work here in the US. That's rather typical, though, as most media outlets in the US are hard pressed to look beyond their own Atlantic coast for the talent that lies beyond. She was born in Palermo and appears to mostly work out of Italy.

If anyone reading this has any contact information for Shobha, please email me at tiffinbox [at] pipalproductiions [dot] com. I would love to introduce her to Tiffinbox and of course the SAJA Photoforum.

Jason Taylor is a Delhi-based photojournalist. Sometime last year, he mailed me a CD of his most recent work, Driven, “an exhibition of photographs revealing the solitary and nomadic existence of North India's truck driver population, the nature of their complex personal relationships, and their vulnerable position on the fringes of society, where the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are becoming increasingly important issues.”

Driven is the culmination of a 5-month sojourn with the truck drivers and was supported by the Naz Foundation International.

Today is World AIDS Day. I felt it only timely and appropriate that Jason's work finally gets published here on Tiffinbox. You can send Jason your comments and feedback directly by emailing him at nomad_is [at] hotmail [dot] com.

Mallika Dutta, Executive Director of Breakthrough.tv, emailed me a link about their campaign. Mallika, as a part of a panel this evening at the Rubin Museum of Art, will discuss AIDS in India, with particular focus given to the Himalayan region. The panel discussion begins at 7 pm and goes through 9 pm. There is a $10 fee.

Via Mahesh Bhat

Reza, the Paris-based, Iranian photojournalist writes:

Dear Qasim [sic]

Your action brings in my mind a Persian saying :

“All the darkness of the world together can not extinguish the light of a small candle”

Yes the world and it's decision makers has forgotten many devasted nations, but all is needed in this era of communication and media is one person like you, “one small candle,” that will break all the darkness.

Great work , continue.
All my thoughts with you and Keshmiri people .

Warmest regards,
Reza

Reza is talking about Asim Rafiqui's dark and gripping images from those areas of Pakistan affected by the earthquake.

In Asim's own hand:

Dear friends,

The tragedy in Pakistan's northern areas and Kashmir continues to unfold though less in the media's eye today than perhaps a couple of weeks ago. Regardless, the situation remains dire and a major donor conference is about to begin to address the threat of the coming himalayan winter. I am continuing my work here in Pakistan and some of my initial images of the situation are now online here.

(Select top picture to see the full set – images are being uploaded every few days)

This is still a work in progress and I will be in the Kashmir region for another couple of weeks at least. Please feel free to share the work with your friends as a way to keep this issue on their minds and in their hearts.

Nothing I write, nothing I photograph can capture what I have seen here. I am currently working in Balakot. The only way to describe that city is to image what an urban center would look like if a giant road rolling machine drove over it. 7 seconds that have devasteted over 3 million people, killed nearly 20,000 school age children alone, and thousands of bodies are still lying under rubble.

More soon,
Asim