14 Eylül 2012 Cuma

LINCOLN WASHINGTON: FREE MAN! | ANALYSIS AND REVIEW

To contact us Click HERE


There's a very good, lengthy analysis and review from Alec Berry and Shawn Starr of my most recent comic book LINCOLN WASHINGTON: FREE MAN! as well as my other comic book work over at the blog alec reads comics, originally posted to Spandexless.com. Check out the full post here. They get into some interesting discussions about Spiegelman Intellectualism in comics as a result from Kurtzman and EC.

Here's a little of what Alec writes at the beginning of the piece:

I would place myself in that camp of the faithful. Like most of the industry, I too was unaware of Marra’s comics up until this year, but now after having spent time with them, I find his attitude and passion for creating engrossing, and I feel his comics represent a long forgotten aspect of the medium. Representing, of course, for the betterment of comics.Marra’s books, while lewd, grotesque and absurd, are keeping this funny book thing on the ground, balancing out the high reaching works of Craig Thompson, or whatever other clone there may be, celebrating some of the roots associated with comics while simply presenting an artist who doesn’t really give a fuck what you think. Marra’s making the shit he wants to see, and from this I feel it’s appropriate we discuss Marra’s work after our previous discussion which pertained to Rob Liefeld. Because Marra, like Liefeld, celebrates the trash entertainment value found in comics, but does so with an energy and charm that cannot be overridden. Yet, as an added bonus, Marra’s comics juxtapose the trash subject matter by presenting astounding craft and draftsmanship, making his books into these bombastic scraps slammed together with staples.

REVIEW | MANDORLA BLOG

To contact us Click HERE

Santiago Garcia over at his blog Mandorla gives a good survey review of my books from a European perspective of the current American underground comic book movement. Check it out here.

Here's a particularly choice passage (using Google Translator from Spanish) comparing my work to Gilbert Hernandez, whom I consider a hero and who I'm going to try to emulate as far as book production goes (I want to put out a graphic novel a year the same way Béto does it) and Frank Miller and Fletcher Hanks:

But of course, if Marra was interesting conceptual grounds alone, it would not be as great as is. His comics are full of originality and ideas, and are devilishly entertaining read. As entertaining to read as it should be any comic, but especially commercial comics. Its formula of exploitation with breeching is what Gilbert Hernandez brings more than a decade vacuuming without even remotely close to the success that gets Marra in this handful of comics. Reading Night Business one can even reecontrarse with Frank Miller as an icon of the eighties, as a child of the age of the heaters, and realize that while we wanted to ignore it for thirty years, the soundtrack of Daredevil and Elektra was a muscular sax touched by a bodybuilder blurred by smoke in the distance. Yes, exactly what Lost Boys. And the feat of being so vicious and yet maintain a comic naivete of Fletcher Hanks, is that how it is achieved? With a singular talent only.

Thumb Rests For The Fuji X Pro-1

To contact us Click HERE



Back in April 2011, I was getting used to the ergonomics of my then-new Leica M9 and found that it needed an add-on in the form of the extremely well made Thumbs Up EP-1, produced by matchTechnical (see above photo). It has remained on my M9 since then, as I found it to be invaluable while shooting with it...adding stability and improved handling.

With the advent of the Fujifilm X Pro-1, I was expecting a similar add-on from matchTechnical, and true enough, it has recently produced the Thumbs Up EP-75 specifically made for it. 


The quality seems to be as high as the remaining models by matchTechnical, and is claimed to provide the most efficient shape for holding your Fuji camera more securely and more comfortably...reducing any camera shake. It also claims that it would not inadvertently disturb the position of the program control buttons on the X-Pro 1.

Without seeing it, I'm certain about the quality of the Thumb Up EP-75 ($118 inclusive of shipping), but hope it doesn't interfere with the X Pro-1's Command Dial.
Since well-thought and successful products are frequently imitated, I should also mention the Lensmate Fujifilm X-Pro1 Thumbrest is also available. It's described as being milled from a block of 6061 T6 alloy, and has the fit and finish equal to the camera itself. It sells for $75.

The Lensmate Thumbrest


I have no relationship with either matchTechnical Services or with Lensmate (and/or any of its retail outlets) other than having bought a Thumbs Up EP-1 from the former.

Cedric Arnold: Sacred Ink

To contact us Click HERE



Photo © Cedric Arnold-All Rights Reserved

Having just spent some 10 days in Chiang Mai, I'm glad to have found Sacred Ink, the impressive work of photographer Cedric Arnold featuring the tattooing culture in Thailand.

The sacred tattoos in Thailand are much more than just an art form, and with a culture deeply rooted in superstition and spirituality, such tattoos are believed to have magical and healing powers. Thai men and also women have their sacred tattoos done at Buddhist temples, for protection against evil spirits, and as good luck charms.

Cedric Arnold's website tells us that these sacred tattoos can be scripts based on ancient Khmer, and the original Buddhist Pali, along with figures and mythical creatures. Using large-format and Polaroid cameras, formal black-and-white portraits were made of boxers, monks, construction workers, policemen, soldiers, taxi drivers, shipyards workers, a shaman, and tattoo masters.

A few years ago, I photographed at Wat Bang Phra, a Buddhist temple about half an hour's drive from Bangkok. It is here that every March 30 thousands of Thais and foreigners gather to watch or participate in the 'Sak Yant' festival. Sak means "tap tattoo" while Yant translates into "sacred design". 

After being granted permission by a head monk, I photographed during a non-festival day, a couple of Buddhist monks were already busy tattooing Thais. The 'sak yant' is done with a 'mai sak'- a long bamboo stick sharpened to a point. The ink is said to be made from various ingredients including snake venom, herbs and cigarette ash. I was told these was no payment made nor expected, but that gifts of cigarettes and food were accepted by the tattooing monks.






The above short clip is also by Cedric Arnold and I believe must have been filmed during the annual Sak Yant festival at the Wat Bang Phra temple.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2013: Sarajevo!

To contact us Click HERE


















Eric Beecroft, the co-founder of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, has just announced the tentative dates for the 2013 workshop which is to be held in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The door for Pre-Registration is already open!

The tentative dates for the workshop are July 14-20, 2013. The initial list of instructors consists of Ron Haviv, Robert King, Andrea Bruce, Maggie Steber, James Whitlow Delano, Alison Morley, Tewfic El Sawy, Paula Bronstein, Kael Alford, Thorne Anderson, Adriana Zehbrauskas and more to come.
The cost:
Local Tuition: $475. Any photographer from the Balkans/Former Ottoman Empire (Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Moldavia, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus 
BONUS: Anyone coming from South or Southeast Asia, since 2012 workshop was in Thailand, gets one year of locked-in tuition at: $475 for this year's workshop. 
Standard tuition: $975.
What are you waiting for?

In Hanoi....!!

To contact us Click HERE



 After a long flight on Malaysian Airlines (excellent service, brand new aircraft, etc), and connecting from Kuala Lumpur, I landed in Hanoi and whisked to the workshop's hotel Golden Silk Boutique Hotel in the midst of Old Hanoi.

Grabbing my street photography favorite, my scarf and my cell phone I chanced the notorious streets of the quarter. I have to say that despite my having not slept for quite a while, the photo opportunities in these streets are just staggering.

Having risked my life in the streets of Cairo, Delhi, and New York City...amongst many other large cities, I found that crossing the Hanoi streets and dodging the scooters not such a big deal (so far).

Most of the group participants are arriving in waves today, and the workshop officially starts tomorrow.

  

In Hanoi...Second Day

To contact us Click HERE

Instagram Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy


By mid morning, three of the 8 workshop participants are already in Hanoi, and have already started to familiarize themselves with the Old Quarter. Three more will arrive this evening, and the last two arrive early tomorrow morning.

Hai Thanh and I along with Graham Ware has a wonderful lunch at Highway 4, which I understand is one of the best restaurants in Hanoi as described by the Lonely Planet. And since we were alerted to the weekly night market by the Golden Silk Boutique Hotel, we spent most of the evening taking the sights there, photographing...and ultimately having dinner in an open air restaurant, joined subsequently by Hai and Maika Elan, who'll be assisting me on this workshop.


We ordered a hot pot that came with prawns, tofu, beef, pork liver, clams and other stuff including mushrooms. It was way more than we could eat, but we pretty much polished the wonderful broth off.

After all, we had photographed the length and breadth of the night market all along the Hang Duong and Hang Dao walking streets, and that had honed our appetite.

Photo© Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved