Global Voices Online » Photography

Egypt: Spotlight on Zabbaleen

Amira Al Hussaini — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:49:55 +0000

Regine, at we make money not art, introduces us to photographs by Bas Princen of Cairo's Mokattam Ridge or Garbage City (Zabbaleen) - where a community of mainly Coptic Christians live and make a living out of collecting, sorting and disposing of Cairo's waste.

Mexico: Viewing Mexican Streets with Google

Issa Villarreal — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:53:44 +0000

On November 9th, Mexicans welcomed the afternoon filled with images: Google Street View, the service that takes high-quality photographs at the street level for major cities of the world, was released for Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and other 5 Mexican cities. At the same time, some of those cities were updated with important informational layers, such as public transport routes, as well as locations for hospitals, movie theatres, and museums.

Early this year several users recognized Google’s car, equipped with camera that takes 360° horizontal and 290° vertical panoramic photos. Mexico is the first Latin American country to have its streets digitally mapped, which nowadays includes many cities of United States and Canada, as well as countries from Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Street View in Google Maps México

Mexicans showed mostly positive reactions to the service, although some expressed natural concerns for their privacy. User hekma expressed on Twitter [es]:

Mi jefe vio Google street View en Mexico y comenzo a tener panico… demasiado diria yo…

My boss saw Google street View on Mexico and started to panic… too much I would say…

Another common first reaction to the service is to look for someone's house or office. Twitter user Rafaesp [es] did this and found his mother in front of his house:

Orales, en la foto de mi casa de Google Street View Mexico, sale mi madre recibiendo una notificacion para mi del IEDF… .

Wow, the picture of my house in Google Street View Mexico shows my mother receiving a notification for me from the Electoral Institute of the Federal District… .

Twitter user avomx considers [es] that the images of Street View unintentionally make a social commentary:

Muy buena herramienta, pero como que se ven feitas las paredes grafiteadas y las calles llenas de baches ¬_¬

Very good tool, but streets seem ugly with the graffiti on walls and filled with potholes ¬_¬

User mexico_df also perceived a contrast [es] of the living conditions of the Mexicans:

Con google maps Mexico view street puedes ver algunos contrastes de nuestra ciudad casas de cartón y residencias inimaginables. Interesante

With google maps Mexico view street you can see some contrasts in our city cardboard dwellings (sic) and unthinkable residences. Interesting

Few days after its release, users were already developing useful projects with one of the most frequent uses of Google Street View: virtual tours. The blogger that is known as Juan Crouset provides historical details of the city of Monterrey in his posts [es], and has taken Street View to guide his readers [es] through old constructions. This makes an interesting contrast with his regular contributions that usually are supported with historical documents and photographs. A sample of his work:

Ver mapa más grande

Juan Alvarez con Guadalupe Victoria, colonia Industrial. Muy cerca de la central de autobuses. Casa de influencia americana, probablemente construida para trabajadores de alguna empresa cercana. Muchas construcciones que se cubrieron originalmente con techos de lámina, se encuentran en muy buenas condiciones gracias a la excelente capacidad de los techos de metal para evitar la filtración de humedad, ésto a pesar de encontrarse abandonadas algunas de ellas.

[Street] Juan Alvarez with Guadalupe Victoria, Industrial neighborhood. Very close to the bus station. A house with American influences, probably constructed for workers of some nearby business. Much of the constructions that were originally covered with aluminum ceilings are in very good conditions due to the properties of metal ceilings to avoid humidity filtering, albeit the abandonment of some of them.

Several newspapers have already made coverage of the service, including collections of images that show urban decay in Mexico City [es].

Morocco: A Tasty Little Tale

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:07:33 +0000

My Marrakesh shares this “tasty little tale” from Marrakech, in Morocco.

Georgia: Why?

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:50:52 +0000

Serqqizi's Photo-Weblog posts photographs of the anti-government Why? youth movement in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Japan: Secondhand books to loose yourself in

Scilla Alecci — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:23:39 +0000

Photographer Damoncoulter presents some pictures of the Secondhand Book Fair in Shimbashi (Tokyo).
In the heart of the Tokyo business district, the fair (held in middle November) was mostly attended by “salarymen” looking for rare pieces of literature to read on the way home.

Japanese concepts through images and videos

Tomomi Sasaki — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:13:57 +0000

Lee at Tokyo Times defines the Japanese notions of wabi-sabi through photographs while the Through Eyes From Afar blog posts some videos to explain the concept of tsundere and yandere.

Japan: Images of Minanamata Disease

Tomomi Sasaki — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:07:46 +0000

@Minori_okd points us to the photographic work MINAMATA by W. Eugene Smith and Ailejjen M. Smith that covers the Minamata Disease.

Japan: Obama's eagerly awaited visit

Scilla Alecci — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:28:09 +0000

Ingmar, at Demotix, uploaded some pictures he took on Friday, when President Obama arrived to Tokyo to meet the Emperor and PM Hatoyama. The photos show the arrival of Obama at Suntory Hall.

Liberia: Photography workshop in Monrovia

Ndesanjo Macha — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:40:53 +0000

Ruthie writes about photography workshop in Monrovia, Liberia, which trained Liberian journalists on editing, picture taking skills, and street photography.

China: Interview with Lu Guang, the photographer of “Pollution in China”

Oiwan Lam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:41:23 +0000

China Hush has translated local online media Netease's interview with Lu Guang, who won this year W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography with a set of photos featuring “Pollution in China”.

Trinidad & Tobago: Getting Closer

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Trinidadian artist Rodell Warner posts photos from a project called Closer, in which “passersby were asked to stand for a photo with a stranger, however close they were comfortable with, and to make eye contact.”

Bahrain: An American Soldier

Amira Al Hussaini — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:11:12 +0000

A picture speaks a thousand words. Mahmood Al Yousif, from Bahrain, is full of praise for the series of An American Solider, which follows in the footsteps of a soldier for 27 months from induction to training to combat and back home.

Maldives: Vanishing Lifestyles

Rezwan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:52:36 +0000

Photo Blogger Ahmed Zahid posts some pictures depicting the easy going lifestyles of the islands of Maldives which are under threat from the sea level rise.

India: Old Time Photos

Rezwan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:24:13 +0000

Piyal Kundu from Naihati, West Bengal, India posts some vintage Indian photos in his blog “Old Indian Photos” and some of them date back to the 1850s.

India: Deliveries Up To The Mountain

Rezwan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:17:36 +0000

Mridula at Travel Tales From India posts a photo showing how international refreshment brands are delivered to a tea shop at Ilaka glacier in Triund near Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh.