ZORIAH - A PHOTOJOURNALIST AND WAR PHOTOGRAPHER'S BLOG

Tied Up

2012-05-21T22:09:37+02:00

I was really hoping to keep on top of these posts during this trip but getting on line has been a nightmare. I have sailed for 75 hours this past week and the rest of the time has been spent making repairs and sleeping. I have also not had internet the past several days, which makes blogging quite difficult. I do promise to give more details about this trip once I am in Paris.

For now, here is a picture out my window as I am tied up to the banks of a canal, pecking away at this keyboard.

Amsterdam To Paris By Houseboat - My Barge Trip Through Europe - Part 1

2012-05-12T23:05:49+02:00

A year and a half ago, as ten years on the road began to wear on me more and more, I decided to work on making a home base in Europe. I ended up buying a 1930's Dutch houseboat barge, not realizing what I was getting myself into (turns out this might be a theme in my life!)

Since then, when I have not been shooting in the field I have been working on restoring this rusty beast. I have gotten a captain's license for large ships, learned a bit about electrical wiring, carpentry, metalwork, plumbing, navigation, heating, painting etc etc. I went from having no electricity, water, sewage and heat in a ship that sat for decades to having a home.

This week I have begun the move from Amsterdam to Paris. It might not seem like anything that difficult, but try it in a 60 foot long, 20 ton ship built for shipping coal and restored by someone who has no idea what he is doing. From my navigation system down to the engine and my piloting capabilities, there are a lot of things that could go wrong over the coming weeks (if you live anywhere in the Netherlands, Belgium or France I suggest you stay FAR away from any rivers and canals!)

Since this is what I am up to for the next two or three weeks, I have decided to share some of my experiences here. Now, I can't guarantee the quality of the photos, as I am finding it hard to shoot out the window while trying not to run aground. But if you all can handle some snapshots I will post some from my journey.

I will be trying to do all of this from a mobile device, so hopefully these posts will look decent and hopefully my service will hold out as I cross countries. This is all new to me, but I look forward to bringing you all along for the ride.

The Man In Front of The Shop

2012-05-05T21:08:51+02:00

After having some chaos with my schedule this past week I am now getting ready to embark on a new adventure which I hope to share here in detail. But for now, here is another shot from my recent trip to Istanbul.

A man sits in front of a shop in the Kumkapy neighborhood of Istanbul, as area frequented by refugess and the smugglers which sell passage into the EU.

Color Photography

2012-04-28T17:20:45+02:00

Color Photography:

The first three years I was working as a photojournalist I shot exclusively in color. As a matter of fact I had very little interest at all in black and white and it was not until years later that I was trying to prove a point and make a joke, that I started working with black and white in depth (it is funny story and I will tell it in detail at another time.) The point is that when I started working in black and white I really enjoyed it and also found a lot of meaning in it. It was when I first started photographing war and I fascinated that current black and white images looked so similar to the images captured in other conflicts throughout the years, such as World War II, Vietnam etc. To me, this showed how little has changed over the years and is a powerful and important point to make.

Over the past few years I have done less and less work in color and for the most part I am happy with the timeless and moody quality that black and white provides. However, shooting full time, year after year can get a bit boring so I am always experimenting and trying out new techniques.

Recently I have been experimenting with split toning images. The process involves adding separate color hues individually the shadow and highlight channels of an image. Normally this is done with black and white images but recently I have also been experimenting with its effects on color images. This process, when done subtly, does not actually change the colors in the image but it does alter the hues in the darkest and lightest portions of the image. The effects are surreal and moody, so of course I like them. Here are a few of my first experimental images shot recently in Istanbul:

Children playing ball in the back of a pickup truck on the streets of Istanbul.

View from the roof of the Four Seasons Hotel (and yes, I did sneak in...come on, you think I paid!! Ha!)

A man watches afternoon foot traffic on the street below his home.

An apartment building entrance.

My friend the dove who sits outside my hotel room window.

Run down aparment buildings built on top of each other.

Street cats having dinner outside of a butcher shop on one of Istanbul's many hilly streets.

A sign at the entrance of a car parking lot.

A young girl plays catch from her window with friends on the street.

Note: If you like one of these images they can, like all of the images on this blog, be dowloaded in a resolution high enough to be set as your desktop or screen saver. Enjoy!

Fishing Istanbul

2012-04-20T22:11:07+02:00

I'm finished in Istanbul and back in Amsterdam for a week before heading back to Mumbai and then on to Athens. I am tired of airports...I know this when I start debating joking with the security people. Dont do it Zoriah...bad idea...hold it together :)

A fisherman looks out to sea above the piles of nets taken off of ships after a long day of work.