Photo Essay: Tajen: Between Ritual and Gambling, by Agung Parameswara

IPA Photography, PROJECTS 10 Comments

Tajen: Between Ritual and Gambling Tajen is the Balinese word for traditional cock fighting on the island of Bali. Two cocks fight each other with sharp side knives called Taji tied to their legs. This is a most popular game for balinese men. In the beginning, Tajen was part of a religious ritual called Tabuh Rah in the Hindu society. Tabuh Rah prescribes the dripping of blood to the earth as a ritual against Bhuta Kala (evil). These days society has changed and Tajen is more a form of entertainment closely related to gambling than a religious activity. Photographer: Agung Parameswara …

APWS Spotlight: Kim Hak, On

Jessica Lim Invisible Interviews, Photography, PROJECTS 9 Comments

In this APWS Spotlight bi-weekly series, Jessica Lim presents work from previous participants of the Angkor Photo Workshops and finds out what they have been up to. ON Destroying old heritage buildings is like killing a group of old people. ON is a combination of 2 words, OLD + NEW. OLD refers to old buildings, from the French colonial era up to modern Khmer architecture from the 1950s to 1970s during the Vann Molyvann period. NEW is about new generation. ON works with urban people born after 1979 who are engaged in activities in different old buildings. Even though we are in …

Photo Essay: Exile and perseverance, by Javed Sultan

IPA Photography, PROJECTS 8 Comments

Exile and perseverance: The Tibetan Struggle for justice “Justice demands integrity. It’s to have a moral universe — not only know what is right or wrong but to put things in perspective, weigh things. Justice is different from violence and retribution; it requires complex accounting.” — Bell Hooks Nestled away from the chaos of the world, a perseverant population of Tibetan exiles have found  asylum in Bylakuppe, India. Since 1959, over 100,000 Tibetan political refugees have arrived here in search of safety. For many it has been over 50 years since they have seen their homeland. And while  the world is supposedly …

Photo Essay: Calcutta Contradictions, by Saptarshi Sanyal

IPA PROJECTS, Street Photography 9 Comments

Rollover images for slideshow controls Calcutta Contradictions Calcutta, the quintessential post-colonial Indian city, exposes the struggle to move ahead into the future and at the same time revel in splendour of an imperial past that palpably throbs in its present. The city’s name has recently been changed to Kolkata, as has happened with several of its streets and addresses. Notwithstanding these passing changes, Calcutta is an ultimate instance of an Indian city with the capacity to absorb and amalgamate parallel realities, juxtapose several paces of life in the same physical space and thus, present a canvas of contradictions. Speaking of age, …

While You Were Sleeping, by Darren Soh

IPA Photography, PROJECTS 10 Comments

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” – Duane Michals I started photography at a local newspaper where I was taught to embrace objectivity and to leave my feelings aside while photographing. Being older and wiser now, I have come to the realization that life is not always so straightforward. Much of the photography that I practice today no longer requires me to be “objective” in any way. And it was only recently that I began to admit that the possibilities of photography were far greater than I had allowed myself to imagine. In many …

APWS Spotlight: Rony Zakaria, Men, Mountains and The Sea

Jessica Lim Invisible Interviews, PROJECTS 12 Comments

In this APWS Spotlight bi-weekly series, Jessica Lim presents work from previous participants of the Angkor Photo Workshops and finds out what they have been up to. Men, Mountains and The Sea Divided by 17,000 island and located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is home for more than 150 active volcanoes and distinctly marked by a coastline spans over 80,000 km. This project documents an ongoing history of people and communities whose life affected by two major entities for Indonesians, the mountains and the sea. Rony Zakaria Rony Zakaria studied photography at Antara Gallery of Photojournalism and completed a …

Invisible Interview: Karan Vaid, 1st Place Winner of the IPA Street Photography Contest

IPA Invisible Interviews, PROJECTS, Street Photography 11 Comments

Rollover images for slideshow controls Karan Vaid, a photographer from India, won 1st place in the inaugural IPA Street Photography Contest. The contest received over 3,000 entries from all corners of Asia. In this invisible interview, we catch up with Karan, talk to him about his win, and find out more about his photography craft and journey. Invisible Ph t grapher Asia: Firstly, congratulations – how do you feel about winning 1ST Prize at the Inaugural IPA Street Photography Contest? Karan Vaid: Thank you, I am very happy to be a finalist and in the company of such talented photographers. …