Ha Long Bay

15 November 2010: Ha Long Bay in North Vietnam. About 500 boats cruise in the bay, leading to an high concentration of boats around the most touristic areas (e.g. amazing cave). [Click on the picture to enlarge it].14 November 2010: Vietnamese vendors waiting for tourists to leave their embarkation. Tour operators tend to overprice the drinks on board their boats and local vendors use that opportunity to sell cheaper products to tourists while they embark/disembark. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].15 November 2010: Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and welcomes millions of tourists every year. Finding a quiet spot is not always an easy task but the view is breathtaking. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Trekking

12 November 2010: A Vietnamese woman prepares incense sticks near Sapa village, North Vietnam. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Cam on ba

10 November 2010: Street vendors in Hanoi, North Vietnam [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Vietnam mon amour

I'm having some rest days in South-East Asia. After 2 days in Bangkok, I'm now in Hanoi, North Vietnam. The main mean of transportation within the city are certainly motorbikes and crossing the street is a sport.At night, youths gather in the streets to eat and drink, seating on small plastic stools. I hope to have the opportunity to spend more time with them in the coming days.I really love low light photography. Before my arrival in Sudan, I use to spend a lot of time shooting in Melbourne streets at night. Unfortunately, with the security situation and restrictions in Darfur, I almost totally stopped taking pictures after sunset.07 November 2010: Old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

UN Day

24 October 2010: UNAMID Rwandese soldiers performing a traditional dance during UN Day celebrations in El-Fasher, North Darfur [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

And although I don't think my work can be compared with his, just a friendly thought for Joao Silva

Street children

20 October 2010: Young Internally Displaced Person (IDP) during a UNAMID patrol in Zamzam IDP camp, next to El-Fasher, North Darfur [Click on the picture to enlarge it]. I am frequently surrounded by children asking for pictures or simply for a smile. Unfortunately, after two years here, I can see an increase in the number of children asking for money. It is becoming an issue with children (or their parents) preferring to beg in the streets or to wash against payment International staff's car instead of going to school.

Henna 2: The Return

I received a few emails requesting for more pictures of the henna painter. And as I have been stuck all week with admin stuff... I don't have any new pictures to show. So:23 September 2010: Fatima Bahit (also know as Tata) is one of the most famous henna specialists in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. Self-taught and with more than 15 years experience, she frequently goes to Khartoum or even to Dubai to provide her services to women for weddings or Eid celebrations. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]Just a quick reminder. Wordpress compresses my pictures to create a thumbnail, leading sometimes to an impression of blurred picture. If you want to see the original version, just click on the picture.

Security Council

A lot of security, some  expressive protestors, a few hours under the sun and some nice talks. I spent two days with the UN Security Council during their visit to El-Fasher, North Darfur.07 October 2010: Darfurian protest against UN security council's visit to El-Fasher and the decision of the ICC to issue a arrest warrant against the Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]08 October 2010: US Ambassador to the UN, Ms. Susan Rice, meets with Darfurians in Abu-Shouk IDP camp, North Darfur. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]And a special thought to my dear Hungarian friend. I hope to see you safe and sound very very soon!

IDP

I am currently working on the next UNAMID calendar. I spent the last weeks taking pictures of IDPs (Internally Displaced Person) around Darfur. A lot of them have been here for so many years that they do not want to go back to their village. Why would they abandon a place that they consider as safe and where they usually can easily get water, food and access to health care? But if they stay here, how to make sure that they can be integrated in their new environment and how to prevent conflicts with the local population? Welcome to the humanitarian world ...28 September 2010: Zakeria, 3 years old, IDP since 2007, Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]28 September 2010: Ahamed, 87 years old, IDP since 2003, Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]

Henna and Music

23 September 2010: Fatima Bahit (also know as Tata) is one of the most famous henna specialists in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. Self-taught and with more than 15 years experience, she frequently goes to Khartoum or even to Dubai to provide her services to women for weddings or Eid celebrations. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]And by the way, being a big fan of music and traveling very frequently in airplanes, I just bought some Noise Canceling Headphones,  the Bose Quiet Comfort 15. It's not exactly inexpensive but I strongly recommend them. This technology really works, drastically reducing the ambient noise (AC, fan, airplane, etc...) and I now even use them at work when I particularly need to stay concentrated. Just one last advice, do not buy them in Europe but try to get them in the US, it's really cheaper there.

New York baby

I was in New York around 9/11 and went to the commemoration of the terrorist attacks in ground zero, Lower Manhattan. I was hoping to capture some emotions and to take a few shots of people protesting against Park 51 project (Ground Zero Mosque). I finally spent 7 hours taking pictures in the middle of different protesters, evangelist groups, mourning families and religious extremists. Not an easy assignment but definitely a lot of fun.11 September 2010: Ground zero, during the 9th commemoration of the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]More on my website

(Short) Opening ceremony

Because not all my pictures fit in a story or can be presented on my website, I thought a blog might be a good idea to share a few moments or thoughts. But can I really create something interesting, arousing curiosity and provoking reactions and discussions? Maybe not but it's worth trying. Enjoy... hopefully :-)28 September 2010: Fatima, 69 years old, internally displaced person (IDP) in Nyala, South Darfur, since 2005. [Click on the picture to enlarge it]