 About My Photo Expeditions
I am a freelance photographer who specializes in documenting endangered cultures
and traditional life ways of Asia, Latin America and Africa. My images, articles and photo features have been published in various magazines including Outdoor Photography,
and Digital Photographer. My travel photographs have been featured by some of the largest adventure travel companies in the United States and Great Britain, as well as in multinational corporations' art collections. I am passionate about documentary-travel photography and I produce multimedia stories, merging still photography and ambient sound (generally recorded live while I am photographing), and musical soundtracks. I've taught street photography and multimedia storytelling at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico. I was also one of the jurors in the photo documentary project Diversity of Devotion: Celebrating New York's Spiritual Harmony.
My particular interest in photographing cultural ceremonies and tribal rituals has
resulted in documentary coverage of the Maha Kumbh Mela & Pushkar Camel
Fair of India; the 2,000-year-old performance-ritual of Theyyam in Kerala; Timket (Epiphany) festival in Ethiopia; the Hindu festivals in Bali,
the ritualistic dances of the Advisasis of Chhattisgarh, the Tantric-based dances of Bhutan, the incredibly photogenic Theyyam trance dances,
and the violent exorcisms practiced in various Sufi shrines of India.
I also lead photo expeditions to well-trodden destinations, such as to the Pushkar fair or
to Angkor Wat for example. However, the difference is that I use imaginative itineraries researched
with local agents and guides who have logistical experience in supporting either
television or cinematographic productions. An excellent example of such a destination/itinerary
is my tour to Cambodia to photograph at the temples of Angkor Wat, where we had the support
of a local company involved in the making of various TV documentaries and movies made in the
area. A further example is my expedition to Bali which was scheduled to coincide with the
island's Hindu festivals. I've organized a 15 day expedition to Bhutan in fall of 2008; the one to Kashmir in the north of India had to be canceled due to its uncertain political situation. For 2009, I've set three photo expeditions; the first in February was to the photograph the unusual Theyyam festival in the Malabar region of India, the second is in June to photograph the annual Gnawa festival in Essaouira in Morocco, and in September-October, another photo expedition to Bhutan for the Bumthang tsechus.
It follows from the above that if you expect high-quality hotel accommodations
all the time and you are particular about your food, you would enjoy another
type of tour. However, if you are truly enthusiastic about adventurous photography,
then you will find my expeditions interesting and rewarding. I do not lead a photo expedition
unless I am comfortable knowing that the participants are like-minded, will enjoy
each others' company and that group dynamics during the expedition will be ideal. As evidenced by my galleries, my style is a mix of travel photography and documentary photography. Someone called it "a photojournalist photographing travel."
My photography expeditions are usually by invitation (or by referral by a past participant) only.
The way it works is that when I decide on a destination, I will invite those
photographers and friends who joined my past tours. Two weeks or so later,
I will notify those who have emailed me expressing interest in my photo
expeditions as well as those who have been referred to me by friends.
Tewfic El-Sawy aka "The Travel Photographer"
london: +44 207.589.3994 | 0787 036 4379 | email
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