Have a look at all this... Photographic brilliance in many forms.




So very inspiring...

So I finally cracked and started uploading stuff on Flickr too. Is it just me or is it hard to get used to Flikr after years of DA? Anyway, add me [link] I will be also be there from now onwards!

And finally, some old stuff from me... Back when I shoot B&W and go through rolls rolls of trix!!

This always seems to happen to me when I'm travelling... Not logged in for a 3-4 days, then in you go and there's 1746 messages waiting for you in your inbox. DD!

Thank you ^Gonzale for honoring this shot that I love and thank you all for the support, fav's, add's and comments!!

Means a lot to me.

I am in beautiful Georgia (not the US state but rather the Caucasus state neighboring Azerbaijan)at the moment, in the capital Tbilisi where I woke up at 545am and strolled the streets with my camera and the sweet morning light. My favorite single activity in the world!

I was in Palestine and Israel last week... Can not wait to show you all the photos from there.

In the meantime, I've updated West to East (It's become East to West) to include Laos and Kenya. Enjoy and thank you again!

Japan


China


Laos



Thailand


Nepal


India


Iran


Oman


Qatar


Yemen


Syria - Lebanon



Egypt


Kenya



Turkey


Czech Republic


France - Switzerland


United Kingdom



United States


Cuba

Something I've been meaning to do for a while...


A journey from West to East though my lens and 14 countries.


9 Years in the making.


For more, visit my website [link] where the journey spreads much further.


Cuba


United States


United Kingdom


France - Switzerland


Czech Republic


Turkey


Egypt


Syria - Lebanon



Yemen


Qatar


Oman


Iran


India


China


Nepal


Thailand


Japan

Hey people…

I’d like to start by thanking everyone for your recent support on the Bombay Dharavi series, I am truly grateful for all the comments you’ve taken the time to write.

Slumdog millionaire (which partly takes place in Dharavi) has since my first Dharavi upload 2 months ago come a long way. I am extremely happy that a movie which depicts this place that is so close to my heart is set to conquer cinema viewers around the world.

I am now done with Part I of my series from there. As my gallery advances in chronological order, I will upload photos from my second, more recent trip when the time for it comes.

Next up is… MORE INDIA! This time from the South of the country, from the breathtaking state of Kerala, probably my favorite part of India!

Then in order will come another Indian State: Rajasthan, followed by Dharavi Part II, Lebanon, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

Because I will start uploading from India again, just to make a clear cut in the gallery (and hopefully your minds) between two very different parts of the country, I will from today onwards upload some random black and white shots from here and there You could call it an intermission, the sorbet between two different types of meat or a short break.

Furthermore, I recently got a new habit which has been cleansing my soul (ok slight exaggeration but seriously relaxing) which I want to share with you. Every morning, before going to work, I go to a little grass field near my house opposite the sea, sit down and start rolling on the grass. It is SO much fun, in fact I hadn’t done it in so long that I had forgotten how much fun it was. I go to work every morning as a refreshed being. I highly recommend it if you have grass field nearby.

Hope everyone is well!!

Dharavi...

Where to start?

The biggest slum in Asia, the first glimpse of Dharavi you get is when landing to Mumbai International Airport, the slum stretching for kilometers across the horizon.

Sandwiched between the Bandra and Sion neighborhoods, it is one of those places that have to be seen to be believed.

Extreme poverty, contagious diseases, drugs, severe issues with public health due to the scarcity of toilet facilities (1 toilet per 1,440 residents), no regular water supply and lack of space are some of the problems that its inhabitants have to deal with on a daily basis.

Its location and poor drainage systems make it particularly vulnerable to floods during the monsoon season.

What is particularly interesting about the place is that it is a neighborhood, a city and a micro-economy. The slum generates between 500 and 700 million$'s of revenue per year thanks to its pottery, textile and recycling industries. There are 15000 single room factories.

The slum was long considered at the outskirts of Bombay and therefore of no interest to anyone. With the city now one of the biggest in the world, Dharavi finds itself in the middle of Mumbai's map, giving hard-on's to the city's real estate gurus who want to scrap it from the face of the earth to fulfill their urban development fantasies.

Yet when you walk along its dark and narrow alleys, you can't help not to be shocked at how normal (in South Asian terms) life is in the slum with men working, women hanging clothes and cooking, children running around as they do pretty much everywhere in the world.

I went to Mumbai twice. Once in February 2008 and one more time in September. I spent long hours in Dharavi on both occasions, walking and trying to make myself invisible.

The photos I will start uploading today are from the first trip. The second trip is on my website.

Emre