But, despite this, we are striking a rich seem of cultural images.

My hopes that we would uncover a rich tapestry of life, culture and opportunity seems to have been borne out. We have had to work really hard to educate our guide and driver what we mean by “cultural photography”, but as each day progresses he takes us to better and better locations.

For someone whose life is lived showing people the ancient culture of the pharaohs, he looked at us slightly quizzically at first when we said “Yes, that temple is really great, but we want to see culture that does not include temples or tombs”.

“Why”, you could see him thinking, “did you decide to come to Luxor and Aswan then?” Why , indeed!

Well I think our images begin to hint at why. Matt Brandon has just posted some wonderful images that he took yesterday in the camel market and a Nubian village, and given that we are only spending an hour or so in each location, and not really “working” the opportunity, it highlights just how exciting and rich that opportunity could be.

The contrast between the dark skinned Nubians in their colorfully painted villages and whose women are happy to be photographed and the lighter skinned Luxor West bank Egyptians in their traditional mud brick houses is interesting in itself. There is a common thread though that emerges: The welcome, the hospitality and the offer to sit and drink “shay” – the leaf tea laden with sugar that is an excuse to stop and rest but also provides much needed energy to combat the sapping nature of the sun. It was 50C at 6pm last night! But beyond this the different mosques, culture, villages and variety provide plenty of opportunity.

Quite why we chose to recce a September/October workshop (cool breezes, a balmy 35 C during the day and a comfortable 25C in the evening) in the heat of June is something I am still scratching my head about. Well of course I know the answer. A combination of my availability and the opportunity to garner advice and insight from Matt Brandon whilst he is here on vacation, but I think we are both realizing just what a challenge the heat is and what we must avoid to make it comfortable for workshop participants.

Anyway, the workshop is really taking shape. We have adjusted some of our thoughts and ideas since my last post to accommodate a better use of the right time to shoot photos and enough time to relax, reflect and discuss.

We have viewed a number of different boats and Dahabiyas – the large sailing boats of the old nobility that look like Feluccas on steroids – that ranged from cheap health hazards with no soul or personality but masses of space, to undisputed luxury.

The actual Dahabiya

Inevitably with such exclusivity and luxury comes a more intimate experience and fewer cabins, but I think from some of the pictures below you will agree with us that this is worth it. I was blown away by the facilities and luxury on one Dahabiya, and this has helped us shape the workshop into a more exclusive and defined proposition.

So our current thinking is to take a luxury Dahabiya with up to 10 participants. The single supplement is very expensive (although available) because space is at a premium, but one other option is a “partner program” that will allow your partner to share in much of what you do on the cultural side and enjoy a luxury cruise down the Nile with you – though the places may well be limited for this, given that priority must be given to photographers.

The lessons we learned about the heat and the light, suggest a program geared around early mornings and late afternoons, with time in between spent cruising down the Nile in luxury, undertaking critiques, mentoring sessions, processing your images. Each lunchtime is taken on deck by the BBQ as we sail to our next destination. For the partners they get to see all the temples and tombs with us in the morning and in the afternoon can sunbathe on deck or be pampered on board, as we sail gently down the Nile to the evening location and shoot.

A luxury bedroom onboard

The afternoon/evening sessions will focus on cultural photography in villages, markets, mosques and some other locations, before returning for cocktails and dinner on board.

It is different, compelling and given the level of luxury, the number of guided visits and the uniqueness of what we are offering, tremendous value. And if you decide to bring your partner along you can fell less guilty about the luxury and the sites!

We are also investigating a Cairo pre-extension. Arrival for example a few days before the main tour to spend a day immersed in the souks and bazaars of Old Cairo, a day out at the Wadi, Oasis and ancient pottery villages at Fayoum, a morning at the fascinating Camel market and probably a dawn visit to the Pyramids to watch the sun rise and the camel trains pass in front of these majestic structures before joining up with the main group on the Saturday.

Details will appear within the next week or so, so keep an eye out, and we are expecting that places will go very quickly!

Focus for Humanity (FFH) is a US based non profit foundation that supports amateur and professional photographers throughout the world to focus their work on telling cultural and humanitarian stories.

Through a series of grants and awards it helps these photographers to perfect their craft by funding not only fully expensed photographic assignments to work with underfunded NGOs, but also grants to help people become full-time photographers or to improve their craft by subsidizing attendance on photographic workshops and providing mentoring schemes with leading humanitarian and travel photographers.

The first of those grants – the Annual Foundation Scholarship – is designed to support a keen photographer or semi-pro wishing to make a life and living in photography. The scholarship includes grants of up to $5,000 for equipment and up to $10,000 for projects, travel and subsistence expenses over the year of tenure, making a total grant of up to $15,000. Applications open on 1st July 2010, but you cam use the intervening period to register, prepare and upload your images and prepare your proposal.

Our Advisory Council – who will also judge the applications – reads like a who’s who of the best in Humanitarian, Cultural and World photography, and we will be announcing some exciting new additions to this illustrious group in the near future. But to David duChemin, Gavin Gough, Matt Brandon, Karl Grobl, Jeffrey Chapman, Edoardo Agresti and Mario Mattei – thank you for your support, advice and faith in our vision.

We are running the whole foundation as a virtual organization, exploiting the best and latest of social media, technology and ideas to allow us to function whilst living 8 time zones apart. What this does give us is geographical reach, if nothing else!

We could not have launched without some amazing support and good fortune – and it would be invidious to name some and not others. You know who you are , so thank you. Our developer walked out on us after a month, so I have put the website together myself. If you think it is brilliant let me know. If not, stay silent! It was a challenging journey and I am grateful to several of you for your help.

OK, so now I want all of you reading this to lend us your support. It is a very simple 3 stage request.

Step 1 – Blog, tweet, Facebook about the launch, the amazing grants on offer, the power and depth of the Advisory Council etc.

Step 2. Encourage your friend to follow us, sign-up on facebook and to register one the website

Step 3 –Pledge . Just $10: the equivalent of two large and over-priced lattes; or $25: the cost of a night at the movies or $60: the price of a tank of gas – unless you live in the UK where this is about the price of a pint of milk! – or some other amount.

We are am aiming to raise $60,000 in the remainder of this year, so that is only a couple of thousand of you forgoing a night at the movies, knowing that in so doing you will be helping humanity.

Please browse the site, spread the word, pledge to your hearts content. And don’t hesitate to get in touch via twitter, facebook or the Focus For Humanity Website if you want to be more involved.

With Digital cameras and flights getting ever cheaper, the increase in photo tourism is inevitable. Gavin refers to his post as a diatribe. I think that is a little harsh, but diatribe or not it needs saying, and when it comes from the likes of Gavin and Jeffrey Chapman it has far more resonance. Go read the post. it is a passionate piece and a great read.

I have noticed here in Egypt that if you behave like a tourist you get treated like a tourist. Every approach is reciprocated with a hand asking for cash. It is a sort of “if you want to exploit me then I am only to happy to exploit you” sort of exchange.

But if you stop, get engaged and act as a human being and show a real interest, compassion and respect it becomes a different world. It starts with a smile, the offer of a cup of tea and before you know it you have passed an hour or two, hand gesturing your way through a conversation. And the reward…sometimes its a photo, but even if not it is a deeper understanding of their world through their eyes.

The photo above of the young girl came as a result of 2 hours of conversation, lunch with the family and, when they were used to me, THEY asked me to take photos of them. This was one from a whole series taken during a second visit with some friends.

I always carry a small portable printer. It is amazing the reaction to a quick print on a Pogo printer (available in the store under printers here) – you are often in danger of being adopted and chided if you miss a weekly visit thereafter! Where possible I always go back and take them some printed photos, or some tea or something they can’t get.

And of course by stopping, observing and listening you listen with your eyes and your ears….and that’s when the magic happens (or in my case where my technique results in a lost iconic image!),

Its early days for me in my photography journey, but I have learned so much from reading the blogs of people like Gavin. My experience of Egypt – the real Egypt – is ten times what I thought it would be. And all because, through photography, I am getting out there and experiencing local life….and occasionally as a bonus getting the chance to shoot some pictures.

In some ways this new book is a departure for David, although the quality of the writing and the stylish layout remain. The book’s feel is radically different. Gone are the full colour dramatic images, the use of colour backgrounds and text. In their place is a quiet monochromatic look. It is a style that is perfectly suited to the subject matter, which explore the inner mind and the inspiration behind taking great photographs.

David has an incredible knack to make the reader feel a part of the wider family of photgraphers. Whatever their experience level, whatever their individual passions, whatever their frustrations, each reader suddenly understands that it is okay to feel frustrated, that others feel the same way and that whether Magnum award winning reporter or novice, they have all faced the same doubts and constantly seeks the same inspiration for creativity. As such David addresses the “elephant in the room” – the ability to look within oursleves for inspiration and that having doubts, uncertainty or making mistakes is all part of the creative process. For many photographers who think that the answer lies in better gear or more experience, this will help. The answer for some MAY lie in better gear or more experience, but this eBook gets to the heart of the matter: The idea that you have to work at your creativity, seek new sources of inspiration, incubate ideas, make mistakes. Creativity is both art and science, but one thing is for sure – it doesn’t just happen.

Its an easy yet provocative read, and at every stage the ideas are backed up with metpahor, exmaples. quotes and some of David’s compelling images.

In David’s own words:

It’s time we talked about it openly. It’s time we took a look at issues we all wrestle with – from understanding creativity and inspiration, to hearing – finally – that other photographers struggle to find and express their vision, and in that commonality find a little relief. Because if it’s normal to feel this way and to find it hard to uncover our inspiration or feel good about our efforts to express it, then we can stop wondering what’s wrong with ourselves and get on with the task at hand – the difficult, painful, beautiful, eye-opening process of seeing and photographing the world from our perspective.

And currently it is even discounted from its ridiculously low pice of $5 to $4. Just use coupon: INSPIRED20 and purchase it here

Phot by Kelsey Foster

Eric Ryan Anderson is a truly interesting man…..and not just because we share a name!

He is a commercial photographer base in Brookyln, NY whose work has been published in Italian Vanity Fair, Vogue Hommes, Computer Arts, Sherman’s Travel, Pollstar, ENVY, D Magazine, Dallas Observer and National Geographic Traveler. All well and good you say, but for me this is not what makes him interesting.

What makes him interesting is is humility, his passion and his soul. Now I don’t “know” Eric in the off-line, traditional sense. We have never met. But I know his work and I have been reading his journal for a while, Ivegotfriends.com. When you look at his work and read his journal, it is clear that Eric is someone with a vision, a focus and a great sense of humor. Clearly he is a hugely talented photographer –  I love the fact he also uses Polaroids – but when you look at his images and how his style is evolving, this is clearly a man exploring his creative vision, not afraid to take risks, but whose work has a sense of place and of purpose.

I was reminded of him when he did the guest blog spot on Scott Kelby’s blog, yesterday. I wont steal Scott’s thunder – you can see the great post by Eric here – but it was so typical of Eric. Thoughtful, insightful, passionate and thought provoking.

Here is a young guy who  has the balls to follow his dream, giving up a fancy finance career, who studies the great photographers, apprentices himself, works on his brand and then through a mix of talent, hard work, creativity and commercialism makes a success. What DuChemin would call a Visionmonger! I’ve a lot to learn from someone like Eric. His wisdom  seems to come from a sense of inner calm – he knows who and what he is, and he is focused on being the best at what he does. Both inspirational and humbling.

A couple of the “random thoughts” he shared as guest blogger I really loved so I have repeated them below. But go check out his journal, his portfolio and follow him on twitter, @anderson_eric

01. Get out of town. Leave your bubble for a few days. Go meet some people who don’t use email, whose hands are dirty at the end of the day and who wouldn’t know what a ‘re-tweet’ was if their life depended on it. Observe the beauty of simplicity.

04. To the younger crew :: Respect and remember those who came before you. Though we work in a rapidly evolving industry, certain principles will always remain relevant. Observe, listen, and learn from the folks who have shaped commercial photography for years and years. They’re still around for a reason.

05. To the experienced crew :: Remember that everyone was a beginner at some time. Instead of being threatened by the onslaught of young, digital photographers on the scene, engage and embrace them. Teach them that dodging & burning isn’t just a Photoshop tool. Encourage them to experiment and grow and push the industry further. We can all benefit from your openness & teaching. We’re all in this together.

07. To the hobbyist :: Keep shooting. Keep experimenting. Keep pushing those of us who shoot for a living. The minute we aren’t a little bit nervous about you guys showing us up is the minute that our quality and creativity begin to decline.

10. And lastly, some wise words from the Avett Brothers :: Decide what to be, and go be it.