February 2011 Calendar Wallpaper
Curious mixes of ancient tradition and modernity co-mingle throughout Africa. In the town of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, a Fulani family zips by on a motorcycle. The driver’s wife carries a toddler strapped to her back with a simple piece of cloth in a centuries-old African fashion. Download the February 2011 calendar wallpaper. IRENE [...]
A Multimedia Presentation on Burkina Faso: When Darkness Falls / Spirit of Humanity
I was invited by the American Society of Media Photographers (Washington, DC chapter) on January 11, 2011 to give a presentation during their 8×10 Program. I’ve had a lot of requests by people outside the area or who weren’t able to make the program to post the presentation online. So here it is! I spent [...]
The Griot’s Work is Never Done
I am finally finished preparing my multimedia presentation for Tuesday evening’s American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) 8×10 Program. I am happy to say that I zipped up the file and sent it on over to ASMP, together with my bio yesterday. It’s a still photography slideshow from my November trip to Burkina Faso set [...]
Bridal Gifts that aren’t for the Bride
In the town of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, a Fulani wedding has taken place. Friends and family of the bride carry gifts and possessions – pots and pans, blankets, textiles, decorative flowers, and other items – from the bride’s home to her new home with her husband. Surprisingly, many of these gifts are not [...]
Girl in a Nomad’s Home AND January 11th Presentation to the ASMP
So I’m a little more than 1/3 of the way through processing the images from my November 2010 trip to Burkina Faso, West Africa. My goal is to pretty much finish processing – including captioning and keywording – by the end of the month, but this is a pretty ambitious target, so we’ll see how [...]
A Burkinabe Baptism
The image below is from a Fulani baptism that I was able to attend in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on the third day of our November 2010 trip. Muslim families celebrate the birth of a child on the 7th day after birth, and women throughout the city – friends and family – congregated [...]
January 2011 Calendar Wallpaper: An Intense Gaze
In West Africa, certain villages have markets that “assemble” at regular intervals, such as weekly or every three days. People from villages around the region come on market day to buy and sell food, livestock, and other goods and services. Last month, I visited the village of Bourro in northern Burkina Faso on its market [...]
Helping Out a Student at American University
A student at American University – Jaclyn – e-mailed me last week. She needed to interview a professional in the field of mass communication for an understanding media class. Because she’s interested in photography and wanted to learn about the career of a professional photographer, she googled photojournalist in Washington, DC and was drawn to my cultural, humanitarian, [...]
Doohaali of Jelgooji, Burkina Faso – Cultural Gem, Dying Art
“Doohaali” is a form of music/song that includes repeated background chants/vocalizations. Traditionally performed at night by children and young adults around campfires in the “bush,” with the relentless onset of modernity, it is sadly practiced less and less. Doohi has been little documented—the most substantive documentation that I have been able to find is a [...]
Peace Be With You from Djibo, Burkina Faso
Here is another photo from Tabaski. Yuma and Aissama (Tabaski’s meat thief), sit by the barbecue, their faces illuminated by the fire. It reminds me of Tracy Chapman’s song, “Heaven’s Here on Earth,” in her “New Beginnings” album. You can look to the stars in search of the answers Look for God and life on [...]
Tabaski’s Meat Thief
The religious holiday of Tabaski is one of the biggest across West Africa, where much of the population is Muslim. It takes place 70 days after the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. When I lived in Niger as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Tabaski was always my favorite holiday of the year, because of both [...]
Fatimata: Fulani Girl in Djibo, Burkina Faso
Sorry I’ve been absent from my blog!!! We spent the last three weeks in the sleepy town of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, where I quickly discovered the internet to be TORTUROUSLY slow. There, a 20 kbps download speed is super fast, and that’s…um…slower than dial up! Nevertheless, we’ve been having an AWESOME time, and [...]
December 2010 Calendar Wallpaper is Here! “Hidden from View,” Burkina Faso, West Africa
If you’ve been following my blog over the past months, you’ll know that I pre-wrote this calendar wallpaper post because I’m actually traveling as we speak in…Burkina Faso, West Africa! So I thought it would only be fitting to make a December calendar wallpaper in honor of my last trip to Burkina in 2007. This [...]
Tribal Dancing at the Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou
A few months ago, I told Chuck, a travel photographer friend of mine (Cecil Images), that I would be visiting Burkina Faso in November. Chuck asked me if I would have a chance to stop by SIAO, the Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou (SIAO). I had never heard of SIAO, so I looked it [...]
Women Photojournalists of Washington and FotoWeek DC Present: “Women by Women” Photography Exhibit & Silent Print Auction
Earlier this year, I joined the Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW), a group of kickass female figures in the Washington, DC journalist community. WPOW puts on an annual traveling exhibit called, “Women by Women,” and I am one of 19 photojournalists to have been juried into the 2010/2011 exhibit by jurors from the New York [...]
2010 DC Carribean Carnival Parade
Last Saturday was the 2010 DC Caribbean Carnival, which is held every year during the last weekend of June. It launches with a parade with dancers in traditional Carribean carnival costumes. My husband and I rushed into DC early Saturday morning, still 30 minutes late, only to find that this really IS a Caribbean Carnival! [...]
New Work at Gallery Serengeti – Fine Art from an African Pot
I delivered eight pieces of artwork to Gallery Serengeti in Capitol Heights, Maryland a few weekends ago. Gallery Serengeti specializes in “Fine Art from an African Pot” (love that tagline…) Swing by and check it out when you have a chance! They’re located at 7919 Central Avenue, Capital Heights, MD 20743.
Global Obligation
I was catching up on posts at one of my favorite photography blogs, 2-Consider for Humanitarian Photographers, by Heber Vega. The blog quotes a letter written by Roger Waters, an English rock musician, to a Chilean friend after the February 27, 2010 earthquake in chile. I quote two phrases from his letter here, because I want [...]
Photographer Review: Irene Abdou
A member of the Gaithersburg Camera Club – Rosemary Smith – approached me a few weeks ago. She is taking an Intro to Digital Photography course at Montgomery College, and her class was given an assignment to write a report on a famous photographer. She felt strongly about interviewing a photographer whose work she felt [...]
Mali: The Makings of a Pot
I recently returned from Mali, where my friend, Melanie, and I had the opportunity to visit the pottery village of Kalabougou, a 45-minute motorized canoe ride down the Niger River from Segou. Click here to see the complete photo story, Mali: The Makings of a Pot.
Epiphanies in Tunisia: A Travel Diary in Words and Images
Transitions Abroad has just published my photo story from my summer trip to Tunisia. This is the second story of mine that they’ve published. Tunisia. Before the five days I spent wandering this North African country, I envisioned Tunisia as a land of sun, sea, and sand. But after actually experiencing the hectic, bustling Medinas, ancient fortresses, [...]