Myanmar in International Herald Tribune and WSJ

Just got back from Myanmar recently, a photo I took in the beach town of Chaung Tha appeared in the International Herald Tribune today. These wild thatched bamboo hats are all the rage on the beach! Same photo also appeared online on Wall Street Journal

Prison Rehab for Discovery Channel Magazine

New spread I wrote and shot for Discovery Channel Magazine on prison rehabilitation among female inmates at Thailand's Ko Samui Prison. Case studies conducted by the Department of Corrections in Thailand have shown that prisoners with access to rehabilitation programs are less likely to offend again once they're released. Commander Arkom Mhuamyam came to Samui Prison on Ko Samui just over 2 years ago and has since implemented several rehabilitation programs for the prisoners. The programs which include, yoga, massage, cooking, painting, hotel decoration, among others, are designed to give female prisoners skills that will help get them work on the island once they're released.  
The Commander has also created a mother-child unit where pregnant women and mother’s with infants can be somewhere where they’re not at risk of infections. Challenging traditional views on incarceration, rehabilitation projects were first introduced by the Department of Corrections in Thailand 10 years ago with support from Princess Bajrakitiyabha and the royal family. The first rehabilitation project trained male prisoners in Bangkok as golf caddies and the initiative has since branched out in many directions at several prisons across Thailand.  
I wasn't allowed to show faces of the prisoners so had to get creative with lighting and shutter speed. A few other images from the shoot I liked are below. 

Wall Street Journal's Year in Photos

A photo of men stretching in Mumbai was featured in the Wall Street Journal's Year in Photos: http://graphics.wsj.com/Photos-of-the-Year/2012/#o=0&q=&x=&y=&p=312

Dharavi

These are a few shots I liked from a shoot I did in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai for Bloomberg. Dharavi is touted as the largest slum in the world (although I've also read there's one in Pakistan that holds that title) and the setting for most of the slum scenes from the film Slumdog Millionaire. It's a fascinating, congested labyrinth of humanity and industry home to a lot of Mumbai's informal recycling sector and clothing workshops. Reality Tours offers great slum tours with a portion of the money going to social outreach: http://realitytoursandtravel.com/

Camel Fair in Wall Street Journal

Some new work from Pushkar's camel fair featured in today's Wall Street Journal along with an online gallery here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324469304578142063074629832.html#slide/1

Each year at the time of the Kartik Purnima full moon, Rabari and up to 20,000 camels descend on the sand dunes surrounding Pushkar to take part in the world’s largest camel fair. The Rabari, a tribal group found in India's Rajasthan State, historically were guardians of the camel. An emblem of Rajasthan, the camel symbolizes love in folklore, and ownership once signaled status and wealth. The camel was used in warfare by the Maharajahs and played an important role in desert communication, transportation and trade. The Rabari way of life is becoming increasingly difficult as they are losing access to grazing lands which they used for centuries on seasonal migrations. Over the past decade the one humped camel has has experienced a decline in its population, estimated to be about 50%. Options for increasing economic returns are reduced partly due to discrimination against camel milk by the dairy cooperatives as well as an absence of an organized market for camel milk, wool and leather.

Putao in Travel + Leisure

A few pics from Putao, Myanmar featured in Dec issue of Travel + Leisure 

South China Morning Post Weekend Mag

Real nice spread/cover of some portraits from my Stealing Beauty series were published recently in South China Morning Post's weekend magazine.