The image above was originally uploaded by gattina.

As I commented, the dominant foreground and a contributing background makes this a punchy image. It's not earth-shattering, but it most definitely makes it an interesting image to look at doesn't it? Right.

I'll often post images here that are interesting, curious and even spectacular. Would you also like to have your images showcased on this blog? If so, join my Flickr community group also called Tiffinbox. Thoughts, suggestions, opinions always welcome, so please leave your comments below.

This blog post is brought to you by Seshu's Pipal Productions.

After mulling it over for months, today I signed up for a Silver Membership with the Nikonians. If you use Nikon gear, this is like coming home.

“I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul.” – Mary Ellen Mark

The image above was originally uploaded by chi_chi.

Is it the vignetting? Is it the mysterious subject smack dab in the m iddle? What is it that she/he holding? Is it a bowl? Is it a hat? Is this place where sunny sky jostles with murky water some place friendly or is it a place to be avoided? So many questions, so little answers. But that's why this image really wins in my opinion.

I'll often post images here that are interesting, curious and even spectacular. Would you also like to have your images showcased on this blog? If so, join my Flickr community group also called Tiffinbox. Thoughts, suggestions, opinions always welcome, so please leave your comments below.

This blog post is brought to you by Seshu's Pipal Productions.

“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” – Alfred Eisenstaedt

Yeah, that caveman would be me. Awol, I have been. Left coast, I have been. Yoda, I am not. But check out the The New York Times online. It has been redesigned.

I love the “blog-like” feel to the page, though it is presumably still a newspaper that is online. The site's clean design is a welcome one. Makes for faster reading and definitely a site to visit on a daily basis.

WHAT IS THE NEW DOCUMENTARIAN AWARD?
This award does not refer to a new photographer doing documentary projects, (though a new photographer can certainly enter this contest). But rather, the New Documentarian Award refers to a new approach to showing, sharing, and promoting documentary photography.

WHAT DESIGNATES DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY?
Documentary photography can take one of several different approaches. There are socially-concerned documentary photographers who hope to help bring about change (like Lewis Hine who photographed child laborers in America at the turn of the century) and there are photographers like Berenice Abbott, who, in the 1930’s, used an 8×10 camera to document New York City’s buildings, with the intention of preserving a place and time.

If you can answer yes to one of the questions below, then your project qualifies for the New Documentarian Award.

1. Does your project educate people about something significant?
2. Do you hope to make a difference with your documentary project?
3. Does your documentary project preserve a time and place?

WHAT DESIGNATES A LONG TERM PROJECT?
A long-term project is several things:
1. It is a project that the photographer has become deeply connected to based on the amount of time spent on the project.
2. It is a project that is stylistically and thematically unified.
3. It is a project with a message or goal.

CRITERIA
The entrant cannot have a published book or one about to be published.

WHO SHOULD ENTER?
Any professional, amateur, or student photographer who has not had a book published.

FIRST PLACE PRIZE includes:
* Publication of project images in Rangefinder Magazine
* Online Featured Gallery at The Julia Dean Photo Workshops Website
* A three-day workshop of your choice at the Julia Dean Photo Workshops, including roundtrip airfare to Los Angeles and hotel accommodations for three nights in Venice Beach, California

SECOND PLACE PRIZE!
Epson Stylus Photo R2400 Printer

THIRD PLACE PRIZE!
Mountainsmith Parallax Camera Pack

HONORABLE MENTIONS!
Lifetime magazine subscriptions from Rangefinder Magazine

DEADLINE: July 17, 2006
(Entries must be received by 5 pm on July 17th. No drop offs.)

JUDGING: Mon., Aug. 21, 2006

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNER: Fri., Aug. 25, 2006

JUDGES
Bert Fox, National Geographic Magazine
Gail Fisher, Los Angeles Times
Rick Loomis, Los Angeles Times

Get the application form here.

For more information contact Julia Dean Photo Workshops here:

The Julia Dean Photo Workshops
3111 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 102
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
310-821-0909 phone
310-821-0809 fax

I have been very slow to post anything this whole week. Rohan, who turned 11-months old caught some sort of nasty virus and had a fever off-n-on-off-n-on. Sleep was at an all time premium. But I managed to make some changes to my Pipal Productions website. Take a look.

I promise to be back in full-form after a short trip to the left coast.

Teyaari.com is now Tiffinbox's newest sponsor.

“Teyaari.com is an information services firm focused on event planning and management. We provide customized reports and tailored services for event planners, organizations, and busy individuals. With information on over 5,000 businesses across 13 categories from all over the United States, we can provide helpful information for your next event.”

Planning your next event – wedding, conference, birthday party? Stop by Teyaari.com and tell them Tiffinbox sent you.

ITConversations hosts Suketu Mehta.