Travel Photography In Phnom Penh Cambodia

People crowd around a food vendors outlet during lunchtime at the Russian Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved

While I know that stock photographs of markets are everywhere, I wanted to capture a moment inside one of Cambodia's top tourist attractions, Phnom Penh's Russian Market. Food is cooked inside the smoky market on wood burning stoves and the city is subject to an intermittent power supply.

Phnom Penh's residents encounter a busy way of life and the city is Cambodia's most populated. Further, it's home to many expatriated people who work in the giant non-profit industry.

If you have a destination you want to promote in SE Asia, email me and maybe we can work something out.

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage

Miserable Learning Environment At A Hmong School In Laos Now Seen On Youtube.com

In 1940, only seven thousand Laotian youth were attending primary school.

Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved

Click the link below to view the

Miserable Learning Environment At A Hmong School In Laos Now Seen On Youtube.com

Hmong people living in Laos trace their origin from southwestern China. In the early nineteenth century, political discrimination led some Hmong to migrate to mainland Southeast Asia and many took up residence in the mountainous areas of Laos.

For the duration of the sixty years French occupiers ruled Laos, not one new high school was built. In 1940, only seven thousand Laotian youth were attending primary school.

During the American War in French Indochina it's estimated that seventeen thousand Hmong troops and fifty thousand Hmong civilians died. Today the era's U.S. involvement in Laos is known as the "secret war".

The You Tube Slide Show depicts the circumstances in which Hmong children struggle to learn at a school in northern Laos.

IMPORTANT LINKS TO THE PLIGHT OF AMERICA'S FRIENDS HERE

http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/aidoc/ai.nsf/Index/ENGASA260042004http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA26/003/2007
http://www.tragicmountains.org/
Center for Public Policy Analysis

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage
Ban Buamlao Primary School Laos Photographs

Photography Guest Of The Week Alex Espinosa - Mexico

In just the first months of 2009 approximately seventy-five police officers have lost their lives fighting a drug war in Mexico.

Photo © Alex Espinosa All Rights Reserved

"In the middle of a drug cartel war, the inhabitants of the state of Chihuahua Mexico live in fear of violence that permeates the region. A record of more than 2,400 executions took place in 2008. In just the first months of this year, approximately seventy-five police officers have lost their lives in the fight."

These circumstances set the stage for Alex Espinosa's photo reportage entitled, Mexico: In The Middle Of A Drug War, now appearing on Gaia Photos, where a group of thirty-nine photojournalists from around the globe “introduce the World’s population to the World”.

Born in Mexico City, Alex Espinosa was raised, in the border state of Baja California. Alex studied psychology at the University of the State in Mexicali, and has developed photography projects in 16 Latin American countries.

The international organizations he's worked with include World Vision, Organization of the American States (OEA), Inter-American Institute of the Child (IIN), Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) and Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT).

Alex's work has appeared in several national and international publications including Expansion, Geo, Life & Style, Obras and Look.

His photography has been exhibited in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and the United States.

Alex Espinosa is based in Ensenada, Mexico and is available for assignments throughout Latin America.

Click here to see a more of Alex Espinosa's photography and please visit us at Gaia Photos, a place to explore and discover the issues facing the diverse population and locations of our world, both near and far. Please subscribe to our continually updated new features page to keep track of new stories too!

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage
GAIA Photography and Photojournalism

Asian Travel And Food Photography In Cambodia

Vendors sell various food items such as eggs, fruit and live insects throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Photos © John Brown All Rights Reserved

In the average U.S. household, 15 % of the budget is spent on food. That percentage changes to over 50% for many people in Cambodia. The local fare in Cambodia may be a bit different than you are used to back home, but give the local cuisine a chance.

Packaged food high in saturated fat such as cookies, potato chips and ice cream is available to travelers from the Western world but since 80% of Cambodians have no electricity, hence no refrigeration, their edible food needs to be fresh.

While fish provides Khmers with 75% of their daily dietary protein, they eat low on the food chain and consuming pigs, ducks, chickens, frogs, beef, eggs, fruit, vegetables and insects meet their dietary needs.

Although these photos are three humdrum examples of stock photography, they may help serve as a reminder of the words of Robert Zoellick, president of The World Bank, who said,

“While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs.”

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage