Ami Vitale | Photography » Multimedia

The Sub-Arctic Adventure Begins

Ami — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:30:07 +0000

I’m off for the Thelon, close the the Arctic circle with a group of indigenous children from the Dene’ tribe and will be incommunicado except for a blog we will have on The Nature Conservancy website called Cool Green Science—check it out. blog.nature.org

Naturally, I’m very excited for this epic adventure. For three weeks, we will be on canoes and venture into unchartered territory that the tribe believes is the place where God began his work. There will likely be bears, caribou and an un-Godly amount of mosquitoes as big as helicopters but worth it for the privilege of seeing this pristine environment.

Because we have to carry everything, I’m trying to stay light but somehow, it’s never light enough. This time I’m adding the Nikkor 200-400mm for any wildlife we might run into in addition to my usual Nikon setup: the 24-70mm, 70-200mm, a couple D7000 bodies and one D3s. I know I’ll be gritting my teeth as I lug this up in high altitudes but so worth it, right?

I’m also taking the Goalzero Sherpa to power everything and already experimented with it in Africa recently. Worked like a dream and super sturdy for the kind of traveling I do. Lastly, I have a small 10 inch notebook and 2 hard drives to back everything up. Gone are the days of film but I’m embracing all the advances in technology over the past 10 years. Its nothing short of a miracle. I’ll be creating short multimedia stories and making photographs along the way.

Now, I must finish packing. Just got home 2 days ago from a remarkable trip in the Brazilian Amazon… Will blog about that when I return and post new pix from the last few months.

Bangladesh: On the Frontlines of Climate Change

Ami — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:40:04 +0000

I was in Bangladesh trying to tell the story of how this country is on the frontlines of climate change. I have a feature length documentary coming out soon, but here is a short I did for Oxfam about how one village is being impacted by the changing weather.

http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/campaigns/climatechange/mamtaz-story-fight-for-climate-justice-bay-of-bengal

Right now Bangladesh is a catastrophe playing out in slow motion. It may appear far away, but our planet’s ecosystem is an intricate web. Whether it becomes a model for the future or one of the great human tragedies of our time depends on the choices we make now. Its destiny will be determined not necessarily by rising sea levels, but by the behavior of its citizens, neighbors and outside powers. Bangladesh could be disastrous scene or it just might be a model of how humanity copes with extreme environmental changes.

The village of South Tetulbaria in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, relies on fishing but climate change threatens this way of life. In November 2010 Mamtaz Begum, a young widow from Barguna, stood up and demanded justice for vulnerable communities near to the Bay of Bengal at a ‘Climate Tribunal’ in the capital, Dhaka.

The climate tribunals are developing the idea that those responsible for climate change, can and should be held accountable through the law. Specifically they explore the possibilities for using national laws to hold governments and other private actors accountable for the impacts of the changing climate on vulnerable communities.

Learn more about Oxfam’s Climate Change Campaignhttp://www.oxfam.org/climate

Over the Islands of Madagascar

Ami — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:03:59 +0000

These are just the first few minutes of the documentary on my work in Madagascar. It will be available in full length as an app in the Apple appstore in July 2011.

Over the Islands of Africa — Madagascar

The sounds of their names alone conjure up thoughts of pristine beaches, spices and the tales of a thousand and one nights. The five-part documentary series “Over the Islands of Africa” follows five internationally renowned photographers as they explore the islands around Africa — Zanzibar, Mauritius, Madagascar, São Tomé & Príncipe and Cape Verde.

The photographers stop at nothing in pursuit of spectacular perspectives for their aerial photographs, stories and portraits, making use of unusual means of transport, from a motorised parachute to a flying rubber boat that can land on land as well as water.

There are few women among the upper echelons of photographers. Ami Vitale is one of them. A frequent visitor to the world’s conflict zones, Ami looks for more than just beautiful motifs. She seeks out the story behind the picture. In Madagascar, she she wants to explore what it means to be Malagasy.

Ami begins her journey on the old pirate island of Nosy Bé in the northwest. Together with the French skipper Nicolas, she sails along the rugged coast to the realm of a king of the Sakalava culture. The daily lives of Malagasy are regulated by prohibitions and taboos that often remain invisible to strangers. Depending on which group one belongs to, it may be forbidden to touch a chameleon, talk about crocodiles or work on Thursdays.

Armed only with her camera and a few newly acquired phrases in the local language, she ventures into villages seldom visited by strangers. The women show Ami how to carry a bucket of water on her head, winnow grain and protect the beauty of one’s skin beneath the blazing African sun. At the Sakalava’s festival in honour of their ancestors, Ami meets the spirits of deceased villagers. She learns that chameleons are harbingers of misfortune and hears the blood-curdling nightly howls of the Lemurs. Ultimately she even gets a private audience with King Momad, one of the last kings of Madagascar.

In Diego, Ami meets the gem trader John. He leads her to sapphire mines, where fortune-hunters risk life and limb in search of the ultimate prize.

Pilot Yves takes Ami to the heart of the island, the Malagasy highlands, in his small propeller plane. The flight affords Ami the chance to take some breathtaking aerial photographs. In the capital of Antananarivo, the picture starts to take shape for Ami. She meets the musician Rajéry, who lets her in on one last secret — the sound of Madagascar, which goes straight to the heart.

Spirits, Kings, Lemurs — Madagascar treats Ami to a multitude of new impressions and spectacular pictures. Director Christian Schidlowski and his team accompanied her on her trip.

Documentary | 2011 | HD | 52 minutes
Directed by: Christian Schidlowski
Dramatization and editing direction: Verena Schönauer
Camera: Sascha Kellersohn
Music: Nils Kacirek
Production Manager: Carolin Neubauer
Line Producer: Markus Breimaier
Producer: Thomas Wartmann
Editor: Ulrike Becker, SWR

Guinea Bissau: Rediscovering the Soul of a Forgotten Land

Ami — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:42:34 +0000

I recently returned to the West African country of Guinea-Bissau on a generous grant from the Alexia foundation to revisit a village where I began my career as a photographer ten years ago. Young and very green, I had applied for a grant from them back in 2000, on a whim. To my delight and horror, I got it – even beating out some National Geographic photographers I heard, who had also applied that year. I had no idea what I was doing and was terrified. But the foundation felt there was something special about my proposal to document a small village in an unstable country torn apart by war. They took a risk on me back then and changed the course of my life.

Flash forward to 2011, and not much has changed in Guinea-Bissau. Bullet holes still pockmark the elegant facade of the presidential palace, its gutted interior still blackened by bombs from a civil war fought over a decade before. One aid organization working in the area has unearthed approximately 3,000 anti-personnel mines in the capital and is still digging up unexploded ordnance in the countryside. Corruption, a devastated economy and continuing instability continue to erode the urban center, while crumbling infrastructure and skirmishes with separatists in neighboring Senegal have caused thousands of civilians to flee border areas. Despite my experiences working in such places, returning felt just as terrifying as when I first arrived ten years ago.

Guinea-Bissau is a forgotten state. Few flights arrive here each week, aid agencies are scarce, and now the country is being called Africa’s only narco-state, a nation controlled and corrupted by drug cartels. As a recent U.N. report concluded, it has everything criminals need: “resources, a strategic location, weak governance and an endless source of foot soldiers who see few viable alternatives to a life of crime.” Many fear this will further destabilize the already volatile country.

Even getting a visa was a challenge. Every phone number I found for a consulate or embassy was disconnected, and flights to neighboring Senegal had been canceled for weeks due to conflict near the border. I finally came across a number in New York. The woman who answered was the UN representative, running the consulate out of her home for the last seven years because the country was too poor to pay rent for an office. After a few questions, she paused: “I know you,” she said, laughing, “You sat next to me on the plane to Bissau 10 years ago. I still have a photo of you with my daughter.” I was shocked. This was a powerful reminder that despite all the problems, it’s the people who make a place special, and it is personal connections that help me through obstacles.

Once I landed, my fears washed away. I once studied Pulaar, the local language, and now I was putting it to good use, remembering all its elaborate greetings. This was the single most important thing I could have done to prepare for my trip. It kept me safe. As I took public transport to the village, my fellow passengers stared at me with shock and delight. They were so thrilled that a foreign woman would know some of their language that I could tell right away no one would ever harass me. Instead, I was met with laughter, smiles and gracious offers to carry my belongings. The women in the village saw me first and began running to greet me. I cried, they cried, we laughed and settled in for the night. I spent 12 days there, listening to their stories and taking photos.

I learned on my first visit that every day is a struggle for Guineans, but I was mesmerized by the people who gave so much to open up my eyes to the beauty and sadness of their lives. Through it all, I was reminded of how similar we all are despite the distances between us.

On my last evening in 2001, I sat with a group of children beneath a sea of stars talking into the night about my return home. One of the children, Alio, innocently asked me if we had a moon in America. It seemed so symbolic and touching that he should feel like America was a separate world. I was able to meet Alio again this time around. Now he is a young man with a cell phone and a worldly vision. I asked him if he remembered our conversation about the moon. He laughed shyly and said, “Yes, I know now – we share the sun and moon – but here you are our guest, so we will share ours with you.” Once again I was reminded that no matter how desperate and impoverished a place may look, the truth is that nearly everyone on this planet shares the same values. I see a lot of people with common notions of kindness, peace, generosity and a sense of community, and the moon serves as a constant reminder that we are all tied together in an intricate web, whether we believe it or not.

Madagascar

Ami — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:46:04 +0000

I’m back from Madagascar where I spent a month before the holidays, discovering the island for a TV show called “Maritime Africa”. It will be a five-part documentary series about the islands around Africa. SWR/ARTE (German and French public TV) and twelve other European stations will air the show that will be about the islands, their people and the distinct cultures as I document it for a coffee table book. It was a privilege to work with this incredibly talented group of people. Check out their website: http://www.filmquadrat-dok.de/ Images will follow soon!

Return to Sierra Leone

Ami — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:27:54 +0000

I am leaving tomorrow to Freetown, Sierra Leone filled with feelings of anxiety as well as hope. The last time I was there was just a few months after the brutal civil war ended in 2002 that claimed tens of thousands of lives and left more than a third of its population displaced. Yet it is the unspeakable atrocities that are so haunting. I remember back in 1999, Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora, a friend and extremely committed journalist, who was later killed covering the conflict, told me stories of rebels offering their victims the choice between a “long sleeve” or “short sleeve” just as they were about to hack off their victims’ arms. When I arrived, three years later, I saw faces devoid of expression, weighed down by these horrific memories. The goal was not just to kill people but to terrorize an entire population.

Today security and the politics are steadily improving but there is a quieter battle still going on. One in eight women are dying giving birth. The government recently announced free health care to pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers and children under five beginning on April 27. With only about 170 doctors for more than 5 million people, this will be a daunting task. I hope this documentary can raise awareness, promote change and help. The doctors, health workers and government are working hard to change the statistics.

If you are interested in learning more about this or want to donate, the following links are to organizations working there.

Unicef

Marie Stopes International

Doctors Without Borders

Amnesty International

Flight for Survival: Rhinos go back to Africa

Ami — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:35:58 +0000

View the story at msnbc.com

They are huge but gentle, lumbering beasts and there are only eight left on the entire planet. Scientists believe the magnificent Northern White rhinos are nearly extinct. In a last ditch effort to save this species from extinction, the Lewa Conservancy in Kenya cut a deal to airlift the last four breeding age animals from the Czech Zoo to live “free” on the savannas of Kenya. You can read more about the trip in my blog.

Where can I find interviews about your career?

Ami — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:21:31 +0000

The talented Steve Casimiro, a photographer and editor for National Geographic’s Adventure magazine has created a wonderful blog called the Adventure Life. I was honored that he invited me for this interview.
http://www.theadventurelife.org/2009/07/ami-vitales-beautiful-cultures-and-powerful-documentary/

Field Notes from a National Geographic story I did on the Rickshaw Pullers of Kolkata, India.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/04/kolkata-rickshaws/vitale-field-notes

This is an advertisement I did for Nikon using the D300s camera and video capabilities.
http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/microsite/d300s/special/en/index.html#

Here is an interview I did about convergence of stills and video for the Poynter Institute. http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=172745

This is an interview by Susan Markisz for the Digital Journalist, a virtual online almanac for visual journalists created by Dirck Halstead. It was written when I was just beginning my career as a photojournalist in 2003.
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0301/av_intro.html

Nikon Net showcased my work for their “Legends behind the Lens” series.
http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=154486&TICK=NIKC&STORY=/www/story/03-01-2004/0002119672&EDATE=Mar+1,+2004

Interview conducted by Barry Baum for Nikon on the new D300s that I tested out.
http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Nikon-World/fx50m3ni/1/Rest-of-the-Story.html

Blueeyes Magazine is an online documentary photography magazine devoted to publishing new long-term project work. It is a labor of love created by a dedicated group of people including John Loomis, Chris Vivion, Matthew Ratajczak, Seth Bro and Jill Thomas.
http://blueeyesmagazine.com/index.php?/essay/indiv/portfolio_vitale/

This was one of the very first interviews I gave for Photobetty.com, which was a true labor of love started by the legendary and lovely Stephanie Sinclair and carried on by Serena Stucke, who is also an incredibly dedicated and talented photographer and editor.
http://www.photobetty.com/amivitale

This is a comprehensive gallery of many fine art gallery photographers exhibited together along with photojournalists.
http://www.pixiport.com/Gallery-GC66.htm

James Robinson is a passionate photographer and has some wonderful interviews here.
http://jrphoto.wordpress.com/spotlight-interview-photojournalist-ami-vitale/

Eight Ways to change the World, A photography exhibition on the Millennium Development Goals by Panos Pictures, in association with seven charities.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/millenniumgoals/graphic/0,,1563959,00.html

Frontline: Kashmir

Mike — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:58:58 +0000

View Project at PBS online here: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/flash_point/kashmir/

Over the past 60 years, the beauty of Kashmir has been overshadowed by tension and violence. Despite the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi, regarded as the father of Indian independence, the sub-continent was divided along religious lines and two nations were born: the secular but Hindu-dominated India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Mirages: A Video Shot for Nikon with the D300s

Ami — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:08:50 +0000

This was my first attempt at shooting video with a still camera. I used the Nikon D300s and experimented in different situations from riding on the hood of a taxi in Mumbai, India to the deadly, blowing sands of the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Or maybe its the other way around.. more deadly is sitting on the top of an Indian taxi just to get a few images. Dai Sugano, an absolute genius and wonderful journalist, helped me with the editing. Check out his work. Its very inspiring. David Barreda and Ashima Narain assisted me in the field. Not only are they both talented photographers and story tellers, but they also happen to be lovely people. I’ll be posting a blog soon to discuss how I created the video as well as some tips I have for still photographers making the transition into shooting video. These cameras are revolutionizing the business of photography and opening up more avenues for us to develop our story telling.