Paris Photo 2011

Paris Photo @ Grand Palais

Every second weekend of November is when photographers and anyone interested in photography invade Paris. It is the worlds biggest fair for photography sales. If you are not buying photography, you get to see some amazing photography amongst the more then 100 galleries from around the world represented here. I've just arrived and can't wait to go and see the exhibits tomorrow! As Champs-Élysées was closed at mid day today, it made for some interesting "street photography"...

Champs-Élysées

Day 2 update:

Well, the show was great! 

Entrance

"Africa" was this years topic

Lots of people, lots of photography

Allminds London workshop

I was in London last week having a workshop for Allminds (www.allminds.ch). Part of the workshop was photographing the magician Christopher Howell (www.projectillusions.com & www.christopherhowell.net). His new act, containing three oranges (?!?) is absolutely fantastic! I will not describe it as it would not make justice to the act! You better book him and see it for yourself...

Illusionist Christopher Howell

St. Paul's Cathedral 

London from café at Tate Modern

Synthon Barcelona

I visited Synthon's Barcelona facility this week. It is a very interesting site; it has state of the art manufacturing and packaging as well as great research facilities.

Bosnia & Srebrenica

The project I am working on in Bosnia continues. This time we met with several interesting people including George from Holland who served as a peace keeping soldier in Srebrenica in 1994, Hasan Hasanovic, the creator at the Potocari memorial centre and Hasan Nuhanovic who is suing the Dutch forces from the period they worked as peace keepers in the area around Srebrenica. Students from Webster University in Geneva came along on this trip. 

Visiting the Department of Genocide at 

the University of Sarajevo.

Aladin giving us a guided tour of Sarajevo. 

Hasan Nuhanovic talking about his experience during the 

July 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. 

Visiting the Body Identification Centre in Tuzla.

Visiting the primary school in Srebrenica. Interestingly enough, 

this painting from 1987 of the town shows the orthodox church 

but fails to show the two (2) mosques. Not sure why.

Conversation with Hasan Hasanovic,
Curator at the Potocari Memorial Center.

The memorial cemetery in Potocari. 

It is always special to see the time of death 

being the same everywhere.. July 1995.

We invited some of the surviving women from the organisation 

"mothers of Srebrenica" for lunch.

We visited the former Head Quarters of 

the Dutch Bat in Potocari. 

George Pfrommer served as a peace keeping UN soldier for the

 Dutch Bat in 1994. The graffiti displaying the Harley Davidson

 logo was made by his friend. 

Mars Mira 2011- Peace March Tuzla- Srebrenica

Mladic has been caught. With the Serbian capture of Srebrenica in July 1995, the biggest genocide post Second World War unfolded in Bosnia. More then 8000 men and boys were systematically killed in only a few days. To mark the anniversary of this event, a peace march takes place over three days between the towns of Tuzla and Srebrenica. The walk is about 110 km and goes through a rather hilly district in Bosnia Herzegovina in pretty much extreme summer temperatures (We had 42 degrees Celsius this year!). in 1995 men and boys walked this route in order to escape the slaughter. After the three days of walking, the coffins of the identified bodies from this year are carried out to the memorial cemetery at Potocari for a memorial funeral that takes place on the 11th of every July. This year 613 bodies were laid to rest. I took part this year and spoke to many interesting people who had many incredible stories to tell. The work to make this into a story has only just begun, but here are some samples:

Walking through villages

Exhaustion after one long day of walking (about 42km)

Evening prayers

Ready for a new day

People arriving at the Potočari memorial cemetery

613 coffins being carried out

Mourning their loved once

Synthon turns 20 years

The other day I visited Synthon's head offices in Nijmegen (www.synthon.com). The company turns 20 years old this year and celebrates by opening a new massive Bio tech laboratory. The evening was spent celebrating with everybody at a boat party!

The new Bio tech laboratory in Nijmegen, Holland

CEO Rudy Mareel

The new Bio tech laboratory in Nijmegen, Holland

Klaus Kuchen, CEO Synthon Mexico
 

Dr. JacquesLemmens at Synthon's 20 year party 

Synthon celebrating 20 years

Mexican News Agency Notimex at the UN in Geneva.

I have recently worked with Gabriela Sotomayor, journalist for the Mexican news agency Notimex (www.notimex.com.mx). It has been very interesting with first photographing at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Amongst the speakers were where UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Head of Government of the Federal District (Mexico), Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón.

Director- General of the UN Ban Ki-moon.

Head of Government of the Federal District (Mexico), Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón.

Then the other day, WHO had its sixty-fourth world health assembly and amongst the speakers were Bill Gates, the Health Minister of Mexico Dr. Jose Angel Cordova and the Director- General of the WHO Dr. Margaret Chan. Bill Gates was on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation calling for more political and financial support so that "by 2020, we can prevent 10 million deaths".

Health Minister of Mexico Dr. Jose Angel Cordova

Health Minister of Mexico Dr. Jose Angel Cordova.

Director- General of the WHO Dr. Margaret Chan

Bill Gates talking about the vaccination program of
the Bill and Melinda Gatres foundation.

Bill Gates talking about the vaccination program of the Bill and Melinda Gatres foundation.

#billgates #gatesfoundation #mexico #notimex #vaccine #un #who #photojournalism #margaretchan #joseangelcordova #marceloluisebrardcasaubón #bankimoon 

Bosnia February 2011

Clare Cook from WHA (www.webster-humanitarian-association.org) and myself visited Bosnia again this February. We visited Hajra Catic and Noura Beganovic from the association "Mothers of Srebrenica" who survived the genocide that took place in Srebrenica in 1995 (1), the Imam of Srebrenica (2),  as well as Medica Zenica "Big buddy project"(7), the Identification Centre in Tuzla (8, Photo shows self made tobacco box) and the Potocari Memorial Center outside Srebrenica (5, photo shows the first Croat/ Christian grave at the cemetery). We also stopped at (6) a warehouse, which was scene of a large execution on the 11th or 12th of July 2005. About 1500 peopled were murdered there.