James Troi's Visual Diary

I love surfing. Can’t do it, well I’ve never tried. But I love the imagery of surfing. It’s not just about the surfy guy look (which I do like), which has been stripped away because the surfers are covering up due to cancer fears, but more so because it gives them more space to show sponsors.

I do love the colours, the sun the water and the organic nature of the action. The curl of the wave and the surfer’s seemingly effortless glide across the surface of a wave.

A man performs Mallakhamb (gymnast’s pole) during a practice session at a playground in Mumbai September 13, 2010. Mallakhamb is a combination of traditional Indian gymnastics and martial arts and it can be traced back to the 12th century. For centuries, the sport has been dormant but is now regaining popularity in the country. The group will perform during the opening and closing ceremonies at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, according to their coach. (REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui)

The horizon and the pole on which the suspended athlete appears are off rotation clearly in an attempt to straighten out the athlete’s form.

One can always find humour in sad times, it’s what makes the moments bearable. This sign found in a car part in New Orleans is a prime example of a found photo opportunity. With the flow of water still cascading down it would have been a missed photo in 10 or 20 minutes.

Often we’re task focused, we have a set of shots we expect to get and we go for those shots. This photo shows it’s important for us to be aware of our surroundings and always on the lookout for the images we haven’t thought about.

Taken August 30, 2005 by Marty Bahamonde/FEMA found on the Boston Globe’s Big Picture “Remembering Katrina, five years ago”

Police officers clash with protesters during a demonstration at the G20 summit in Toronto, June 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Christinne Muschi)

I’m sure you have to be just a little bit mad to be a good photo journalist. Getting in there with protesters and police alike. Neither side really sure what story you’re actually trying to tell with your photos. At any time either side could become hostile towards you. Brave is one word.

These guys bring us vision of the stories we often can’t be there to witness ourselves. I’d love to say they do it with impartiality but I don’t know if that’s true once the photos are published.

They still pass an editors desk and go through scrutiny to determine which of the photos will provoke a response, which will emotionally connect with the viewer. This selection process by its very nature may impact how the story is told.

A Brown Pelican sits in heavy oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast Thursday, June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

It’s not always people shots that create an emotional reaction in humans. Seeing animals in distress will do the same thing as this brown pelican coated in oil proves.

The Oil Spill from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico is devastating and for the most part I believe authorities are attempting to limit the information coming out of the Gulf and the taking of pictures.

One bad result of this publicity is ordinary citizens being attacked, abused and blamed for the accident that occurred. People like those working in BP service stations who are so far removed from the chain of command there is certainly nothing they can do. In the case of franchisees some of these people don’t actually work for BP.

We’re supposed to write about what these photos make us feel. And this one makes me annoyed. I’m annoyed that this happened, that animals are dying and people are suffering (though lost livelihoods) because there was a cheaper way to run the rig.

But I’m also reminded of two things. BP was one of the first companies to make inroads into researching renewable energy sources, changing their name from British Petroleum to just BP (so they could say Beyond Petroleum) in an attempt to remove themselves from it.

I’m also knowledgeable enough to know that oil from these rigs aren’t just used for transportation fuel. It and its by products produce the plastics we use every day, pens, computers, chairs, bottles… there is very little in our lives that doesn’t use this product.

Massively long rant but pictures like this one make me thing it’s easy to stay removed and blame those close to the problem, but as consumers we’re all a little responsible.

The sinkhole caused by the rains of Tropical Storm Agatha in Guatemala City is estimated to be 30 meters wide and over 60 meters deep. The sinkhole formed Saturday, swallowing a clothing factory about three miles from the site of a similar sinkhole three years ago. The clothing factory had closed only an hour before it plunged into the Earth. (REUTERS/Casa Presidencial)

Documenting world events in pictures is sometimes of paramount importance, because for some extraordinary events words are not enough to convey the enormity or the absurdity of what has transpired.

IMG_9636 by PhotoJunkie

If I didn’t already know this was an image taken at a Wii party way back when the Nintendo Wii was first released I’m sure I’d be forgiven for thinking this photo could have been shot for a magazine. The lighting and detail is perfect. Even the slight blur of the controller’s cable and the subjects arm are great to see and conjure the idea of the movement that was obviously happening at the time.

Not expressly taken as a documentary photo it does capture a moment in time in an attempt to remember an event, as does the series of photos from which this one comes.

Harold Evans, “Pictures on a Page”

A victim of clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters is seen in Bishkek April 7, 2010. The condition of the victim is unknown. At least 17 people were killed and 142 injured in clashes between riot police and opposition protesters in the capital of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, the Kyrgyz Kabar news agency said.   REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov  (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW)

This has to be hard, being a photographer in the line fire. These guys don’t always come through at the end of the fray, they are there during the fights, the battles and the blood.

Chilean firemen recover a body found in debris washed up by waves generated by a major earthquake at the epicenter in Curanipe February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero)

The framing of this image, the legs of the fireman and the blurred foreground, encourage your eyes to focus on the stark white hand of the dead human.

I admire photo journalists and their ability to bring photos of subjects many of us in the greater world might rather not see. Situations and evidence human suffering from which we’d often remain ignorant. I’m not sure it’s a job I could do.