My fantastic friend, eminent copyright lawyer and photographer Rupert Grey and his wife Jan have always been explorers. Now they are driving their vintage Rolls Royce thousands of miles across India, and Rupert is telling their stories via his website - it's thoroughly enjoyable reading. Here's a taster:

"...One of the Chowkidars, by one of those agreeable chances that life on the road confers, was a Rolls Royce mechanic. His name is Prabhu. He is 75 and has one word of English. I mentioned to the Raja of Alsisar, with whom we dined a couple of nights ago, that the Rolls had developed a bad cough in the mornings. Prabhu, he said, was the man. He used to look after his grandfather's Rolls 40 years ago. Prabhu appeared, smelled the exhaust fumes, changed a spark plug, adjusted the carboretter and we went for a test drive.

His word of English came into play: "SPEED", he shouted. I sped. At 55 mph we raced down a strip of tarmac barely wider than the Rolls. Flocks of goats parted like the Red Sea for the Israelites, bullocks pulling carts looked up in alarm, Camels sniffed resentfully. Armed with the Raja's implicit authority and the loudest hooter in Rajasthan, I became Toad of Toad Hall during his brief moment as King of the Road."

Rupert inaction

Of course, Rupert will tip up for the Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography next week and I will wish I were there. Meanwhile, for those of us who would like to be intrepidly exploring but who are home-based for now, let's enjoy a little vicarious thrill.

Sexy news from the ever-groovy Snap Galleries. Gallery director Guy White says it so well, I'll just nick his blurb as usual.

Abs by Jimi Hendrix 

"In 1968, New York born, London-based photographer Donald Silverstein (1934-75) created one of the most famous and recognizable images of Jimi Hendrix. It featured on a hugely popular poster, originally included as a pull-out with Electric Ladyland. This is, quite simply, one of the absolute all time classic photographs of the incendiary guitarist. "Iconic" is a very overused term these days, but in this instance it really is justified. It seems incredible given the importance of this image that it has never been available to purchase as a limited edition photograph before now, but that is the case.

Right now, for the very first time, Donald Silverstein's estate are offering collectors the chance to own this image as a limited edition. If you remember the original 1960s poster, you will know that the contrast was cranked up to 10 - and it was difficult to pick out detail. Deliberately, the limited edition photograph has been left just as Donald Silverstein would have seen it originally, and I have to say that the fine detail is just exquisite. You can get a sense of that from the image above. 

This is such a key piece. If you are an established collector, I think you are really going to want this. If you are a new collector, and are thinking about taking the plunge on something special in 2013, then this would be a truly great place to start. There are four different size choices, from 16x20 inch (40x50cm) paper right up to a monster 6 ft (1.8m) high version. If you are going to purchase one, my advice is definitely "Go Big" if space and wallet permit it. The 30x40 inch paper size would be a real showstopper.

I know, I know, it's just after Christmas, and there are all kinds of reasons why you don't want to buy something now, but think about it for a second...

...No space?  Lose a mirror. Seriously - isn't it better to look at this?

...No money after Christmas?  We can help. If you want to pay by installments we can work something out with you.

...Too much to eat over the holiday period? What better way to shed a few pounds than to take inspiration from Mr Hendrix's incredible abs? Here's how: buy the limited edition photograph, frame it and hang it on your wall; put some Jimi on very loud, put your exercise mat on the floor under the photograph and crank out the sit-ups until you look like this." 

#yum

Self-Portrait, Chelsea Hotel, 2011, © Linda Troeller  Part of CCNY's upcoming benefit auction.

The work of Linda Troeller has been growing on me. She's amazing in-person and it's always interesting to see what she's up to.

Linda's work is part of "Time Lapse/Identity," an exhibition at Ververs Gallery in Amsterdam, December 22nd to February 9th, 2013 with an opening reception on January 12th (5-7 pm).

Later that night, Linda will appear at the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy in Amsterdam to present her photographs and stories about the legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York, where she lives. It was sold in NYC's rapid real estate development to a boutique hotel and is closed, and being renovated, with most people no longer able to live there. The landmark has been a creative home to Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Arthur Miller and Janis Joplin among many other artists. A selection of Chelsea Hotel photographs will be shown in an exhibition at the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn (Netherlands).

Roisin and Jordan, Russell Heights, Cobh, Ireland, 2011 © Doug Dubois

Peggy Sue Amison, Artistic Director at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland, shared some work from Doug Dubois that she has recently curated into an exhibition. Doug has been in residency at the Centre for the last four years, making work about a local housing estate, "focusing on the young people with a specific interest in the 'bravado of youth'."

"During those four years, always in the summer months, Kevin, Erin and a number of other young people in the neighborhood collaborated with Doug and all that goes with large format photography (long exposures, lighting etc...) to create this collection of photographs, a somewhat fictional, somewhat documentary account of adolescence in Ireland and a coming of age story centered around this housing estate in Cobh - a place not unlike hundreds of other housing estates around the world."

An update from dedicated photographer Ronny Sen, raising funds over at emphas.is to complete this project. Give a little bit...

See the previous blog post.

Stifling, claustrophobic, oppressive, sweltering. I'm not talking about the tube's airless Circle Line or the subway's over-conditioned L train in rush hour but the unreserved general compartments of Indian Railways.

Kolkata-based Ronny Sen has worked for publications in both India and abroad. His works have been published and exhibited in many countries. Since 2006 he has been awarded by the Sony World Photography Awards, National Geographic Magazine, Shoot nations by the UN, Powerhouse, The Forward Thinking Museum, and The Lonely Planet Magazine. Presently, he is working on his long term project 'Documenting Death' which revolves around people who are dying.

© Bar Am-David

Based in the UK and Tel Aviv, Bar Am-David submitted this straight-up portrayal of the people of Jaffa.



"Tel Aviv is divided into nine districts that grew up during the city's short history. The most notable of these is Jaffa, the ancient port city out of which Tel Aviv grew. This area is traditionally made up of a greater percentage of Arabs but recent gentrification is attracting a young, professional population and Israelis.

"Jaffa is the most celebrated place in Israel, where Israelis and Arabs live in peace together despite the conflict. My purpose was to examine the lifestyle of this particular place and to look at how ordinary people survive in their extraordinary circumstances. These photographs do not pose solutions but serve as a reminder of enduring spirit through the most challenging adversity." - Bar Am-David.



Bar is well-published and exhibited, and his work was included in the National Portrait Gallery Taylor Wessig Portrait Prize in 2010.

Two things: Paul Spencer's classic photographs that show the "darker side of British sub-culture", plus another smart way to fund a book.

Blur 

All images © Paul Spencer

I do like geeky photographers, and a nice algorithm, and I'm fascinated by Fran Simó's project. "How would a robot imagine a human face? 'I dreamed about a human being' is like spying into a robot's brain."

"Another way of viewing these accumulated images is by seeing them pass by at full speed and blurring your vision a little. You can see the same 'average effect' by watching the following video, which has 2,582 images moving at a rate of 25 images per second." Thanks Fran!

© Tamara Staples

Visiting Tamara Staples' website you'll find light, bright, juicy photographs: luscious foods and candied lips and graphic stacks of jewels. These pretty chicken portraits are weighty by comparison and we find a photographer dedicated to enlightening us on the strange world of breeding fancy poultry.

"At this time in our history, the movement back to the small family farm across the US is strong. Whether this move is due to economics or a renewed understanding of our relationship to the earth, it cannot be denied. Backyard chickens coops have become so popular there are magazines and hundreds of books devoted to this very topic."

"Meanwhile, at poultry shows all over the world, known as The Fancy, chickens of all shapes, colors and sizes await their judgment. There is an existing framework, a culture really, that aims to perfect these birds by breeding them based on a book entitled, The Standard of Perfection. These birds are something to behold, and few outside of The Fancy even know of their existence. Each breeder has spent years creating a work of art, where genetics is key. And each bird IS a work of art; from the amount of toes on each foot to the width of the wingspan, from the precise color to the exact weight. Judges carefully inspect every detail. But there is also something else: Personality. Chickens can be haughty, angry, affectionate, shy, charming, sedate, or even funny. In this project, not only do I introduce these regal birds, bred to a standard that most will never match, but I also attempting to capture the individuality of each bird. Just like people, chickens are unique. Take a look into the eyes of these birds and judge for yourselves." Tamara Staples.

All images © Tamara Staples