At first glance, Male’ may seem to be a bit drab in comparison to the nearby resort islands, but if you take some time and get lost in the maze of streets, you’ll soon realise that Male’ is a unique and interesting city.

The four page piece is below. Unfortunately I didn’t get the opening photo, which is why it is blurred out below. Thanks to the creative team that puts the magazine together each year and continues to publish my work.

 You can view & license imagery from Male’ at these links: Maldives | Male’ The Capital and Maldives | Male’ Fish Market

—

Comment on Facebook or Google+

—–

Portrait of Harry Goodwin, crew on the Marumaru Atua. Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

I talked about Harry yesterday in this post. As promised, today I’m showing the amazing tattoo that adorns Harry’s back.

The tattoo that looks like a whale fluke (tail), was done especially for the 18-month Marumaru Atua voyage, which Harry set out on with 15 other crew members on the 30th of March.

Like most tattoos in Polynesian culture, each part represents something. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of time with Harry, so the only part I can remember about his whale tattoo is the turtle in the middle of the whale tail. According to Harry, turtles are quite important sea going animals in Polynesian culture.

Related Posts:

Marumaru Atua Crew Member, Harry Goodwin. Cook Islands.

—

Stay in touch: become a fan on Facebook.

—–

Portrait of Harry Goodwin, crew on the Marumaru Atua. Rarotonga, Cook Islands. © www.thomaspickard.com

Meet Harry Goodwin. Harry is a crew member on the Marumaru Atua, a traditional ocean going vessel, which departed Rarotonga on the 30th March for an 18-month, round-the-world journey. First stop: Tahiti.

Harry was one of 16 crew members participating in the farewell event, held in front of Trader Jack’s on the harbour. After the event I was walking around looking for things to photograph, when I saw Harry take off his shirt to reveal the most amazing tattoo on his back.

I walked straight up to Harry, introduced myself and explained what I do, and asked if I could take his portrait – front and back.

As you can tell, Harry agreed.

Check back tomorrow, to see Harry’s amazing tattoo on his back, which he had specifically done for the Marumaru Atua voyage.

Related Posts:

Back at Trader Jack’s, Rarotonga.

—

Stay in touch: become a fan on Facebook

—–

School lunches from around the world, May/June 2010 issue of Afar Magazine. My photo is the white plate on the red table cloth, bottom right.

If there is one thing I really love about the world of photography these days, it is this: it is easier than ever to connect with Photo Editors’ and for them to take advantage of where you may be travelling to.

Let me explain.

In late December 2009, an email popped up in my inbox asking for shots of school lunches from around the world. The PE at Afar Magazine wanted to assign the job to multiple photographers, in multiple countries. With my January/February trip to the Maldives already booked, I put my hand up for the Maldives and was assigned it.

Now to be honest, this wasn’t the most glamorous of assignments, but it was actually a lot of fun. In the Maldives I hooked up with my Maldivian friend and fellow photographer, Ahmed Zahid. Together we went to the boys school in Male’ and after explaining what I was after to two different people, we were given permission to do the shoot (well, take two photos – shoot is a bit of a stretch!).

The photo taking bit took about 8-minutes. The getting permission bit took about 22-minutes. That night I uploaded the hi-res images and sent them to my editor.

In June of this year I was killing some time at Bangkok airport waiting for my flight to Japan. What did I spot in the newsagency? None other than the May/June 2010 issue of Afar. Flicking through I found the double page spread and let me tell you, it looks great!

If you haven’t seen Afar magazine yet, then make sure you get a copy. One of the things I really like about it is the print quality and colour reproduction. I’m not sure what paper they use, but it has a great pearly type feel to it. As for the colour reproduction, it is fantastic. The content is great too. Grab a copy and have a read.

Thanks to Tara from Afar Magazine for assigning me the Maldives.

Afar Magazine

—–

During my month long trip back to the Maldives earlier in the year, I decided to do some street portraiture. Armed with a portable white back drop, I found a busy street corner down around the main commercial fish market in Male’. With the help of my friend and photographer – Ahmed Zahid – I approached interesting looking strangers and asked them if I could take their photo.

Many people said ‘no’, but more importantly, a few said ‘yes’.

The decision to use a white back drop was made in part because there are so few good back drops to photograph people against in Male’.

See the complete series at this link:

Maldives | Street Portraits

Related Posts:

Experiencing Male’, The Capital of the Maldives

Rubbish in the Maldives

Ambiguous Moments in the Maldives

—–

For couples’ coming to Thailand for a destination wedding between the 1st of July and the 15th of November 2010, I am offering a 25% discount off the overall package price for your wedding photography.

The fine print is this:

1. You have to book and pay the 50% retainer by the 31st of May 2010.

2. The discount doesn’t apply to travel and accommodation expenses. These are billed at actual cost.

Head over to my documentary wedding photography site to view my work or simply contact me with the details of your big day.

Email is studio [at] myweddingphotographer [dot] co [dot] nz

—–

One day I was a resident, the next I wasn’t.

The capital Male’ left a huge impression on me. For the two years that I called Male’ home, I became very fond of this tiny city and it’s quirks. I grew accustomed to the daily call to pray that would billow out of the nearby Mosque; I grew to love mid-afternoon surfing sessions at the local surf break, just four blocks from where I lived; I adapted to the heat, the culture and most of all, the sense of place that living in Male’ provided me.

Male’, the people and the Muslim culture opened my eyes in ways I didn’t expect.

Few people come to the Maldives to experience Male’. By a stroke of good fortune I did and I encourage all visitors to the Maldives to spend at least half a day (preferably from mid-afternoon onwards) walking the scooter clogged streets of Male’. In its own way, Male’ is a unique city. I hope it grows on you during your visit.

License any image by clicking on it.

See the full Male’ the Capital gallery at my stock library.

Embed and share on your own site, by clicking on the triangle in the bottom right hand corner.

—–

It was 6-months before I managed to get myself onto a commercial fishing boat. I had taken a regional flight from the capital Male’ to Addu Atoll, the southern most atoll in the country. I met Ahmed Zahid – a friend-of-a-friend – who knew some fishing captains. Not long after I found myself boarding a 30-metre super dhoni (traditional Maldivian vessel), along with 15 or so Maldivian commercial fishermen, all of them strangers.

For the next 24-hours I drank endless cups of Nescafe 3-in-1 (think the sweetest, strongest instant coffee you can find), I slept on damp decks with fish smelling nets as pillows and I dealt with constant nausea from the open ocean swells. In between, I shot 600 plus frames of the fishermen doing what they do.

That day I learnt that even some of the tallest stories can be true.

It was true that fishermen use a barbless hook and they literally hook and flick the tuna onto the back deck of the dhoni. It was also true that they can catch tons of tuna in just one day. This trip alone, the crew pulled aboard 7-tonnnes of Skipjack Tuna.

I successfully sold this story (photos and words) to Sri Lankan Airlines Magazine Serendib, which was subsequently published in the November/December 2006 issue.

In my next installment I’ll recount my second commercial fishing trip, which lasted 5-days. The first, second and fifth image are available for licensing via Aurora Photos. Just double click on the image to license.

Commercial fishermen searching for bait fish at night in a lagoon, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6 June 2006. Commercial fishing in the Maldives is the second largest employer after the tourism industry. The main fishing industry is centered on pole and line fishing for Skip Jack Tuna and hand line fishing for Yellowfin Tuna. The Maldives is a major exporter of tuna to European and Asian markets.

Commercial fishermen sleeping on the back deck of a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fisherman sleeping on the back deck of a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen pulling aboard a Skip Jack tuna on a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

A commercial fisherman pulling aboard a Skip Jack tuna on a commercial fishing dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), off the coast of Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Indian Ocean, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen getting ready to unload Skip Jack Tuna to a processing vessel, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

Commercial fishermen getting ready to unload Skip Jack Tuna to a processing vessel, Addu (Seenu) Atoll, Maldives, on the 6th of June 2006

—–

Ferry, Maldives.

—–

Commercial Fisherman Male', Maldives.

—–