Clancy Tucker's Blog, page 78

16 June 2020 - VIETNAM - A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT

 VIETNAM - A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT 
G'day folks,
When this pandemic is over, I hope many of us continue to travel around the world. I sure plan to do that, and one place I'd certainly suggest is Vietnam.
Nguyen Vu Phuoc is one of the most widely known and beloved photographers in Vietnam, and the winner of countless awards in his homeland and across the globe. He is both prolific and unique, his work ranging in genre from documentary to travel to fine art, and just about everything in between.
Now, check out his work, and his country.






















Clancy's comment: Magnificent country, beautiful people, and stunning photographs. I love the traditional costume worn by women. The Ao Dai is so feminine.
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15 June 2020 - IRANIAN ARTIST DEPICTS DOCTORS DEALING WITH COVID 19

IRANIAN ARTIST DEPICTS DOCTORS DEALING WITH COVID 19
G'day folks, 
Nobody expected 2020 to be like this. All media channels encouraging people to stay at home. All theaters, cinemas, gyms, and museums being closed. All hospitals around the world filled with people, some even unable to help others. It seems like everything has stopped in the great pandemic of the 21st century—coronavirus. One artist decided to show us how to adapt to these uneasy and extreme times. 

39-year-old Iranian artist Alireza Pakdel creates mindful illustrations that reflect on the world’s current situation and show how to fight the spread of this invisible enemy. His illustrations capture the harsh reality of those who sacrifice themselves to take care of us—doctors, policemen, firemen, and nurses. They are the protagonists of these illustrations that we must respect.

Pakdel masterfully highlights the power of solidarity, empathy, and protection for one another. His characters convey all kinds of feelings and appeal to surreal, imaginary situations that reflect on today’s world—a group of doctors holding the arrows of the clock to wait for the vaccine, a doctor and a nurse trying to break the chain of the coronavirus from a patient’s hand, and another doctor sacrificing himself to defend a group of patients from the deadly virus.
Now, check out his wonderful work ...

























Clancy's comment: Brilliant and empowering. Love ya work, Alireza.
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14 June 2020 - Abandoned Mental Asylum In Italy

Abandoned Mental Asylum In ItalyG'day folks, Janine Pendleton describes herself as ‘an outgoing English girl living in Manchester. Here is her vision of what she found in Italy ...

She travels the world in search of abandoned relics and lost treasures and has an insatiable drive to document these amazing decaying places, before they disappear forever. Her goal is to always present images alongside historical write-ups and thinks that exploring the stories of these places gives important context to these images.

Here is a commentary on her visit to a former Italian insane asylum.

‘I travelled to northern Italy in the summer of 2018. A summer road trip filled with awesome memories. I zig-zagged across the country, following our map chaotically littered with pins. Each pin highlighted an abandoned place.

I arrived at one pin late in the afternoon, perhaps a little too late. I was too excited to wait, so I crawled in through to a tiny opening as soon as we saw it.

I was standing at the entrance of an old Italian insane asylum. These relics are from a darker time where mental health was poorly understood. The patients were called "mentecatti", a derogatory term equating to "half-wit" or "imbecile". They were locked up in these rural hospitals called "manicomio", which translates as "madhouse". Out of sight, and out of mind.



 
I was not alone though, I had two friends with me. As the daylight was beginning to fade, we all split up and began shooting.

Time was of the essence! The asylum was a maze of corridors and had several floors. I searched frantically to find all the important locations; the examination room, record office, the body slab, and so on.

I traveled the halls and corridors alone checking every room and corner. Constantly aware of the darkness encroaching.

We re-convened at the entry point, just as the last of the light faded.’

Now, let’s see what they found ….













Clancy's comment: As always, I'm gob smacked that buildings like this one are allowed to rot. Surely they can be used for another purpose? Thank you, Janine.I'm ...



 

 

13 June 2020 - Indian Photographer Captures Colorful Spiders And Other Cute Critters

Indian Photographer Captures Colorful Spiders And Other Cute CrittersG'day folks, You are not going to believe some of the photographs here today.  Not everyone enjoys spiders, snakes, and other critters. However, you might change your mind after you see these photographs taken by Pavan Tavrekere.





Pavan is a photographer from India, and he specializes in capturing tiny creatures with his camera. He is inspired by nature and does most of his photographs outdoors, trying to find new specimens to add to his photo collection. Pavan said, "I started shooting these tiny critters over 8 years ago when I had a Sony Xperia phone, and that became a passion. It's amazing to see tiny creatures up close, to observe their lives and behaviour. Now, I feel unhappy if I don't go outdoors and shoot something for over a week. I'm fascinated by the number of creatures that exist! I've shot several kinds of insects, but now and then I still find something new that I never would've seen at all."

Now, let's see more of Pavan's work ...























Clancy's comment:  There ya go. Wow, how good is nature, eh? Thank you Pavan. Love ya work!
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12 June 2020 - Mom Of Three From Japan Has Eggstraordinary Skills To Make Cute Fried Egg Meals

Mom Of Three From Japan Has Eggstraordinary Skills To Make Cute Fried Egg MealsG'day folks,Now, here is a wonderful mother. When it comes to food, all parents know how picky children can get. Taste is not the only important thing to the little ones; the visual appearance of the food matters too. That's why some parents are encouraged to master the art of cooking to satisfy their little "food critics." One of those parents is a mom of three little girls from Tokyo, Japan. This woman creates both adorable and delicious-looking meals that even adults crave.  The woman is known as Etoni Mama. She is raising three girls—ages 11, 7, and 9—who are lucky enough to eat colorful, cartoon character-inspired meals almost every day. The talented mother who has no prior training in making food is definitely a master of kyaraben, also known as character bento. 





Kyaraben is a Japanese lunchbox food style that features numerous meals decorated to look like people and various pop culture characters, including plants and animals. While making character bento is not easy, Etoni does it so well that you can't help but love her meals.






After a coworker encouraged Etoni Mama to share her intricate and fun meals on Instagram, the woman started her sharing her dishes and in a couple of years, she gathered a solid fan base of over 103k followers. But her success didn't end there. The woman also published a cookbook featuring her stunning kitchen creations to help other parents serve their children food that is so cute that they simply can't resist eating it.

Now, let's check out how talented she really is.

















Clancy's comment: Wow. What a fabulous mum. So talented, and look at the variety of foods she uses in her meals. I'm ...      

11 June 2020 - Russian Artist Creates Soap Art That Looks Like Real Food

Russian Artist Creates Soap Art That Looks Like Real Food G'day folks,This creative artist will blow you away. Julia Popova from St. Petersburg creates soap which you can accidentally eat — her works look like real food and drinks. She began to create soap art nine years ago. At first, she made it just for friends and relatives but soon she began to use social networks for selling her works. Popova uses unique forms for her soap which she made by herself.

According to her, women prefer soap which looks like a cake and men like soap in the form of alcohol and fish more. She tried to use food flavorings for her works, cheese for example, but it was terrible, that’s why now all versions of her soap smell nice, not like real food. For instance, her alcohol designs have pomegranate smell because it’s the closest smell to whiskey or rum.
Now, let's see some of her amazing work. Don't forget ... This is soap. 




 




Clancy's comment: I warned you. Simply stunning work, eh? Imagine what kids would do when they see this stuff? Yep, put it straight into their mouth.
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10 June 2020 - A BUNCH OF INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

 A BUNCH OF INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
G'day guys,
Well, we sure need some inspiration these days. Check out these charming quotes ...























Clancy's comment: Hope they worked. Pass them on.
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9 June 2020 - HOW MUCH CAN YOU FIT ON A MOTORBIKE?

HOW MUCH CAN YOU FIT ON A MOTORBIKE?
G'day folks,
As a well-seasoned traveller throughout Asia, I have seen many extraordinary things, and photographed them.
However, Bikes of Burden, an interesting photography series by photographer Hans Kemp, shows motorbikes in Vietnam carrying unbelievable amounts of stuff.
It is not only the amount of stuff that’s amusing, it’s the stuff itself. If it wasn’t for this series, you might not believe that a man could transport live aquarium fish on a simple motorbike. This phenomenon is primarily found in Asia, where personal cars are a rarity and the streets are so crowded that it is often easier to navigate with a motorbike than a car.
The series was published as a book, the first edition of which was released in 2003 with 148 full color photos. Recently, Hans Kemp has returned to Vietnam for a revised version of his book.
Take a good look at what Hans found in Vietnam. 



















Clancy's comment: Thank you, Hans. Welcome to Asia.
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8 June 2020 - BRILLIANT ILLUSTRATOR SPENDS HOURS ON EACH PORTRAIT

 BRILLIANT ILLUSTRATOR SPENDS HOURS ON EACH PORTRAIT
G'day folks,
I'm always pleased to present people with talent. Well, this guy is exceptional. He spends up to 60 hours on each portrait.
Nestor Canavarro is an Argentinian illustrator based in Buenos Aires who creates portrait drawings made entirely out of colored pencils with the utmost attention to detail, especially skin texture.
Now, let's check out his extraordinary gifts ... 






















Clancy's comment: What can I say? Simply amazing. When God was handing out talent, this artist must have been paying attention. 

Thank  you for sharing, Nestor. Love ya work!

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7 June 2020 - The Relationship Between Animals And Humans By Steve McCurry

The Relationship Between Animals And Humans by Steve McCurryG'day folks, From the moment humans first tamed animals about 10,000 years ago, animals have played a big role in people's lives. Even though at first animals were used for meat, milk, and hides, as time passed, humans realized that they are not just food but living and breathing creatures. 
They began to see them as their friends who would accompany them while hunting, traveling or guarding their homes. However, there was always something special but complex in the relationship between humans and animals and one photographer dedicated his travels to show that.
Best known for his portrait of the "Afghan Girl" with the piercing green eyes published in 1985, Steve McCurry has been one of the biggest and most respected names in contemporary photography for more than forty years. The American photographer has built his career around his daring coverage of armed conflict, however, his other passion - animals - was less known to the public. With that in mind, a new book simply called "Steve McCurry. Animals" published by Taschen was born. The book skillfully explores the complex relationship with humans and the environment and tells a thousand stories from all over the world.
"The idea of photographing animals and people may have been planted in my mind since I was first starting out as a young photographer. My sister gave me my first photo book, Son of Bitch, a collection of pictures of dogs and their humans by the great photographer and friend Elliott Erwitt. It was the first time I saw a book on animals with humor, pathos, and wonderful storytelling. Animals are one of my favorite subjects to shoot; they are completely unpredictable. Animals have a mind of their own and rarely pay any attention to directions from a photographer,"he said.
Now, let’s see some of his fabulous work …































Clancy's comment: Stunning work, eh? Thank you, Steve.
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