East Timor Unrest pictures

[Norman_ng]

Hi guys,

I just came back from Sri Lanka covering the conflict, but before I have those pictures up, I wanna share those that I took from East Timor a few months back. As you all remember that country was in turmoil. Pictures are at http://www.normanng.com/Main/TIM.htm . Do tell me what you think.

Norm

[Hexlord]

Wow.. interesting photos.

Although I must add that you took a great risk covering the things that happen there, glad you are safe and sound

[Qazwer]

Nice shots!

Thanks sharing.

[An drew]

Great photojournalism!

The situation in East Timor looked extremely dangerous so there must have been some risk to your person. I like TIM14!

The tragedy in the photos detract from aesthetics.

[stevez]

hmm.. The children are so pitiful...u can only see sadness in their eyes. Thanks for sharing these photos.

[Norman_ng]

East Timor is probably one if the easiest places to work as a journalist, as the people still respect the media people somewhat and see us as neutral. So still relatively safe. i have been able to photograph the gangs no problem, even go into their territory to have a chat with them. Only time I was threatened was by the Portuguese police, the irony of it all. They threatened to take my cameras if I photographed them arresting some gang members. i think they were going to beat down on them.

[Stoned]

Beautifully shot. #8 especially is a masterpiece.

[An drew]

Glad you felt safe.
I don't feel so safe in some parts of Asia. It's interesting that you even manage to get one of an arsonist setting a house on fire.
I think some of the photos tell a news story, some a poignant feature story while some are artistic. Each has their own merit.

[merkava74]

Great photojournalism!

I can feel the power in the shot with the soldier and the guy squatting in the corner...

And the woman trying to douse the fire with a cup...

And the burning bicycle (or motorcycle)...

and many others... great work! Love to see more!

[rokieto]

nice work, must have been a "great" & "insightful" experience for u.....

feel really fortunate & appreciate life more.....the things we take for granted daily, what we lamented about often is nothing compared to this.

[ah tong]

Awesome shots with great impact.
Picture with the hand on the ground with the candles hit me the hardest.

[RuthBaby]

very expressive fotos.. im more worried abt yr camera n u. wahaha...

[Ravenfoo]

Love the photos!!!
Do take care out there ya...

For all photographers in CS,
There is "The World Press Photo Exhibition 2006" happening at the National Library's Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, Level 7 & 8.

It started since yesterday 8th Sept and ends on 28th Sept. Was there yesterday, the photos are great!

Cheers..

[eikin]

excellent coverage, your motivation to produce the coverage outweighs the value of the pictures

[melnjes]

Great coverage Norman.

I just pm-ed you to confirm some details as well.

[Norman_ng]

Thanks guys, the picture with the hand caressing the asphalt is actually a mother touching the spot where her son was shot. it was a very poignant moment and almost moved me to tears when I witnessed it. I plan to have an exhibition of my photojournalism work in Singapore, if anybody has contacts whom I can talk to, it'll be greatly appreciated if you can pass them along.

[smokeput]

Originally Posted by Norman_ng Thanks guys, the picture with the hand caressing the asphalt is actually a mother touching the spot where her son was shot. it was a very poignant moment and almost moved me to tears when I witnessed it. I plan to have an exhibition of my photojournalism work in Singapore, if anybody has contacts whom I can talk to, it'll be greatly appreciated if you can pass them along.

sounds great...btw u are shootin for any press or freelance?

[Norman_ng]

I am a freelancer, usually shooting for humanitarian aid organizations overseas when not shooting in singapore. So all my trips are mostly on my own dime, and I send my pictures to photo agencies to sell to news organizations and stuff.

[Jeff]

one of ur images appear odd in "Katrina". Why would an armed police officer point a rifle at a rickety door? on the one hand, that image tells me the fireman to the left is trying to rescue someone in the house by hammering down the door. on the other, we see an man armed with rifle aimed at the entrance. both are conflicting emotions and very strange to manifest in a single scene.

further, i noticed in a couple others, there appear to be some unnatural color-rendition that is not characterisitcs of the actual scene. a couple appear to have some intense highlights suppression technique applied.

this is not to be a critique session, but some personal thoughts. idea is OK but flow wise, it's a bit scattered. the images do not flow quite well.

nonetheless, u do have several pieces that caught my attention, though i cant quite agree with the circumstances under which these images were created.

[renegade150]

great photos! good that u're home safe & sound too!