Before - February 26, 2011 - "NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response."

After - March 12, 2011, at 10:30 a.m. - "NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response."

The NASA Earth Observatory just released these two satellite images showing the view from space of the Japanese coastline around the city of Sendai. This, as I am sure you know, is the region that was hit on Friday by an offshore earthquake and subsequent tsunami. View some of the scenes which resulted here.

It is quite clear from these images the extent of the movement of water inland as a result of the tsunami. The ‘before’ image (click here for HighRes) clearly shows a clear, well defined coastline whereas the ‘after’ image (click here for HighRes) is less than clear and appears to have been inundated approximately 5km, according to the key provided on the images.

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory:

“Water is black or dark blue in these images. It is difficult to see the coastline in the March 12 image, but a thin green line outlines the shore. This green line is higher-elevation land that is above water, presumably preventing the flood of water from returning to the sea. The flood indicator on the lower image illustrates how far inland the flood extends.

Both images were made with infrared and visible light, a combination that increases the contrast between muddy water and land. Plant-covered land is green, while snow-covered land is pale blue. Clouds are white and pale blue. The paved surfaces in the city of Sendai colors it brown.”

I, like many others, are shocked and saddened by the events that have occurred in Japan over the past 36 hours. I lived in Japan for a year and feel desperately sad for the Japanese people and those affected by the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Some of the footage that has come out of Japan has been quite incredible, although disturbing to watch. Having been glued to my computer, watching updates from those on the ground and the news agencies covering the crisis, I decided to collate some of the most striking videos that have emerged. A selection are below.

This view was one of the first I witnessed via Al-Jazeera. The terrifying tsunami washing over coastal lands, swallowing houses and farmland…

A rather terrifying ground-level view of the tsunami rushing down high streets towards the camera…

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This is a really interesting video and one which deserves a few minutes of your time to watch. The footage in the video has been shot by BBC for a new series called ‘Human Planet’ and coincides with Survival International’s new campaign to protect some of the last untouched tribes in the world. The video is shot on the border between Brazil and Peru and briefly records an isolated tribe of Indians.

A whimsical soundtrack and celebrity voiceover help to heighten the emotional pull of the video and I think it works perfectly for the aim, which is to raise awareness of this important issue.

According to the website…

“The Indians’ survival is in jeopardy as an influx of illegal loggers invades the Peru side of the border. Brazilian authorities believe the influx of loggers is pushing isolated Indians from Peru into Brazil, and the two groups are likely to come into conflict.

Survival Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The very dangerous future for uncontacted tribal peoples should be of worldwide concern.”

To learn more, head to the Uncontacted Tribes website. There are more fascinating videos on the challenges facing various tribes.

Men standing on the side of a highway running through the North Korean countryside. 2009

“Starving North Korea Send out SOS for Food Aid” is one of the headlines that reads on the Daily Telegraph’s website this week. This week also marks the birthday of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il. I have chosen to mark this day with a video that was released a few months ago on the Telegraph website, secretly recorded by North Koreans dissidents, in attempt to show some of the frightening conditions in the country. It’s disturbing to watch.

As readers of this blog will know, I travelled to North Korea in the autumn of 2009 on assignment for the Globe & Mail. We had a very limited view of the real North Korea. Our 5-day trip was state-controlled and we were whisked across the country from one official tourist destination to the next. When our private mini-bus passed though rural areas, we were expressly told not to take any photos. I, of course, tried to get some. One of which is below. It’s only a fleeting glance, however.

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POYi

Sometimes, you’ll hear a photographer say, “I wish I had taken that”. It’s not meant as a negative comment but as a genuine sign of respect to another photographer for the quality of picture they have taken. I had one of those moments today whilst perusing the winners (so far) of the POYi 2011 contest. The image above was taken during anti-government protests in Bangkok in 2010.

It’s a really beautiful shot. The colours are wonderful. Immaculate timing. And the reflection reminds me of a certain iconic photograph. I’m not sure who took it, as POYi do not release the names of winners until all are announced, but I haven’t seen it previously. Perhaps a Thai photographer? Wherever they are from, hats off. This is my favourite image…so far.

This week, David Alan Harvey announced the deadline for the Emerging Photographer’s Fund 2011. Having been lucky enough to be the recipient of the first grant in 2008, I wanted to jot down a thought or two about how the grant has impacted me as a photographer.

Burn

The Emerging Photographer’s Fund is an evolution from discussions on David’s old blog ‘Road Trips‘. Road Trips was David’s first foray into blogging and became and intimate community of people keen to learn from David’s experience as a professional photographer for National Geographic and Magnum.

The appearance of blogging has, I feel, been a gift to aspiring photographers as more and more established professionals have gone online to openly and candidly share their thoughts and experiences with their followers. As a young photographer starting out, one of the things I craved was learning from pro-photographers and learning how they approached their careers and their work. Road Trips was a goldmine for any young photographer looking for information and/or advice. It still is a goldmine, although Road Trips is no longer, and has evolved very successfully into Burn. As I have evolved too as a photographer, making the first forays into the beginning stages of my professional career, I still value the Road Trips/Burn community as much as before.

Road Trips

In the summer of 2007, David announced the idea that he was giving out a grant. He challenged the readers of his blog to find a photo-project which they would ultimately submit and he would consider for further funding. I had been sitting on the idea of photographing the issue of desertification (the gradual expansion of deserts and arid land) for some time but hadn’t found the right time to get the project going. The challenge from David was to be my impetus to start.

I packed some clothes and my camera and booked a flight from Beijing to western China to a place I knew was suffering from desertification. At that time, the trip was funded out of my own pocket and I realistically knew that my chances of being awarded a grant were very small, due to the fact I was sure many good photographers would be entering too. It didn’t really matter to me though, as it was a project that I had wanted to cover for sometime and the challenge was enough to make me want to start. My aim was to get the project started and if I was lucky, get it infront of David on a computer sometime and get a few pieces of advice. I didn’t expect anything else. It’s important when you enter competitions or grants that you don’t expect anything. Continue with your work anyway. If you get any kind of recognition, it’s a bonus. You still need the passion for the subject to continue with it, even if it doesn’t pick up and awards along the way. They should never be your goal.

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NPR

Quite a shocking piece of news fell into my inbox this morning, via the Mangrove Action Project newsletter which I receive every month. The news is a couple of weeks old but it seems that on November 15th, there was an explosion in a hotel in the Mexican resort of Playa del Carmen that tragically killed seven people. The cause, it has been speculated is most likely, is not a bomb but mangroves!

As many readers of this blog will know, I recently spent some time in the mangroves of the Southern Chinese city of Leizhou, as part of my reporting on China’s disappearing wetlands for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The clearing of mangroves in this region has been severe, mainly because of coastal developments and conversion of many mangroves into shrimp ponds. During my research however, I had never heard of anything like mangroves causing explosions.

The following snippet from the NPR article hints at the cause:

The oxygen-deprived muck underlying mangrove swamps is known to produce methane gas, said Roberto Iglesias, a biologist with the Ocean Sciences Institute of Mexico’s National Autonomous University who works on coral reefs and coastal environments in Puerto Morelos, not far from the resort of Playa del Carmen.

“We used to take students around outside … and all you had to do was move the sediment a little, bubbles would come up and you could start flames when you lit them with a lighter,” Iglesias said, adding that builders frequently cover swampy areas with a layer of crushed rock and concrete, which acts as a stopper that accumulates gas.

The consequences of clearing mangroves are far-reaching and diverse. This is an ecosystem which demands our respect and protection. If you missed it the first time round and you’d like to learn more about mangroves, here’s a link to my short-video on the remaining pockets in Southern China and what is being done to protect them.

[vimeo width="580" height="330"]http://vimeo.com/16018786[/vimeo]

If you’re in China (and don’t have a VPN) you can view it here via Tudou.com