"Mombasa, Malindi and Gede..." Day #2. 9•Dec.•11

Got in a bit more beach time yesterday, including a lengthy drive with friends up the coast to Malindi, and also managed a wonderful swim at Watamu Beach, in Gede (bottom 3 images). Temperatures had to be pushing right near or above 100ºF as we ventured north. Just putting a few images up here quickly, as we just arrived back in Nairobi this morning via the dreaded all - night, 8+ hour bus ride from Mombasa. It wasn't at all as tiring as I thought it would be though. Packing up in a bit for early AM departure tonight, and on to Istanbul, Turkey for a day's layover. stay tuned... ~cg.

Nairobi, Kenya. Day #3. 1•Dec.•11

"(Just) Make pictures..."

NAIROBI, KENYA. A muslim woman steps gingerly through a muddy street in the Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday, December 1, 2011. Eastleigh is the main commercial center for Somali ex-pats, and is traditionally known as "Little Mogadishu." © www.chetgordon.com/blog

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

During the world changing events in the Middle East and North Africa the last few weeks, I've fondly recalled some of my past work in the region. Here are but a few favorites from Amman and Petra, Jordan in the Spring of 2006. ~cg.

Iraqi women comfort each other as their children undergo surgery at the Jameel Tatonji Hospital in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.

Young Jordanian sheep herder near the Jameel Tatonji Hospital in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.

A Jordanian man walks past large murals of the late King Hussein (left) and his son King Abdullah (right) in Petra, Jordan on Friday, April 28, 2006.

Muslim visitors walk among the ruins in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan on April 28, 2006. Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Lamu, Kenya. Family butcher shop in Lamu, Kenya on Saturday, May 13, 2006.

Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya. Lamu Old Town, the principal inhabited part of the island, is one of the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlements in East Africa. Built in coral stone and mangrove timber, the town is characterized by the simplicity of structural forms enriched by such features as inner courtyards, verandas, and elaborately carved wooden doors. Lamu has hosted major Muslim religious festivals since the 19th century, and has become a significant center for the study of Islamic and Swahili cultures. The island is linked by boat to Mokowe on the mainland and to Manda Island, where there is an airport. There are no roads on the island, just alleyways and footpaths, and therefore, there are few motorized vehicles on the island. Residents move about on foot or by boat, and donkeys are used to transport goods and materials. A port was founded on the island of Lamu by Arab traders at least as early as the fourteenth century, when the Pwani Mosque was built. The island prospered on the slave trade. After defeating Pate Island in the nineteenth century, the island became a local power, but it declined after the British forced the closure of the slave markets in 1873. In 1890 the island became part of Zanzibar and remained obscure until Kenya was granted independence from Great Britain in 1963. Tourism developed from the 1970s, mainly around the eighteenth century Swahili architecture and traditional culture. ~ from Wikipedia.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career.
*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE. -cg.

Eid al-Fitr Prayer. 1•Oct.•08

Last year on this day I photographed the first Eid al-Fitr prayer in a new mosque here in the Middletown, NY area. Wanted to revisit that piece here again: -cg.


*(Click in the text above or click the arrow at the lower left of the player to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Remember to turn up your audio for the 5-minute piece. -cg.)

"...You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine..." - (actor) Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt.

The Week: September 29th. - October 4, 2008. This has been one those weeks were everything sort of all kept falling into place technically, scheduling wise and esthetically. For making images and stories, it was wonderful. Just wonderful. Started the first part of the work week chasing another homicide story in Middletown, NY, covering everything from the PD brass holding an afternoon press conference or "presser", announcing the fifth murder of the year committed the night before. Immediately after, the reporter and I hustled to possibly see the victim's family, where we found his brother and niece grieving in a nearby neighborhood bodega. (This image would make the front page of the next day's paper.) Then that same evening we got a tip in the newsroom, that there were a ton of police cars at a house just a few steps from our main office. The reporter and I showed up on the street, and within minutes, Middletown and State Police removed one of the murder suspects from the house in shackles and handcuffs. On Wednesday I was up before the sun and back on the road to Middletown to be the first one at a new mosque to photograph the Muslim holiday prayer celebration, Eid al-Fitr, (audio slideshow below in separate player) and another law enforcement assignment brought me to the law office of a longtime local judge in a nasty election campaign for the county Surrogate Court seat. This was a good gig and offered me the opportunity to put up two portable strobes in the judge's law library to make a nice series of portraits of one of the true movers & shakers here in our coverage area.

On Thursday, on a more humanistic approach, I spent some time with a young couple and their 4 year-old son, who recently had a brain tumor removed and is undergoing chemotherapy & radiation treatments. On top of that, the boy's father just lost his job as a mechanic at a local Ford dealership, as they closed suddenly due in part to the national financial crisis.








The week is still unfolding, as we've had another police involved shooting just this morning. (early Saturday.) I will add a separate slideshow of the week's work ASAP. Here's the piece from the mosque in Middletown, NY:


*(Click in the text above or click the arrow at the lower left of the player to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the captions button at lower right of the player. Remember to turn up your audio for the 5-minute piece. -cg.)

Here's the rest of the week's work.

*(This is an updated player w/o audio, but will also play automatically by clicking the arrow at lower left to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the captions button at lower right of the player. -cg.)