I’ve been busy of late and not had time to post. But I thought viewers might be interested in photographic things that have inspired or challenged me of late.

* One in 8 Million Project by The New York Times – this multimedia project finished at the end of 2009. Every week of last year, Times photographers and journalists profiled one character from among the 8 million in New York. The idea was to find quirky, interesting people. The photographs and interviews are presented in slide show format. There are all night accountants, corner store druggists, grandfathers, dancers and barbers. It’s a fantastic presentation and fabulous insight into this colourful city.

* The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) sponsoring famed photojournalist Tim Page to go to the war-torn country and run a master’s course for select photographers, including women.

* Fabulous photographic coverage of the Dakar Rally in South America.

* Confronting but powerful images of the Haiti Earthquake on the Huffington Post website.

* Previous Pulitzer Prize winners given applications for the award close on February 1.

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Feel free to email Jo at [email protected] with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

The previous post inspired me to add some of my own festival shots to this blog. Festivals are often so colourful and reflect much of the hosting city’s interests and flair. Here’s a few from the past few years.

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Feel free to email Jo at [email protected] with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

Alice Springs Camel Cup, Northern Territory, Australia

Nadaam horserace, Mongolia

Carnevale, Venice, Italy

Asahan Whitewater festival, Sumatra, Indonesia

Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia, Italy

Holi Festival (festival of colours), Amhedabad, India

Birdsville races, view from the stands, Queensland, Australia

Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia

Palio horserace, Siena, Italy

I received a link today from one of my photography students of a series of fantastic images and just felt I had to share it with the rest of you. The gallery contains 29 of AAP’s best shots of 2009. It was posted on Yahoo! news. This picture below is just one of them.

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Feel free to email Jo at [email protected] with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

I’ve just returned to the office after a week-long break. It was pretty mad actually but good to get away. I went up to Noosa for a few days and wandered across to Woodford for the annual folk festival, a great way to recharge the batteries even though you don’t get a lot of sleep. The ideas and energy pumping around the festival were just fantastic. I then headed down to the Clarence River in northern NSW to paddle a few rapids with friends.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy and just a note that all these were taken on my tiny Panasonic Lumix, which is really a glorified point and shoot digital. However I have actually sold some images of this camera and I do find it incredibly convenient to shove in a bag as it’s small and light and I don’t worry about it getting stolen or coming to grief on the river. Particularly because I have to shove it into a dry bag and then often take shots on the go in the canoe.

I actually use this camera a lot also when I want to be less obtrusive – it was great at Woodford as people seem to be less relaxed if you’re just bobbing around with an amateurish camera. I wonder how many other photographers use smaller options to their SLR from time to time? Any comments?

I think the shots on this camera are actually pretty reasonable – you be the judge.

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Feel free to email Jo at [email protected] with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations.  See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

Nano Stern, Woodford Folk Festival

Sunset stage, Woodford Folk Festival

Juggler by the Woodford sign, Woodford Folk Festival

Dancing at sunset, Woodford Folk Festival

Jamming, Woodford Folk Festival

Clarence River action, NSW

Clarence River action, NSW

Canoes by the Clarence River, NSW

Gorgeous path by the Clarence River, NSW