Glimpsing samurai culture; bubbling German discontent; a new trove of images of pioneering Chinese Americans; and a dog photographer who gets the ‘Superman pose’
|  | Saturday, February 4, 2022 | | | | |
| In today’s newsletter, we glimpse at samurai culture, Black American veteran families, bubbling German discontent, newly exhibited images of pioneering Chinese Americans … and a dog photographer who gets the ‘Superman pose.’ | |
 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASPER DOEST
| | By David Beard, Executive Editor, Newsletters
It was the light that attracted Jasper Doest to a story about a nationwide “grasshopper hunt.”
A doctoral student/friend in Uganda texted Jasper about villagers working together at night to hunt down what were actually swarms of bush crickets (pictured above), which, sold and fried, become tasty, protein-filled snacks.
Jasper was transfixed by the light in the photos she texted: a greenish glow (which he captured in the two images below) that people use to attract flocks of insects before dawn. “The pictures had a hazy mysterious touch, due to the smoke that is used to intoxicate the animals,” Jasper told us. Fascinated, the Dutch photographer and a colleague hit the road, creating, with Uganda-based journalist Halima Athumani, the story on the booming business of cricket hunting that is featured in the March issue of National Geographic.
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| Lighting for his images was delicate. “We needed to carefully balance the ambient light with the artificial lighting coming from our strobes,” he told us. “The most tricky part, however, were the fluorescent bulbs they use during the harvest. They were so incredibly bright that you could easily damage your eyes and since the people had cut the protective glass around the light bulbs–so that the glowing spirals would radiate the UV light that would attract the insects–we needed to be extra careful as these extremely high doses of UV radiation are carcinogenic.”
Also, Jasper had to watch out for a type of rove beetle, also attracted by the light, which excreted a corrosive substance that had injured hunters.
To get the story right, Jasper had to rely on the community for education. He withheld judgment on the hunt and pointed out the economic and nutritional importance of the insect (below, trappers unload sacks of the crickets for sale at a market). | | | |
| “I came to watch, experience, learn and connect,” Jasper said, “as I believe that it is within the mutual understanding where we can find solutions.”
He said that connection was easy on the cricket hunt. “Waiting under the stars together, facing the same risks” created a bond. “We were all hunting for the same thing.”
That experience became this one-of-a-kind story.
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 | | CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY | | Seeing the ancestors: Last weekend, for the first time, the California Historical Society, as part of a broader exhibit, began publicly displaying a collection of photographs and notations of Chinese residents in a ledger by a town constable at the turn of the century. Michael Luo wrote about the ledger, its uses, and America’s hostility toward these pioneers for The New Yorker. See the photos. “I’m moved by these images because in their faces, there are many things unsaid yet felt,” tweeted novelist Min Jin Lee. “There’s dignity, greatness, and also, sorrow.” (Pictured above, Wong Fun, who was marked dead in the ledger. The entry adds just one word: “Burned.”)
Everyday resilience: Russell Frederick’s focus has remained constant for nearly a quarter century: Quiet dignity, family love, and everyday joy in the lives of Black and Brown people. The images have taken on greater resonance during the pandemic, the Brooklyn-based photographer tells the Washington Post. See them here.
The lives of others: In 1974, German photographer Ute Mahler set out to show how East Germans lived under Communism and behind the Berlin Wall. She focused on the young, and their diffident coolness and subversive fashions, the Guardian writes. See her images.
Air, bud: Onetime British Olympian turned animal portrait photographer Nigel Wallace makes dogs look like superheroes. He captures the pets flying through the air as they leap over fallen trees and branches. he tells PetaPixel that the dogs naturally do a kind of “Superman pose” as they leap. “You can almost draw a cape on the back of them,” he says. | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY RASHOD TAYLOR
| | | Connecting with forebears: For generations, Black Americans have joined the armed services—and many benefit from the economic incentives the military offers. But how does a photographer, in portraits, hint at a long, complicated martial history that has often reflected society’s prejudices? Rashod Taylor sought to cross the generations in sharing family uniforms from the past—and using a historical method of photography. Pictured above, from the story in February’s National Geographic, Eric B. Kelsey Jr. and his sister Ania N. Kelsey sit for a portrait in their father's military hats. | | | |
 | | I realized as a young photographer that representation matters. Having Black images is a central way of telling stories. | | | | Deborah Willis | | Visual storyteller | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY RYOTARO HORIUCHI
| | Honoring the samurai: Photographer Ryotaro Horiuchi has spent much of his life away from home, taking images outside of Japan. What, he wondered, constitutes Japanese identity? He was overwhelmed when he attended a festival of samurai descendants and devotees. The latest issue of National Geographic describes his quest to capture the personalities of those who dressed in armor and competed on horseback. (Pictured, above left, Miwa Hosokawa is outfitted as a cavalry warrior; above right, Yukio Imada acts as a samurai-taisho, a battalion company commander.)
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| This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Monica Williams, and Jen Tse. Have an idea or a link? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. | | | |
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