Irene Abdou Photography, LLC - Travel. Lifestyle. Documentary. NGOs, Development & Public Health.

PSI Newsletter May 2008

Title: PSI Newsletter May 2008

Caption: Photos of South Sudan, Title Header and Section Header, Population Services International Newsletter, May 2008 issue

Cover of the 2011 World Malaria Report by the World Health Organization.  Two children peek out from under a Permanet long lasting insecticide treated mosquito net in the Garki area of Abuja. Sleeping under a mosquito net every night prevents malariawhich is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.  Globallymalaria kills 1,000,000 people every yearmost of them pregnant women and children under five.  Photograph of two Fulani children in northern Burkina Faso used in a campaign developed for Spa, the Dutch mineral water brand, and UNICEF by Backbone Marketing.  During the 9-week campaign, every liter of Spa purchased by the consumer in the Netherlands helps the children in Burkino Faso, through a donation from Spa to UNICEF for safe water programs.  The photograph was used on 600,000 Spa water bottle sleeves and various point of sale materials shown here. Photograph used in a campaign developed by Backbone Marketing for Spa, the Dutch mineral water brand, and UNICEF.  This is the second year of a project to give children in Burkino Faso clean water.  During the 9-week campaign, every liter of Spa purchased by the consumer in the Netherlands helps the children in Burkino Faso, through a donation from Spa to UNICEF.  The photograph was used on 600,000 Spa water bottle sleeves, various point of sale materials, and the campaign website.  The photograph depicts two Fulani children in Djibo in northern Burkina Faso.  The Fulani are traditionally nomadic pastoralists, and each of the children received one cow for the use of their photograph.  Cattle provide an additional protein source (milk) during the rainy season, and will eventually reproduce and build wealth for the children. Bubenzer, Friederike and Orly Stern, Editors.  Hope, Pain & Patience: The Lives of Women in South Sudan, Institute of Justice and Reconciliation, Fanele, South Africa: 2011, full-page photograph, page 192.  

A crowd of women gather in Rumbek's Freedom Square to attend the Africa Malaria Day festivities.  Rumbek's Africa Malaria Day 2006 was organized by the South Sudan Ministry of Health with support from the international NGO, Population Services International. Hope, Pain & Patience: The Lievs of Women in South Sudan, Institute of Justice and Reconciliation, Fanele, South Africa: 2011, full-page photograph, page 162.

A group of elementary school students attend a public health session about malaria prevention in W. Mundri County, South Sudan.  The session is conducted by the international public health organization, Population Services International (PSI).  Bubenzer, Friederike and Orly Stern, Editors.  Bubenzer, Friederike and Orly Stern, Editors.  Hope, Pain & Patience: The Lievs of Women in South Sudan, Institute of Justice and Reconciliation, Fanele, South Africa: 2011, full-page photograph, page 1.

Cows with horns shaped like the one in this photo of a cattle camp near Akot, South Sudan are valued above all other cows by the Dinka. 
The Dinka are traditionally cattle herders, owning hundreds or thousands of cows per family. There are many words in the Dinka language for each kind of cow - cows of a certain color...cows with certain spots...boys are named after these various cows. Dowries (payment by a man's family for marriage to a girl) are also paid in cows, with a beautiful girl garnering a bride price of hundreds of cows. Cover Photo, photograph of South Sudan, Global HealthLink Magazine, April-May 2007 Issue.  The photo depicts a grandmother talking to her grandchildren about how malaria can be prevented by sleeping under a long lasting insecticide treated mosquito net. Cover of the 2008 Annual Report of Nigeria's largest indigenous social marketing organization, the Society for Family Health.  The report features 39 photos by Irene Abdou, or 74% of all photos in the report. First pages of the 2008 Annual Report of Nigeria's largest indigenous social marketing organization, the Society for Family Health.  The report features 39 photos by Irene Abdou, or 74% of all photos in the report. "Climbing Out from Under the Mosquito Net," Website, Gorta Fundraising Campaign, November 2008..This photo is used on its website by the Irish non-profit organization, Gorta, as part of an integrated, nationwide fundraising campaign for development projec Left: "Climbing Out from Under the Mosquito Net," A2 size poster, Gorta Fundraising Campaign, November 2008.  This photo was used on a poster by the Irish non-profit organization, Gorta, in a nationwide fundraising campaign for health and other development projects in Africa.

Right: 1/2 page photo, 2008 Annual Report, Population Services International (PSI).  In Nigeria, a Society for Family Health peer educator meets with local men to talk about the risks of unsafe sex. Using pictures to get his point across, he is able to reach people in low-literacy areas.  PSI is a US-based social marketing and public health organization with offices in more than 60 countries worldwide. Covers of two books published by Nigeria's largest indigenous social marketing organization, the Society for Family Health This image was used by Population Services International-Sudan on billboards across the country, as part of a malaria prevention campaign. 10 photos over a 3-page spread, used to illustrate the article, "Dakar Beyond,"  Traveller Magazine, Summer 2009 Issue 10 photos over a 3-page spread, used to illustrate the article, "Dakar Beyond,"  Traveller Magazine, Summer 2009 Issue "New World" Magazine. 1/2-page photograph, Spring 2010 Issue.

Caption: Mother and children with an insecticide-treated mosquito net in Nigeria.

"New World" Magazine is published by the United Nations Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UNA-UK).  A leading independent policy authority on the United Nations, UNA-UK is a UK-wide grassroots membership organization. These photos were used to illustrate an article in the April-June 2008 issue of EOS Magazine about how ISO, in conjunction with aperture and shutter speed, is used to adjust exposure.   

Left: "Wrapped in Blue," 1/2 page photograph.  Caption: "The photographer used the lens aperture wide open at f4 to limit the depth-of-field, making the eyes the focal point of the image. She also needed a shutter speed of 1/200 second to avoid the effects of camera shake with the 105mm focal length. This meant setting an ISO speed of 320 on the EOS 5D camera." 

Right: Mongoose, 1/2 page photograph.  Caption:
"This wildlife picture was shot with a focal length of 160mm, so the photographer needed a shutter speed fast enough to reduce the effects of both camera shake and subject movement. 1/200 second was set. A wide aperture was also needed to give a narrow depth-of-field, throwing the background out-of-focus. The maximum aperture of the lens 2013 f4.5 2013 was used. With these two exposure values decided, the ISO value needed to give correct exposure was 1600. If a normal ISO value of, say, ISO 400 had been used, a shutter speed of 1/50 second would have been needed and the fine detail of this image would have been ruined by both subject movement and camera shake."

About EOS Magazine:
EOS Magazine is a British-based quarterly subscription magazine for Canon EOS camera users, addressing 35mm film, Advanced Photo System, and digital photography. The 80-page full-color magazine is mailed to over 100 countries each quarter. Image by Irene Abdou of the Nave of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC from THE LOST SYMBOL: SPECIAL ILLUSTRATED EDITION by Dan Brown (available from Doubleday; isbn: 978-0-385-53382-9) DiConsiglio, John.  Mastering Media: The News Never Stops (Freestyle), Raintree Publishing, Oxford, England: 2011, ½-page photograph, page 30.

Caption: A group of young people in Burkina Faso display their radio. 2009 calendar of Nigeria's largest indigenous social marketing organization, the Society for Family Health.  All photos used in this calendar by Irene Abdou. A nurse at the Bukavu Barracks Health Clinic in Kano, Nigeria shows a female condom to a US Agency for International Development (USAID) representative. Joe Farace writes (pp. 71-72): 

"This month's Reader's Homepage belongs to Irene Abdou, a world-traveling photographer and Shutterbug reader whose base is Germantown, Maryland.  The first thing you'll notice about Abdou's images are the eyes of the people she photographs.  Most of the time, especially with children, they ar efull of warmth and trust.  This says a lot about Abdou as a photographer and as a person.  These people who she's photographed in the most Third World of countries look at her with affection and maybe hope; hope that her images will alert the world to their situation and maybe, just maybe, make us care enough to do something.  Her images in the "Asia" portfolio will surprise many people who when they think "Asia" also think "Japan," but here she shows there is more to Asia than sophisticated economies such as Japan's.  Her best images are not the traditional travel photographs that she occasionally attempts but potographs of people, especially children, who are captured with not only supreme technical skill but with extraordinary passion.  This can be most strongly seen in Abdou's portfolios that feature topic-based, not geographic subjects.

The wide-ranging images found in "Spirit of Humanity" represent a latter-day Family of Man collection of images of old and young people showing how the world outside our borders lives day-to-day.  I'm guessing that for some readers this will come as a surprise.  All of these images are captured with a surprising use of bright colors and occasionally seasoned with sepia-toned monochrome photographs that enter the portfolio as counterpoint.  Before leaving the site, be sure to read "24 Hours in Dakar" for an illuminating mixture of text and photographs demonstrating what the life of a travel photography is really like.  And nope, it's not about sipping martinis in a luxury lounge in the Sydney airport." "Florida Palms":
"I haven't converted any of my cameras to infrared2014I used a visible light blocking filter on my camera lens.  Since the infrared blocking filter inside my Canon camera still allows a trickle of infrared light through, I could still take the photograph.  But in broad daylight, it required an exposure of 100 seconds at 400 ISO and f/10, which was perfect for capturing the wind blowing the palm fronds!" Front and Back Photos, "Impact of Peer Education Plus (PEP) on Behaviour Change Among Young Males and Females," Society for Family Health / Nigeria. Photos of South Sudan, Title Header and Section Header, Population Services International Newsletter, May 2008 issue