JASON ROTHE :: PHOTO/MEDIA

Here are some photos from Carnaval this past weekend in San Francisco.  Rather than try and cover the event, I opted to do some “visual push-ups”, as Jay Maisel is fond of saying.

Here are some recent photos from a weekend trip to Big Sur and a few I took while hanging out around the Marina/Palace of Fine arts in SF waiting for the legendary Sabastao Salgado to give a talk.  Included is a shot of Salgado speaking with Ken Light about photojournaism and his current project “Genesis” which explores those parts of the planet that, to this day, remain pristine since the dawn of Man.  Interestingly Salgado is switching to a medium-format digital process (in B&W) for this project, which involves landscape and wildlife photography as well as the cultural documentary type photos for which he is known.

Salgado’s work is also on display right now at the David Brower center in Berkeley.  I haven’t seen the exhibit yet, but I hear it is spectacular.

I’m excited to announce that the Utne Reader is running The Mountain That Eats Men on the cover of their 1’st annual international Issue.

This is a reprint (with new layout and edit) of the story Andrew Westoll and I did on the mines of Potosí, Bolivia.  The issue (May/June) is on shelves now.  I will post tear-sheets as well as a link to the web version as soon as they are available.  Many thanks to the Utne staff for choosing our story, doing a great job of the layout, and being wonderful to work with as well.  ¡Salud!

I just came across this on the Fotovision site, and I think it is a great summary of where we are at as documentary photographers:

“I think the time has come for photographers to embrace all the digital possibilities as a whole, whether it’s using audio and stills to produce a Web-based slide show or short video with Soundslides, iMovie or Final Cut, or using print-on demand services to produce a chapter of a documentary book, or using state-of-the-art inkjet printing technology to produce a small exhibition.  It all comes down to telling a story.”

- Kim Komenich

Here are a few shots from the SUNSET season opener party at Stafford Lake.  As always, I’m experimenting with new things…will try and put together an audio slideshow, time permitting.  Meanwhile, the appropriate beats can be found at www.pacificsound.net and http://www.davidharness.com/.

I didn’t shoot much at Burning Man 2008, it was more of a getaway, but here are a few shots just for fun.

“They say that even the horses were shod with silver in the great days of the city of Potosí.” - Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America

I am pleased to announce that “The Mountain That Eats Men” is featured on the cover of this month’s Walrus magazine.  This is a story which Andrew Westoll and I did this past year on the legacy of mining in the once fabulously wealthy city of Potosí, Bolivia.  If you haven’t already run out to your neighborhood magazine stand to grab a print copy of this gem, you can read Andrew’s excellent story and view a gallery of my photos here, on the Walrus website.  I’m not sure how long the full text will available online.

As an add-on to this story, here are a some photo “outtakes” which I have processed in an alternate style using Adobe Lightroom given that it is generally impractical to rely on a Russian spy camera for an assignment regardless of how much the retro-look appeals to myself and certain other photo fetishists.  I hope you enjoy them.

The day of Compadres is celebrated deep inside the mines, where the men pile heaps of streamers around each others necks to express their respect.

The infamous Cerro Rico, or "rich hill", looming over the city of Potosí.

Miners decorating a cavern deep in the mine for the Compadres party.

A young miner drinking grain alcohol from a hollowed out fruit inside the mine.

Coca leaves are a staple in the mines, during both work and celebration.

A miner preparing a challa, or ritual offering, on the day of Compadres.

The entrance/exit to La Negra mine.

"El Tio", the devil inside the mountain, emerges for the Carnaval de los Mineros.

Miners and children dancing during the Carnaval de los Mineros in Potosí.

A band performing during the Carnaval de los Mineros.

The miners cemetary in Potosí.

A miner from the "La Negra" mine cooperative.

Quechuan musicians/dancers performing during the Carnaval de los Mineros.

A woman performing in the Carnaval de los Mineros

Performers in traditional dress at the Carnaval de los Mineros.

Children participating in the "dance of the young miners" at the Carnaval de los Mineros.

Costumed dancer at the Carnaval de los Mineros.

A group of Quechuan women at the Carnaval de los Mineros.

“A young man uncovers myth, history, and murder while searching for the soul of an unknown and magical place.”

I’m excited to announce that The Riverbones has been published by McClelland and Stewart and is now available for sale at your local Canadian bookshop, as well as via Amazon.  Huge props to Andrew for not only writing an amazing book and surviving many months in the jungle, but for surviving what I heard was an epic launch party last night.

The book features photos I shot while traveling with Andrew in Suriname.  An exhibit which is following the book around Toronto will be on display at Tinto’s cafe on Roncesvalles, starting Nov 27′th.  If you’re in the neighborhood, I urge you to grab a coffee or some lime-aid and check it out.

Beats, babes and beer overflow San Francisco’s Civic Center.

Here is a fun little audio slideshow from this year’s Love Parade and festival in SF.

Grab your headphones!

Last weekend was the 4′th annual LoveFest in San Francisco.  This is a spin-off from the famous Berlin Love Parade which appears to have taken root in San Fran’s counterculture soil and historically free-love atmosphere.  The event has grown substantially since the inaugural one which I shot in 2005.  This year’s parade went down Market street to the festival grounds at Civic Center, which by evening was packed with close to 100,000 people.  An audio slideshow is in the works, so stay tuned.