A Beautiful Photographer: Jason P. Howe

The images that Howe took that day led to him winning 
best photo essay and photographer of the year 
from the Picture Editors’ Guild. 
It was a professional high, 
but after the incident and the events that followed 
(the MoD first asked the Telegraph not to print the photograph, then agreed publication if it were censored, so the worst injuries were not shown; ‘I was told there wouldn’t be any repercussions, but then several months later, when the next Telegraph embed came up, I was told the MoD had refused my application,’ Howe said), 
his mental health started to decline. 
Unable to work, after months of hard partying he realised he ‘would probably end up dead’ 
 and he changed track, 
moving to a rented isolated finca in northern Spain 
in an attempt 
to 
‘escape from the world’.

  But he suffered from horrific nightmares and paranoia – 
walking around the house 
with the lights on but the shutters closed, 
‘in case of snipers’. 

He realised that he was suffering 
from 
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

PHOTO:http://www.jasonphowe.com/  and http://blog.photoshelter.com

Jason P. Howe:
from amateur to travel to photojournalism to a war photographer
Howe was 13 when he first picked up a camera – photographing his school band and wildlife around Woodbridge, East Anglia, where he grew up. After leaving school aged 16, he worked in a camera shop in Ipswich, where he would meet professional photographers who had returned from assignments around the world.
Inspired, he decided to try to make a living as a travel photographer. From 1994 onwards he made 25 trips to Latin America, visiting 18 countries and getting published in travel magazines.

PHOTO: http://www.jasonphowe.com/

PHOTO: http://www.jasonphowe.com/

PHOTO: http://www.monfilspictures.com/jason-howe.html

PHOTO: www.jasonphowe.com

In 1998 he visited Colombia as a backpacker. By now, Howe says, he was ‘getting bored with photographing beautiful scenery’ and was becoming interested in photojournalism. ‘I wanted to report on stories that would otherwise go unreported,’ he said. ‘It was the first time I heard about the conflict.’ The war that had started in 1964 – with the country’s Marxist-inspired rebel group Farc, far-right paramilitary groups and the government all fighting for control – was ongoing. ‘It seemed that Colombia was my story,’ he said.

PHOTO: http://www.monfilspictures.com/jason-howe.html

PHOTO: http://www.monfilspictures.com/jason-howe.html

Photojournalist Jason P. Howe has spent over a decade covering breaking news on the front lines of conflict zones worldwide, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Colombia.

PHOTO: http://www.monfilspictures.com/jason-howe.html

The most dangerous scenario he witnessed
In November 2011 I was on an operation with British Forces in Helmand province, Afghanistan. I followed 6 soldiers through a doorway into a compound, each of us stepping in the footsteps of the other after the ground had been swept with a bomb detector. As the soldier behind me stepped onto the ground I had just left, an IED exploded and blew off both of his legs. After making images of the medics working on him, I joined the stretcher party and helped carry him towards the inbound MEDIVAC helicopter. There was a high threat that the ground we were covering may be hiding more IEDs. If even one of us stepped on another one, we would have had a mass casualty situation. As if this was not bad enough, as the stretcher bearers ran towards the helicopter a Taliban sniper opened fire.

PHOTO: www.jasonphowe.com

PHOTO: www.jasonphowe.com

PHOTO: www.jasonphowe.com

PHOTO: www.jasonphowe.com

It was one of the most intense situations I have found myself in and required constant decision-making where the wrong decision could result in further injury or death. I had to think about where and how to move without risking triggering other IEDs or cause problems with shocked and angry soldiers who had just seen their friend horribly wounded. How and when to stop being an observer and do something to help save the life of the wounded man is a tough choice.

Appearance of his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms
He worked more than 400 days in Iraq. ‘Eventually I stopped having any kind of real emotional reaction,’ he said. ‘I would come back from photographing a suicide bomb with bits of people all over the place and order some food to eat while editing the pictures. It became quite clinical.’

He sank into a deep depression. ‘My pictures hadn’t made any difference, so I couldn’t see the point to anything,’ he said. ‘Why bother getting up? Why bother washing?

PHOTO: http://www.monfilspictures.com/jason-howe.html

After a few ‘tough months’, gradually his new life seemed to be helping him. He forged a simple structure to his day: feed the chickens, take the dogs for a walk, tend the vegetables in his garden. He avoided coffee and cigarettes, and stopped reading the news or watching films about war – triggers for his symptoms. The problems were still there, as were the nightmares and depression, but he said he had been managing it. 

PTSD, his main debilitating issue is depression. ‘I have a very dark view of the world where, whatever I do, it doesn’t change,’ he said. But it is compounded by problems concentrating and hyper-vigilance – he exhaustively imagines the worst outcomes of every situation.

He also feels anger. And at times he feels abandoned by the media industry, but ‘then I feel I have nothing to complain about since it was my choice to go to war, and I have to deal with the consequences myself’. Because he has not been able to work, Howe is now facing eviction from his farmhouse. He is planning a road trip around Europe, photographing people who seek a simpler, more sustainable way to live than modern life offers.

PHOTO: James Arthur Allen

He plans to trade website photography for campsites and meals.
‘I am a very positive person, a fighter and a survivor,’ he said at the end. ‘But it is a hard battle and one that I do not always foresee there being the energy available to fight.’

'War comes to an end,

but 
many bring back a burden of 
physical and psychological damage.'

-Simon Akam

PHOTO:http://www.jasonphowe.com/  and http://blog.photoshelter.com
#Sites thankfully consulted, shared and recommended for more text or viewing his photo gallery:
www.jasonphowe.com
www.conflictpics.com
http://www.fotoevidence.com/jason-p-howe
http://jasonphowe.photoshelter.com/image/I0000UABJmpSAuXo 
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/08/survival-tips-for-the-aspiring-conflict-photographer/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/11211285/War-photographer-Jason-Howes-battle-with-PTSD.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_%28film%29
(A Beautiful Mind: a biopic of the meteoric rise of John Forbes Nash Jr., a math prodigy able to solve problems that baffled the greatest of minds. And how he overcame years of suffering through schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize)

#Photography related more blog post from the same author: 
kevin carter
anja niedringhaus
steve mccurry
macro methods

Many moods of mountain: observing Cyclone Hudhud trail in Mainpat of Chhattisgarh

Is it sheer chance or by design, that another cyclonic storm appeared on our coordinate for devastation and furry just after one year (Phailin like disaster looming large) on 13/14 night and affecting the day after.

Are these repeated disasters signal something which we ought to unlock, comprehend, take measures corrective in our capacity to repair damaged ecological losses made in our civilization pressures !!

Hudhud, the strongest tropical cyclone of 2014 within the North Indian Ocean, which passed this early night from our coordinates (Ambikapur, 13/14 night of October 2014) in India, under whose influence of an upper air cyclonic circulation, a low pressure area formed led to storm with peak intensity, uprooted trees, devastated communication and power transmission lines with rapid rain showers.

But life moves on, soon after the wind is gone, cleaning debris from around, gathering broken twigs of tree branches to harness fuel and fodder so that energy could be harnessed to mobilize the life once again.

Such is the life !!

And following are the pictures which I tried to gather from in around me (http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2013/08/call-from-misty-mystical-mountain.html) showing beats of life in various forms coming to normalcy with the beauty of the trail left by cyclone.
#all pictures taken on the day of 14th October 2014, Tuesday

#The blizzard, the tail end of a cyclone that hit the Indian coast a few days earlier, appeared to contribute to an avalanche Wednesday (15th October) that killed 27 in Nepal !!

As per the news reports and Meteorological data, the blizzard struck Nepal on Tuesday on the Annapurna circuit, a popular hiking route that is not as demanding as the Mount Everest trek. As a result, many of the climbers may not have been the elite mountaineers, who have more experience in challenging conditions. So far, 27 people, including many foreigners, are confirmed dead, with at least 70 people still missing. The death toll is expected to rise.

The blizzard was partly a product of the cyclone's counter-clockwise circulation, which pushed copious amounts of moisture up against the wall of mountains in Nepal and northern India.
The winds around the cyclone temporarily directed a firehose of moisture from the warm waters of the Indian Ocean north-northwestward toward the Himalayas — some of the world's tallest mountain peaks with elevations above 20,000 feet — at the time when elite mountaineers were trying to reach the summit of mountains such as K2 and Mount Everest.
The snowfall, which was measured in feet, not inches, occurred as the mountains were sideswiped by the tail of the dying cyclone. Snowfall totals topped 6 feet in some places, according to multiple reports. The mountains acted like a sponge, squeezing out moisture as it was lifted up and over them, in a process known as orographic lift. 

It is the worst disaster in the history of Nepal's mountain-climbing industry, a major contributor to the country's economy. 
http://mashable.com/2014/10/16/india-cyclone-hudhud-nepal/

#Number of missing in Nepal after cyclone Hudhud is high as 85(Wikimedia)

 

17,770-foot Thorong La Pass, Nepal. Where 12 hikers died in a snowstorm.

imd.gov.in

Storm track of Cyclone Hudhud and precipitation potential as seen by a NASA satellite

Seven-day precipitation totals, showing the heavy precipitation in the Himalayas 

Mussoorie: Himalayan beauty India is born into

Mussoorie: One of the hill city of India to look into Himalayan beauty, just 35 kilometers from the Dehradun.

Dehradun itself is in the valley of Garhwal Himalayan range, with structures

and buildings raised in British colonial period.

Blue sky, mist in the air and traveler unfolds wing. Sky is the limit for botanist, explorer, nature lovers and of course for those who sought relief from the searing heat of the Indian plains. 

Mussoorie is a hill station in northern Himalayan range, whose average elevation is about 2005.5 metres (6580 ft), nature has given such a beauty to this place, as this place is called, 'The Queen Of Hill Stations'.

Mussoorie, like other hill resorts in India, came into existence in the 1820s or thereabouts, when the families of British colonials began making for the hills in order to escape the scorching heat of the plains. 

I could photograph only these two birds in pair, Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus) of many which were singing in a chorus in full throat melodious orchestra, while walking on the "Camel's Back Road" of Mussoorie.

The Great Himalaya Range has some of the most diverse eco-systems on the planet that are home to an enormous variety of plant and animal life. 
So for people who really want to experience the flora and fauna of the Himalayas it will be a wonderful experience. 
The Himalayas is the home to many rare species of wild flowers.

Roof Iris, Botanical name: Iris tectorum    Family: Iridaceae (Iris family)

Common name: Royle's Larkspur
Botanical name: Delphinium roylei    Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Synonyms: Delphinium incanum

More out of chance than design, Mussoorie is a beautiful Himalayan hill town, home to deodars (Cedrus Deodara) everywhere. 
Route is sprinkled with brilliant red flowers of the the Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboretum). 
Beautiful Himalayan fir (Abies pindrow), Chir pine (Pinus roxburghi), sturdy Himalayan Oak (Quercus leucotricophora) with their pale cream flowers hanging in clusters, Chestnut tree (Aesculus indica), pale green poplar and tall Himalayan Cypress (Cupressus Torulosa).

Post office of Mussoorie, operating since December1, 1936; in those British colonial times posts were carried manually from Dehradun.

Himalayan mountain range in the back drop, underneath the shades of thick canopied trees, with the up and down of any typical hill town, shops are clustered with various objects; are also the point of attraction for tourists as well as enthusiasts of all age groups.

While walking in the wood in these parts of Himalayan range, many water streams, big and small are bestowed from the nature, where an eco-system sustains in full diversity, with interesting flora and fauna; this one in picture (Kempty Falls) attracts tourist at large.

Mussoorie is often talked about for its scenic beauty. However, not many people know that it has a rich literary heritage and its residents are passionate about books and authors. 
Mussoorie is home to many writers, the most well-known being Ruskin Bond. 
No wonder then that a bookshop in this hill station is one of the most popular places to hangout. 
Cambridge Book Depot: for the past 14 years, Ruskin Bond comes to the bookstore on every Saturday if he is in town and the bonding session with him.

"Sir Walter Scott must have been a very popular writer with the British in exile, for there are many houses in Mussoorie that echo his novels and romances -- Kenilworth, Ivanhoe, Woodstock (now a well-known school), Rokeby, Waverly, The Monastery as also Abbotsford, named after Scott's own home."
(share courtesy:Ruskin Bond)

"How high is that mountain?" asked Anil. 
"It must be over 4,000 meters." said Miss Mackenzie. 
"I always wanted to go there, but there is no proper road. At that height, there'll be flowers that you don't get here - blue gentian, purple columbine, anemone..."  
(excerpt from the story, "A bouquet of love" by Ruskin Bond)

Evening light illuminates the spectacular view of the hills naked at one side while the other side with woods around - of pine, cedar, birch, oak, rhododendron and deodar - which glow green. 
Mussoorie, the proverbial Queen of Hill stations, as professed by the British gentry who evaded hot, desultory summers of Delhi and Kolkata by spending time here.

Mussoorie being at an average altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), with its green hills and varied flora and fauna, is a fascinating hill resort. Commanding snow ranges to the north-east, and glittering views of the Doon Valley and Shiwalik ranges in the south, the town was once said to present a 'fairyland' atmosphere to tourists.

"Mussoorie has always remained a poor cousin to Shimla, which had it's Viceroy. Nainital had it's Governor from the Unitd Provinces. Mussoorie remained unofficial - for affairs of the heart. It has always been a gossipyplace, as the extracts from the Miscellany and the "John Lang" article will show. May be it is too close to the plains and not close enough to the real mountains; but it has never been a dull or boring place."
(share courtesy: Ruskin Bond)
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The Indian history: 
Like any other country in the world, India too had it's past full of captivity and turmoil, like:

1.The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture.

2.Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century.

3.By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.

4.Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

The Himalayas: 
Many myth and legends are attached with this mountain in India. It was a barrier hard to cross by invaders in earlier days and the harsh weather of the north beyond that plate. India is warm and cozy, having weather pattern, because of this mountain. Monsoon is controlled by this mighty range. India owes all it's richness to Himalayas.

The Himalayan range: 
Not many places in the world can charm you like the Himalayas. Not every place gives you the reason to visit there every season. But then every place does not boast of the beauty as the Himalayas. The Himalayas are covered with different array of flora and fauna. With its exotic wildlife and natural beauty it has always attracted travelers and tourist across the world. The eastern and the western regions of the Himalayas are covered with varied forests. The Western region is known for blue pine, spruce, silver fir, junipers, conifers deodar, and Chirpine, which are found in abundance. While the eastern Himalayas are famous for maples, rhododendrons, alder, and birch, oaks, laurels, and dwarf willows. The region of Assam is known for lush evergreen forests and bamboo and tall grasses. The Himalayas is the home to many rare species. Nearly about one third of all mountain animals live here. Due to Himalayas long range, which extends to over 1,500 miles in length and 250 miles in width it is divided into three ranges: the Lesser, Greater and Outer Himalayas. Since the range is so much in length and width that variety of climatic condition, vegetation and wildlife can be seen. The Himalayan regions have many national park and wildlife sanctuaries. So for people who really want to experience the flora and fauna of the Himalayas it will be a wonderful experience.