Ian Booth Photography Blog

recent trip to new york

2011-07-08T19:43:00.008-06:00

June 26 1:43:28 PM

1:43:29

1:43:30

2011-06-08T11:18:00.006-06:00

sl stroll

2011-05-31T15:08:00.004-06:00

love

portland

2011-05-30T14:56:00.001-06:00

manila

2011-05-05T03:31:00.005-06:00

Vabukori Village

2011-04-24T19:29:00.009-06:00

Motu village 15 minutes southeast of Moresby.

One of Vabukori's three coves. (looking north towards Port Moresby town)

Karo Obaha, walking a narrow path up to the top of Manuabada Island, land where his forefathers of the Kwabira Laurina Keia Sere Besena clan used to make gardens. A small number of villagers live on the island, which is swarmed by village fishermen during the week and attracts outside visitors for picnics on the weekend.

Vavia George frying bahu (leftovers), maniota and meat on a fire in the kitchen of his stilt house.

Vavia's wife and their three kids in the living area. The smallest child is rocked to sleep in the bilum (stringbag).

The Lavi family having a rest on their front porch while their animals play around the house.

Ganiga Dabu, one of the oldest women in Vabukori. She became known as Vabu Kivio when her husband Kivio Gima passed away. This is the norm in Motuan custom, whereby a widow is addressed by the name of their late husband. Vabu Kivio has witnessed rapid changes in the village and often yearns for the days of old, when life was simple and the village was less crowded.

Gulf woman, Claire Mape, collecting shells on the beach. The shells will be cooked inside an oven to make lime, then bottled and sold in Moresby.

2011-04-23T19:28:00.001-06:00

2011-04-12T17:40:00.002-06:00

2011-04-10T22:46:00.002-06:00

2011-04-04T18:57:00.001-06:00

Baruni dump

Bunker homes on Paga Hill

2011-04-02T20:42:00.021-06:00

Paga lookout point.

Aside from its great view of Port Moresby town and the coral sea, Paga hill also has a short history of army defense. Concrete bunkers, two six-inch gun batteries , and access tunnels are scattered on paga’s top and southwest end.

The first plans for Port Moresby’s gun batteries were made in the end of the nineteenth century when many south pacific nations were in fear of the Russians raiding or invading their countries. Many coastal guns in New Zealand and Australia were installed but none of the planned guns in PNG went through. When WW2 broke out in Europe in 1939, the old plans for the guns were used and the cement was poured. The Paga point was chosen to hold the Australian Army Gunners during WW2 due to its elevated view over Basilisk Passage; the narrow passage through the coral reef which would be the enemy ships only way in. The guns on Paga Hill were only one of five gun batteries installed to protect Port Moresby from a marine invasion. In its short history none of the coastal guns in Port Moresby were fired off for war time use and the guns on Paga Hill were de-commissioned by 1946.

Most of the 70 year old cement structures on the hill today have been dug out, cleaned and turned into houses overlooking the coral sea. Anthony Joseph, a local living in one of the bunkers calls his area “Hollywood Hills."

Peter Siwa with his son Weslie, 6, showing off his found machine gun and army helmet in his home. Peter has been living here for thirteen years.

Peter inside one of the WW2 tunnels. All the tunnels are now sealed.

14 yr old Nicholas Philiip, youngest of five kids, standing in his family’s front doorway while Meke Ina, the resident of the right side of the supplies bunker pulls dry laundry.

David Mosan, age 13, watching the home, the right room, while his parents are at work and his siblings are in school. The round track around the empty pit was used for a 360 degree six-inch machine gun. As of now there are three families that live inside the three room cement structure.

Andy, age 13, leading Weslie over old gun deck.

View down to beach. Kids coming in from fishing.

John Paul, 44, in front of his bunker home with his kids and neighbors. John installed a toilet with running water along with electricity and cable TV.

Ana Philip with one of her three daughters in front of a two room ammunition storage bunker. Ana is the first wife. The second wife of the family, Mary, lives in the second room to the right.

Entrance toWW2 tunnel. Home to Kiap Jip’s family and brother. Kiap started cleaning and mainting the WW2 cement structures on Paga Hill in 1975 and rented them fortnightly to locals. Kiap passed away in 2009.

Two local boys on the south side of Paga Hill looking out over the Basilisk Passage.

2011-04-01T21:07:00.001-06:00

2011-03-31T17:44:00.001-06:00

NCD Boxing Tournament last sunday at the sports inn

2011-03-22T21:13:00.005-06:00

family fun time in Australia and New Zealand

2011-03-17T17:53:00.005-06:00

Great Barrier Reef

2011-03-17T17:10:00.000-06:00

NEW ZEALAND!! WHY NOT?

Public toilets. designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser's

great barrier reef

..back to png

A stroll through the Panguna Mine site in Bougainville

2011-03-14T08:30:00.002-06:00

When Western mining operations seek resources in foreign lands they are signing up to face unthinkable cultural obstacles. With the connection of the mining company and the resource rich nation’s government having a strong business bond, the locals on the mining sight may get left out of some detailed operations and plans. Whatever goes wrong with mining operations, whether it is landowner payment disputes, government corruption, racial discrimination between foreign and local workers, mining chemicals causing problems with soil fertility and ocean marine life, the problems will most likely effect the people that live on the land the most. Exploring the crisis affected lands of the Panguna mine sight I often felt like an intruder in some strange neglected neighborhood. Almost all the Mine site buildings have been burnt and gutted out and the ones with solid foundations are now serving as food shops and homes to some of the original natives. There are at least 10 people who live on the site now that also worked there during the mines operation. A 58 year old local, who wished to remain anonymous, worked on the mine site in the laboratory building and now lives in one of the old hardware warehouses with his family expressed his views. “The mine should benefit people for longer, for generations to generation.” “The money just goes back to the [mining company’s] country. After they open supermarkets [at the mine sites], it left little money for the landowners.” “We stopped the mine, now it’s really quiet.”

Young children walking past the old married quarters.

A lone copper dump truck that was completely burned out during the crisis.

Twenty-seven large copper dump tucks that were burned to the ground. Nature is slowly growing around the rusted bodies.

The largest open-cut mine

Clothes lines and gardens. The village life has reclaimed the land that the modern mine was operating in.

The old recreation pool for the mine workers

Broken down toilets in the Panguna pool bathrooms

Clothes hanging outside the old fuel station. According to a local, there are at least ten people living in the mine structures that also worked for the mine.

Philomina, Natalie, Alison (2 year old in lap), Katherine and their dog peter. Passing time on the front porch of what used to be the fuel station. There are ten people that live in this building.

hydro power

2011-03-13T17:43:00.006-06:00

Out on Bougainville island there is a lot of creative living going on. I was lucky to meet some cool locals in a guest house on Buka island the night before i was heading to Bougainville. Warren and his wife were also heading to Bougainville so they offered for me tag along. We went up to Pavaere village, in the hills north of Arawa town.

Warren's "home made" truck. Made out of three different Toyota trucks.

sharing the front seat with the car battery

Warren set up his own electricity for his village and two others. He calls it "hydro power." Made with a river, a generator, old septic pipes from arawa town, old power lines and a power box from town. The river is reverted so he could dig his PVC pipes into the ground. Being separate from the main river the pipe is safe from floods.

The pvc pipe then runs about 100 meters down hill to give the water some momentum. The water exits the pipe and spin sprays the turbine. The turbine turns the generator on the other side in the safe shed. no gas needed.

He connected the generator to the power box to give main power switches to each village.

Then the power cords are nailed up to trees and run back up to village.“Its just common sense” warren said. they had to be creative after the crisis, they didn’t have much support from anyone. As of now the generator powers 8 houses constantly 24 hours a day. A few lights in each house and a couple tvs in the village. Warren believes the generator has enough power for 20 twenty houses.

Arawa, Bougainville

2011-03-04T15:52:00.012-07:00

To Papua New Guinean's, Bougainville island is mostly known for the brutal civil war over the Panguna copper mine and homing some of the darkest skin in the png world. I was told over and over by locals about the imported AK's, reused WWII M-16s, and other guns in town left over from the Bougainville crisis. Asking around I found that everyone had a gun. When trying to get photographs of them I also found that everyone either kept their guns at their uncles house or buried them in the bush too far away to find. I spent three days here and loved it. Everyone was incredibly nice and very helpful. The streets and buildings in Arawa town are in terrible shape. Bougainvilles civil war is still very visible.

Simon and his older brother from Pavaere village overlooking Arawa town.

The old provincial government building was burnt down along with most of the town in the years after the local Panguna mine was shut down in 1989 . The large two story building, built on a foundation designed after a bird of paradise, now unintentionally offers a huge beer garden with multiple bia stores scattered throughout the old government grounds.

Having a few white cans with Peter Kauma in his new shop. He will keep his shop running until the government kicks him out to rebuild the provincial house.

Born here Die here

2011-02-21T20:50:00.005-07:00

The image of a small tropical secluded island with too many coconut trees, green volcano landscapes and the old glowing town of Rabaul just a short walk away pictures something too beautiful for my mind see. A sound paradise for the lucky ones born there. The only way to imagine what it was like is by imagining the exact opposite of what Matupit looks like now.

On Septemeber 19^th 1994 ash began spewing out of Mt Tavurvur and Mt Vulcan while the island of Matupit sat in the Simpson Harbor directly inbetween the two volcanos. As the ash became unbearable many of the locals fled to the nearby town Kokopo, while some stubborn locals stayed behind shoveling the constant falling ash off the houses. Weeks later the government granted a large piece of land south of Kokopo for the village to relocate. While some have accepted their new land, others are still making their way back to the once beautiful island. Two to three thousand live on the island today, around 75% of the original population.

Found Menrint James wondering along the beach near his home. While some locals claim the ash has caused no health problems others said the sulpher was causing asthema and tuberculosis .

The locals mentioned the bridge to their island as we drove over it without adding the fact that it was only ash and dirt under the bridge and they did not live on an island anymore.

East side of Matupit looking toward Mt Tavurvur

Volcanic ash inside the Matupit Primary School. The two-classroom school was used for grades 1-4.

Palex Tioman with his wife and five kids outside his original house. Palex said he left the village the day the volcanoes erupted but returned the next day. He does not have a job. Coconut planations were the main source of income before the eruptions. Like many locals he survives on fishing and digging for wild fowl eggs near the volcano.

There are many houses in the town with collapsed roofs. Being too expensive to fix, some residents have tried to repair them while others built new homes out of bush materials and scavenged metal scraps.

[Thank you National. The words and some
of these photos were printed in the National's
Weekender paper, February 25th 2011]

2011-02-05T18:34:00.002-07:00

awesome possum
Hote village

2011-02-04T18:33:00.001-07:00

2011-02-02T16:24:00.007-07:00

did i finish those cheese crackers last night? skibbity... b-bop durr.. man i could really go for some cheese crackers. uuaagghh.. im driggity draggity dru-dru-drunk.. baggity of chips b-bop.. yaaaa..

YOUU!!...... YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEDD!! BUT YOU!!.. you missed it honey, i rocked biz mark on the mic down at larrys tonight!!

ugh, its 3 in the morning. jesus, your breath smells like rotten rat mai tai!

c'mon babe you have been bouncing around my head all night. just one little kiss

GET AWAY FROM ME!!

anything happen while i was sleeping?
naaa, just still chillin in this cage

2011-01-30T22:10:00.007-07:00

a couple days ago i walked by a long dreaded man sitting around with the guards at the front gate at work. We talked for a few minutes and then i took his portrait. Andrew Kaipu. He stopped cutting his hair in 1996. He gave two dreads away as souveigners in Hawaii, one to a basketball player named steve. Then lost ten in a drunken fight at three mile in 2006. Said "its hard for a rasta."

2011-01-24T19:21:00.007-07:00

inside of KMC Kenmaity Fried Chicken

outside of KMC Kenmaity Fried Chicken

2011-01-22T19:25:00.002-07:00

stop and shop parking lot

2011-01-21T20:51:00.002-07:00

put the tape in the tape deck, i said put, the tape in the tape deck

2011-01-20T21:07:00.003-07:00

East New Britain visitors in POM general hospital children's ward

2011-01-19T21:05:00.002-07:00

lutheran guest house madang

2011-01-17T16:01:00.005-07:00

Pteropus aka flying foxes aka huge ass day bats

Madang

Port Moresby

2011-01-16T16:29:00.004-07:00

Porebada village, half hour drive north west of Moresby

low tide

A family in the village lost their young child a few days ago. He fell off one of the poorly made walkways during high tide and was washed away in the ocean. This is inside the crying house two days after the death. Family and friends are sharing their grief with the parents, which are sitting in the left doorway. The piles of rice and sugar in the middle were donated to the parents by the Governor.

when we left the house there seemed to be a few kids on the walkways waiting for us to come out to get their photo taken

2011-01-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

2011-01-13T17:07:00.006-07:00

small spider in bush outside of Hote village

2011-01-12T16:48:00.003-07:00

city of cairns (aussies clean mini san diego with stuffed kangaroos)

2011-01-11T17:30:00.004-07:00

2011-01-06T17:44:00.001-07:00

Siar island, off madang coast

2011-01-06T17:37:00.002-07:00

lord of the flies

2011-01-05T19:14:00.002-07:00

old Hohola market.

2011-01-04T09:08:00.004-07:00

Cynthia

Born on Bougainville Island. Lives in Moresby.
Traditional work on cheek and forehead.
Tattoo of Mandarin Chinese characters for Fuck Off done with make-shift gun and bic pen ink.

ela pier yesterday

2011-01-03T08:36:00.004-07:00

2011-01-02T17:53:00.007-07:00

palms, gas, cranes and drying sneakers

2011-01-02T17:11:00.003-07:00

Casper Moses. Drives a public pmv bus route from Maprik to Pagwi (east sepik river) four times a day. After I showed him the back of my camera he looked down at the two full beers laying next to him and said "don't show the boys in the back, hee hee!." It took me a second to realize that his giggling concern was for the safety of his unopened SP stubbies, not the passengers.

2011-01-01T22:13:00.002-07:00

pmv bus on east Boroko roundabout

2010-12-30T15:43:00.005-07:00

wind through Hohola market

2010-12-29T15:46:00.005-07:00

outskirts of Sabama market

Digicel Stars (PNG's american idol) at 5-mile Jack Pidik Park. Carols by candlelight, Dec. 23

2010-12-28T16:28:00.009-07:00

Moses Tau

gov hanger at jackson

2010-12-27T21:43:00.003-07:00

2010-12-27T16:26:00.006-07:00

first grader Racheal Karo. Hawaiian dance at Wardstrip elementary school graduation in Boroko area, POM

talkin

2010-12-26T21:45:00.007-07:00

goldie barracks obstacle

2010-12-26T21:00:00.006-07:00

Defense commander Francis Agwi with section 5 troops

house fire in Hohola 2 suburb

2010-12-26T20:51:00.005-07:00

We followed the smoke in the news van and arrived at the same time as the firefighters. neighbors told us the fire was caused by power expenditures.

pom general hospital parking lot

2010-12-23T20:11:00.007-07:00

20 kina fare

2010-12-23T15:40:00.001-07:00

2010-12-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

2010-12-18T21:23:00.002-07:00

mummy christmas

2010-12-17T21:16:00.004-07:00

morata one settlement

2010-12-17T20:15:00.004-07:00

SP. side of house

2010-12-16T20:13:00.003-07:00

2010-12-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

settlement raid

2010-12-16T16:42:00.003-07:00

2010-12-15T22:15:00.004-07:00

ela beach in port moresby

2010-12-15T22:09:00.004-07:00