Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
Next
392 images found

Loading ()...

  • This fake gun is a sign of authority held by a security guard at a gold mining operation in the Ituri Forest.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7209_1025511.TIF
  • Pople walk by modest homes that line the unpaved road in a small gold mining town in northeastern Congo.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7209_976456.TIF
  • Mbuti boys endure whippings during a puberty ritual ending the manhood ceremony.<br />
Women carry whips to meet the men halfway through the village, and a melee ensures where they beat each other. Women try to control the destiny the child but the men traditionally win, and each boy is paraded through the village for the scarification ritual.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7209_976451.TIF
  • The rapid growth of cities like Kolkata can be attributed largely to rural-urban migration. A large group of "Untouchables" bath in former British horse watering trough in Kolkata, Bengal State, India. <br />
<br />
More than 160 million people in India are Dalit or Untouchables who are tainted by their birth inso a caste system that deems them impure. They are relegated to the lowest jobs and live in fear of being publicly humiliated, beaten, and raped by upper castes seeking to keep them in their place. <br />
<br />
They are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples or wear shoes in the presence of an upper cast according to a Human Rights Watch senior researcher.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386451.TIF
  • A crowd of photographers shooting at the same subject in a city park.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176374.JPG
  • Pilgrims and local people bathe in the sacred Ganges River.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386447.TIF
  • People bathing in the sacred Ganges River in Varanasi.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386315.TIF
  • Tourists walk through the ruins of Monte Alban, a Zapotec capital in the Valley of Oaxaca. Inhabited over a period of 1,500 years by a succession of peoples – Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs – the terraces, dams, canals, pyramids and artificial mounds of Monte Albán were literally carved out of the mountain and are the symbols of a sacred topography. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with unique architecture.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187614.jpg
  • The Dharavi slum area of Mumbai.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386460.TIF
  • People ice-fishing on the Ural River in front of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant.
    GERD LUDWIG_06041_490448.jpg
  • People run on the Great Lawn under the canopy framework of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MT5887_1564381.jpg
  • Costumed revelers march on the Pan American highway in San Pedro Totolapán, Mexico, on Day of the Dead. They stop traffic to solicit handouts from drivers; if no pesos appear, the driver is generally treated to verbal abuse.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187492.jpg
  • Illegal miners scraping for gold on the riverbanks of the Pra River outside of Prestea, Ghana, Africa.
    GOLDGHANA_20060925_02104.tif
  • Illegal miners scraping for gold on the riverbanks of the Pra River. The ruined landscape causes environmental damage that is not repaired.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222970.TIF
  • People scavenging Guayaquil's trash dump to find food, clothing and treasures to take home.
    RANDY OLSON_04319_2512730.JPG
  • Indian Muslims at the call to prayer on the roof of a Kolkata mosque.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386463.TIF
  • The Kara tribe prepares for a coming of age bull jumping ceremony.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306571.TIF
  • The Kara tribe prepares for a coming of age bull jumping ceremony.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306570.TIF
  • Men and women of the Kara tribe gather for an evening dance.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306546.TIF
  • Men and women of the Kara tribe dance at a bull jumping initiation.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306516.TIF
  • Men and women of the Kara tribe dance at a bull jumping initiation.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306511.JPG
  • When the Kara tribe hear engine noise, they race over the hill from their village and down the dusty trail to greet one of the few boats on the Omo River.
    MM7661_20090909_13932.tif
  • An Ecuadorian family grieves at the grave site of a man who was tragically electrocuted when fixing an antenna on the roof of his home to better watch a world soccer match.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2512680.jpg
  • People living in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327778.JPG
  • People living in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327777.JPG
  • Ruler of Alain arrives at the suq area of the camel beauty contest.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260591.JPG
  • People living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp near Lake Turkana.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2328032.JPG
  • People living in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327782.JPG
  • People living in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327770.JPG
  • Kids play in a tributary of the Omo River as their mothers do laundry.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306541.TIF
  • Easter Procession in the town of Orosei on the island of Sardinia creates an intense religious atmosphere.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386347.JPG
  • A Ratha Yatra religious festival where a million devotees crowd the streets in the temple town of Puri.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1364836.TIF
  • A Ratha Yatra religious festival where a million devotees crowd the streets in the sacred town of Puri. The colorful Jagannath Temple was built in the 11th century by King Indradyumna.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386465.TIF
  • Illegal gold mining on the riverbanks of the Pra River where the landscape is destroyed by crowds digging for precious metal.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223026.JPG
  • Workers shovel and dig in an illegal gold mine on the riverbanks of the Pra River. The landscape is devastated in the process of obtaining the precious metal.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223019.TIF
  • Streets crowded with rickshaws in the pilgrimage city of Varanasi.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386445.TIF
  • Mexican schoolchildren walk in pairs holding hands through the ruins of Teotihuacan. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is the most visited site in Mexico. <br />
Teotihuacan is known for having the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187487.jpg
  • During October Festival of Bullfighting for the Lord of the Miracles, hundreds of spectators gather to critique the finesse of both red-caped matadors and bovine competitors. Plaza de Acho is Peru's oldest bull ring is located in a Lima suburb under the towering Cerro San Cristóbal mountain.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187498.jpg
  • A bird's-eye view of summertime sunbathers dotting Central Park's Sheep's Meadow. More than thirty-five million visitors to Manhattan come to the park annually.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6560_968654.jpg
  • Men gather in the shade of a tent to socialize at a camel competition.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260598.JPG
  • Skyline of Bund area in Shanghai.
    RANDY OLSON_RF4319_1155861.JPG
  • Men gather in the shade of a tent to socialize at a camel competition.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260597.JPG
  • Men gather in the shade of a tent to socialize at a camel competition.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260596.JPG
  • The Camel festival outside of Harappa.
    RANDY OLSON_06569_1071273.TIF
  • Swordfish is haplessly thrown into a corner of a market in the town of Zhapo China. These fish are often used for celebratory meals in Hong Kong.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057862.JPG
  • Children in a parade commemorating the opening of Parliament in 1920.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386392.TIF
  • The family that supplied the bulls for the Nyicheriesee ceremony have the stomach contents of the bulls smeared onto them as a sign of respect.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327961.JPG
  • The family that supplied the bulls for the Nyicheriesee ceremony have the stomach contents of the bulls smeared onto them as a sign of respect.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2281806.TIF
  • Fevered by hopes of striking it rich, illegal miners claw sacks of “money stone” –gold ore- from the Pra River in Ghana. Their toll feeds the world’s hunger for gold, and leaves a ruined landscape in its wake.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1198338.TIF
  • Over 5,000 meals of bluefin tuna are prepared at the Bonita Fesitiva in Spain.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057875.JPG
  • The ritual killing, roasting and sharing of a bull that will feed dozens of the Daasanach tribe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327960.JPG
  • Burning trash on the bank of the Buriganga River.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8515_2702792.jpg
  • Trainers gather at the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame the night before a wild horse competition, Extreme Mustang Makeover. All dressed in white hats and shirts, they met for opening ceremonies and instructions for the next day.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222863.jpg
  • Waving whips, clubs, and traditional stools, Daasanach men dance their way into a crowd of potential wives at a pairing off ceremony in Ileret.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2281808.TIF
  • Parade of children carry lanterns in an Easter passion play.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_1114596.jpg
  • Ski lessons in town of Maloja near St. Moritz.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_1114588.jpg
  • Kids play in a fountain in Washington Park in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MT6872_1908617.jpg
  • Summer rain does not dampen spirits of loyal Cincinnati Reds baseball fans.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MT6872_1908613.jpg
  • Children of market workers at a Quito day care center burst into laughter with joyous faces as they watch a magician, a clown, and ethnic dancers.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2512537.jpg
  • Xujiahui shopping area of Shanghai.
    RANDY OLSON_RF4319_1155860.JPG
  • Children play on the shore of Manila Bay which is polluted by household waste, plastics, and other trash.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8515_2702667.JPG
  • Waving whips, clubs, and traditional stools, Daasanach men dance their way into a crowd of potential wives at a pairing off ceremony in Ileret.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327951.JPG
  • The police and politicians have gathered Gabra and Daasanach representatives to try to solve the problem of water rights.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327907.JPG
  • The police and politicians have gathered Gabra and Daasanach representatives to try to solve the problem of water rights.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8259_2327906.JPG
  • Men leading camels walk among trucks and SUVs to a celebration of Bedouin culture held in the United Arab Emirates. The first Camel Beauty contest was in March of 2007 at the edge of the Empty Quarter.  About an hour outside of Abu Dhabi, the Al Dhafra Festival put on by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage is under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
    MM7803_20081226_1778.tif
  • Brides numbered 32 through 43 line up in their queue at the Rose Wedding Festival. Seventy couples in this mass marriage ceremony traveled to Century Park for the ceremony. The marriage-age consumer is a prime target for first-world companies. The middle class’s under-30-consumer market alone is estimated to grow to the size of the entire EU market in the next decade.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176371.jpg
  • Couples dressed in formal wear stand waiting for the mass wedding that took place at the Great Wall outside Beijing.  Some may marry for love, but marriage can also be a great social and financial leap forward.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176463.jpg
  • A couple walks hand in hand crossing on a pedestrian escalator and walkway.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176348.jpg
  • Women from the rural countryside learn skills to work as maids for the newly wealthy class. They are trained to cook and iron at the Fuping Vocational Skills Training School. Li reacts to flying grease in one of the cooking classes.<br />
<br />
Since opening up its economy in 1978 and moving toward a market economy, China has lifted about 400 million people out of poverty, according to the World Bank. But this has led to wide income inequalities that the Communist Party is trying to address through its notion of a “harmonious society” that has a more even distribution of the benefits of recent decades of speedy economic growth. <br />
<br />
Migrant workers in China are mostly people from impoverished regions who go to more urban and prosperous coastal regions in search of work. In some cities, the migrants nearly outnumber the residents. One young girl told National Geographic, “All the young people leave our village. I’m not going back. Many can’t even afford a bus ticket and hitchhike to Beijing.” Overall, the Chinese government has tacitly supported migration as means of transforming China from a rural-based economy to an urban-based one.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176463-5.jpg
  • People stand crowded shoulder to shoulder on a stairway in Mingzhu Park during the October holiday.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176377.jpg
  • Seated in a room full of cloth covered chairs,  the “farmer” capitalist millionaires in Huaxi Village, a model farm for the last 45 years meet annually. Even though they are the collective ideal of the capitalist model, they still dress in Mao-ish style outfits and make decisions for the 80 businesses in a socialist forum.<br />
<br />
These “model farmers” were capitalists before it was allowed in China. They started factories, but worked in them secretly (no windows). When government officials came around, all the workers ran out into the fields and pretended to be peasants. They became the first and most successful capitalist exploitation of the collective. Huaxi Village eventually went bankrupt.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176498.jpg
  • Dried shark fins sold at the Guangzhou Fish Market.<br />
Shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy once prepared exclusively for the Chinese emperors and nobility. The cartilage from the fin is carefully dried and prepared, and used as an ingredient in a soup flavored with seafood or chicken broth and herbs.<br />
<br />
The demand for shark-fin soup has rocketed. It is still associated with privilege and social rank - a bowl of soup can cost up to US$100 - but the explosive growth in the Chinese economy means that hundreds of millions of people can now afford this luxury. Many consider it de rigueur at important events such as weddings, birthdays, business banquets and during Chinese New Year celebrations.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057854.JPG
  • Photographers huddle together to see a model pose out the back door of a red vehicle at the annual China International Automobile Exhibition also known as Guangzhou International Motor Show.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176262.JPG
  • Live reef fish in a tank at a Chinese seafood restaurant. Indonesian reefs are dynamited and cyanide is used to kill entire reefs of fish so a Chinese customer can point to a fish in an aquarium and say “I’d like that one for dinner.” <br />
<br />
Although believed to be the freshest available, fish are transported on a long journey in antibiotic soup to reach the restaurant. Black tip grouper, not threatened, swim in tanks in a Guangzhou restaurant near waiters and diners.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1055383.JPG
  • Women from the rural countryside learn skills like ironing at the Fuping Vocational Skills Training School to be maids for the newly wealthy comfort class. <br />
<br />
Migrant workers in China come from impoverished regions to more urban and prosperous coastal regions in search of work. <br />
Since opening up its economy in 1978 and moving toward a market economy, China has lifted about 400 million people out of poverty, which has led to wide income inequalities. The Communist Party is addressing this through a “harmonious society” that calls for more even distribution of benefits from recent economic growth. <br />
<br />
China has experienced the largest mass migration  from rural to city in history. Perhaps 400 million will have migrated by 2025. Many are farmers and workers made obsolete by modern farming practices and factory workers who have been laid off from inefficient state-run factories. Overall, the Chinese government has tacitly supported migration as means of transforming China from a rural-based economy to an urban-based one.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386317-1.jpg
  • A woman appears lost in thought at the Armani Club is in the Liu lin Road area of Shanghai that attracts  young people to the scene.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176463-6.jpg
  • Women from the rural countryside learn skills like ironing at the Fuping Vocational Skills Training School to be maids for the newly wealthy comfort class. <br />
<br />
Migrant workers in China come from impoverished regions to more urban and prosperous coastal regions in search of work. <br />
Since opening up its economy in 1978 and moving toward a market economy, China has lifted about 400 million people out of poverty, which has led to wide income inequalities. The Communist Party is addressing this through a “harmonious society” that calls for more even distribution of benefits from recent economic growth. <br />
<br />
China has experienced the largest mass migration  from rural to city in history. Perhaps 400 million will have migrated by 2025. Many are farmers and workers made obsolete by modern farming practices and factory workers who have been laid off from inefficient state-run factories. Overall, the Chinese government has tacitly supported migration as means of transforming China from a rural-based economy to an urban-based one.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1386317.jpg
  • Hindus worship a golden deity during the nine day Tirupati Temple Festival. The diety is taken out on colourful processions around the city with hundreds of people following it. People perform Sevas, meaning they offer flowers, fruits, and food to the diety in order to make their lord happy and seek blessings.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223043.JPG
  • Hindus worship a golden deity during the nine day Tirupati Temple Festival. The diety is taken out on colourful processions around the city with hundreds of people following it. People perform Sevas, meaning they offer flowers, fruits, and food to the diety in order to make their lord happy and seek blessings.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223045.JPG
  • Hindus worship a golden deity during the nine day Tirupati Temple Festival. The diety is taken out on colourful processions around the city with hundreds of people following it. People perform Sevas, meaning they offer flowers, fruits, and food to the diety in order to make their lord happy and seek blessings.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223044.JPG
  • Rapa Nui dancers perform on stage for a group of tourists. Dressed in native costumes, the music and dance group entertains engaging the audience to join them on stage.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8059_1493953.JPG
  • Flashing neon strobe lights electrify the dance floor creating a hypnotic scene at a bar scene attracting young people in Shanghai.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176429.jpg
  • A Zapotec Indian woman in traditional clothing serves food to wedding guests while others dance into the night. Weekends are full of wedding celebrations in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, the narrow and flat part of the country where the Zapotec culture is still strong. <br />
Women are noticeably open and confident, taking a leading role in business and government. <br />
The Isthmus never became part of the Aztec Empire and resistance to the Spanish was strong in the mid-1500s.  This party was complete with traditional food and dancing. After the church wedding, the couple walked through the streets of town following musicians. They collect family and carry food to where the street is blocked off for the party.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187048.jpg
  • A Ghanian chief protected by guards with gold handled swords at a festival. He is surrounded by the people of his community.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223008.JPG
  • Kolkata's streets are crammed with vendors, pedestrians, and taxis. It is the primary business, commercial and financial hub of Eastern India with a population of over 14 million in a 2011 census count.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1361070.TIF
  • Overview of Kampala Uganda.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1361059-2.TIF
  • School children explore a worn pyramid on an archeological site. The Huaca Rajada, of Sipán, Peru, is a Moche Pyramid near Chiclayo, Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, famous for the tomb of the Lord of Sipán, Peru excavated in 1987. The ruins of Sipán are dated from 50–700 AD, during the Moche culture.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187661.jpg
  • Workers at the Senevisa shrimp processing factory wear uniforms and hairnets.<br />
<br />
The plant in Dakar processes 4.5 tons of shrimp a day brought in from artisanal fishermen. The local market consumes only three percent of the production of this plant.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057920.JPG
  • Boatloads of Senegalese fishermen return from setting nets all night.The nation’s fleet of small boats, unregulated until recently, hauls in 80 percent of the catch and supplies about 60 percent of the export market. Senegal’s commercial vessels, foreign fleets from Europe and Asia, and pirate fishing boats add to the pressure; the country’s annual harvest declined.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057932.JPG
  • Rain did not stop the celebrations of dancing and singing that followed a historic totem raising ceremony on Prince of Wales Island.<br />
Generations of Tlingit and Haida Native Alaskans retain strong cultural ties with the natural world reflected in their totem art depicting whales and bears.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075035.TIF
  • Rain did not stop the celebrations of dancing and singing that followed a historic totem raising ceremony on Prince of Wales Island.<br />
Generations of Tlingit and Haida Native Alaskans retain strong cultural ties with the natural world reflected in their storytelling totem art depicting whales and bears.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075034.jpg
  • Senegalese fishermen return from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. <br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of artisanal, Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057935.JPG
  • Senegalese fishermen returning from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. Fish populations are dropping and a new danger may be looming on the horizon with the launch of gas production.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057933.JPG
  • Chilean newlyweds in festive paint and feathers celebrate marriage Rapa Nui style. Many of the 100,000 visitors to the island are from Chile which dwarf the less than 6,000 inhabitants.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8059_1477349.JPG
  • A child holds a microphone at a morning assembly at a public school surrounded by other school children and war orphans.<br />
<br />
Half of Uganda is under the age of 15. <br />
The average African woman has nearly 4.5 children (and over 6 in four countries). One consequence of Africa’s high fertility is that a preponderance of its population is young. Twenty-seven percent of the world’s population is under age 15, but in Africa, the figure is 40 percent according to David Bloom, chairman of the department of global health and population at Harvard.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7890_1361059.TIF
  • At a political demonstration in Hanga Roa, marchers carry independence from Chile banners. Easter Island was annexed by Chile in 1888. Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship and in 2007, the island gained the constitutional status of "special territory."
    RANDY OLSON_MM8059_1493972.JPG
  • At a political demonstration in Hanga Roa, marchers carry the red and white Rapa Nui flag. They were supporting a move for independence from Chile which annexed Easter Island in 1888. <br />
Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship and in 2007, the island gained the constitutional status of "special territory." marchers carry the red-and-white Rapanui flag.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8059_1477015.JPG
  • Wearing her fortune, from gold threads in her sari to a priceless heirloom headpiece, she waits to marry. The arranged marriage between two coffee plantation owning families involves a dowry of gold. Indians have more gold than USA reserve system.
    MM7339_20070918_00969.tif
  • A bride is reflected in a mirror wearing gold threads in her sari and a priceless headpiece. Gold jewelry is part of the dowry in Indian marriages.
    MM7339_20070918_00530.tif
  • Wearing her fortune, from gold threads in her sari to a priceless heirloom headpiece, she waits to marry. The arranged marriage between two coffee plantation owning families involves a dowry of gold. Indians have more gold than USA reserve system.
    MM7339_20070918_00524.tif
Next