Aratta-Kingdom Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 The Calgary Sun, Canada Feb 15 2009 Capturing Obama Photographer Scout Tufankjian spent two years chronicling Barack Obama's road to the White House By MARIE-JOELLE PARENT, SUN MEDIA NEW YORK -- She knows every wrinkle in his face, his expressions, his quirks, his habits. Scout Tufankjian is the only photographer to have followed Barack Obama throughout the two years of his election campaign. Her photos have run in the biggest newspapers and her new book, Yes We Can, is already a bestseller. In the fall of 2006, Tufankjian had just returned from Gaza where she worked for four years as a photographer. Her agency wanted her to cover a book signing in a New Hampshire bookstore for a guy named Barack Obama. "I didn't want to hear about it. It was five hours away and I didn't know if the photos would be sold. I was sure it was going to be totally boring," Tufankjian told Sun Media at the Brooklyn gallery that is showing her work near her apartment. The light bulb went on for Tufankjian when she saw the crowd's hysteria as Obama entered the room. "They exploded! I couldn't believe it, especially in New Hampshire where they have a reputation for not caring about politics," she said. "I knew at that point that he would be an important political force." She phoned her boss and told him she wanted to follow Obama, even though the Illinois senator hadn't yet announced his candidacy. Tufankjian had a sixth sense in this case, and in following Obama and his supporters with her Nikon D3, she recorded some of the key moments of the 21st century. She took a slew of shots of Obama and kept about 12,000 of them. "It's incredible. I know all the details of his face, more so than my own boyfriend or my father," she said. Is he photogenic? "Yes, very. He makes a lot of funny faces and he's very expressive. But he has a few nervous tics. It's impossible to photograph him when he's speaking at a microphone because he holds it in front of his mouth." With her eyebrow ring, short bangs, mischievous nature and bubbling energy, Tufankjian, which means "son of a gun" in Armenian, is well-suited to her last name. Born in a small town in Massachusetts, she studied political science at Yale and moved to New York seven years ago. Her love affair with photography began on a trip to Northern Ireland where she saw a riot break out in the middle of the street. Since then her photos have run in Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Guardian and Rolling Stone. Tufankjian, 30, had privileged access during the campaign even though she's an independent photographer. But there were still rules to follow. "We couldn't photograph him when he was wearing sports clothes, which was totally stupid. He tucks his sweatshirt into his pants so we can't see his skinny legs and it makes him look a bit ridiculous. Untuck your sweater, dude. It's going to be OK," she said while laughing. Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, were also off-limits when they were not with their father. She said her best photos came from South Carolina. "That's where I really saw what he represented for people. I talked to seniors who grew up under the Jim Crow laws and young people who had never waved an American flag. They were getting back hope for their country." Her favourite picture was taken in South Carolina, one that shows five little girls jumping for joy when they see Obama. Tufankjian is now turning to other subjects and is thinking about going back to Gaza. http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/World/2009/02/...399031-sun.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) I had seen that story in the pages of the Armenian Reporter. Please deturtkify our surname.Take that damn"JI" out of it. What is wrong with a surname like "tufank"-ian that we must always have that dreaded furkish "ji" or "li".Or should we amend our surnames to Mesrop-JI-ian or Mashtots-LI-ian??!! Simply slappig an IAN to any alin word does not an Armenian surname make. Edited February 17, 2009 by Arpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamavor Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Mashtots-LI-ian??!! That somehow relates to me too, and I wonder what would happen with my surname if I cut 2/3 of it? Imagine what would happen with such flagship names such as "Boyadjian, Kuyumdjian, Kodjabashdjian, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ներկարարեան, Ոսկերիչեան, Մեծագլուխեան: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) Ներկարարեան, Ոսկերիչեան, Մեծագլուխեան: Քանիցս ասել եմ որ մեր ազգանունները անպայման թրքերէնի թարգմանումը պիտի չըլլան: Քանի տարի է որ ապրենք Սիրիայ, Լիբանան, Հալէպ, Բէյրութ, Բոստոն, Գլենտեյլ եւլն,: Քանի ազգանուններ ունենք սրանք բնորոշելու, բայց տակաւին յարադեւենք ստանբոլեան, իզմիրլիեան եւլն: Քանի Հայեր ունեն ազգանուններ նման Դիլիճանեա, Ջերմուկեան, Սեւանեան: Ոմանք երրորդ, չորրորդ սերընդի բոտոնածին են: Ինչու ամօթ է Բոստոնեան ազգանուն ունենալ բայց ոչ կոնյաԼԸեան? Այգեպանեան, Ջորեպանեան….Նկարիչեան, Ճարտարապետեան , Երանգեան, Շինարարեան, Աղիւսեան (քիրեմիտ -ճի- եան)**, Հովիվեան (չոպանեան)… Զորն ասեմ, զորն խոստովանեմ? Մեր ազգանունները պայման չեն անպայման թրքերէնի թարգմանումը լինել: Ուր է մեր ստեղծագործ հանճարը? ստամբոլի/ պէշիկթաշի կոյուղենում? Ես անցամբ գիտեմ քանիներ: Մին տէրմենճեանը կրճատեց Տէրեան ի: Իսկ սա արժանի է ստեղծագործական դափնեպսակի… նիւյիւճիւքեանը առին, առաջին վանկը “նիւ” վերածեցին Անգլիերէն “new”, եւ կրկին հայացրին “ՆՈՐ” ի եւ դարձան ՆՈՐԵԱՆ: Even though his brother Rev. Soghomon who just died, did not change his surname from “nuyujukian”. http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:dowHuf...;cd=2&gl=us http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/...hard_to_forget/ **Btw, "kiremit" is none other than "ceramic". Edited February 17, 2009 by Arpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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