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  • 23
    Mar
    2013
    5:31pm, EDT

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    Tattoos come to life as festivalgoers act out creatures inked on their bodies

    Devotees in a trance state mimic the creatures which are tattooed on their bodies during the annual Magic Tattoo Festival at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Prathom province, near Bangkok, Thailand, March 23. Thousands of believers from across Thailand travel to the Buddhist monastery to attend the annual tattoo festival to have their bodies adorned with tattoos and to pay their respects to the temple's master tattooist. They believe the tattoos have mystical powers which ward off bad luck and protect them from harm.

    Comment

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    Explore related topics: thailand, tattoo
  • 11
    Jan
    2013
    6:11am, EST

    Tattoo-covered artist challenges for Czech presidency

    Filip Singer / EPA

    Czech Presidential candidate Vladimir Franz takes part in a pre-election TV debate in Prague, Czech Republic, on Jan. 10, 2013.

    Petr David Josek / AP

    Presidential candidates Vladimir Franz, center, Milos Zeman, right, and Premysl Sobotka, left, talk prior to a television debate in Prague on Jan. 10, 2013. The Czech Republic holds the first round of the Presidential election on Jan. 11-12.

    The Associated Press reports — He's tattooed from head to toe, a warrior-like mix of blue, green and red.

    He's also running in a surprising third place ahead of this week's Czech presidential elections.

    Vladimir Franz, an opera composer and painter, seems the most unlikely of candidates for a prestigious post previously held by beloved playwright-dissident Vaclav Havel and Vaclav Klaus, a professor credited with plotting the economic transition from communism to a free market.

    Michal Cizek / AFP - Getty Images

    Presidential candidates (L-R) Premysl Sobotka, Milos Zeman, Vladimir Franz, Jiri Dientsbier and Karel Schwarzenberg attend a TV debate on Jan. 10, 2013 in Prague.

    Some have a nickname for Franz: 'Avatar.' And during a televised debate a caller compared him to "an exotic creature from Papua New Guinea."

    But he's not short of admirers in a country where voters are increasingly tired of politicians they say are corrupt and failing to deliver on years of promises, more than two decades after the fall of communism. Read the full story.

    Michal Cizek / AFP - Getty Images, file

    Vladimir Franz react as he stands in front of supporters, cheering as he announces the collection of 88,388 signatures to become eligible for the Czech presidential elections, on Nov. 5, 2012 in Prague. "The world of art gives you the capacity to speak authentically about things, you're not infected with the newspeak that people are so fed up with these days," Franz told AFP.

    A Czech art professor, composer and punk who is tattooed from head to toe has become a candidate in the upcoming Czech presidential elections. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

     

    44 comments

    He can't be any worse than Obama.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: europe, politics, tattoo, czech-republic, world-news, vladimir-franz
  • 28
    Sep
    2012
    12:45pm, EDT

    A surreal tattoo? Or a tattoo of a surrealist?

    Adrian Dennis / AFP - Getty Images

    "Oldies" poses for a photograph to display his tattoos by artist Josh Lin during the 8th International London Tattoo convention at Tobacco Dock east London on Sept. 28. World famous tattoo artists gathered in London for the annual event.

    Adrian Dennis / AFP - Getty Images

    "Oldies" poses for a photograph to display his tattoos by artist Josh Lin during the 8th International London Tattoo convention at Tobacco Dock east London on Sept. 28.

    See more photos of tattoos in PhotoBlog.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

     

    2 comments

    beyond stupid

    Show more
    Explore related topics: london, tattoo, salvador-dali
  • 29
    Jun
    2012
    2:45pm, EDT

    Tattoo enthusiasts convene in Va. and Ohio

    Larry Downing / Reuters

    Jeff Bitting, right, from St Augustine, Florida, speaks back stage with fellow full-body tattoo contestants before judging at the National Tattoo Association Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 13, 2012. In his 33 years of getting tattoos, Bitting says he has had about 500 hours of work and will complete his other leg in his bid to win more full-body contests.

     

    Reuters Senior photographers Jason Reed and Larry Downing traveled across the country recently to attend two different tattoo conventions in Hampton Roads, Va., and Cincinnati, Ohio, while working on a multimedia project entitled, “Addicted to the Needle” which opens a window into the private world and the culture of tattooing.

    See more photos here

    Larry Downing / Reuters

    A tattooed participant holds her baby in the Hampton Roads Tattoo Festival in Hampton Roads, Va. on March 3, 2012. The hobby of collecting tattoos has exploded into mainstream society with tattoo conventions and festivals held year-round across the U.S.

    Larry Downing / Reuters

    David Billings, from Abingdon, Md., wears a full-back tattoo featuring all nine members of his favorite band, Slipknot, as a woman admires the art at the Hampton Roads Tattoo Festival in Va. on March 2, 2012. Billings said he's had over 150 hours of tattoo work done over a 12-year period, now covering over half his body. He says tattoos are now as main stream as the Coca-Cola Co.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

    2 comments

    What the Hell is the matter with these people? Take a wild guess what these freaks will look like near retirement. The one guy has his favorite band across his back. No one will have a clue who that band was in 20 years, unlike like the bands I grew up with from the 60's and 70's

    Show more
    Explore related topics: art, ohio, tattoo, virginia, us-news
  • 14
    May
    2012
    7:59pm, EDT

    Tattoo artist attaches iPod to wrist using magnetic piercings

    Keith Bedford / Reuters

    Tattoo artist Dave Hurban displays an iPod Nano which he has attached to his wrists through magnetic piercings in his wrist in New York.

    Keith Bedford / Reuters

    Tattoo artist Dave Hurban displays the magnetic piercings he uses to attach his iPod.

    You can see more images of piercings in PhotoBlog.

    A New Jersey man has implanted magnets into his arm in order to attach his Nano device. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    2 comments

    I remember when I was a child in elementary school many many years ago and one of my teachers brought a National Georgraphic magazine to class and showed us pictures of African people who had distorted and mutilated their bodies by stretching their necks and lips and abusing their bodies in other wa …

    Show more
    Explore related topics: tattoo, ipod, us-news, magnet, piercing
  • 8
    Mar
    2012
    4:33pm, EST

    Vampire woman, who prefers to be called Jaguar Woman, got her first tattoo at 14

    Alejandro Acosta / Reuters

    Maria Jose Cristerna, a mother of four, tattoo artist and former lawyer, poses for a photograph in Guadalajara March 8, 2012. Cristerna, dubbed "Vampire Woman," prefers to be identified as "Jaguar Woman."

    Alejandro Acost / Reuters

    Cristerna got her first tattoo when she was 14 and decided to physically transform herself after having gone through 10 years of domestic violence in her first marriage.

    For more, see these posts featuring tattoos previously in PhotoBlog.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    23 comments

    Guess what? Calling her ugly won't make you prettier, nor will it cause her appearance to change. She voluntarily posed for the pictures taken, while smiling and enjoying herself. Half of the people I know, 'normal' or not, wouldn't have the courage to smile. She is a mother of 4, with an honest job …

    Show more
    Explore related topics: mexico, tattoo, featured, piercing
  • 27
    Jan
    2012
    6:05pm, EST

    Impressive tattoos and piercings decorate faces at a festival in Venezuela

    Jorge Silva / Reuters

    Mexican tattoo star Mary Jose Cristerna, better known as "La Mujer Vampiro" (Female Vampire), poses during a tattoo exhibition in Caracas on Friday.

    Jorge Silva / Reuters

    Constantino Quintero from Venezuela poses during a tattoo exhibition in Caracas on Friday.

    Jorge Silva / Reuters

    Emilio Gonzalez from Venezuela poses during a tattoo exhibition in Caracas on Friday.

    Jorge Silva / Reuters

    Victor Peralta from Uruguay poses during a tattoo exhibition in Caracas on Friday.

    For more, see these posts featuring tattoos previously in PhotoBlog.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    4 comments

    One reason I don't believe in evolution.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: venezuela, tattoo, world-news
  • 1
    Nov
    2011
    10:31am, EDT

    Former skinhead removes facial tattoos and embraces family life

    Duke Tribble / AP

    This combination of eight photos provided by Bill Brummel Productions shows the progress of tattoo removal treatments for former skinhead Bryon Widner. For 16 years, Widner was a glowering, swaggering, menacing vessel of savagery - an "enforcer" for some of America's most notorious and violent racist skinhead groups. Though his beliefs had changed, leaving the old life would not be easy when it was all he had known - and when his face remained a billboard of hate. (AP Photo/Duke Tribble, Courtesy of MSNBC and Bill Brummel Productions)

    Jae C. Hong / AP

    In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 photo, Bryon Widner hugs his 4-year-old son, Tyrson, at their home as his wife Julie watches. After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father.

    Jae C. Hong / AP

    In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 photo, Bryon Widner, left, and his wife are applauded in Pasadena, Calif. after the screening of a documentary film featuring their family. After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

    Here are several excerpts from the documentary made about Bryon Widner:

     

    Bryon explains how becoming a father changed his life forever and inspired him to leave the skinhead movement. Byron and Julie knew they didn't want their children to be raised in the skinhead movement, and they didn't want them making the same mistakes that they'd made. "Erasing Hate" airs on Sunday, June 26 at 9pm ET on msnbc.

    Bryon and Julie Widner grow disillusioned with the skinhead movement, but find that escaping is much more difficult than either ever anticipated. As Bryon puts it, 'the retirement program is either prison or the grave.'

    Bryon describes the first tattoo he ever got: "I got the HATE tattooed across my knuckles when I was about 15. I always liked the word hate. I thought it was real cool at the time."

    Bryon and Julie scour the newspapers each day for job leads, but quickly learn that no business wants to hire someone whose covered in racist tattoos. Through aid provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Bryon decides to undergo the grueling tattoo removal process.

    From the full story:

    Widner's arms and torso are still extensively tattooed. He is in the process of inking over the "political" ones, like the Nazi lightning bolts. His face is clean and scar free, and he has a shock of thick black hair. With his thin glasses and studious expression, he looks nerdy, Julie jokes.

    His neck and hands have suffered some pigment damage, he gets frequent migraine headaches and he has to stay out of the sun. But, he says, "it's a small price to pay for being human again."

    Read more...

    See more pictures in this slideshow.

    6 comments

    He is actually handsome without all the ink on his face. Congrats for waking up. Political views can be expressed without violating your own body.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: tattoo, us-news, skinhead
  • 15
    Apr
    2011
    10:40am, EDT

    Marcus Simaitis / EPA

    Martin Hueschen, fan of German Bundesliga soccer club Borussia Dortmund, poses with his tattoo in Unna,Germany, April 15. The optimistic fan of Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund got a tattoo of head coach Juergen Klopp and the championship trophy. Dortmund leads the table with five points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with five matchdays remaining.

    German soccer fan gets tattoo of coach's face and trophy

    By John Makely, NBC News

    I honestly hope his team wins.

    1 comment

    Isn't there already UGLY in the world?

    Show more
    Explore related topics: football, soccer, tattoo
  • 11
    Mar
    2011
    8:12am, EST

    Sydney tattoo and body art expo

    By Mish Whalen

    The expo, billed as the largest tattoo convention in the Southern Hemisphere, has over 320 tattoo artists including 110 internationals and over 60 retail vendors. Check out the expo website here. 

    Greg Wood / AFP - Getty Images

    A woman displays her tattoo during the third Sydney Tattoo and Body Art Expo on Friday, March 11.

    Greg Wood / AFP - Getty Images

    Tattoo artist Tony Cohen works on a tattoo during the third Sydney Tattoo and Body Art Expo on Friday.

    Greg Wood / AFP - Getty Images

    People display their tattoos during the third Sydney Tattoo and Body Art Expo on Friday.

    Greg Wood / AFP - Getty Images

    A man has his leg tattooed during the third Sydney Tattoo and Body Art Expo on Friday.

     

    Comment

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    Explore related topics: tattoo, body, arts, expo, whalen
  • 24
    Jan
    2011
    2:48pm, EST

    Think neck tattoos are bad? Wait until you see this

    Francois Guillot / AFP - Getty Images

    A tattooed model presents a creation by French designer Thierry Mugler during the Men's fall-winter 2011-2012 ready-to-wear collection show on Jan. 19 in Paris.

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    Where was this guy when I was in anatomy-physiology class?

    10 comments

    i think he looks hot!<3

    Show more
    Explore related topics: fashion, tattoo, model, ink, bad-idea, jwoods
  • 3
    Dec
    2010
    1:10pm, EST

    JENS KALAENE / EPA

    Model Magneto poses for a photograph during the 20th International Tattoo Convention at the Tempelhof Airport building in Berlin, Germany, December 3, 2010. Tattoo artists from the whole world present the newest techniques, designs and color creations.

    Full face tattoo from convention in Berlin, Germany.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    Wow. You can't hide this tattoo.

    5 comments

    I am indifferent to people doing this for themselves. However, I could never get a tattoo. Religious observation aside, I believe that by getting the tattoo, I'll have denied seeing that portion of myself ever again. I will have subtracted from myself by doing so.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: tattoo, tattoo-convention, face, berlin, germnay

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John Makely

is a Senior Multimedia Producer for NBCNews.com in New York.

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TODAY.com. senior multimedia editor

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Jonathan Woods

Jonathan Woods worked for msnbc.com for three years, ending in 2012. For six years prior he worked as a photojournalist and multimedia producer for four newspapers across the U.S., including the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. Woods earned his B.A. in photojournalism from Western Kentucky University. He is now working for TIME Magazine, leading a team of picture editors online for TIME.com.

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is a Supervising Producer at NBC News.com Previously she worked as an editor at the New York Times and the Washington Post in addition to working as a photojournalist at numerous newspapers.

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