Halim Ina Photography - The Use of Photography to Promote Social Change and Gender Equality

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Young Student + Classroom, Madhya Pradesh, India, 2016

This past visit to India I had the honor of visiting a few villages and documenting the students in various schools, thanks to our hosts Imdadullah and Munshad Ali Chauhan. The trip ended with a visit by Nirvana and his wonderful team at Nirvanavan Foundation.

We visited an area from three years ago, an area affected deeply by the riots of Muzaffarnagar, in which hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims were displaced and harmed beyond description. When Nirvana learned about my plan to visit the area this year, he asked if his team could also visit... perhaps exploring the idea of an inter-faith collaboration.

The visit was so much better than expected. Our hosts of course went well out of their way for us, as expected from my previous visits. However the community embraced the thought of an inter-faith collaboration beautifully, especially the children who watched and listened as Nirvana and his team spoke. It was an enlightening experience and one which has energized me to reach out to the American Muslim community upon my return to the States this weekend.

This young girl attends the government school in our hosts' village. Her school day begins at the mosque, where her classes include Arabic and Islamic courses. Shortly after she and her classmates walk to the government school building where her other classes begin.

We made her portrait in an unused classroom, using a reflector held by my dear friend Javed. Thanks to Imdadullah and Mushad, the leaders of this community, we were able to make this image, otherwise an impossible one to make.

I hope to honor their cooperation, and the spirit of this young girl soon with my efforts to find funding for their schools. The venture is a promising one to write the least, especially in this deeply fractured spot of India.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3 using a reflector.

Ballerina + Contemporary Dancer, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, 2015

When it comes to her imagination limits are irrelevant. She sees another dancer and ideas immediately appear in her exquisite mind. This was the case one day when we went to pick her up from dance school. She introduced us to this incredible, young man and we instantly agreed on a collaboration.

Their forms of dance were quite different, yet they meshed beautifully. He was a few years older and took on the roll with elegance and grace. She accepted his direction with humility and we were there to witness the dance between ballet and contemporary dance... releasing the shutter as they allowed us to do so.

This young man was perfectly ready when we picked him up, and was the same in front of the lens. His physical endurance was admirable, and he gave 110% under the heat of the sun as if he was on a grand stage. This goes the same of course for the Magnificent One, for at only 14 years old she has been photographed by me for over seven years.

I look forward to this summer, and hope we can do much more for these two together!

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.

Campesino + Field, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, 2013

When we drove by this man in the field, he was making sure that the water flowed freely. We decided to stop and ask for his portrait, and were glad we did. He was working for the owner of that plot of land, and earned barely enough to support his family living less than a hundred meters from this very spot.

He had taken a break to speak with Alejandro, and I took advantage of the moment to get down on the ground and make photographs in the style of the Soviet era masters, placing themselves below the workers. Knowing Alejandro's propensity to converse at length with his fellow campesinos, I had plenty of time to compose the images.

What moved me most was to be in the midst of this incredible conversation, and to be unnoticed while making a visual record of the audible. We did return that same day incredibly to hand him the photographs, and were able to see his home adjacent to these fields. He worked the fields for someone else, and barely made ends meet as described above. He told us that sometimes the youth come by at night and steal the crops to sale the next morning on the road, that in one hour they steal enough to make more than he does working in the hot sun all day.

He pointed out to us that almost all of the workers in his area were older men, while the younger men had fun during the day, and stole the crops by night. Only by having such conversations can I learn about such difficult lives. Only by being with Alejandro would this man have ever shared such intimate details of his life with a stranger from up north.

Note: These images were made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/60 mm lens combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Students + Friends, Humana India, Madhya Pradesh, India, 2016

This year was my first visit to this beautiful region of India, and a true blessing. Many described the area as being tribal, but that gave me little insight as to the people themselves. Upon arriving it was evident to me that the communities were extremely serene, kind and gentle.

The smiles came to the girls' faces much more easily, and the boys were exceptionally courteous. Photographing the children was quite easy, and gave me a chance to rest during the second half of my first month. Even though the drive was exhausting, the serenity of the people and the stunning landscape energized me.

These girls attend a government school in collaboration with Humana India. The foundation worked for one year in this area, and designed a system which would take out-of-school children and bring them into the formal, government system. My hope is that the children are in fact now enrolled and will continue onto secondary schools.

Note: These images were made with a Sony RX100M3.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Young Woman + City Slum, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, 2016

This is the second face from our series in that Gurgaon neighborhood, rewarding our initiative to find the families from last year. As described in the previous post, we drove to Gurgaon from Mewat on a hunch and found this slum with the help of a sincere colleague.

She however was a new discovery for us, as she walked up to the commotion happening around the photography. Out of the corner of my eye her features appeared, and my heart stopped. We had to act delicately, because doing so in another way would perhaps push her away. So we decided to photograph the girls in order, and included her very cautiously. She accepted with a smile, knowing full well that I wanted to photograph her.

So when her turn came up and she actually stepped up, my heart regained its composure. Now many will think, 'what's so special about her?' Those who see her strength in this image will never ask such a question. For those unable to do so, there is little that I can say to answer their question.

For me, she is as perfect as any in my work, equal and different at the same time. Her features are unlike any from my experience, truly captivating. My hope is that the world around her will treat her community with more kindness, and that the inequity she experiences every single day will be a thing of the past soon. Until then the work will continue!

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Migrant + Shawl, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, 2016

Last year we were able to visit a few slums in Gurgaon, and to witness the extreme contrasts of the city often times described as 'Millennium City.' Home to 250 Fortune 500 companies, it is also home to countless slums in which live migrants from all over India.

Whenever a high rise goes up, an entire neighborhood is created as its construction workers, its security guards and its housemaids. As we ran across a building under construction, we would drive a bit closer and almost always see such a scene. The families often times lived in single rooms with metal roofs, temperatures rising well over the surroundings at anytime.

In such a neighborhood this girl lives, and we made the effort to locate her and her friends this past summer. Last year we photographed them with the guidance of the foundation. Their faces were etched in my mind.

This time around we were forced to take it upon ourselves to find them, and did so thanks to the help of one volunteer who took the time to do so in spite of the lack of support from above. While he recognized the slum thanks to my description from last year, it was one in which he had never worked.

The three of us walked into the slum without our cameras at first, looking for those faces. As soon as we had a following, we showed one face to them... and all recognized her. They walked us over to her tent, and there she was... as magnificent as she was the previous year... and then some!

Seeing that we knew the children, the community relaxed a bit and helped us gather the children for an afternoon of photography. We found a beautiful wall at the end of the alley, and made a plan between us as to how we were to proceed. We talked about photographing the boys first, allowing us to photograph the girls more peacefully.

From my experience, enlisting the help of one or two young men had always helped... and so we did so here as well. While I was worried that some of the girls would walk away in all of the confusion, they remained steadfast and presented themselves with such power and dignity when their time came.

Such was the case with this young girl. There were perhaps over sixty people gathered, yet she concentrated on the lens in front of her only. The light was magnificent, striking gently her eyes and allowing her to look straight ahead without strain.

Her features are as refined as any strolling the fashion strips of the world, while the honesty of her expression is unmatched. For her this work continues, and my hope is that the school in her community continues to operate indefinitely. Next year we will look for her and her sisters again, and hope that life is a little less cruel as well.

Note: This portrait was made using a Sony RX100M3.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Farmer's Hands, Countryside, Cuba, 2015

Last year Alejandro was able to fix his car during our second month and we headed out to the countryside more frequently than our first four weeks. We would photograph our families in the morning and then head out to the countryside for the afternoon. We did this because our afternoons were never very predictable regarding the weather.

We ran across the most wonderful people, and slowed the process of photography down quite a bit. This was a relief actually, and allowed me to reflect much more so on my vision. It also allowed us to speak with the people much more, and select the moments when we wanted to photograph.

This wonderful man lived in a town east of the capital by at least one hour. We were on our way back from the far side of the island and decided to take an exit and explore. We saw a home and decided to photograph it. As we finished we noticed this handsome man sitting next door. We walked over and asked to make his portrait, and he responded most eloquently and positively.

We talked for some time while he enjoyed his cigar, then made our way to the back of the home for his portrait. His demeanor won my heart immediately, and I am overjoyed to see the success of his portrait in these two samples from the proof just scanned last week!

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Kodak TMX film.

The Sound of Divinity, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

The Sound of Divinity II from Halim Ina on Vimeo.

Last week I presented my work from India at the doctor conference in Huntington Beach, California. The scene was as removed from my past two months in India as possible, with priceless homes lining the streets across the beach. The collective wealth in the room was unimaginable, and gave me further inspiration in presenting the story.

Usually such talks make me nervous, but a calm came over me as the first slide was projected. My mind was still with the girls in the villages. As the slides continued, the silence in the room became more intense. The mood was perfect as the slide of this young girl arrived, and she began singing. Here she was, thousands of miles away from her village, expressing herself perfectly to an enchanted audience.

I glanced at the faces now and then, only to find them speechless. Before the presentation, I thought it perhaps too much to include a two minute performance within a 15 minute presentation. Last night as we talked about the presentation, the supporting staff at the company told me over and over again to just show it.... they wanted to see the girls in more than two dimensions. So the video played, and their eyes and ears took it all in.

It was quite beautiful. After the presentation many came forward to express their sincere satisfaction. My hope is that tonight and this weekend, the snowball will continue to roll down the mountain and the talk will turn into action for her sake, and for the sake of her sisters in India!

Note: Above is her portrait from the previous year, made with a Sony RX100M2. When watching the video, please make sure to enjoy it in HD!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

River, Countryside, Cuba, 20115

This image of a river was made adjacent to the field with the horses from the previous post. We had stopped early in the morning in this spot, as we usually did for the sake of light. Normally we would find a location the night before, sleep nearby until the morning and then photograph the area during the first two hours of light.

Working with Alejandro is a dream. He does more than drive, as he is my company for the entire two months. His patience is incredible, as is his love for the families in our work. He makes this work in the countryside possible, both in terms of transportation and in terms of photographic assistant. He knows light as photographers do, and understands the urgency of being there at the right time.

One time I asked him, 'would you like to be with your family for a week or so, while I walk around in the city?' He answered me in this way: 'Halim, do you think I would prefer to cut sugar cane all day or to photograph these beautiful families with you?' He went on with a smile, 'do you know what it's like to cut sugar cane?'

I have never had the pleasure of cutting sugar cane under the grueling sun, but am glad that Alejandro has always chosen to hand that task over to his assistants while heading into the countryside with me!

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Kodak TMX film.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Horses + Field, Countryside, Cuba, 2015

The past three days have been spent scanning the 600 or so rolls of film from last summer. During our last two weeks we ventured more so into the countryside, slept where we could and woke up early each day to catch the morning light.

Beautiful scenes such as this were everywhere, as the island is a truly magnificent place. This year my hope is to explore much more of the countryside, and document this life before the tourists leave their collective mark. Of course few tourists visit such spaces, remaining more so in the capital and on the beaches of Varadero. Nonetheless change is inevitable, and the lure of the countryside has grown over the past year or so.

The excitement is already building for this summer. My trusted friend and driver, Alejandro, will be invaluable for this experience. We will hopefully have access to his knowledge and 1954 Chevrolet, going from one village to another for a few weeks. Hoping for the best, and knowing that at least the families will be waiting for us!

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Young Student + Madrasa, Shamli District, India, 2016

As a follow-up to the previous post her portrait is presented. This young girl attends classes in the madrasa we visited on our first afternoon in this region of India.Thanks to wonderful happenstance we were able to make something of our afternoon and do something fun with the students present during our visit.

Rather than remain shy and thank our hosts for the visit, it seemed natural to meet the curiosity of the children with our own, and to do something completely different.

When this young girl came to school that day, was she thinking that a foreigner was going to visit her school and make her portrait? What did she think when we arrived and walked into her classroom? Did she ever think the stranger would have the courage to abandon social protocol and ask outright to photograph her and her friends?

These thoughts drove me to ask, and her expression says it all for me. They were both excited and nervous, shy yet confident. We found a light wall within the compound and photographed each girl on her own.

My interpretation was that they were both in disbelief and overjoyed at the opportunity to express themselves, both to the camera and to the outside world. It was the highest honor for me to do so, and to have been entrusted with their portraits. The work after all is for them, and their sisters in other parts of the world. They are the highest forms of beauty and love for me, and my only hope is that my portraits will somehow convey this to the viewers.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Young Student + Madrasa, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

Continuing the series from this region of India, this student's portrait is presented. Thanks to our generous hosts Imdadullah Nadvi Nadvi andMunshad Ali Chauhan, we were able to spend a week in this troubled region of India and make portraits of the most exquisite children.

This school happens to be the school of their bestfriend in another village, a school built by their friend for the children of his village. He has started off with the traditional madrasa, and has expressed to us his desire to do much more. As a result of this expression and the desire on our behalf to also do something, we have started the conversation regarding an interfaith collaboration.

Soon we hope this young girl will have access to a full education, in addition to her traditional training. Her portrait was made in a beautiful room on the second floor of the school. The only light coming in was from the doorway, and the floor was covered with wheat. She was different than the others in that she held her hands up against her chest, rather than to her side. Her expression is etched in my mind, and moves me to fulfill my end of the conversation from this past month.

The view from the roof of this building is hard to match, overlooking endless wheat fields in every direction. The place is beyond my ability to describe adequately, and upon seeing it for the very first time I knew this was a place I needed to be. Next year when we do return we will return with a plan, and the funds to help that plan come to fruition. I can feel it in my bones, as real to me as her image is to all of you.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Young Student + Nirvanavan Foundation, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, 2016

This entry was from my last full day in India, on April 7 of 2016.

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Tomorrow is my last full day in India, and will be spent with the wonderful people at Nirvanavan Foundation. Nirvana thought it appropriate to display a few of the photographs from this past two months at Advaita Garden, the main campus, and I obliged by having a dozen or so images printed and laminated locally.

We met earlier today to discuss the schools in Virat Nagar, and made great progress regarding our plan for the next 12 months. We had lunch at the school and then headed into town to have the photographs finished.

This young girl happens to be one of the students from Advaita Garden. She and her family live about a minute's walk from the school. She attends classes along with her younger brother and sister. Her family has over the past eight weeks embraced me without reservation, allowing me to photograph her on several occasions, even before she prepared for classes.

She is quite shy person to person, but get her in front of the school body and she runs to center stage and performs without barriers, with the strongest of voices and amazing enthusiasm.

I have been blessed to have been able to also document her performances, as well as document her preparations for school one morning. To see her getting ready, as she had her breakfast and chatted with her grandparents over a cup of tea, was a most heartwarming experience. This is the fortune of having such an opportunity, and the least I can do is to return such with my support for her school.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3, and will be on display tomorrow as the children arrive for classes. I cannot wait to see the expression on her face as she sees her own portrait on the wall!

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Young Student, Village near Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

Last week I had the honor of visiting a few villages and documenting the students in various schools, thanks to our hosts Imdadullah and Munshad Ali Chauhan. The week ended with a visit by Nirvanaand his wonderful team at Nirvanavan Foundation.

We visited an area from three years ago, an area affected deeply by the riots of Muzaffarnagar, in which hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims were displaced and harmed beyond description. When Nirvana learned about my plan to visit the area this year, he asked if his team could also visit... perhaps exploring the idea of an inter-faith collaboration.

The visit was so much better than expected. Our hosts of course went well out of their way for us, as expected from my previous visits. However the community embraced the thought of an inter-faith collaboration beautifully, especially the children who watched and listened as Nirvana and his team spoke. It was an enlightening experience and one which has energized me to reach out to the American Muslim community upon my return to the States this weekend.

This young girl attends the government school in our hosts' village. Her school day begins at the mosque, where her classes include Arabic and Islamic courses. Shortly after she and her classmates walk to the government school building where her other classes begin.

We made her portrait in an unused classroom, using a reflector held by my dear friend Javed. Thanks to Imdadullah and Mushad, the leaders of this community, we were able to make this image, otherwise an impossible one to make.

I hope to honor their cooperation, and the spirit of this young girl soon with my efforts to find funding for their schools. The venture is a promising one to write the least, especially in this deeply fractured spot of India.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3 using a reflector.

Young Student + Madrasa, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

Early one morning a week or so ago we walked to the madrasa of our host's village. We arrived early enough to see a few students just getting ready for their lessons, and spoke with a few men gathered for prayer in the same location.

The mosque itself was quite beautiful, but was less than ideal for our photography. We looked outside and found the most beautiful yellow wall, as well as a gorgeous landscape to use. So we arranged to photograph the boys first, and then the girls.

This young boy was one of the first to be photographed due to his lightly colored eyes. He was fabulous and had a sweet smile. The crowd gathered quickly, and we did our best to help make the children feel at home while being photographed by the first time by me.

He however had little problem feeling at home, and smiled beautifully. The color of his eyes intensified with direct sunlight, and when he smiled even more so. We photographed the boys for perhaps a half an hour before beginning with the girls.

Later in the week Nirvana and his team from Alwar visited this exact village, and three of the schools in the area. The community embraced us with the enthusiasm of this young boy, and my hope is that this time next year an interfaith collaboration will have begun in this area.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Horses + Field, Countryside, Cuba, 2015

The past three days have been spent scanning the 600 or so rolls of film from last summer. During our last two weeks we ventured more so into the countryside, slept where we could and woke up early each day to catch the morning light.

Beautiful scenes such as this were everywhere, as the island is a truly magnificent place. This year my hope is to explore much more of the countryside, and document this life before the tourists leave their collective mark. Of course few tourists visit such spaces, remaining more so in the capital and on the beaches of Varadero. Nonetheless change is inevitable, and the lure of the countryside has grown over the past year or so.

The excitement is already building for this summer. My trusted friend and driver, Alejandro, will be invaluable for this experience. We will hopefully have access to his knowledge and 1954 Chevrolet, going from one village to another for a few weeks. Hoping for the best, and knowing that at least the families will be waiting for us!

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Student + Madrasa, Near Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

The past two months have been a truly enlightening experience for me in India. As in the past ten years, each visit resulted in countless opportunities to make portraits and in as many chances to learn something new.

There were a few highlights this year, including my visit to Uttar Pradesh. In 2013 I had the honor of visiting this area and documenting the numerous refugee camps resulting from the Muzaffarnagar riots earlier in that same year. Our hosts for that visit were so memorable that visits were made every year since.

Their hospitality is without equal, allowing us to stay at their home and treating us like dignitaries the entire time. We are never allowed to lift a finger, from preparing our meals to getting ready for the day. With these incredible men by our side, we are allowed access to the madrases of the region, to the mosques of the villages and to the government schools as well.

This was the case with this beautiful student, and her school. The founder of this school is a friend of our hosts, and quickly became one of my best friends in India. The value that he placed on education was truly exceptional, and he spoke with actions rather than with words. Seeing that his village lacked a good school for the children, he built a beautiful one on his own land and began classes on his own dime.

When we met, he shared his desire to transform his 'simple' madrasa into a formal school for the village's children. He wanted to include Hindi, English, the sciences as well as the arts. This impressed me deeply then, and stayed on my mind until this year's visit.

Speaking with Nirvana earlier this visit turned into a group visit to the area. The possibility of an inter-faith collaboration was discussed, and the enthusiasm grew on all sides. Our visit was embraced by all parties, from the students to the Islamic scholars to the teachers and to the community.

Her portrait was the result of our visit to the same school three years after my first visit. The trust that the leader of the school had in us allowed this portrait to be made. Rather than treating the girls as invisible, he treats the girls as equals and understands our need to photograph them as we photograph the boys.

Such an image can only be produced with gentle persuasion, and kind understanding. This is the case with our host from this school, and has convinced me that we do indeed need to do something here. Soon we will begin our drive to raise funding for this school and our project in the area and hope that those on all sides will be interested.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3 with available light.

Sisters + Puppy, Nirvanavan Foundation, Rajasthan, India, 2016

As we finished our photography on this day last week, the sister to the left kept trying to inject this puppy into the photography. She would scatter with the doll to a girl in front of the camera and try to place it into her hands. Then she would run back, giggling all the way.

So when we finished for the morning, I walked over with the doll and placed it into her hands... then walked back with her and her sister for this portrait. She was so shy last year, a little less so this year. Her sister to the right is much less shy this year, an amazing difference in person.

So here they are, two of our students from Virat Nagar, our school having been adopted by Nirvanaand his team at Nirvanavan Foundation. It's a simple image, yet speaks volumes about why this work is so important to me and so many of you here on FB!

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

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