Three Men, Humana People to People India, Mewat District, India, October 27, 2013

First contact with the new villages was made earlier this afternoon, and we sat down with the elders to gain permission for the photography of their girls. Quite surprisingly they were more than willing to have their portraits made and we started the collaboration on a great note.

Prior to this moment everyone told me this: the new villages promise to be most conservative, perhaps even resistant to both the projects and the photography. This is new territory in my collaboration with Humana People to People India, a predominantly Islamic population in a rural setting. However, all walls disappeared as the clumsy camera was removed from the bag and mounted onto the tripod. Curiosity displaced resistance as usual and all eyes were on this man, the one with the long beard!

Tomorrow morning we return to this village and give the girls their chance in front of the lens… the faces were just out of this world as we walked through the two villages this afternoon!

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Snapshot, Man, Gaziantep, Turkey, May 29, 2013

He walks towards our car from sitting with his friends after he had agreed to be photographed, quite curious as to the gear we were pulling out of the trunk. He might have thought of a small camera and a quick snapshot, but was more than gracious in allowing us to document him with the medium format camera mounted on a considerable tripod.

We were driving on the road perpendicular to this small path when we noticed his features from the car. We slowed down a bit and my dear friend Ali agreed to step out and have a short conversation with the three men. To our delight this older man agreed to our presence and even allowed us to photograph the others from his family.

With his permission we moved his chair into the sunlight and began with a formal portrait of his face, then moved onto making images of his incredibly beautiful hands. He was surprised at my attraction to his hands, but allowed it nonetheless after seeing a few examples of such in my photographic album.

After seeing our work a few of the boys wanted their portraits made and we did so in a candid manner with the handheld camera. A roll or so were also exposed on film of this man's son when my eyes noticed the women sitting in the distance watching. With a whisper I communicated to Ali my desire to include the women and in the same whisper he advised me that this would be near to impossible.

I respected Ali's advice of course, wanting to do anything but to get him into trouble. However the urge to do so overtook me and without the use of a common language my thoughts were communicated to the men in charge with gestures, and honest pleas with a smile.

To my pleasant surprise they agreed kindly and allowed me to make portraits of two of the young women. To my greater surprise the two young women walked over in front of so many men to have their portraits made without a single sign of hesitation. They were strong and confident, albeit quite reserved with their words. They stood for their portraits as strong as any of the women in my portfolio and, considering the circumstances around them, without equal.

I look forward to this man's portrait, to the images of his hands and to the results of the young women's portraits in the coming days as the negatives are reviewed.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

A Portrait of a Model, Pan American Stadium, La Habana, Cuba, July 12, 2012

At times it is beyond the reality of the moment that she truly is barely into her teenage years. She has a presence about her that is beyond her years. Then she'll sit down and play with the gravel, smile up and show me the beauty that is youth. The range of her expressions is limitless.

She sits in front of my favorite place, the Pan American Stadium just outside of the capital. The wall behind her is our backdrop and provides the most beautiful reflective surface to outline her features. It is quite early in the morning, the sun has just risen and her mother sits on a ledge under a tree for shade a dozen or so meters behind me. We are also joined by another remarkable young woman and her mother for this morning's session.

Earlier in the week we met while attending a fashion show presented by a dear friend. We were also there to watch one of our own models walking down the hallway in front of the parents. After the show we managed to mingle with the models and their parents, gaining a session with this wonderful, young woman. Rather than placing her alone in front of the lens, we decided to include another young woman so as to allow both to rest in between their portraits.

Her mother is a most understanding woman, and prepared her daughter perfectly. The fabrics chosen were dark in color, and her jewelry timeless in design. While the sun was less than strong, her clear eyes made working in direct sunlight very difficult. She however maintained her composure and did more than most would have done for the sake of the image. When it was difficult for her to keep her eyes open, she would take in a stance like in the middle image above and blend the expression into the mood of the image.

Even though these are just a sample of our morning, I for one look forward to doing much better for her and her family this year. With her dedication and her mother's attention to detail, I feel that we will do so in July.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography