El Verano Pasado, Cuba, 2018

¡Sentado en mi casa esta noche y escaneando la película del año pasado en Cuba!

Melissa y El Mar, Santa Maria Del Mar, Cuba, 2018

A diferencia del año anterior, en julio pasado, el océano fue lo suficientemente sereno para que colaboráramos. Aprovechamos la oportunidad para saltar con algunas personas maravillosas, como con Melissa.

Fuimos a la playa e inmediatamente caminamos hacia el agua. La cámara en mano fue la Fuji GA645, que se compró hace unos años específicamente para las sesiones en el agua.

Melissa fue especial ... como el año anterior en la cancha cercana. Nos lo pasamos genial e hicimos imágenes memorables al mismo tiempo.

Verlos escaneados me proporciona un gran sentido de logro. ¡Juntos hemos creado imágenes para las generaciones futuras, los sueños y visiones de increíbles cubanos para que el mundo los vea!

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Unlike the year before, this past July the ocean was serene enough for us to collaborate. We took advantage of the opportunity to jump right in with some wonderful people, such as with Melissa.

We drove out to the beach and immediately walked into the water. The camera in hand was the Fuji GA645, purchased a few years ago specifically for the sessions in the water.

Melissa was special... like the year before at the racquetball court nearby. We had a great time and made memorable images at the same time.

To see them scanned provides me with a great sense of accomplishment. We have together created images for future generations, the dreams and visions of incredible Cubans for the world to see!

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Nota: Hasselblad 503 CW/100 mm.

Sisters + Temple, Humana People to People India, Rajasthan, India, April of 2015

It was hard to post one without posting the other, since these are two sisters attending classes in one of our Humana People to People India schools in Rajasthan, India. It is even harder to see one without the other, since they are always present at the same time. Although different in their responses, they both react immediately with the slightest stimulus and run away as soon as they feel it is just too much to take!

They belong to a group of schools photographed by me since 2006, and are now enjoying the rebirth of their own school thanks to the contributions of many on here and elsewhere. Here they stand in front of the temple adjacent to their own classroom, itself a temple as well. It is almost unimaginable to me how beautiful this grouping of temples are, that they sit for classes in such enlightening spaces.

I cannot wait to see the film images made over the past four weeks, and will be visiting their village once again in two weeks prior to my return home. It will be nice to see them studying under the new fans in their classroom, as well as delivering the new rugs on which they will sit more comfortably soon enough!

When someone questions the validity of this project, or presents their doubts regarding the outcome, these two girls alone will ease my mind and move the work forward without pause.

www.halimina.org

www.humana-india.org

Man + Baby, Rooftop, La Habana, Cuba, Summer of 2014

A portrait of youth is perhaps appropriate as the new year begins. This image was made as we were photographing a pair of familiar faces on the rooftop of their home. This young man was standing nearby and accepted my invitation to be photographed. All of a sudden he was carrying this baby and it all seemed so natural. They posed for four exposures, then he was photographed on his own.

Such is photography in Cuba, as people in general embrace the idea and even more importantly present their own creative thoughts. This makes long-term collaborations from chance meetings possible, as was the case with this image.

One day when visiting a young woman already involved in our work, a young girl was walking down the stairs and thanked me for stepping aside. I was taken back and asked about her to my friend's mother. She smiled and immediately knew which girl from the building she was, because of the physical description but even more so because of her manners.

A day or so later we received the good news that she had talked to her parents and that they agreed to allow us her portrait. This is the background to the image seen here, and the little girl's portrait will be shared soon.

www.halimina.org