Sisters + Mountains, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

It’s amazing to see such expressions of friendship on my first visit to a place. One, this is a conservative community. Two, the pictures are being made by a stranger to their camp. Three, I am Lebanese while they are Syrian.

In the end all three points disappeared in the face of true friendship, between themselves and between them and the stranger with the camera. More than Arabic as a common language, it’s the language without words that matters most. 

Here are two girls simply having fun without any concern for the thoughts of others!

Etsy 

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Young Syrian + Doorway, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

Every time a negative goes under the light and the image is projected onto the paper, I'm thankful for last summer in Lebanon. While I was there for a month before my plans for the summer, complications upon arrival in Cuba forced me to change plans and head back to Lebanon... happenstance at its finest.

I was able to spend more than two months with my uncle and aunts, walked the streets of my mother's hometown every day, and visit the camps which gave birth to my work in my twenties. The children of the children were then photographed, a testimony to the relationships built back then.

This young girl lives in a familiar neighborhood, one which I visited twenty years ago. Her parents were children back then, and now it's her turn to be photographed, to share her story. Her connection to the camera was so remarkable that even looking down it was evident. This is the image chosen for the day. 

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Grain + Syrian Refugee, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

When I began using film almost 25 years ago, grain was an enemy. Now I embrace the clusters of silver particles and enlarge an image extensively to see them!

Another day in the darkroom with her negative being printed first. The actual image is a bit further from her but it felt right to amplify her features, to showcase her strength up close. She is a Syrian girl forced to live in Lebanon, with her family doing what it can to survive. It was and is a privilege to have made her portrait, and I hope that these images help carry her message further.

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A Syrian Through the Loupes, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2019

A look through the loupes of a negative made last summer in Lebanon, of a Syrian refugee living in a camp near Zahle. While the pandemic has prevented me from seeing her and her family this summer, they are in my thoughts constantly. The printing of their negatives in the darkroom helps me relive our encounters from last year. She and her family have been living in Lebanon since the hostilities forced them to leave Syria. My hope is that one day they can return and rebuild their homes.

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Young Syrian + Scarf, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2019

As the series from last year in Lebanon continues, more and more familiar faces rise through the developer. This young girl lives but ten minutes away from my family's home in Zahle, and in the very first encampment which gave birth to my images in Lebanon over two decades.

Her portrait needed to be printed close up, cropped and large, embracing the grain of #kodaktrix and her incredibly strong expression!

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Best Friends, Syrian Girls, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2019

There’s something magical about the darkroom, the place where light which was faithfully transmitted to film can then be transferred to light-sensitive paper. This is what film photography means to me, from the selection of the negative, to the placement under the light source, to the focus on the easel, to the test strip, to the setting of contrast and finally to the fiber print!

This was printed today, a portrait of two best friends from my time in Lebanon last year. They are Syrians living in Lebanon during these difficult times, and are on my mind as summer approaches. My hope is that their future is as bright as the light in this enlarger, and as pure.

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Syrian + Camp, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

After the red eye last month from LA to DC, and the drive to CLE, it feels divine to have the processed film from this summer in Lebanon... thank you David and Dodge-Chrome, Inc. for the beautiful negatives!

Note: This is the view of the negative through a loupe, made with an iPhone.

Nada + Room, Refugee Camp, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2019

Last month I visited Lebanon once again and photographed the children of the children I used to photograph over two decades ago. The Syrians living in Lebanon back then were migrant searching for a better life. Now they have lost their homes back in Syria and are facing a hostile environment in their host country. 

We were so fortunate to have had this room for our session on this morning. In this room the woman of the house made sure that the boys remained outside, and out of the way! 

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Syrian Girl + Tent, Bekaa Valley, Zahle, Lebanon, 2018

This young girl lives in the spot where my photography was born over two decades ago. This past month was my chance to photograph them again, following the documentation from last year. Her parents were the ones photographed by me so many years ago, now it was her turn. She is a young Syrian girl living in a camp just outside of Zahle, Lebanon. Her community has lived there for over three decades, prior to the current influx of Syrians from the hostilities in their homeland.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Syrian Girl + Garden, Zahle, Lebanon, 2017

She is as striking as her predecessors in her camp, as beautiful as any other in this world. Her homeland is in distress, and her life in Lebanon is anything but stable. Yet she does what she can to help her family, and endures with such grace.

On my second day to her camp she was helping her mother with the purchase of some vegetables from a visiting truck. She caught my attention right away, but her presence was missing as we had our first session.

As the third day arrived it seemed that she would never come, and then she approached us with a smile. She might have seen the photographs in her friends' hands from the day before, or just the commotion from the photography. Regardless she allowed me to make her portrait twice, in the shade and in direct sunlight.

She was silent the entire time, but spoke volumes through her expressions. My hope is that this portrait does justice to her spirit, and that she allows me once again to make her portrait tomorrow.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Ballerina + Beach, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, 2016

As summer nears my mind wanders to the beaches of Cuba, and the dancers kind enough to allow this collaboration. This young dancer and her parents have been involved in my work for the past two years, and my hope is that this summer makes three. 

We were fortunate enough to have found her as we waited for one of our families in front of the dance school. That morning we were looking for a young dancer to take the role of an apprentice to our veteran dancer. She then appeared seemingly out of nowhere, on the back of her father's bicycle. We knew immediately that she was the one, and the rest is history as is often said.

On the day of this image, we picked her and her parents up from their home in Havana and headed for the beach. We were lucky enough to have sunshine in the late afternoon on the island, and took advantage of the light. She was very courageous and climbed up to be photographed, embracing her moment in the spotlight.

She lives to dance, and takes photography just as seriously. Her family's acceptance humbles me truly, and even more so in that they go out of their way to ask for inclusion in my work. I look forward to this summer, and hope to do better for her and her parents.

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A medida que el verano se acerca, mi mente vaga por las playas de Cuba, y los bailarines son lo suficientemente amables como para permitir esta colaboración. Esta joven bailarina y sus padres han estado involucrados en mi trabajo durante los últimos dos años, y mi esperanza es que este verano sean tres.

Tuvimos la suerte de haberla encontrado mientras esperábamos a una de nuestras familias frente a la escuela de danza. Esa mañana buscábamos a un joven bailarín para que asumiera el papel de aprendiz de nuestro bailarín veterano. Luego apareció aparentemente de la nada, en la parte trasera de la bicicleta de su padre. Inmediatamente supimos que ella era la única, y el resto es historia, como se suele decir.

El día de esta imagen, los recogimos a ella ya sus padres de su casa en La Habana y nos dirigimos a la playa. Tuvimos la suerte de tener sol en la tarde en la isla, y aprovechamos la luz. Ella fue muy valiente y se subió para ser fotografiada, abrazando su momento en el centro de atención.

Ella vive para bailar, y toma la fotografía con la misma seriedad. La aceptación de su familia me humilla de verdad, y más aún porque hacen todo lo posible para pedir la inclusión en mi trabajo. Espero con ansias este verano y espero hacerlo mejor para ella y sus padres.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

3 Students + Humana India, Haryana, India, 2016

The past three days have been spent making digital proofs of the film from India, after picking it all up from DC earlier this week. While many of the faces are familiar to me, some jump off of the screen as the most wonderful surprises. Here are just three!

On March 14 of this year these three girls stepped in front of the lens and had their portraits made. While perhaps this was their first time with someone from outside of their village, perhaps this was their first formal photograph… their presence in front of the lens was filled with confidence and strength.

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Note: These images were made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Ilford Delta 100 film.

Release, Syrian Migrant, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2005

While she certainly has never asked to be, for me hers is the face of the current refugee crisis. Two years before the war ravaged this land, her family lived as migrants in Lebanon, hundreds of miles away from her beloved city of Halab. In this cruel setting she is able to portray her joy to us, her sense of hope.

During my visits to these camps, the children's faces were charred from the sun and the wind, while their hair had the consistency of cotton candy. They played in the dirt paths between the tents, sometimes running dangerously close to the streets nearby. Every once in a while a child would be struck by a speeding motorist, the communities shared with me, while local authorities treated such incidents as inconsequential. These brave faces lived on the outskirts of the surrounding society, performing their duties unseen in order to help support their families back home.

For those of us with children, can we imagine for one second our child's face with such scars? Can we imagine the hair on our children's heads having such a consistency? Can we imagine the clothes on our children's backs so fragile, so stained? Can we for one moment endure the dryness of their skin, dirt near their lips?

Yet these children do more than endure, do much more than survive. While there is little doubt that the cruel world has dealt them a hard set of circumstances, they refuse to give up. The boys do what they can with the tools around them, taking for example a long wire and fixing a cylinder to its end as a toy. The girls take flowers from the gardens in front of their tents and adorn themselves, playing with stuffed pieces of cloth as others would do with dolls. While their physical world is limited, they have shown me that their imaginations cannot be restrained.

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Note: Images made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm lens combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Two Bedouin Girls, Partial Proof, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Summer of 2015

Today was spent scanning the paper proofs from the first ten years of the work, so that all proofs can be viewed more easily. In two hours over 150 rolls were viewed, taking me back over a decade to that beautiful summer in Lebanon.

As each print was placed on the scanner, the memories came rushing back. Each and every facewas remembered, as well as some of the names such as Najwa, Maryam, Fatouma and Khawla. The names were as familiar as the locations for each portrait, from the walls of adjacent buildings to the sheets covering the tents of these communities.

I remember for example when these two girls walked in front of my as they went to collect water. Photographing them in their tiny hamlet was going to be hard, so I decided to ask for their portraits right there and then, in the alley leading to the well. We were already photographing the girls living in this alley, and all happened to be friends. They hesitated at first, but said yes as they were coming back.

A single roll was exposed for these two friends, six portraits each. We are looking at four expressions out of twelve, and two faces which have never been seen again by me.

Sometimes I need to pinch myself looking at these portraits, knowing that I was there, that I spoke to them, that they allowed me to photograph them and that I was in their divine presence for a few minutes before they walked into the distance.

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Note: This proof was made using a Hasselblad V System, onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Second Article, Onfilmphoto, December 3, 2016

I am honored to have been selected for an article on this esteemed page once again, and hope that the stories reach an even larger audience soon.
Onfilmphoto Article

"The children's faces were charred from the sun and the wind, while their hair had the consistency of cotton candy. They played in the dirt paths between the tents, sometimes running dangerously close to the roads nearby. Every once in a while a child would be struck by a speeding motorist, the communities shared with me, while local authorities treated such incidents as inconsequential. These brave faces lived on the outskirts of the surrounding society, performing their duties unseen in order to help support their families back home."

"For those of us with children, can we imagine for one second our children's faces with such scars? Can we imagine the hair on our children's heads having such a consistency? Can we imagine the clothes on our children's backs so fragile, so stained? Can we for one moment endure the dryness of their skin, dirt near their lips?"

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Refugee + Home, Uttar Pradesh, India, April of 2013

After we finished photographing the girls formally, we walked around and made some spontaneous images. The refugees in this camp had escaped ethnic violence just a few months earlier, and such could be felt through the expressions on the faces. In this image a young boy stood in front of his home, with this fragile fence as his protection. He lived without electricity, running water, education and medicine.

This is the face of those enduring the effects of violence the world over, he is the one that suffers while those with power wage campaigns to maintain their position. He will never understand what brought him to this place, what forced his family to abandon its home hundreds of miles away to live like refugees. We have a long way to go before we can hold our heads up high in his presence.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.

Daughter of Migrants, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Summer of 2009

For this evening a portrait of yet another Syrian living in Lebanon is shared. She sat for her photograph in the same spot as the boy from yesterday's post, in front of the sheikh's home and with a plant to her side. She was both shy and confident, an incredible combination.

They live just outside of Zahle, in the valley below. The women and girls pick vegetables all day long, while the men and boys work in the factories, restaurants and service stations nearby. These families do what they can, since there is so little economically for them back home in Syria. 

Their homes lack running water and toilets, and have the most basic of electricity taken from the main lines. The children need to walk to a field to go tot he bathroom, and bath in the open. There sleep without insulation, as temperatures dip to freezing in the winter months. There is little protection from the rain, and various insects and animals have free access to them as they sleep.

I admire these children deeply, for they endure a life most cannot imagine… yet have never judged me nor my work. They accept both with open arms, and have faith in the meaning behind the images.

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Note: This image was made with a Canon G10.

Syrian Migrant + Chair, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Summer of 2009

This portrait is dedicated to the countless refugees on the move presently around the world. This young boy happened to be a migrant worker photographed during my time in Lebanon. His family crossed into Lebanon in search of a better economy, working in the fields picking vegetables or in the factories of the region.

Their tent towns dotted the landscape, filled with life. Most would pass by them without as much as a glance, driving at such speeds which would seem unimaginable should their own children we walking in the streets. The children themselves were incredibly resilient, taking care of themselves and their younger siblings. They played with handmade toys, a stick with a wheel at the end… or perhaps with a rag doll short on recognizable features.

This was the exact spot in which my photography began, and I yearn for the day when I can return to greet these families, as well as my own of course. My hope is that next year this will happen, that the violence in the Middle East at the moment is far, far away from this young boy and his family.

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Note: This image was made with a Canon G10.

Syrian Boy - Refugee, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Summer of 2001

The beginning of my photographic journey included this young Syrian boy living in Lebanon, surviving with his family as migrant workers. They lived a five minute drive from my family's house, but existed in a very different world. In tents they slept, without the most basic of 'conveniences' while they worked in the fields under the hot sun for less than $2 a day.

I look back at these images and try to remember the moment the shutter was released. I remember which side of the dirt path this was made, and the tent perhaps. In those days indirect light was used to make these portraits, and the interiors of rooms as backdrops.

I wonder where he is now, has he gone back to Syria and returned since then?

Note: His portrait was made with a Hasselblad 501 CM/120 mm lens combination.

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Hands + Kitchen, Refugee Camp, Uttar Pradesh, India, December of 2013

These are the hands that make such beautiful and purposeful structures; these are the hands responsible for feeding the children of these camps. We walked through this camp with the permission of the families, and were kindly allowed to make such images in order to help document their present state as a community. Late last year these people were driven from their villages through sectarian violence, with many seeing violence most of us would be unable to imagine. They have been given land by the surrounding villages and have started the construction of simple mud brick homes.

Witnessing such generosity makes it that much more difficult to conceive of the opposite responsible for its need. The children for the most part carried beautiful smiles, although it was also quite evident to see a deep sense of pain on just as many faces. I hope to return to these camps next year and to see fragile tents replaced by safer homes, worry with hope. 

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Note: These images were made with a Sony RX100M2, edited for size and contrast only.