Anays + El Mar, Santa Maria Del Mar, Cuba, 2018

Incredible how it's been almost three years since we walked into the water for this image. While this year looks like one without travel, it's a blessing to have the time to finally print my life's work. 

Anays and her family have treated me like a brother since we first met in 2008, and this portrait was made exactly 10 years later. My hope is that they are safe, and I look forward to the day when we can return to these waters.

Thank you Caridad for making all of this possible, and thank you Idiovel for getting us there!

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Es increíble cómo han pasado casi tres años desde que entramos al agua para esta imagen. Si bien este año parece uno sin viajes, es una bendición tener tiempo para finalmente imprimir el trabajo de mi vida.

Anays y su familia me han tratado como a un hermano desde que nos conocimos en 2008, y este retrato se hizo exactamente 10 años después. Mi esperanza es que estén sanos y espero con ansias el día en que podamos regresar a estas aguas.

¡Gracias Caridad por hacer posible todo esto y gracias Idiovel por llevarnos allí!

Note: Negative exposed with a Fuji GA645i, printed in the darkroom onto Ilford 11x14 fiber paper, toned in selenium for permanence.

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Dancer + Water, Mentor Headlands, Ohio, 2016

Back from Cuba only a few days and already getting the itch to get out there and make some dance images. Before my trip to the island this summer I had the privilege of working with Faith, and we visited the beautiful park at Mentor Headlands. This is another image from our short afternoon.

It was a beautiful day, and the task ahead of us was to make images with the sun setting to the water. My preference has always been to make images with the water and horizon to the back of the dancer. Looking for different views was a challenge, yet gave me a new perspective on backgrounds as well as an appreciation for what we have right here in northeast Ohio.

The park is quite beautiful, and photographs abound. We had a great time, worked for little more than an hour, and headed back home with a dozen or so rolls exposed. Tomorrow I edit the remaining few images for Faith, and hope that they are as beautiful as this one.

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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad analog system onto Ilford Delta 100 film.

Ballerinas - Water, Santa Maria del Mar, La Habana, Cuba, Summer of 2013

Last year I felt the urge to join the dancers in the water, but was held back photographically. The minute I returned to the States I purchased a vintage medium format point-and-shoot camera, quite different than the more static equipment used for these sessions. I went back and forth, wondering if I had made the right decision.

Then came the time this past summer to join them in the water, to feel the warmth of the ocean and to be within a meter of them while holding a camera by hand. This was also the first time I wore shorts and a t-shirt on the island, and I felt the freedom of it all immediately.

Reading reviews and making decisions mentally is one thing, holding the camera in my hand while hearing the girls laughing in front of me is an entirely different matter altogether. These images would have been impossible before, yet felt so natural this past summer. Now I can't imagine being so far away from them, and look forward to printing these in the darkroom much sooner than later. 

These young girls, one a veteran and the other a rookie, worked together like they had known each other for years… when the fact is that they had just met. The older one, familiar to many of you, wanted to work with two younger dancers and be their mentor photographically. She was that and much more, increasing the range of this work and bringing even more fun to it all.

I cannot wait to show them these images, and to do it all over again next summer!

Note: These are rough scans through the negative sleeves, exposed by a Fuji GA645Wi.

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Woman, Water Collection, Somewhere in Senegal, 2006

We were on the road for  just a little bit when we can across this woman and a younger companion near a water well. They were just finished with water collection when we arrived, and let us speak with them for a few minutes. They then allowed us to make their portraits, giving us just enough time to set up before walking away.

She was doing just that when this image was made. My memory tells me that she has a natural toothbrush between her lips, the brand that's sold on the streets in bundles by vendors. The area around us was as seen in the image above, open and expansive. We were on our way to the interior of The Gambia and had a long road ahead of us.

Much of my work today is planned, scheduled and repeated. The people in my portraits are familiar to me, and I can identify their streets and homes from a satellite view of our globe. Her portrait and all other portraits from my time in Senegal are more mysterious. I will never be able to visit this place again, and am thankful for at least this image.

Perhaps I should refrain from using the word never, because I do have family in Senegal and they do remember the driver. He might just remember the path taken and just might be able to take me once again to this well. Regardless I have come to accept these single portraits, and cherish them actually. There are so many more spirits to document, that she will forgive my absence I believe.

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