Student + Window, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019

Just as the pandemic took hold of the world around us this young girl and her friends were the focus of my attention in Uttar Pradesh. According to my friends in the area, their villages have been spared from the path of the virus. My hope is that she and her friends are healthy and safe.

She attends a large madrasa which we have visited since 2013. Their headmaster is planning on expanding to a second school which will be dedicated to girls in the region. He is quite the presence, at times intimidating and at times like a gentle giant. 

As for her and her friends, they love to be photographed and make the sessions so much fun. This unfinished room will be a classroom for the students in the near future. Until then it's our studio. The ability of this young girl to connect with the lens while chaos is all around her astounds me. The confidence she has while never having met an outsider such as myself before cannot be overstated. 

My hope is that the pandemic eases in our near future and that we can find support for her future school. The work will continue regardless! 

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Student + Doorway, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020

Earlier this year due to the pandemic, my return from India was delayed by 6 weeks. The entire time all 600 or so rolls of film were tucked away in the suitcase. My concern was that as the temperatures increased damage would be done to the film. I did the best that I could by keeping the door of the room closed during the day, and open at night. My host family allowed me to use the cooler as well. 

All the while I had the digital images to review, including this portrait. This young girl and her sister have been photographed by me over the past five or so years. I would look through the files and just hope that the film equivalents were safe. Taking walks twice a day helped, and the birds on the wires kept me company.

Now I look back and have even more appreciation for my host family. All of the film was processed successfully and her portrait on film is just as exquisite.

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Young Student + Digital Negative, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019

For those photographers among us, this week begins a new process in the darkroom for me... digital images enlarged in the traditional wet process. This is the first digital file to be printed onto a transparency, we'll see the result soon enough. Normally after a session of film photography, the digital camera is pulled out and more spontaneous pictures are made for the children. All of a sudden the girls run around to gather their friends and pose for the camera, making the digital process as much fun as the film. So, why not print some of these images with the traditional process? It's about time for me to do so!

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