Ebon, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Cleveland, Ohio, States, July, 2010

Ebon decides to come along with her sister for support, her sister being a model.

She ends up being photographed as well, as natural as the subjects from Asia and Africa.

In describing the people in my portfolio, a dear friend named Edith writes the following:

'A wonderful, exotic piece of wood, a hunk of wood from a tree that has not yet made my acquaintance, from a forest not yet discovered by man or woman, perhaps on a few colorful lizards, a slice of wood cut in an unusual way that exposes a grain pattern previously unseen except by a bolt of lightening that split it in that particular way back in 1837, a hunk of wood shaped around a burl produced by a temporary insect transplant...'

'Not just any piece of wonderful wood, you understand...'

Edith is describing someone else, yet her words come to mind in sharing my thoughts of Ebon.

It is my humble opinion that Edith would feel the same way.

By the way, Edith is a Certified Picture Framer and a link to her work is included here.

While of course my opinion is biased, her work nonetheless is exquisite.

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Panda, Friend, Model, Student, Cleveland, Ohio, States, July, 2010

Her name is Panda, or at least this is how we meet through ModelMayhem.

Our initial contact is a response to my casting call. She informs me that she will be out of town during that time and hopes my work will be extended to allow her a chance to be included.

The words that she uses are precise, direct and honest.

Panda writes: 'I love when people call me Sir, then change to Miss, then blush and stutter. I laugh a lot, but reassure them it's okay because they genuinely seem embarrassed.'

She reads the entire description and provides a response that is relevant to my work and brings a fresh approach as well. So many glance over the meaning of my photography while Panda takes the time to understand how she will bring something new to the work while maintaining a flow to it as well.

When asked about a similarity between her and the subjects in my portfolio, she writes:

'I think a similarity is obviously human. I find it funny how race is so emphasized, when in all reality we are one species, and race is a social construct. It's one genome. We've all seen our fair share, you can see it in the eyes and fine lines and markings.'

My work is clear to her even before meeting.

She arrives to the studio on time regardless of difficulty. We proceed to the rooftop and, in the span of a few minutes, she is ready to be photographed. We begin with close portraits and she moves from one pose to another, from one composition to another and from one expression to another effortlessly.

There is something about her; she moves with great delicacy and intent. She knows when it is time to show another face, another facet of her personality. Even though the sun is striking her with sufficient strength, she calmly gives me half an hour before we make portraits in another style.

The three images above are from this initial series.

Even before this session, Panda kindly accepts the thought of being photographed over a span of a few times. She feels that perhaps we can produce a more complete body of work given the benefit of a few sessions. Her patience with me and my work is extraordinary.

Last night she received the images from six weeks ago with grace, regardless of the time taken to produce the work. When asked to use her words for this entry, she responds with the same humility and grace.

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Kiara, Model, Sister, Daughter, Cleveland, Ohio, States, July, 2010

We meet through ModelMayhem a year or so ago and collaborate earlier this month.

Unlike many others, she and her representative contact me consistently regarding details throughout the preparatory process. We discuss the need for natural light and darker outfits. She comes to the studio prepared beautifully and with her two sisters as well.

We work for more than an hour, photographing the entire family as well. All are kind and generous to me and my portfolio, showing interest in being included alongside the women from all over the world. They change clothing when asked and allow me to make portraits while the sun strikes their skin boldly.

The idea behind her portrait is simple, to include faces from the States alongside those from Africa and Asia for example. It never ceases to amaze me when women from other parts of the world view faces from the States and are surprised for various reasons.

It seems to me that the media has sculpted a view of the West that excludes features such as those in my portfolio, that excludes darker skin and features. With the inclusion of Kiara in my portfolio, my hope is that other women in my portfolio can better understand the women in the States and can see even more clearly the fact that they are sisters.

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Girl, Student, Humana People to People, Banganga, Rajasthan, India, November, 2009

This image is made in the morning on my last day of photography, as has been traditional for the last three years in this village. The students and teacher always show their desire to be photographed by being ready as the sun rises, even though the temperature is usually cold enough to trace the anxious breathing of the children.

She has been there from the beginning, from the very first year.

In her village, the teacher and her sister always show me their hospitality equally. As one prepares tea, so does the other. As one prepares dinner, the other prepares dinner. They are neighbors and have eight children between them. As one watches me eat my dinner, the other does the same watching me eat the dinner that she has prepared for me.

As always, the families serve the guests, allow them to eat first and then sit down to eat their meals.

In her village, all the students have uniforms, unlike the other schools. Their education is provided for by Humana People to People India, an education that at this time has ceased to exist due to a lack in funding.

During our session this morning however, she shines like few can do. She is photographed from the left, from the right, from directly in front. She is photographed with one hand on her hips, with two hands on her hips.

In every single exposure, she is without equal and shows me so. There are few that can do such as consistently as this young girl. Should she be the only reason to visit India, she would be reason enough for me to purchase the next ticket.

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Christi, Model, Musician, Daughter, Cleveland, Ohio, United States, June 17, 2010

We meet in a park near her home about six in the evening under a beautiful sky. We talk for a few minutes and make plans for the wardrobe and sequence of photography. Her enthusiasm is genuine, her curiosity true.

Before our session, we exchange a few messages and in one of them she shares her concern of disappointing me. My answer to her is simple: the fact that she feels it within herself to share such a concern means that she cannot possibly disappoint me.

This turns out to be more than true. We work first with one outfit, then move to another seamlessly. During one of these changes, I ask about her boyfriend and she tells me that he lives nearby, offering to call him immediately.

She does so and he arrives a few minutes later, turning the session into a wonderful experience. The sight of this gentle man makes her smile even more so. He changes into an outfit and we make his portrait as well. He does so without effort, with a kindness that people in my portfolio have shown me year after year.

He leaves after perhaps thirty minutes of photography and we finish our session about one hour after his departure. Instead of packing her stuff and leaving immediately, she lingers on sweetly to talk for a little bit. This shows me once again her genuine nature, her most thoughtful curiosity.

Her portrait sits alongside the Mursi from Ethiopia and the ballet dancers from Cuba. She is a sister to them all and walks seamlessly between all of them.

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Widow, Courtyard of Mosque, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, November, 2008

Just like her counterpart below, this woman is shunned by her society and is placed in a situation of need as a result. She comes to gather her bag of dried goods for the next thirty days, until she needs to return the following month.

This is her second time in front of my camera and in the very same spot, the courtyard of a local mosque. The scene outside of the courtyard is one of madness and extreme difficulty in terms of photography, so we choose a place that allows us to make portraits in peace.

However, as our session extends into the second hour, men start to gather inside the courtyard for prayer. Because of timing issues with the foundation, we still have a dozen women in need of photography. Men begin to complain about the camera and also the presence of women in their midst.

One man especially does so a few times, loudly in fact. He continues to do so and his face is familiar to me, he is a face from last year's photography. So instead of asking my translator to quiet this man down, his picture is found in my bag and handed to him quickly by me.

He quiets down immediately, albeit with a sense of disgust, and walks away.

A few men sitting down for their prayers smile as a result.

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Blind Widow, Courtyard of Mosque, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, November, 2008

This man represents a part of society that is generally shunned. He is both blind and a widow, resigned to receiving a bag of dried goods monthly in order to survive.

The people that provide this bag do so through the Zakat Foundation of India, in an anonymous manner. Usually, about twenty to thirty widows gather at a specific site three times a month, three different groups, to collect their bag of goods.

They, or someone that sponsors them, apply for this program and their application is reviewed by the good people of the foundation.

For this session, we use the courtyard of a local mosque. They are kind enough to allow us the space for photography due to the fact that the foundation is well known in the area. The streets are busy beyond our control and the courtyard allows us to make peaceful portraits.

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Young Girl, Student, Banganga, Rajasthan, India, Humana People to People, November 20, 2009

From the note on this roll of film, this portrait is the first negative from the 24th roll of film on November 20, 2009. She is dressed in her school uniform, has her portrait made in front of the teacher's home. Ten girls or so stand to her left only a few feet away and perhaps a dozen students and bystanders are to her right. Behind her is a white sheet stretched over a bench.

The teacher of this school is also the owner of this house, along of course with her husband. They are of the highest caste yet do almost all of the work themselves, from plowing the fields to the irrigation.

The teacher has a sister whose house is but a few meters away. Together they have considerable land and respect among the rest of the villagers. Instead of having others do the work, the two husbands work from sunrise to sunset. In all of my visits, four up to this year, I have never seen either husband sitting down upon arrival; they are always at work in the field.

Every time we arrive on this spot, both women and their daughters prepare two sets of tea for us, one from each family. Every time we have a meal, both families prepare a meal for us and sit down to watch us with smiles trying to finish both meals.

This is her fourth portrait in as many years. This session lasts for over two hours yet she and her girlfriends are able to maintain their composure for that length of time without hesitation.

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Mursi Man, Earrings, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, March, 2010

This portrait is the morning after the portrait below, in the middle of Mago National Park.

The night before we sleep near a stream and under a large tree. For our dinner, we have corn from the previous day and some canned tuna. While we sleep, a guard from the park services department watches out for us along with some men from his tribe, the very tribe we intend to photograph the next morning.

The reason for the decision to camp is based on the amount of gasoline remaining for the trip. Sleeping near the tribe allows us to eliminate the arduous trek over the mountain range and also lessens the wear and tear on the truck, as well as the driver.

Clouds, for some reason in the land of sunshine, decide to appear on the horizon just as the sun is shining most beautifully this entire week. Sleep is hard to find all night because of this. Every once in a while, I unzip the small tent and look up at the skies only to see stars. Then I go back to sleep only to repeat this a few times during the night.

In the morning, before the sun rises, I check on the sky one more time, seeing only stars. Excitement builds and we decide to move quickly. We pack all of our gear, place it on top of the truck and head to the village only a minute or so away.

As written in previous posts, a tribe that is supposed to be most difficult is in actuality more than gentle. We begin with the girls, then the women and then the older men. During this morning's session, a large cloud appears out of nowhere unexpectedly and seems to be moving in the same direction and with the same speed as the sun.

With the previous five days in mind, I almost decide to put everything away and give up. The translator tells me to be patient, tells me that the sun will reappear in less than one hour. In the end, he is right. The sun does reappear and even though it is higher and stronger than before, the people are able to stand up and collaborate beautifully.

We finish on a high note and move on to the next tribe, until our return next year hopefully.

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Mursi Man, Hat, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, March, 2010

This portrait is made on a late afternoon while our truck idles behind me. He stands looking to his right where perhaps twenty women and girls sit. Earlier today they had their portraits made and even sold a few lip plates to me, all with different shapes, patterns and colors.

In between sessions, we wait under the hot sun, to the surprise of the driver and the translator. While most of their friends bring customers into the village for a few minutes only to drive back to the motel for the rest of the day, these two good men get to hang out with me all day and wait for the sun to begin its descent into the late afternoon.

We would rather go back and rest ourselves but know that to come back would be most difficult for the truck. So we have our lunch under a tree, share a can or two of sardines with a few tribesmen, sleep for a bit, talk to the older men and generally are the center of attention for the younger generation.

Today the sun exists without clouds and my only wish is that this remains so until the afternoon. We are granted this wish and arrange to make the men's portraits. One by one they walk from under the row of trees to stand in front of the camera. Some come as they are, some bring their rifles and some bring their swords.

While this tribe lives in a most inaccessible part of Ethiopia, they have been photographed beyond ability to count. Almost every single day a group of tourists stop by for their dose of a different world. They typically get out of their SUVs, walk around with their eyes wide open, stand behind their guide and wait for an opportunity to make some pictures then return to their air-conditioned vehicles twenty minutes later on their way to the next visual attraction.

So this tribe has seen it all, the world has come to them and continues to come to them on an hourly basis. For this very reason, their portraits amaze me this afternoon. While cameras are nothing new to them, their collective reaction to my camera is fresh. They usually negotiate a fee for a single image but are willing to stand in front of me for a few minutes and hear the continuous sound of the shutter without refusing me their portrait. According to our translator, our approach is quite unorthodox yet accepted.

These men honor me and my work, I am humbled by their worldliness.

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