A Meal, Humana People to People India, Rajasthan, India, 2006

In an uncertain present I take comfort in looking back at better times. Somehow this past predicts a better future, one where we can once again sit down together and enjoy such a meal. Thus image goes back to my first year in India, when even my snapshots were made on film, with a Contax G2 in this example. The Humana India team was making lunch for the village, and the smell was fantastic. We were there to support a school for girls and are still doing so to this day, 14 years later!

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Man + Smoke, Rajasthan, India, 2009

As my trip to India nears the temptation to view older images is great, both to remember the past and to look forward to the future. Looking back gives me perspective, a reminder of how my work began. Now and then a frame comes into view, perhaps one which needs to be enlarged.

While the formal portratis get my attention most of the time, certain spontaneous 'snapshots' slip in once in a while. This is the first time my eyes have seen this exposure since it was made over eight years ago. It must have been made as we were leaving the village, for the sun had set.

For those of us supporting two schools in Rajasthan, this image was made in one of the two villages. In a little more than a week we will be visiting this village and perhaps even seeing this man once again. The men in the village are a kind group, and have fun with me in between the photography of the students. This is one such moment, for all like to be photographed!

I look forward to India next weekend, and to walking around with a point-and-shoot camera for such portraits. 

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2, on negative color film.

Three Women, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, November 18, 2008

So who are the women who have endured the world of human trafficking? Where are the faces behind the numbers and charts?

These three women live within the Kanjar Community, and have witnessed with their own eyes the world of the sex trade. This has been the reality within which they have had to live, and into which their labor has been forced.

So who are the women who have endured the world of human trafficking? Where are the faces behind the numbers and charts?

These three women live within the Kanjar Community, and have witnessed with their own eyes the world of the sex trade. This has been the reality within which they have had to live, and into which their labor has been forced.

They stood for their portraits 8 years ago so that perhaps their daughters would have a better chance, so that perhaps the world would wake up. Nirvana Bodhisattva and his team at Nirvanavan Foundation are doing their absolute best to honor these women, and their daughters.

Jesse Bach and Elana are also doing their best here in Northeast Ohio, where countless women also share this most unfortunate of stories. Let's support them in their quest for human rights and justice.

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Note: These portraits were made with a Hasselblad V system.

Two Friends + Fisherman, El Malecón, La Habana Cuba, 2008

Two Friends + Fisherman, El Malecón, La Habana Cuba, 2008

My work in Cuba began in the streets and this year returns to the streets. Portraits like this will be made with hand-held cameras, rather than using a tripod. The early and late hours will be for the formal portraits, but the middle of the days will be reserved for roaming the city and making environmental portraits.

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2/45 mm combination.

Little Thing + Smile, La Habana, Cuba, 2008

Her name found its popularity through a French musical, and enchanted me when we first met almost a decade ago. She was the reason we stopped on this very street, and why we continue to this day to visit the neighborhood. Her smile brightens up the world, and she is always willing to share it.

Our first meeting is etched in my mind. We were walking up the street when she spotted us. She was walking out of her doorway and across the street. She was supremely confident at such an age, and took me by surprise.

We stopped and walked back to where she was standing. We asked permission to photograph her from an older man, and then he asked her. She politely refused and we started on our way up the street. We then heard the man calling us back, and saw a great smile on her face.

That was the beginning of our friendship and to this day we visit the neighborhood just for the sake of visiting. Most of the girls have grown up and moved on now, but they remember us well and greet us kindly. This year we will try to find a better place for them to be photographed, since doing so in the streets is old news by now.

Either way I look forward to seeing this smile in a month!

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2/90 mm lens combination.

Young Girl + Clips, La Habana, Cuba, 2008

This portrait was made the same week as the last one posted, and from the same neighborhood. It is almost eight years old, yet her expressive personality is etched in my memory. She is quite the star, and has grown up into a beautiful, young woman.

Everyone loves her, and she roams the streets freely without worry. She always allows herself to be photographed, and my hope this year is that we can go to a place of their choosing for a photographic session, since they are 'too old' to be photographed in the street.

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2 system.

Man + Doorway, La Habana, Cuba, 2008

Man + Doorway, La Habana, Cuba, 2008

The next couple of weeks will be spent scanning the negatives from last year in order to print albums for the families. Hopefully the task will be finished by the end of this month, giving me time enough to print them next month.

Scanning means a lot of time thinking, and so I started looking at some of my earlier images from the island. Here is a portrait from one of my favorite neighborhoods in La Habana. My photography until that moment consisted of disconnected portraits. The people of this neighborhood really took me in and allowed me to make portraits of their entire families. To this day we visit and, although the photography is minimal, the feeling is sublime.

When my Cuban friends learned about my walks through this area, they were a little concerned. They told me that this was a tough neighborhood, and that my eyes better keep track of my equipment during my walks. The reality has been however that trust has never been an issue, and there has never been a reason for me to be concerned. Walking around there feels as natural as it does here in my own neighborhood, but much warmer with the social interactions actually.

The expression on this man's face says it all, and I look forward to visiting the families in less than two months.

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2/45 mm combination.

Mechanics + Engine, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2008

These young mechanics worked in a shop adjacent to the girls in my photographs. As I walked past them they began speaking to me, and asked about my camera. They wanted to be photographed, and so I did. Each had their own response to being photographed, but all were kind in their responses.

We talked for a few more minutes, I walked over to look at the engine, loved the scent of the space, then walked over to photograph the girls next door.

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2/45 mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Three Students + The Sky, Haryana, India, Late 2006

Earlier this morning two young girls from Delhi asked for their photographs from six years ago, and it got me to look through the folder from that year. So many years have passed and these children have never been visited by me since that first year. My time with the foundation decreased and their school happened to be a few hours from the capital.

I wonder what has happened to them? Have they continued their education?

One year we did visit their school intending to photograph them, only to find out that they had taken a field trip to Delhi to visit a museum. It looks like we crossed paths on the road between the city and their school. A lack of communication was to blame, since the people from the foundation failed to contact the school in advance.

Now a Turkish organization has purchased the school and transformed it incredibly. There is a playground, a computer lab and the buildings have been refreshed with a wonderful color scheme. I will visit the school next year, and look for these very children.

Young Student, Rooftop, Oxford Square, New Delhi, India, Fall of 2007

Through a mutual contact I met this young girl and many like her attending classes on a rooftop. A generous family had taken it upon themselves to provide classes to the children of the working neighborhood nearby. The parents of these children washed the clothes of the surrounding neighborhoods, this was their place within the social framework.

From the rooftop their houses could be seen, a collection of humble structures alongside the river. Normally these children would be working alongside their older brothers and sisters rather than attending classes. With the opening of this school they have been provided a chance for an education, an opportunity to perhaps in a few years join a formal government school.

My arrival was greeted like that of an ambassador. All of the children were standing in formation, and acknowledged my presence quite formally. They paid close attention while the patron of the school spoke about my work and that of the other visitors. We were then asked to say a few words about ourselves, and about our work.

I asked whether my English would be understood. He was kind enough to humor my question, and asked me to speak nevertheless. My sense was that it was more important for the children to hear my voice than to understand the meaning of my words. To this day when I listen to a song in another language, it reminds me of his advice on that day.

After a formal presentation by all, we were allowed to relax a bit and then photograph the children. Within the city the skies were often hazy, and on this day it was certainly the case. The surface of the rooftop was light in color, and meticulous. We found a spot in the middle of the space and sat the children down one by one for their portraits. Sitting them down allowed me to photograph them from above and to let the light strike their faces more evenly.

Most wore a sweater bearing the name of the school, and the girls wore a head scarf in addition. The ages of the children roughly ranged from five to fourteen, and there were as many girls as boys. They were provided meals on their study breaks, and the materials necessary for their education. The children went about their obligations with a sincere respect for the family, and a humility that was deeply touching.

'Appreciative' would fail miserably in describing their sentiments.

On this day I felt the power of one man, of one family, and understood the capacity for change inherent in the individual. Here was one family who had taken it upon themselves to give back to the community. They had on their own arranged for the teachers, for the materials, and most importantly for a conversation with the local community. They had received the blessings of the parents and extended the hand of education to children otherwise missing such a gesture from their own Society.

I have a deep respect for this family, and hope one day to return and witness a school thriving.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Elder in Color, On the Street, La Habana, Cuba, July of 2008

He sat for his portrait without a word, following his friends. They were gathered in their usual spot on one of the busiest streets in the city. Each had their own story and had seen more than their share of hardship, had lived through the revolution and were a testament to human endurance. They caught my attention from across the street when one of them offered to have their portraits made by me, in exchange for a fee of course.

To do so one time on the island is to place myself in a peculiar situation, and so the offer was kindly rejected. For some reason he offered once again without the financial request and the offer was gladly accepted. They might have seen me before on the street and perhaps had a sense of curiosity. I certainly was curious in return. We talked for a few minutes and set up for the photography. Many people from across the street showed their disapproval, since they might have seen this as a tourist making pictures of the helpless once again for the sake of profit.

These men treated me with respect and surely had mine in return. We made photographs using the tripod and film, then switched to a hand held camera for spontaneous captures. The background was the beautiful floor beneath them, while gorgeous light struck their faces from the street behind me. The man in the portrait above had a difficult time raising his head, and was kind enough to do so in this instance. Unlike the children in my work, the men in this group sat very still and were quite easy to photograph.

After perhaps thirty or so minutes we packed up our gear and bid these men farewell. We made note of their locations and promised to return the following year with their portraits. When we did return on our next visit we learned that one of the men had since passed away. It so happened that this was the man who had approached us in the first place, and who had made these images possible.

I will always be thankful for his curiosity and for the opportunity to have met him, to have made his portrait. Being in a position to meet such a variety of people is a true fortune, one that inspires me to continue upon this path.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

The Boys, La Habana, Cuba, August 8, 2008

'Boys will be boys,' so the saying goes.

Yet from neighborhood to neighborhood, from continent to continent, it proves to be so true. In places where they have never seen me, it is most accentuated. They are the first to run towards the car, and certainly the most energetic in front of the lens. Always they want their pictures made before the girls, and love to be photographed in groups like in the image above.

In the familiar places they have come to understand the meaning behind my work and usually stay to the side, allowing me and the girls to work uninterrupted. Whether in Cuba or in Lebanon or in India, this has come to fruition through years of familiarity. Now when we show up to this neighborhood for example, the boys say their greetings, shake hands and then go about their routine. When asked to be photographed they will allow it, but only now when asked.

These seven boys live in a neighborhood visited by me perhaps over thirty times over the past eight or so years. We have photographed both the girls and boys, and all of them have their photographs. Some are more accustomed with the lens, the younger ones still getting used to being photographed of course. Some are shy, some are very assertive, and age at times has little to do with either. This image was made in the street in front of a friend's house, as cars go passing by frequently. It's a busy street and we stop now and then to allow the cars to pass.

The light shining on their skin comes from the building behind me, as the sun strikes it early in the morning. Up until twelve or so we have indirect light from this incredible source, and can make portraits with minimal shadows and maximum evenness of light. People often wonder how these are made, and a photographer familiar with this street asked me one time: where do you find the white background?

When I told him, he was still unable to believe it. For me this process revealed itself on this island, when photographing one day years ago. Upon returning to the States I realized that in some of the portraits the background faded away. With my preference for light printing, and subtle gradations of tone, the white walls disappeared. From that portrait forward this presentation has been an important facet of my work. So much so that I now need to consciously return to the inclusion of backgrounds, and have just acquired the necessary tool to do so upon my next visit to Cuba.

I very much look forward to returning with these images in July.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography