I can’t imagine taking only monochrome film with me to India and am grateful to have taken the chance years ago and especially during last year’s quarantine in Rajasthan!
Thank you Nami Gujjar!
Showing posts with label Girl Rising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Girl Rising. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2022
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Girls in the Classroom, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2018
This is what happens when the digital camera comes out. The girls start to run around, pick friends and get creative. We use available light and sit still while the students direct the photography!
Monday, March 28, 2022
Anays + House, El Campo, Cuba, 2018
Just looking at this negative reminds me of that wonderful morning in the countryside of Cuba, with the talented Anays Diz Pe. We have collaborated ever since I met her walking the streets of the island, back in 2008. She is now in serious demand as a dancer, a model and an artist in general. For this frame we drove around the countryside looking for places. We saw this house to the right and stopped to ask the family for permission. A sweet woman opened the door and was surprised to see us, agreeing immediately to our request.
Anays was of course ready like always, listened to my requests and performed as she desired for 12 frames. Then we changed to another film back and made another dozen frames before thanking the family, and moving onto our next location. These are the experiences that I miss, and hope to have in 2023.
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Sewing Class, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019
Friday, December 24, 2021
Muslim Girl + Classroom, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019
I really do miss this girl and her friends, and have the highest respect for their courage in the midst of indifference and intolerance. Their village is their world, and more exactly their home is their world. Unless they are attending school, they are almost always within the confines of their homes. School is a refuge for them, a place where they may learn and where they can be themselves among friends.
They’re fully aware of the hardships facing them and yet they persevere and endure through it all. In this classroom they could be themselves and act out their creative thoughts. It’s been an honor to be at their side all of these years.
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Yaniuska + Beach, Santa Maria Del Mar, La Habana, Cuba, 2015
Going back to 2015 with the creative Yaniuska at the beach, here is a darkroom print from this week. Behind the image is the dedication of this young girl and her family, ready to go at 5:30 in the morning without question. It’s such an honor to have these images, and the experiences are beyond priceless!
Young Student + Classroom, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020
I really do miss this girl and her friends, and have the highest respect for their courage in the midst of indifference and intolerance. Their village is their world, and more exactly their home is their world. Unless they are attending school, they are almost always within the confines of their homes. School is a refuge for them, a place where they may learn and where they can be themselves among friends.
They’re fully aware of the hardships facing them and yet they persevere and endure through it all. In this classroom they could be themselves and act out their creative thoughts. It’s been an honor to be at their side all of these years.
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
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!
Joven + Campo, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2018
Sometimes I love taking a square negative and filling up the space of an 11x14 print. That was the case with this young girl's portrait from the countryside of Cuba. It has been my honor to photograph her and her family for the past five years, and I hope that she and her family are safe during these difficult times.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
9 Frames + 3 Girls, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020
I can’t imagine taking only monochrome film with me to India and am grateful to have taken the chance years ago!
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Young Woman + Lantern, Humana People to People India, Rajasthan, India, 2008
A young woman on her way home with the solar lantern in hand. It was turned on for the photograph, as the HPPI team liked to show its function.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Young Arbore Boy, Ethiopia, 2010, Limited Edition (50), 11x14 Handmade Silver Gelatin Print Toned in Selenium, Printed by the Photographer
The last 25 years of my life photographically are finally being printed in the darkroom, and the prints are being sold to support the sewing centers we will soon reopen in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Presently we have six sewing centers in two states of India, serving both the Hindu and the Muslim communities.
In these sewing centers, young women learn a trade while also making clothing for their families. The centers are located in the rural areas, where young women have only one option normally, marriage and a family. At this moment, due to COVID-19, the work is on hold. However, we plan to restart the centers in 2022 and the funds from the sale of these portraits will be applied to the work in India.
This print may be purchased through the Etsy link below.
Woman + Humana People to People India, Rajasthan, India, 2010
These images are over 8 years old and from my time of innocence in this wonderful land. At that time I was following those around me and documenting the great work being done by Humana People to People India. They had asked me to photograph a micro-finance project in the Virat Nagar area of Rajasthan.
This was one of my favorite spots for many reasons, one of which was a group of girls schools in the villages. At the time there were 16 schools for girls, and Humana was doing its best to transition out-of-school girls smoothly back into school. In these same villages there were examples of women who had taken on small loans in order to help their families.
In this case, this young mother had used the small loan to purchase this animal... and had used the proceeds from her new endeavor to purchase the gold in her hands. She told us that she would accumulate more in order to pass it onto her daughter when he daughter gets married in the future. We were witnessing change at the grass-roots, as it was happening right before our eyes!
Young Student + Bench, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019
This young girl and her friends walk to this madrasa from the adjacent village. The school is on its own, next to endless fields. This classroom is used during the rainy season, while classes are held outside during the dry season.
At this point her studies are strictly religious, but the headmaster would like to include a full curriculum in the near future. This of course depends on finances and our ability to gather the support on behalf of her school. She and her friends inspire us to do more, and we hope that others will feel the same.Facebook
Monday, September 6, 2021
Young Student + Flowers, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020
Just about now Indian time we would be visiting this girl's school in the district of Shamli. This is the first year since 2012 without a visit to India, and I'm already missing her and her friends. This portrait is from last year, right before the quarantine was put in place by the government. It's a view of a world without the worries that came with the pandemic only a week or so later.
This small village has a school which we wish to support. Last year, as a gesture of goodwill, we had the school plastered and painted. This pleased the children to no end, for how they sat in a building resembling more or so a school. The color behind her is the one picked by the painter, almost perfectly matching the tones of her skin.
Usually after the film photography the girls get to be photographed more spontaneously, because we have more time to do so. They go around and find flowers, change scarves, pose with each other and let their creative thoughts flow. This pot of flowers may have been used by a dozen girls, but each girl makes it her own.
This is an exercise in expression for these girls, because they are rarely allowed to be so free. Sometimes they catch themselves smiling and immediately put their hands over their mouths in response. They learn slowly that their expressions are welcome, and slowly allow themselves to let go.
Soon we hope that the pandemic eases its grip on their part of the world and we can move forward with finding support for her small school. She and her friends deserve nothing less.
Friday, September 3, 2021
Young Student + Classroom, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2018
It's nearly impossible to describe the gentle nature of the girls in rural India, their noble humility. She is a student in the school run by the headmaster in the previous post, and this is the classroom right behind the two men. Even after 16 years of visits to India, I am continuously amazed as to how they could connect with me, with my camera.
Sometimes I think that this is impossible, then time and time again the girls prove me wrong. Even when called from their lessons to sit down on a bench, they can compose themselves instantly and stand with such elegance. What goes on in their minds is a mystery to me, but what I sense is pure happiness and love.
This may be the first time that they are put first, in a society which treats them with indifference. They are of course right about my approach, and they know it. That is what I see in this girl's gaze, in her peaceful expression.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Young Nica + Field, Miramar, Nicaragua, 2020
Going back to Nicaragua for me was like going back in time to a different life. My parents made a life for themselves in this beautiful land, and giving us the opportunity for a better future. An earthquake in 1972 destroyed all of that, but did not destroy our memories of it all. The people of this country embraced me like a brother and have allowed my photography to take root in the land of my birth. I will always be grateful to them now, and to their hospitality at the time of my parents' generation in this land.
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Preparation, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019
Being trusted to fix the fabric means the world to me, and reminds me of my obligations to this community. Moments like this allow me to show these young students my dedication to them, a rare privilege for those outside of this region.
One look into her blue eyes makes it clear that the work is both important and necessary. The fact that this work is needed in more villages than one can possibly count only makes it more urgent. Anyone moved by this is more than welcome to join.
Blue Eyes + Green Field, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2019
Her eyes are blue and as clear as the sky. This portrait of her was made behind the religious school she attends, with my friend Imdadullah's home in the background. This is his village and portraits of the children are only possible because of him. Over the past few years this has been the village in which I stay, thanks to Imdad's beautiful family and home. Every time we arrange a session with the children I ask for her by name, and someone goes running to call her. Sometimes she comes, sometimes she's missing. Regardless, just having this single portrait of her is everything to me.
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Best Friends + Home for Mentally/Physically Challenged, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007
Over thirteen years ago her portrait was made during a visit to eastern Kenya. Thanks to the kindness of a foundation called Maragoli Community Development Foundation, we visited many schools as well as homes for children with special needs. On this day we visited a school on the outskirts of the city and photographed its students against the backdrop of a school wall. This was the only dress that they owned, and had put them on as we arrived. Their hardships are unimaginable and this is an improvement over experiences with their own families, with some chained to trees for much of the time. Now they are in great hands with a passionate team.
Note: printed in the darkroom just today onto fiber paper, tones in selenium for permanence.
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