Man + Horse, Countryside, Cuba, 2018

Hay unas semanas antes del verano en Cuba. Por supuesto, me gustaría hacer arte con los bailarines y modelos, pero también debemos incluir a los magníficos cubanos que viven fuera de la ciudad.

There are a few weeks before the summer in Cuba. Of course I would like to do art with the dancers and models, but we must also include the magnificent Cubans who live outside the city too!

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Best Friends, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2017

For those coming together on behalf of these young girls' school, their portrait is being shared. This was made during our initial visit last week, as Nirvana and his team joined in on the conversation regarding the new curriculum in these young students' school. Their combined portrait was made after the formal portraits on film, providing the girls with a chance to be more spontaneous with their expressions.

...spontaneous they were!

The variety of expressions made me review my approach, and from this point forward such portraits will also be recorded with film. It is an exciting time, mainly for the school of course... but also from my standpoint photographically. My hope is that these portraits convey a sense of the excitement in the air for those of us interested in this work.

These portraits were also made possible with the sincere cooperation of the community and our hosts. The name of our headmaster from the school is missing out of respect for his desire for privacy, but he needs to be mentioned for without him none of this would even be possible.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Carbonero, Village near Manzanillo, Cuba, 2016

In this image a man rakes a pile of burnt wood searching for pieces of charcoal, as this is his livelihood. He steps in the middle of incredible heat just to collect enough to support his family. In spite of his difficult life, he embraced our presence and smiled constantly during our visit.

We met him because he was a husband to our new connection in the village. When we drove 12 hours to Manzanillo to photograph a single girl, we never expected to have such access to rural Cuba. Our friends in the city told us about a few villages less than an hour away, and wanted to take us there. We of course accepted and headed to the unknown.

The villages were incredible, as we were made to feel like family. In the morning we photographed our young friend in the city, and for the afternoons we drove out to the villages. We arrived mid-afternoon and walked around making photographs in the fashion of street documentation. It was so liberating to be able to walk around with such freedom, and to make photographs just by speaking with people along the way.

All of the homes were so beautiful, and the families were almost as curious as we were. This reminded me of my first few years in Havana, when the curiosity was mutual. Now of course the capital has changed tremendously, and over the past few years I have been more and more drawn to the countryside.

Next summer we plan to spend at least half of our time in the countryside, both just around the capital and much further out. The anticipation is already palpable, and will certainly increase when the film from this past summer returns processed in a month or so.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

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Carbonero, Pueblo cerca de Manzanillo, Cuba, 2016

En esta imagen, un hombre rastrilla una pila de madera quemada en busca de trozos de carbón, ya que este es su medio de vida. Da un paso en medio del calor increíble sólo para recoger lo suficiente para mantener a su familia. A pesar de su vida difícil, abrazó nuestra presencia y sonrió constantemente durante nuestra visita.

Nos encontramos con él porque era un marido de nuestra nueva conexión en el pueblo. Cuando conducimos 12 horas a Manzanillo para fotografiar una chica sola, nunca espera que tenga dicho acceso a la Cuba rural. Nuestros amigos en la ciudad nos hablaron de algunos pueblos de menos de una hora de distancia, y querían llevarnos allí. Nosotros, por supuesto, aceptamos y nos dirigimos a lo desconocido.

Los pueblos eran increíbles, ya que nos hicieron sentir como en familia. Por la mañana fotografiamos nuestra joven amiga en la ciudad, y por las tardes nos condujo a los pueblos. Llegamos a media tarde y caminamos en torno a hacer fotografías de la forma de la documentación de la calle. Fue tan liberador para poder caminar con tanta libertad, y para hacer fotografías con sólo hablar con la gente en el camino.

Todas las casas estaban tan hermosa, y las familias eran casi tan curiosos como nosotros. Esto me recordó mis primeros años en La Habana, cuando la curiosidad era mutuo. Ahora, por supuesto, la capital ha cambiado enormemente, y en los últimos años he estado cada vez más atraído por el campo.

El próximo verano tenemos la intención de pasar por lo menos la mitad de nuestro tiempo en el campo, tanto a la vuelta de la capital y mucho más lejos. La anticipación es ya palpable, y sin duda aumentará cuando la película de este verano se procesa en un mes más o menos.

Young Model + Beach, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, 2015

Last summer we had the honor of working with some of the best models in Cuba, and were humbled with their willingness to do more than expected. All were willing to get into the water with their outfits, to get down into the sand and get completely wet.

That was the case with this young model. She struggled at first with the sunlight, but used that to her advantage by taking on more abstract positions, more unusual stances. Here she closed her eyes and thought peaceful thoughts as the shutter was released.

While working with professionals can be different than working with our ballet students, the difference in Cuba is minimal for all take the photography so seriously. I for one look forward to returning in two weeks and bringing these photographs to the people.

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Note: This image was made with a Fuji GA645 camera onto Kodak TMX film.

Young Student + Humana People to People India, Mewat, India, 2016

Last week was a rough one in Mewat, with our photography sessions being stopped twice by unsavory characters having nothing to do with the photography, the students nor the schools. While we had the cooperation of the community leaders, it seems that some of the villagers had yet to receive such information.

Rather than sharing images from that session, I share an image from one of our better times. On this morning we visited one of our schools within a government school. Humana India has moved onto this new system, allowing out of school girls to enter the formal government system slowly and with a well-thought-out program called appropriately 'Step Up.'

We began by making digital photographs of all the girls, perhaps around 100 or so. These were simple snapshots, yet the girls saw nothing simple about them. They took this opportunity to show themselves to the camera, and to us as a result. The reactions came from every direction emotionally, from extreme shyness to bold curiosity. This young girl never took her hands out from under her scarf, and had the most beautiful facial reaction as seen in this image.

Her expression alone makes up for the hardship from the rest of that week, and I do hope that we return before my departure to these villages to make more ideal portraits for those left out last week. The students were wonderful, the teachers were working hard to make a difference... and I do hope that the rest of the villagers see the value in this work and allow us to progress.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Friends + Embrace, Nirvanavan Foundation, Gajuki Village, Rajasthan, India, 2016

This past week we visited an old village from my collaboration with Nirvana and his team at Nirvanavan Foundation. This community is outside of the mainstream system, and the foundation has decided decades ago to embrace it. The community is known to most in the area due to their immersion in the sex trade, as they send their girls to the bigger cities to work in the hotels and bars.

The Kanjar Community is dispersed all over Rajasthan, and located many times near the highways, close to the routes of the truckers as well. Some of their girls are sent as far away as UAE, disguised as housemaids and caretakers of livestock.

The team has taken it upon itself to set up schools in a dozen of these villages, attempting to break this vicious cycle. The children see another way of life through the teachers and, while the topic of the sex trade is never brought up, the idea is that education will bring about change. The boys and girls are included in the schools, for the boys will grow up to be the ones to make the decisions for the girls

In this image perhaps we see two girls living in a village, showing sisterly affection to each other and nothing else. In fact it is exactly that, and nothing more. The fact that they come from this community or another means very little, and my mention of such is to only further the education of those outside of this system in order to help abolish it.

I hope to return to this school to make more images, for the girls were truly affectionate and kind. They welcomed us with open arms, as did the community in spite of the fact that letting us in also lets in change. My hope is that this change comes soon enough for this generation, rather than later.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.

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.

Daughter of Sharecropper + Home, Guanabacoa, Cuba, Summer of 2015

Her portrait was made with a humble phone camera, as my trusted state-of-the-art camera took a turn for the worst with a few weeks left on the island. We stumbled upon her as we were leaving the neighborhood one morning, after photographing two ballerinas in the field in front of her home.

She was sitting to the right on a small bench watching us photograph the ballerinas the entire time. Even though we saw her for a few seconds only, there was something about her expression that made me want to come back immediately, after we dropped off the dancers. When we did return, she knew exactly why before we had a chance to explain.

This young girl is new to my work, and my sincerest hope is that she will allow us to photograph her next year. While she was more than eager during the first session, the following collaborations were more complicated and presented a reason to have a conversation.

We were confused, Alejandro and I. She spoke very little, but communicated much to us through her expressions. She was living with her father and relatives in this small home hundreds of miles away from her hometown. They lived as sharecroppers, waking up well before sunrise to get the produce ready for sale at the market.

Theirs is a difficult life, far from the glamour of 1950s cars and wind-beaten facades lining the capital. My friends would remind me over and over again that such families knew nothing of how a certain segment of this island lived, those in charge of the programs by which these families barely existed.

So when our sessions with this young girl took a turn towards the complicated, we decided that we needed to have a talk. She was that important to us, and deep down inside we knew that this was very important to her. We talked with the families one afternoon, presented our case and asked the families to think about it until our next visit a day or so later.

When we did return, her reaction was so sincere. She still spoke very little, but her expressions gave her away. She was truly happy with our interest, and wanted to continue with the collaboration. Her father treated us with extreme kindness, and had such patience with us. The reality was that this was his daughter, yet he gave us a chance to speak with her directly and to include her in the decision-making process.

I very much look forward to next summer already, and hope that she will be there. Otherwise it'll be time for a road trip, and gladly so!

Young Model + Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, Summer of 2015

These sessions are what make this island so incredible. We could photograph models in the morning on the beach, return to the city for a few hours of urban journalism then head to the countryside to photograph laborers in the fields. Even more incredible is that almost all make the time to learn about our project, and with enthusiasm give time from their days to produce such images. 

Earlier this summer we photographed this young model along with her friend, and were actually pointed her way by her companion. At first we were a little concerned even though her friend advised us of her experience in front of the lens. Our worries were laid to rest once we exposed the first roll of film, as we realized how calm and creative she truly was.

In addition, she had the most wonderful set of clothes picked out and changed between the various pieces with ease. We look forward to her presence once again next year, and will bring these images to her of course.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.

Young Student + Islamic School, Village near Kairana, India, April of 2015

Once again from that very same day in the same Islamic School  in Uttar Pradesh another portrait is being shared. The faces that emerged from only one village near Kairana overwhelmed me, and proved once again that such beauty and resolve exist in every village.

Here were people who had never seen me before, and some who had never seen an outsider in their young lives prior to this day. Yet they stood in front of the lens without hesitation and expressed themselves with an honesty that is many times missing in parts of the world where the camera has become ubiquitous; where everyone has one and where images are made endlessly.

This little girl is without access to traditional education, lives in an area where the government schools are considered so useless that the parents would rather keep their children at home. So my host from last year has set this school up for almost 200 children, and has begun teaching the basics of the Koran to the children of this community. 

He yearns to also present a traditional curriculum to the student body and has the resolve to do so, now working on the financial end of the equation to hire more teachers. Yet he needs help regarding a curriculum, teaching materials and so on. We are working on arranging a relationship with another foundation whose strength happens to be this man's weakness, and whose presence would present a strong Hindu-Muslim unity in an area sorely missing such.

I hope to make the connection in the near future, to bring such a curriculum to this village and to see such unity flourish for the sake of all involved, especially this beautiful student.

www.halimina.org

Note: Anyone interested in helping in this matter may feel free to contact me at any time and through this forum of course.