After we finished with the photography, the teacher gathered his students for a class picture. The school building was just to the left of this space. Visiting this school gave me pause and helped me understand even more so how fortunate we are. I admired this teacher very much and hope that he continues to teach.
A dozen years ago I was privileged to have access to a beautiful community in western Kenya, thanks to a foundation named MACODEF. We went from village to village, from school to school, in search of incredible people and stories. This school was on the outskirts of Kisumu, and we walked just to the side to make portraits of the entire student body. Some children had shoes and some lacked, while almost all of the children were wearing the only uniform that they possessed. The foundation is doing remarkable work given the conditions, and I applaud their efforts sincerely.
This is a silver gelatin print of a young Maasai man made by me, the photographer, in my darkroom. It is printed on Ilford MGIVWT glossy fiber 11x14 paper, and toned in selenium for permanence. It is processed in a Zone VI washer to archival standards, and allowed to dry overnight on a screen. This young man and his friends agreed to be photographed in advance of that morning, and met us at the spot agreed upon earlier. They were so kind and generous with their time. They even held my hand as we crossed the street, and really made an impression on me.
The camera/lens combination was a Hasselblad 501CM/180mm, and the frame was exposed onto Fuji's brilliant Neopan Acros 100 using natural light. This portrait is from a library of well over 300,000 negatives exposed over the last 24 years, from four continents and a dozen countries. Every person is spoken with prior to the portrait, and the process is explained fully. Most of my work is on film, and the countries are revisited year after year in order to continue the documentation of the same families, of the same communities.
The purpose of selling these portraits on Etsy is to support the social work being accomplished through my photography. 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.
As a side note, my belief is that you will be very pleased with the print in person, as the tones of a silver gelatin print are difficult to represent through the screen. One may sense the surface of the print by looking at the gloss in certain areas of the print's surface. In the end, the print you will receive will be slightly different than the one represented on the screen, both in tone and in emotional impact... different in the best sense of the word. Every print is an original, and my hope is that it finds a good space in your home.
Each print will be signed and dated by me, the photographer, and numbered to a maximum of 50 prints (11x14) per negative.
Note: printed in the darkroom just today onto fiber paper, tones in selenium for permanence.
This young boy however did his best to compose himself for his portrait, all under his own power. What it took him to do so one cannot imagine... even 14 years after this series was made. I'm humbled by his strength in the face of such odds, and will wait patiently until it's time for me to go home.
