Karla + Nanda, El Campo, La Habana, Cuba, 2017

Cuando alguien me pregunta: ¿por qué el trabajo en Cuba es diferente?

La respuesta es fácil para mí: es una colaboración igual entre fotógrafo y modelo. Los jóvenes modelos están completamente involucrados en las decisiones, desde la ubicación hasta la ropa y el tema. Por lo general preguntamos, ¿la playa o el campo o la ciudad? Algunas veces las modelos nos permiten elegir, algunas veces ellos deciden sobre la ubicación.

Si bien mi preferencia por la ropa es oscura y atemporal, para resaltar el modelo en lugar de la ropa, sus pensamientos son muy bienvenidos. Alejandra y Karla son maravillosas, mujeres jóvenes ... y es un placer fotografiarlas.

Esta mañana salimos al campo mucho antes de que saliera el sol. Salimos temprano para llegar a tiempo para el amanecer. En nuestro camino notamos que estaba nublado, pero continuó en nuestro camino. Decidimos que se realizarían fotografías, con o sin luz solar.

Tuvimos la suerte de tener sol temprano y nubes más tarde. Esto nos permitió fotografiar durante unas horas, en lugar de solo una hora. Esta casa fue encontrada mientras conducíamos, y el dueño fue increíble. Le encantó la idea e inmediatamente nos permitió usar la casa para nuestra sesión. Preguntamos si podíamos regresar y él también estuvo de acuerdo.

¡Espero ver a estas dos jóvenes en un mes y dirigirme a más zonas rurales, además de explorar la ciudad!

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When someone asks me: why is the work in Cuba different?

The answer is easy for me: it is an equal collaboration between photographer and model. The young models are completely involved in the decisions, from the location to the clothing to the theme. We usually ask, the beach or the countryside or the city? Sometimes the models allow us to choose, sometimes they decide about the location.

While dark and timeless are my preferences for clothing, in order to highlight the model rather than the clothing, their thoughts are most welcomed. Alejandra and Karla are both wonderful, young women... and a pleasure to photograph.

On this morning we drove out to the countryside well before the sun had risen. We left early in order to arrive on time for sunrise. On our way we noticed that it was cloudy, but continued on our way. We decided that photographs would be made, with or without sunshine.

We were fortunate to have sunshing early, and clouds later. This allowed us to photograph for a few hours, rather than just an hour. This house was found as we were driving back, and the owner was amazing. He loved the idea and immediately allowed us to use the house for our session. We asked if we could come back and he agreed as well.

I look forward to seeing both of these young women in a month, and to heading out to more of the countryside, as well as exploring the city!

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Young Student + New School, Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2018

Yesterday we returned from three weeks in Uttar Pradesh, and the most incredible visit to her beautiful village. Thanks to so many generous people here on FB and through our exhibits, a new school has begun within her traditional madrasa. Nirvana and his dedicated team at Nirvanavan Foundation have taken it upon themselves to begin this project and see to it that the efforts succeed.

It is for her and her friends after all that this work is dedicated. In addition to their traditional Koranic studies they will now have the Uttar Pradesh curriculum. For the first time in their young lives they will study what some in their area take for granted, a quality education. While some in her village are sent to private schools, the majority depend on the local government school which is at its best mediocre. In addition, most families will refrain from sending their girls above a certain age... thus the school within the madrasa has evolved.

She and her friends are beyond happy to have such a school now, and with an all-female teaching staff as well. The classrooms are beautiful, freshly painted and supplied with proper electricity and fans. Their art is on the walls, with much more art to follow. In may at perhaps more than 40 additional girls will join the school, making it a considerable presence in the village.

I hope that her expressions says it all!

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Note: This portrait was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Ballerina + Oldsmobile, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2017

This past year she truly came into her own. This was the first time when she was photographed on her own, without her brother and sister. At such a young age she is incredibly professional and is studying at the prestigious National School of Ballet. Her future is bright.

For our session on this morning we picked her family up in front of their home in Havana. They were as usual ready an hour before sunrise and in front of their apartment. We drove out to Guanabacoa in search of a different setting for her immeasurable talents.

We drove past this spot to the railroad tracks but were greeted by an uncooperative man who had taken it upon himself to disrupt our session. This young girl is mature beyond her age, and just smiled with confidence as we collected ourselves and returned to the scene in this image.

This is where we began our session for the morning. The Oldsmobile was our car for the summer, and truly dependable it was. She loved being photographed in front of this classic and held her own doing so. This was our fourth year together and for me our best. In five months we will reunite and hopefully exceed the images we made last summer.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Model + Shadow, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, 2017

This year promises to be an incredible one at EGOS, a school for models run by the magnificent Gysleda. This young man is one such example of the beauty and power on the island, and helped us produce beautiful images this past week. 

While he has exquisite attributes, it is his humility which stands on its own. He was both soft and strong, and worked so well with the other model during the session. When asked to remove his shirt, he did so without hesitation... and when asked to pour water on his beautiful hair, he also embraced the request. This image is the result of his cooperation, and spirit of course. 

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Anays + The Blue Chair, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2017

This past week the work has begun on the island, and with the most magnificent Anays Diz Pe. For this image we returned to a small village just outside of the city, and to the home with my favorite chair. While of course her dance images are without compare, she decided to display her sense of fashion and style for this session.

Her talents have now grown to include being a dance professor in two schools, while strolling the catwalk in a most prestigious modeling school. My schedule looks empty in comparison to hers, yet she still finds time for us to collaborate. If she could be photographed every single day she would do so, for she was born to be photographed.

On this morning we were fortunate enough to have sunshine, and plenty of it. We collaborated for perhaps one hour before the sun turned a bit hot for me. Anays could have gone forward for much longer, but perhaps it was best to save our time, and film, for our session this Sunday at the beach.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3, after hitting the ground from 5 or so feet high.

Syrian Refugee + Fabric, Zahle, Lebanon, 2017

The men driving me to the camps have been amazed by the beauty within them, especially this young girl living just fifteen or so minutes from my grandparents' home. The men have lived in this town since birth and have driven past the camps on countless occasions. Yet they had never stopped for a minute to interact with the populations within, had never seen such beauty.

Most are offended by the intense smell, or by the mere presence of the refugees within their country. In so many ways such a presence has put a strain on the country, with the economy in distress and the already fragile security more strained.

However for me these camps are the birth of my photography, for me the children within them are as beautiful, as strong and as vibrant as any encountered in my travels. They are the flowers amidst the chaos, they are the inspiration behind my work.

This young girl's smile erases the difficulty in achieving her portrait. While men look on at times in disapproval, she stands her ground and speaks her mind through her portrait. She refuses to be silenced, refuses to be ignored. If this portrait can communicate such to the viewers, then it has done justice to her spirit.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Syrian Girl + Garden, Zahle, Lebanon, 2017

She is as striking as her predecessors in her camp, as beautiful as any other in this world. Her homeland is in distress, and her life in Lebanon is anything but stable. Yet she does what she can to help her family, and endures with such grace.

On my second day to her camp she was helping her mother with the purchase of some vegetables from a visiting truck. She caught my attention right away, but her presence was missing as we had our first session.

As the third day arrived it seemed that she would never come, and then she approached us with a smile. She might have seen the photographs in her friends' hands from the day before, or just the commotion from the photography. Regardless she allowed me to make her portrait twice, in the shade and in direct sunlight.

She was silent the entire time, but spoke volumes through her expressions. My hope is that this portrait does justice to her spirit, and that she allows me once again to make her portrait tomorrow.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2017

A few months ago two dozen people from Facebook came together to help fund a new school in Uttar Pradesh, and for this group of people we present her portrait. She is a new student in a local madrasa, and her community has expressed a desire to include the government curriculum as well for their children.

With the help of our gracious hosts we have begun the conversations, and have started to move forward as well with respect to the plan. As of this week her school's new teachers are visiting Nirvanavan Foundation for an initial review, while sewing centers will begin in three villages in a few months.

This was her first portrait session with us, being a new student to the madrasa. Her eyes are the most sensitive to light in my experience, yet she was able to stand next to the window for this photograph. There is something about making portraits of young girls new to the camera, something magical about their presence. My hope is that her school will turn a page thanks to the generosity of so many of you, and that her future is as bright as the light coming through the window.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2017

While this work began with the girls, the boys are certainly being included. This young student attends the madrasa daily, and will be attending the new classes as soon as they begin. Two of the five teachers have been located, with a promising lead on a third. While we are beginning in a humble manner, the vision is grand and we hope to include at least a dozen villages over the next five years.

In this portrait he is standing in one of two existing classrooms, facing the window to the rear of the room. We had just finished photographing the girls upstairs, and came downstairs to make portraits of the boys. He was the first one photographed, and was so happy to be included. His smile lights up the room, as much as the light coming through the window.

Our hosts from the region are presently in Rajasthan, witnessing the wonderful work of Nirvanavan Foundation. Yesterday they spent the day at Advaita Garden, a school which hosts over 300 students from five villages with activities ranging from 'common action' to the Rajasthani curriculum. Our hope is that this collaboration bears fruit for the sake of this beautiful boy, and all like him in his village.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

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

After our photography these days we include a spontaneous session as well, inviting the girls to let loose truly and be with their best friends. In contrast to the single, formal portraits... the variation in these images has been most enlightening. It is a way for these girls to be themselves, to have fun with poses and gestures. They are truly having a blast, and cannot help themselves!

Over and over again they ask for the opportunity to try something different, and when two see what another two have done... they want to do better. It is wonderful to see, the smiles are infectious!

The begin to hold hands, to hug each other, to show their affections without worry. The reactions are marvelous to witness.

The excitement is in the air as this madrasa prepares to include a fuller curriculum, and the students can feel it. These girls share their smiles with us, with those of us especially who have come forward to take part in this effort. On behalf of these girls I share my personal gratitude.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student + Landscape, Madhya Pradesh, India, 2016

Last year we had the privilege of visiting MP with the guidance of Humana India. Thanks to Mukesh Poswal, we were able to make some memorable portraits. Mainly we visited schools set up by Humana India, in order to help out of school children mainstream into the government system. We were able to visit more than a dozen schools... and make include the children in the photography.

My hope is that these children were able to mainstream into the existing school system, and that the work of Humana People to People India benefited the communities in the intended manner. Perhaps next year we will be able to visit once again, and thanks to that visit we will be able to proceed with the program in Uttar Pradesh in a more learned manner.

This past week we have had fruitful conversations with the four communities and hope to proceed as planned. In one village the existing madrasa is poised to include a formal curriculum, while in the other three sewing classes have been discussed as an entry into the communities. For those of you who have donated your efforts on behalf of this movement, we thank you and will share images soon.

We began with one, and now have four included in the conversation!

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student + Kitchen, Panipat, Haryana, 2017

This past week was spent in Shamli District of Uttar Pradesh, and we were beyond fortunate to have been hosted by our dear friends Imdadullah Nadvi Nadvi and Ch Munshad Ali Chauhan. These two brothers have given us so much since our first meeting in 2013, and continue to do so with an introduction to this young student's school.

Her portrait was made just yesterday, and for most of you earlier today. She and her friends have taken part in my photography for the past two years, and have now joined our family of schools thanks to the generosity of two dozen people here on Facebook. We will begin sewing classes for the older girls in the school, as well as their sisters from the villages. Nirvana Bodhisattva and his team will also begin training the teachers in her school, and we hope improve relations between the two communities in the region through this collaboration.

In this portrait she was photographed in front of the school's kitchen, with the use of a reflector thanks to the brilliant work of Mukesh Poswal. This good man helped me make portraits of the children in the region over the past week... without his assistance none of it would have been possible. We also were able to record her voice as she performed for us in the school's mosque, a true honor indeed.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student + Madrasa, Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2016

A few months ago we presented the idea of a school to this circle, and four weeks later two dozen people came together to help fund it. My thought was that depending on my friends to support two schools was enough, yet the story of this third school touched so many people.

With this in mind I present this young student, for she will be attending the new school established by Nirvana Bodhisattva and his wonderful team at Nirvanavan Foundation. She attends classes presently in the village's madrasa, learns to recite the Koran beautifully and in a safe environment.

Nirvana aims to establish a full curriculum in coordination with our hosts in the community, for they presented the idea to us initially. What is so beautiful about this collaboration is that all want to do the right thing, all want to reach out across the sectarian aisle for the sake of the community's children.

So I salute the two dozen people having come together for the sake of this young student, as well as all of her friends from the village.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Magdalena + Dry Lake Bed, El Mirage, California, 2016

A few years ago we tried to make it to this exact spot but ran out of time, heading to beautiful Lucerne Valley instead. So when the chance came up to visit El Mirage earlier this year, my hope was to include Magdalena as well. She responded with kindness as always, and we were on our way. The early part of the week was unfortunately quite windy, and this was the case as we showed up. It was both windy and cool, but we did our best to respect the time we were given. Magdalena was truly brave, as she warmed up in the car for a bit and then ran out for a roll of film. My instinct as a photographer of course wanted to have more chances to make the best images, yet she was as calm as the space without wind and assured me that we would have magnificent images. She was of course right, and this is but one example from our session. Magdalena took care of everything, from the styling to the theme to the art on her skin. She has since day one impressed me deeply and continues to do so. Whenever California comes up on my travel schedule, she is among very few to whom I reach out knowing that the response will be positive. I am honored to have had the chance to document her spirit four times so far, and hope to be there as she transforms more so over the years.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Young Student + Chalkboard, Panipat, Haryana, India, 2016

As we get ready to celebrate the holidays over the next seven days, I would like to make time to salute the three dozen people supporting our three schools in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India. Through their generosity two schools in Rajasthan and a new school in Uttar Pradesh will be active as the new year arrives.

This young girl is from a fourth school, one we hope to also support early next year. She attends a school presently supported by our host from Uttar Pradesh. There is an equal number of boys and girls, and the superintendent has invited us to join in his efforts to help improve the quality of education being provided.

The school has a beautiful courtyard, along with an elegant mosque. It provides an education to an impoverished population, at times off of the government radar regarding a proper education. We were allowed to photograph every single one of the students, including the older girls. This level of cooperation in such a conservative community speaks volumes about our hosts, and about the community itself. They embraced us without question, Muslims and Hindus and a Christian working side by side for the sake of the children.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

On My Way Back, Zion National Park, Utah, 2016

This weekend, like the past few, has been spent in one of Utah's venerable parks, Zion National Park. Most of the time, because it is Winter, it feels like I am the only one in these spaces. This image is one example, on my way back from photographing a distant portion of the park. 

There was nobody around, as the sun set and gently touched the peaks of these towers. The sky turned a sublime hue, and a few minutes later this scene disappeared for the night. A quick snapshot was made to share with my family and friends, and I look forward to seeing all in two weeks upon my return to Cleveland.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Bush + Arch, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, 2016

While my trip to Lebanon had to be cancelled in order for me to be in Utah, it has turned into a fortunate series of visits to the national parks. This image is from my recent trip to Arches National Park, a space that looked like it was designed by the most divine of landscape artists.

Sheer, red cliffs rise from the earth, the most delicate of arches form windows for us to see what is on the other side. The colors are as vibrant as any oil masterpiece, and even more so. The air is clean and fresh, giving me more energy to continue on the trails.

Three days were spent walking around the park, and I was unable to find a single piece of trash anywhere, a single tiny piece of paper. The place left me speechless and I look forward to this weekend's trip to the venerable Zion National Park!

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Note: Image made with a Sony RX100M3.

Anyel + Patricia, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2016

Today was a long day in Salt Lake City, but a thoroughly rewarding one with a wonderful team doing its best for our patients. When I returned to my room, I was greeted by the best news: the film from this summer in Cuba is now ready for review!

So in light of this news two images are being shared from one morning with these two wonderful women. One has been a friend for a few years, while the other was brand new to our photography. They however worked perfectly together, one in front of the lens while the other changed in Alejandro's 1954 Chevrolet.

Our work in this small town made Alejandro quite the star, as we visited many times with different dancers and models. He took to his stardom quite well, always smiling and waving as we drove slowly down the streets.

For our session we were blessed with the stylings of Yudel R. Contreras Garcia, an incredibly gifted clothing designer living in La Habana, Cuba. This beautiful man gave us a selection of designs for our use, and allowed us to use his clothing on more than a few occasions. This is our second year of collaboration, and I look forward very much to next summer's inventions from his studio.

www.halimina.com

Note: These images were made with a Sony RX100M3. 

Field + Shapes, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, 2016

Today I head back to Salt Lake City with this incredible space on my mind. While my trip to Lebanon has been delayed until the end of December, my time in Utah has been transformational... allowing me to get a taste of landscape photography really for the first time.

This image was made as I was returning from the end of the park, and towards Delicate Arch. The sun was rising from behind these shapes, and caught my attention immediately. The field was a beautiful and bright yellow, leading right up to these towers.

While it will be colder for the rest of the month, more visits to parks will be planned, including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks!

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 12, 2016

Since my trip to Lebanon had to be cancelled for the sake of work, it was time to look for the silver lining. That lining was the location of my work, Salt Lake City. With me to Utah this past weekend came my camera, and plenty of film. 

So today I headed west and found this beautiful lake, certainly familiar to everyone in this region. It is my first venture into the landscape, and I cannot wait to visit the national parks over the next two months.

While I was there, an older man noticed my camera and stopped to say hello. He was into his ninth decade, and his family had lived in this region for the last three generations, since the late 1800's!

He told me about the lake, and how it is a shell of what it used to be during his childhood. He pointed to the previous shoreline, and went on to tell me how he had come here with his family as a child. He pointed to the sailboats sitting in the parking lot, and told me that when they had taken them out two years ago they thought that the boats would go right back in the next year. Yet, there they sat while we chatted for some time.

This is the memory which will come to mind when the film is processed, and when I look through the negatives for the perfect frame to print soon.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.