Magdalena, Side of Grocery Store, Near Los Angeles, California, Fall, 2010

In my short time with Magdalena, she provided me with a lifetime of images. We collaborated on three occasions during my time in California, twice on one day due mainly to her willingness to be a part of something greater than the both of us.

For this session we found a light-colored wall on the side of a grocery store. The parking lot adjacent was empty, while the grocery store itself was pretty busy. Magdalena was accompanied by her close friend, and with an extensive wardrobe made up mostly of various objects and materials. It is this creativity and willingness to shed norms that allowed us such freedom regarding our collaboration.

Rather than posing, Magdalena would dance. Instead of choosing one emotion, she would move from one to another and tell a story through a series of still images. The images above are such an example, three images from one roll of film consisting of twelve images in total. These are the three chosen to be printed in the darkroom, while others were certainly worthy of printing as well.

The sun was high by this time, yet her features enabled us to continue with our photography. After this session we decided to move to another location and continue with our photography in the afternoon. We drove almost two hours to another location, met with another model, and collaborated on top of a small mountain. The wind was almost unforgiving yet she danced once again.

For more of my work, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

Landscape on the Side of the Road, Somewhere between Havana and Santiago, Cuba, July 2010

It can be as simple as stopping the car and making an image on the side of the road. I look forward to more of these images, more of stopping every hour or so to take in the scene. There are those alongside the road selling blocks of cheese, there are those selling pineapple split into four slices with a stem to hold onto.

It is paradise for a photographer this incredible island. Anywhere one looks an image forms itself, clouds appear and landscapes transform to anything but the mundane. In our second week we plan to drive out to Holguin in search of a ballerina from four years ago named Irinita. It is during this trip that I will hope for scenes such as the one above, made on our way back two years ago in search of other faces and spirits.

I will send Irinita's aunt an email just now and hope that they will receive it. My dear friend has already contacted them and they await our presence in a few weeks. This most beautiful, young girl has choreographed a piece for us and will perform it upon our arrival. We have remained in contact since her first and only portrait in 2008 in front of the famed Lizt Alfonso School of Ballet.

She was the first one to allow me her portrait and allowed others to have the courage to do so. I will travel days to see her, and spend days just making her portrait. Years ago this would have been impossible, to photograph a single person for a span of a few days. I have come to appreciate the process of portraiture more so and look forward to this July on the island.

Her story was mentioned in this blog before, and her link is listed below.

A Ballerina Named Irinita

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

The Hands of a Working Man, Streets of Havana, Cuba, July of 2011

This year I hope to make images in a more spontaneous manner, like the image above.

While walking up and down the streets, opportunities are missed because we're walking to our next destination. The man with these hands was almost such a missed chance. On this day we walked a little more slowly, and recognized a mutual curiosity.

He was sitting with two other friends on a ledge in front of a home. They were taking a break from work, and watching people walking down the street. We talked a bit and then asked to make images of their hands. Each had their way of extending the hands, and this was his way.

Here they are, instruments he has used over the past five decades to support himself and his family. They extend from an unfocused background, like messengers from the past, and tell us their stories. The stains from under his fingernails are evidence of his creations, of his sweat.

I admire the working man and believe that this is the truest of heroes. He asks for nothing more than sustenance for him and his loved ones, and offers his hands as a sign of his humanity. He understood my desire to photograph his hands and allowed such to be done with only a smile on his face. I cannot express my gratitude fully when this is done on behalf of my work, I can only do my best to preserve the image for future generations.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

Elderly Woman, The Street, Habana, Cuba, July 18, 2011

On the second roll of film in the morning this image was made.

She was sitting on a ledge in front of a home, with newspapers all around. As Eldo and I crossed the street we saw her. It took me a minute to share my thoughts with Eldo, for we were crossing one of the busiest streets in the capital. People were walking to work and everyone noticed us slowing down to speak with her.

Eldo is both my friend and my guide on the island. He helps me like few others have ever done. He believes in the work and considers it his own. In the morning he prepares pineapple juice for us and in the evening rice and beans are waiting by the good grace of his beautiful wife.

He is also a photographer, but approaches his subjects in a different way. Rather than waling to them directly and speaking with them regarding their portraits, he likes to communicate only with gestures and make images after receiving more subtle forms of agreement. So for Eldo to walk up to this wonderful woman and speak directly is a testament to his dedication regarding our collaboration.

We begin making images with our 35 mm cameras at first, then pull out the medium format pieces and the tripod. On this busy street we are noticed by many, and our actions cause people to react in different ways. Some move on without sharing their thoughts, some show their disapproval openly. While I have never been able to completely ignore such reactions, this tender woman allows her portrait to be made and does so with more confidence than both photographers combined.

She neither judged our actions nor the reactions of the people walking by us. I admired her then and even more so after going through her images just today. I will walk past this exact spot many times this July and hope to see her on this same ledge. I will then hand her this exact portrait and hope she allows me another.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

La Bailarina y El Fotógrafo, Leidy y Eldo, Alamar, Cuba, July, 2011

Eldo works feverishly during my time on the island. From speaking with people to gaining access to certain populations, he does so in a most genuine manner. He cares about my work and considers it his own. When we sit down with the families, he never shows signs of being tired, of wanting to leave. He adores them as I do.

He is also a photographer and makes images during our sessions. He translates and instructs while releasing his own shutter. Eldo works with film, but uses a digital camera during our collaboration. The images above are his creations. What makes him even more remarkable is that he is doing this while doing many other tasks on my behalf.

For this session we meet Leidy outside of her home and then take her to the beach. She happens to live in the same neighborhood as two of our other dancers, and knows them well. It's a small world after all. She is a consummate professional, and works primarily as a dancer in the capital. She never tires nor does she show frustration when we ask for something new.

Hopefully I will see her and her friends in five weeks and look forward to the collaboration.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

Young Girl, Daasanech Community, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, February, 2010

Just like her sister in Cuba in the previous post, she is surrounded by her younger sisters and in a safe place amongst her community. Every hour or so during the busy days a truck carrying tourists stops in the town next to her tiny village. A narrow river divides them from the rest of this area's population. Some tourists reach them from Kenya on the other side of the river, and some cross the river from Ethiopia to reach them. We were part of the latter group.

Upon crossing the river we walked perhaps ten minutes to reach them. We first negotiated with the elders prior to our photography, then rested a bit with some videography before beginning with the photography. It was cloudy so we experimented a bit with some images on the ground. As the sun rose from behind the clouds the girls allowed us to make their portraits standing up.

Although communication through spoken word was impossible for me, the translators needing even their own translator, communication through facial expressions was more than sufficient. Like my friends in Cuba, this young woman reacted as kindly to my gestures. She smiled when teased and never made it seem difficult, nor out of place.

According to Wikipedia:

'The Daasanach are a primarily agropastoral people; they grow sorghum, maize, pumpkins and beans when the Omo river and its delta floods. Otherwise the Daasanach rely on their goats and cattle which give them milk, and are slaughtered in the dry season for meat and hides. Sorghum is cooked with water into a porridge eaten with a stew. Corn is usually roasted, and sorghum is fermented into beer. The Daasanach who herd cattle live in dome-shaped houses made from a frame of branches, covered with hides and woven boxes (which are used to carry possessions on donkeys when the Daasanach migrate). The huts have a hearth, with mats covering the floor used for sleeping. The Dies, or lower class, are people who have lost their cattle and their way of living. They live on the shores of Lake Turkana hunting crocodiles and fishing. Although their status is low because of their lack of cattle, the Dies help the herders with crocodile meat and fish in return for meat.'

'Women are circumcised by removing the clitoris so the form of circumcision is less extreme than some as it leaves room for babies to be born. Women who are not circumcised are called animals or boys and cannot get married or wear clothes. Women wear a pleated cowskin skirt and necklaces and bracelets, they are usually are married off at 17 while men are at 20. Boys are circumcised. Men wear only a checkered cloth around their waist.'

During the session I became quite exhausted and asked to rest for a bit. A few days after this session we would visit a rural hospital and would recuperate nicely. For the time being however we decided to end the photography early and made our way to the truck and back to the shack we would call home for the night. Seizures and fever would be my friends for the evening, and the sound of truckers with their female companions outside as my sonic entertainment.

A few pain/sleeping pills were taken in the hope that the night would end early for me, at least before the mosquitos found their way through the devastated netting. As far as I was concerned, they could feast as they wish as long as I was asleep. In the end they made their way inside,  began their party and then stayed for the night before I found myself asleep. All in all, the young woman above and her friends made this night insignificant. In the future I will hopefully return to this community, with proper mosquito netting in hand.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

Aunt, Centro Habana, Cuba, July 10th, 2011

In five weeks we will be on the same street photographing her family once again. Seven years ago her niece was the first one photographed, now the entire family has been included. This is her first portrait. She gave of herself in order to allow the younger ones to be more comfortable in the sunlight; she allowed her hair to be thrown in the air without reservation.

From this session we made the best images of her niece since that first year, and credit goes to her and to my host family for allowing us to use the rooftop as our studio. My friend's wife worked with the girls' hair, and dressed them up nicely for their portraits. This was the first year such care was provided to them prior to the photography, and the mood was jubilant.

In the street she presents herself as a tough, young woman. She certainly has reason to do so from my limited experiences. On the rooftop she was more reserved, spoke less and smiled much more. When I asked her to be photographed, she grinned and walked up to the wall without question. This was a safe place for her, with her younger sisters all around.

After the photography we walked downstairs into my friends' home, and had some cold ice cream from the local corner bodega, chocolate and strawberry the flavors.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

Student + Slide, Humana People to People, Rajasthan, India, November, 2009

While most of my portraits in Asia as of late have been devoid of background, this specific village in Rajasthan has always been an exception. Perhaps because the school is near an open space, or perhaps because a most magnificent slide sits nearby, my preference here is different.

The slide is just the perfect height to elevate the girls above their environment and allow the sky to be the only background. It is pyramidal in shape, with a flat top and rectangular cutout underneath acting as a doorway for the children to pass from one side to the other. It is the color of clay and possesses a smooth metal surface for the children to slide upon.

The school is located perhaps fifty meters to the left, and most of the students are gathered behind me awaiting their turn. All of the girls are eager to climb the slide, even the youngest of them. They are perhaps just as eager to slide down after their portrait is made.

Humana People to People India supported a school in this village until two years ago, and has since shifted its efforts to opening new schools in new villages. I have always admired this process and have seen its effectiveness on the ground. The schools act as 'Bridges' from a life without education to continued education through the formal government school system.

Humana People to People of India approaches the villages to enlist their cooperation in the education of their girl population. The schools then function under the supervision of the local population and enroll girls without access to formal education. After a three year period these very girls are encouraged to attend the government schools, therefore realizing the function of these 'Bridge' schools.

While the school in this village is now closed, it had over the past ten years provided opportunities for countless girls to gain an education and to continue that education formally. We hope that next year funding can be provided to reopen this school and to allow future generations to regain the opportunity given to the previous.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography

The Praxan Aesthetic, Studio, Cleveland, Ohio, United States, May 2, 2012

The series above was made possible through an effortless collaboration with the artist Praxa. Simply stated this experience is without equal in my local photographic experience and parallels my overseas work.

He brings to the table an inexhaustible mind and a deep sense of the world around us. My work in Asia is possible because of his selflessness; inspiration is always to be found in his words as well as his actions. He believes in my work and sees the people within it as his brothers and sisters. Through this collaboration he has joined them in my portfolio.

Every emotion was expressed in this session. He did more than act, he gave of himself as he has always done. Using a mixture that included oil and ingredients from the local land, he shed all layers aside and presented a most pure light. At times it was difficult to photograph, due to my desire to sit and watch.

In little more than an hour this was accomplished, whereas many take this much time just to shed the most superficial of layers.

I am proud to know Praxa and consider myself privileged to be called his brother.

National Missing Children's Day, Child, On the Streets of Dakar, Senegal, 2006

In the streets of Dakar six years ago this young boy and two of his friends approached us. They were curious and respectful, had little more than the shirts on their backs and pants just as worn. My mind wondered where they lived, whether in the capital or far away, having come to the capital to find something to earn.

When they approached me I was making pictures of a wall. They seemed nice enough and I offered to make their portraits. They quickly accepted and the portrait above is the result of that moment.

Today is National Missing Children's Day. Even though I lack children of my own, I cannot help but imagine the horror of losing a child, or thinking that one's child is suffering a life on the streets like the young boy above.

Nearly 800,000 children go missing each year in the States alone, and an equal number of girls for example in India suffer a similar fate due to a preference for boys by parents. Regarding the latter more can be learned through the following link:

BBC News Article

I have never forgotten him and hope that he has found a better way.

For more of my work, and to contribute your thoughts regarding this project, please visit the newly designed website below, courtesy of Patrick Luu.

Halim Ina Photography