A great time was had at the opening of the Lightbox Gallery PDX 30 show that I curated this month. Portland photographers and other viewers gathered for a lively reception followed by a wild ride on Jeff Daly‘s Glam Tram.
This little gallery is well loved, and it was an honor to be the curator for this show.
(Photo by Michael Granger, founder of Lightbox Gallery)
Yipppeeeee! The new 2017 Eastern Oregon Visitor’s Guides are hot off the press and ready to serve as a guide for all of the wonderful things to see and do in the right side of the state of Oregon.
I was commissioned to make the covers (four in all, depicting four different regions) and to supply imagery for many of the inside pages. It was a dream assignment to run around the back roads of Oregon capturing landscapes, animals, food, accommodations and personalities. And wineries!
I love Eastern Oregon. It does good for the soul. Read more reasons why I love it out there in this Travel Oregon blog post.
Too often, African males are characterized as being insensitive to a woman’s needs. Magazines, newspapers and even charitable organizations frequently focus on rape, child marriage and physical abuse to reveal injustices from men that women face while living in an African nation.
But there are other sides to these stories, and scenarios abound that depict men as caring and loving human beings, showing deep respect for their sisters and wives. We see men carrying their sick wives for days to reach a health post, traversing rugged terrain and selling off their cattle to pay for the bill. They realize how vital their wives are to the well-being of the entire family. Men are visibly shaken as they fear the loss of their loved one, and they will go to great lengths to ensure that she receives the care she deserves, often traveling to various health care centers before finding one staffed with a health care practitioner.
We recently visited several schools in rural areas outside of Mekelle, Ethiopia, and we were able to talk with some of the boys to see how they viewed the topic of menstruation. In the recent past in Ethiopia this topic was taboo even for mothers and daughters to discuss and some families still view it this way. But all of the boys we randomly chose to interview had positive things to say about the time when a girl has her period. Many of them asked if the school could have a place to rest, showers for cleaning and tea for stomach cramping, just so the girls will feel more comfortable during this time.
Dignity Period not only supplies reusable sanitary napkins to girls, but the educational component has had a great impact on lessening the mystery when a girl shows blood on her clothing. Schools now require all students to read a booklet that details why girls menstruate and how they can be supported rather than laughed at.
Older boys now teach younger boys how to react sensitively when they know that a girl is menstruating. G/Maryam Asene, a student at Adikeyh, even cites this time as being “a gift” and says that anyone who laughs at a girl is also laughing at their mother, an extremely shameful thing to do.
We ask the boys: What would you do if you see that a girl has unexpectedly started her period? Their ready answer was energetic: We would take our shirt or sweater off and let her wear it until she could change her clothes!
Sensitive souls they are.
Many thanks to Claire Sykes for the lovely article she wrote about my philosophy and work in this month’s Photographer’s Forum magazine.
It is a humbling honor to read what she has written, and also the various quotes by people (Jim Friedman, Shelby Lee Adams and Lewis Wall) who have greatly inspired me over the years.
I was interviewed by Portland icon Guy Swanson in a post from his blog. He focused on my cabin out in Spray, Oregon and all of the wonderful classes we are offering out there.
Pack up your creativity, leave your worries behind and join us for a total immersion class in stunning scenery!
The recent issue of Oregon State University’s Terra Magazine features a story about our goat milk soap-making project in Uganda. What an honor it has been to work with so many Oregon constituents in making this project come to life, all initiated by one gesture of gift giving from a soap maker in Fossil, Oregon to fistula survivors in Soroti, Uganda.
I love when I get to be inside the walls of Oregon Ballet Theatre’s building and watch the heat and fury that arises from the dancers as they practice. It takes enormous focus and energy to perfect those twists and turns and leaps, and to be able to witness trial after trial until they reach their aspirations is a wondrous sight.
I was there to make dancer portraits, and even though they came right from brutal practice to sit before my camera, they each faced the lens with authentic passion in their eyes.
Several of my images made while on an assignment documenting extreme climbers in Yosemite are included in the documentary, Valley Uprising.
If you attended my lecture at the Portland Art Museum, you might recall that I left my corporate work years ago to become a full-time photographer based upon two experiences: watching people trying to salvage photographs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and a life-altering discussion I had one day in a cave with climber Dean Potter.
This film is startling and evocative, delving into the tensions that exist between climbers and rangers in the Yosemite area.
It was a complete surprise to see that my name was listed in the credits at the end!
Two of my images were selected to be in The Environmental Portrait exhibit, curated by Shana Nys Dambrot, at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, Vermont. Both so different, yet it is interesting that they both have similar composition!
My Environmental Portrait workshops are up and running in the John Day River Territory, where I am spending more and more time while I am in Oregon. I can really see how this Eastern Oregon wilderness land has an effect of people, and I hope to be able to teach more in this area.
Class discussions are held at my remote cabin near the small town of Spray, but most of the hands-on training for this workshop is spent photographing people in the surrounding wilderness areas.
I have made a commitment to providing an immersion experience that focuses on “honoring the land/respecting the subject” while also enjoying great company, local fresh foods and delicious wines.
Each workshop accepts an extremely limited number of participants so that the group size is conducive for intimate exchange of ideas and nimble change of locations.
Follow along on my Instagram account for live stories and images during these workshops and throughout my on-going backroads exploration!