Worldwide Fistula Foundation: TERREWODE and OHSU

I recently completed two projects for the Worldwide Fistula Foundation, documenting work they support.

Oregon Health & Sciences University performs and teaches prolapse surgery in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. My imagery helps to promote their work and attract donors to their cause. The project was founded by Dr. Rahel Nardos, an Ethiopian woman who came to the US during the time of the Derg and studied to become a urogynecologist.

TERREWODE is an organization that helps fistula survivors re-integrate back into village life. I have collected various types of content for edited videos, promotional materials, donor engagement activities and guest blog publication.

I love working in a way that engages what I call the “spindle effect”, where many people collaborate and the end result touches a variety of individuals and organizations. Nothing pleases me more than to be a part of a system rather than have my name be front and center.

OHSU Recivery Room Ethiopia

 

 

Dignity Period Imagery

I love to see how clients use my imagery. The Dignity Period website is full of images I captured, but the way they used this one just blows me away. Their whole focus is so inspiring!  The founder, Freweini Mebrahtu, will soon be in Portland to brainstorm an idea we both have….more to come on that!

Dignity Period will be hosting their annual gala on April 30 at the Missouri Botanical Garden, where they will auction ten of my prints from Ethiopia.

Dignity Period

Ohio Today Magazine Interview

What an honor it was when someone from the Ohio University communications department called and asked to interview me about a few images they curated from my website!  Their Visual Communications program is well known in the country, and I highly respect their educational offerings in this field of study.

When I attended Ohio University, I wanted to be a Photojournalism major but my father did not permit it for various reasons. Having them initiate this discussion and sanction my work is a long held wish come true.

Listen to the interview here.

Storm Large, Oregon Zoo, Portland, Oregon for 1859 Magazine

The Market Workers: A Tribute

We are so very pleased to announce the launch of our beautiful little book The Market Workers, a loving tribute to some of the hardest workers on earth.

This book has been a labor of love for many years, starting when I first entered the market in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia and saw the tireless energy and positive mindsets of the market workers who work so very hard each day to bring food, clothing/textiles, spices and household wares to so many. From simple dinner tables to high end luxury hotels, these people make sure there is a ready supply of items that feed the body and soul.

This book could not have been created without the help from so many others. Enormous gratitude goes first and foremost to Lincoln Miller, owner of PushDot Studio, who labored over the files to get them to look colorful and lively, all with a consistent feel, even though the images were created over a three year time span. His talented and gracious wife, Dardi Troen, owner of Ditroen, worked with renowned educator and artist (and very good friend!) Kirsten Rian to create the look and feel of the design of the book and sequence the images. We could not select a cover image (this proved too difficult when I love all of the workers!) so the cover is a very simple black face with red/orange foil type.

Aida Muluneh, founder of the Addis Foto Fest, penned a heartfelt introduction to the book and coordinated an exhibit, and mentor and friend Mary Ellen Mark, who has had a huge influence on my visual heart and soul, wrote a special sentiment.

Words escape me when trying to articulate the gratitude I have for the assistance I received while in Ethiopia from my many friends there, from the city officials in Bahir Dar, and above all, from Habtamu, my trusty guide and friend who works in the markets in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

The printing was done by Brown Publishing, with astonishing results. The colors are deep and saturated, and skin tones are true to life.

Each book was lovingly crafted with a hard cover, the highest quality papers and flat lying binding. This is a very short run (only 200 copies) and many of them were given to people in Ethiopia (including the energetic market worker who coordinated the project within the market) when the book was launched during The Market Workers exhibition opening at the National Museum of Ethiopia last December.

Prints have been shown at Lightbox Gallery, PushDot Studio, Katayama GalleryThe Clymb headquarters, and have been included in many other international exhibits. Special gratitude to Laura Domela, for her painterly hand at post processing each image to appear lifelike. The sales of these prints offset costs that enabled this book to be published, so a sincere thank you goes to those who purchased prints.

Each book costs $40, plus shipping and handling.  All proceeds enable me to pay for the cost of producing the book, plus allows me to keep doing the work I do in Ethiopia.

Kindly email me to reserve a copy.

 

The Market Workers Book

The Market Workers Book

Behind the scenes of the Market Workers series: Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Market Workers Lightbox Gallery

 

OnTrak Magazine: Vikesh Kapoor

How can a young man, so early in his life, produce such forlorn material that depicts strain and stress and mystery and broken down spirit, with the tendrils of hope right within and outside of reach?

This is Vikesh Kapoor‘s style of song, and he sings it with conviction, as though he really did experience such down trodden affairs.

Photographing him was not an easy task – when he reaches for his guitar and begins to sing, he is lost in the lyrics and I had a difficult time finding a connection through the camera. For most of our session, I just put the camera aside and listened to him.

Once the guitar is by his side, he returns to his impish and stylish self, joking and smiling in a playful manner. But the specs of my assignment was to photograph him while he was playing. I waited and joined him in his means of story-telling, forgetting that I had a job to do. Sometime during his songs, I was able to pick up the camera and create these images by not looking through the experience-ruining lens.

Something feels a bit controlled about him, but not in the traditional way. He seems to be really thinking about things: his day, his upcoming tour, his lovely girlfriend perhaps? No, there seems to be a tragedy that lurks behind his boyish grins. Who knows if he has experienced some trauma that brings him to this music – it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t seem to question where his creative center comes from, and neither should I.

The Portland Mercury writes that his album “The Ballad of Willy Robbins is a vital, blood-spattered document of the times America currently finds itself in, examining hard-working people and their families as they’re sidelined by big business and the bottom dollar”.  At such a young age, he is certainly able to channel nuance, the loss of a cherished something or someone, with anguished tentacles running deeper than we allow ourselves to feel in this highly distracting world.

I wonder what he will do next.

Images shot for OnTrak Magazine; his story is on Amtrak trains now.

Vikesh Vapoor

Vikesh Vapoor

Vikesh Vapoor

Vikesh Vapoor

Vikesh Vapoor

 

 

Pink Martini + Oregon Balley Theatre

I love shooting for the Oregon Ballet Theatre, and this last shoot was exceptionally fun!

Here are two renditions of the poster they created for this performance.

Photographing Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini was a highlight of my career.  He was alert, game for anything, and even taught me a lesson or two.

 

OBTFINAL

OBT_25_Poster_final

Acosia Red Elk

Photographing a person always has a spiritual feeling for me, but standing before Acosia as she dissolved one with her land was quite an astonishing and humbling experience.

We have so much to learn from our land’s indigenous culture.

Go to a pow wow, not only to watch the dancing, but also cross the cultural divide, dismiss any personal shyness and hesitation, and spend some time talking with someone from a tribe. Listen to their tales of history and beliefs. It’s opened my world and shifted my thinking substantially.

I can’t thank Acosia enough for letting me into a small part of her rhythmic world.

Watch her dance here.  Get the article here.

Acosia

Joni_Acosia_PDF-4

Magazine Assignment: Young Farmers In Oregon

This assignment from 1859 Magazine goes down as one of my all time favorites!  The editor, Kevin Max, and I drove all around Oregon talking with young farmers who are devoted to bringing good things to our tables.

From fruit to cows to pigs to wheat, and even vacant city lot planted vegetables, we learned a lot about what it takes to make a commitment to growing things and understanding the unpredictable nature of land.

Here’s a collective cheer to these fascinating and energetic souls!

1859 Magazine: Farmers

1859 Magazine: Farmers

1859 Magazine: Farmers

1859 Magazine: Farmers

Young Farmers, for 1859 Magazine

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