Here are the three photographs I created, each giving me some of the most challenging technical considerations I have ever faced. And I loved every minute of making these! These snapshots don’t do justice as opposed to seeing them in person.
Tag Archives: Prints
Mother Admiration
This print will be on display and for sale as well as 29 more amazing prints from Portland photographers. Well worth the drive out there to this quirky and wonderful coastal place!
Zanzibar Boat
Thanks to PushDot Studio, the print looks stunning, even at this size. The owner specified the size to fit a frame she has that was made in a far away land. I can’t wait to see it all put together – two cultures hanging together as one.
People of the NW Exhibit

Nola Queahpama, Warm Springs
Read, Set, Print! The First Prints For Prints Project
Soon after we arrived, we met up with my transportation and translator team in Ethiopia and they surprised us by taking us to see a football match between Ethiopia and Nigeria projected on a big screen which was set up in a beautiful park. It was the perfect place for both groups to get to know each other in a spirited setting.
The next morning, we got up early, grabbed our gear, and set out to go to Sheno, Ethiopia, the childhood home of our guide, Dani. His family let us set up the printers in their home so we could make photos and give prints to his extended family and to villagers around the area. It did not take long to get the process up and running, and within a few minutes we cranked out our first print.
It was a beauty!
I also brought prints that I had made before I left from images captured a year before and gave them to the family. It was an honor to spend time in this village and to see how much our prints were appreciated.
Once our process was humming along, we then branched out and made prints in various locations around Addis Ababa and in smaller villages outside of the city, some as far away as Lalibela and Arba Minch.
One other commitment of the Prints For Prints project is to train local students on various aspects of photography, in one-on-one sessions. We were fortunate to be able to coordinate this training with DESTA for Africa and the Nike Foundation’s Girl Hub projects.
It was especially gratifying to watch local students in the workshop take over the printing, and make and donate prints to others that they met on the streets and in compounds.
We printed from any spot we could find, and even sometimes while on the go!
We also loved giving our cameras to the subjects and letting them photograph us. Such fun!
We made prints in places we never imagined, such as on top floors of high rise construction sites, and also in hospitals in remote areas of the Afar region.
I also brought a print for each market worker I had photographed a year ago. We laid the prints out on the ground, and people searched for those they saw in the prints. My Ethiopian friend Habtamu and I gave each worker who arrived a print of themselves and they were really happy to receive it.
Here are two of my finished portraits, created in two scenarios. The first image is Fatuma and her daughter Semed, right outside of their kitchen where they prepare food for a hospital in the Afar region. The second image shows Raya in his place of employment, a construction site in the Bole region of Ethiopia.
There is much to process about this first trip, and I look forward to making a few changes to the process so that we can have an even better experience during the next offering of this service.
Thank you to the community of photographers and other supporters who generously donated their prints, time and ideas to make this project fly!
Joni Kabana, Portland, Oregon, USA
Prints For Prints Team Ethiopia 2013
Here are the members of the team with links to their websites:
L-R: Heather Binns, Bill Purcell, Constance Spurling, Joni Kabana, Steve Bloch
(Photo by Ben Opsahl)
Bioethics Art Competition
I am especially happy that not much else is needed in the frame of this picture – the Ethiopian spirit is so commanding in and of itself.
Prints For Prints: A Makeshift Studio in Rural Ethiopia
So this November, I will be traveling to Ethiopia with a small team of photographers and we will set up a small portable studio in several villages. We will capture portraits and donate the prints to the families we photograph. In addition, each US photographer will be paired with an Ethiopian photographer so there is an exchange of talents: technical skills, cultural awareness, and love for humanity.
We are planning a fundraiser to help with the costs for this project. The concept is simple: we are calling the fundraiser “Prints For Prints”, and we will auction matted prints from photo-loving friends (both amateur and professional photographers). The prints will be sold at a very reasonable “affordable art” cost ($50-100 sliding scale) during a fun and relaxed party, followed by music by Portland’s very own Ethiopian funk band: The Tezeta Band!
This event will be held on August 8, 2013 starting at 7pm at the Secret Society Ballroom and we hope you will be able to attend.
All ages welcome until 8:30pm, then it is 21+.
Follow me at @jkabana on Instagram during November to see this project in action.
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PrintsForPrints
See our Website to view all of the prints and the fabulous photographers!
Exhibit: 2013 Kellicutt International Juried Photo Show – Through A Lens: Ten
“Selam” is a market worker in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. He sells vegetables and performs other labor such as carrying heavy items. It is an honor to represent these exceptional Ethiopians in celebration of their hard working and innovative spirits.
See all of the images selected for this show here. Opening reception and awards ceremony will be on July 6, 5-8pm at the Coastal Arts League Museum in Half Moon Bay, and the show will run from June 28 – August 6, 2013. The show will also be displayed at the Gallery At Calumet in San Francisco from August 9 – September 11, 2013, with an opening reception on August 15.
In Her Nest
The show will run from January 2 – 26, 2013.