Hanoi Vietnam, Buddhist ceremony at the Ngoc Son Temple

In some images I create I control everything, models locations, time etc....Sometimes I am at the mercy of everything. In this photo there is some control going on, a subtle exchange between photographer and subject. An exchange that which guides the final result. Also predicting where the action is moving and waiting for the moment. These ladies performing a buddhist ceremony made it hard for me; thats what makes it fun. Photos are not taken they are made.

Global Cultures and Authentic Lifestyles promo

New e-promo out today. Photos from Shanghai, China and NYC.

2012, a year of travel in photos.

2012 was a big year of travel. Almost hit the 4 corners of the globe. With all that travel I still didn't get to the highest airline status close, but close is not good enough, and I still don't have a regular sleep schedule. A few of my activities while traveling, I stayed in a castle, lots of pointing at things I didn't know the name of, running around, driving many miles on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car, speaking every language I know sometimes in the same sentence, and got a lot of "not possible" in trying to get my projects done. Most interesting place Hanoi, strangest food shredded dried squid with hot sauce, excellent by the way.

Collaboration, fine art project 1, Dominican Republic

This past Christmas I took advantage of being in the Dominican Republic, and started a project with my wife, Scherezade a fine artist. This project has been in the works for a long time it just took a while to get off the ground. We hope to have the project completed by this summer 2013. I don't want to give away too many details until we have it all done so the works can be seen as a body of work. Needless to say it will involve what we do best, using themes that we both find interesting and important. Here are a few in-process shots of one of the pieces without showing too much. This particular piece involved a burro (Chilingo's burro to be exact), Javier as our protagonist, and some costuming.  This is just a start of the process.

You are not a photographer if at some point you haven't used a Tenba bag

I have used Tenba for years in various ways, carrying photo gear everywhere and was never disappointed. They also make some of their gear in Brooklyn, and of course I am a proud Brooklynite to support them. Tenba makes great products, and I am proud to be a Tenba Visual Artist

Teaching, Photography workshop in the "Dominican Republic"

I am just back from teaching a week long photography workshop in the Dominican Republic at Altos de Chavon - The School of Design. Chavon is a world class art school connected to Parsons School of Design. My wife Scherezade as well as many successful artists in the fine arts and fashion fields went to Altos de Chavon. The theme of my class was the "Narrative Portrait." It was an intensive 5 day workshop where we were working all hours of the day, and sometimes late into the night. A great class with very motivated students, one of the best. I don't get to teach that often, but when I do its a great experience, particularly at Altos.

Something Different

This one shot of a series I plan to use for an installation that I have been commissioned to do.

In my travels I see all sorts of things that I would love to photograph but don't have the time, the right equipment, or I missed the opportunity (the story of my life!) So I file it away for future projects (the list keeps growing). Some of these projects have a commercial aspect, or is something I find interesting and want to explore. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to photograph some fighting roosters while in the Dominican Republic on a different project. The whole thing was set up on the spur of the moment, and I was not prepared conceptually or equipment wise.  I created some photographs, but with the intention of coming back and doing something different. One of the hardest things about these kind of projects is being able to get access to things whether its people, places, or situations.

I always found the roosters to be beautiful and their movements visually stunning.  Also the passions that are aroused by their fighting I found alien to me, but observing the people around me it is pretty amazing.

Here is the set in a private fighting ring at the Trava (fighting rooster ranch).

No animals were harmed for the photo shoot.

Tenba traveling photographer interview

I can shave off a little more time on my 15 minutes of fame. I was interviewed by the very talented Aimee Baldridge for Tenba Traveler on some of my travel experiences.

Direct Relief International newsletter cover photograph

A little girl with her grandmother waiting her turn to have her blood sugar measured at a free event in a the small town Sacaba. This past April I traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia to photograph at the Centro Vivir con Diabeties. I was working with Direct Relief International which provides technical support as well as material to the centro for them to accomplish their mission. It is an honor to be working with DRI, and the dedicated people that work there. It is amazing how much good they do in the world. Have a look at their site.

This is my second trip to Bolivia as well as visit the Centro. They are great people doing great things for their people. From the plateau city of Cochabamba to the mountain city of La Paz where it feels that you are always walking up or down hill. I don't think I will ever tire of visiting Bolivia, and its people.

Aging out of Foster Care: Brittny's story

At 18 years old you age out of the foster care system. That means no place to live, no job, no support, and the emotional scars that have been caused by having to go through foster care.  This is Brittny's story on the challenges she has faced since she aged out of foster care.

This video was a collaboration with Salaam Garage a citizens journalism for social change NGO  and myself check them out.

Photography featured in Abbott Brazil Corporate Citizenship Report

I was in Brazil last year on assignment for Abbott Global Citizenship report. This particular report is for Abbott Brazil specifically using photos I took while in Brazil it also includes photography I did in China, Haiti, as well as the USA. Here are a  few selected pages from the report. If you want to see more of what Abbott Brazil does in corporate citizenship click here. Also check out the main Abbott citizenship site here.

Moment in time: Mumbai 2/4/11 1:42pm

A rare quiet moment in Mumbai. Most of the time the buses are filled beyond capacity. Love the colors.

Moment in time: Goa, India 2/10/11 3:06 pm

It's all about the eyes, smiling and unafraid of the camera.

Moment in time: Shanghai, 2.2011 3:19 pm

Liang getting a nutritional evaluation through Project Hope at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center

Mini story: Project Hope, Shanghai Childrens Hospital 2.19.2011 10:46am

 

The first time that the mother got to hold her baby after a month in intensive care after being born prematurely. She couldn't stop smiling, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. I will get to follow-up later this year on the baby's progress.

Salsa dancing at "Lets Dance with Arthritis" in Galway, Ireland

I didn't know what to expect when I showed up one frigid morning in Galway, Ireland. What I knew is that I was photographing a dance. Its always hard to predict what going to happen when working on scant information. At least I wouldn't have the communication issues I face in places that don't speak English or Spanish or something close. Although I always muddle through with limited charm and wit. It was great fun and I also made a small video for the client and the NGO. So here is a plug for them, a good organization that helps many people.

Use it or lose it! Arthritis Ireland an, organization for arthritis sufferers in Ireland organizes dances to get people suffering from arthritis up from the couch and on to the dance floor.The goal being to get them exercising which helps keep them limber. This is one couples story on living with arthritis

What's the travel like?

I get many questions about what its like to work on a project like the one I just completed. A project with lots of travel, and many uncertainties. My response is...."It's the best" Which is an honest answer. Photographers dream about these kind of assignments. I am privileged to work on a project like this with clients that trust me and appreciate my work.

Now the not so glamorous details. I am going to break this up in a few parts in different posts.

Part 1 Organization and travel

I work by myself on these type projects. I travel with no assistant nor a client. I generally connect with a local person that is connected to whatever I am photographing. Sometimes they handle moving me around, sometimes I arrange for local transport in order to show up someplace like a hospital and they show me around. I spend lots of time moving around either in a plane, bus, car, train, tuk tuk, motorcycle, walking, running any and all kinds of transport. No dog sleds...yet, although I have been on one for a different project a while back. I travel as light as possible although it feels like I am still taking too much, particularly when you have to pack for different seasons.

The shoot schedule is very tight that tends to change every day in some form. In this case the design agency coordinates with the client on the schedule. Its up to me to be there on time and ready to work. Its all on a very big spreadsheet that is not too much fun to look at on an iphone.  I have to be prepared to rearrange travel on the go in order to meet the schedule. Thank God for the internet, travel agents, and the iphone! Also being prepared for the unexpected like crazy long layovers, closed airports, broken airplanes, no one who speaks any language that I understand, bad weather, no food where you are stuck, no place to get cash, showing up in the middle of the night, don't take credit cards, no cars left to rent, no taxis, the list goes on and on.

So where did I get this kind or experience navigating? When I was a photography assistant I worked with a few guys who did serious travel, and picked up a few pointers. Thanks guys!

This a slide show of the many things I saw in my travels. No actual work shots yet. My client gets first crack on publishing them.

Wanted: Personal Paparazzi

Much of of my time is spent photographing people working, playing, laughing, vogueing, etc, but I never have any photos of me doing those things. For example in my house there is a wall full of family photos I am in one maybe two of them. Why? because I am usually the one doing the photographing. So in my recent travels I handed a camera to my client........Many thanks Roopal! I really need a personal paparazzi.

This is a photo of me photographing a mother and daughter in front of a temple near Lonavala, India. The little girl was really personable and pretty in pink. What a beautiful family.

Almost done..................

I had such grand blogging plans for my travels....I didn't do much of it unfortunately. I did post some to Facebook when I was sitting still. The demands of moving non stop through different cities, and countries with spotty internet, and crazy data roaming fees forced those ideas on to the back burner. Instead I really focused on the reason I was there; the job at hand. Just a few more domestic trips then I will be done. I will post some stories when I catch up.

Here is a shot in Chandigarh, India at a celebration. They sure know how to throw a party in India.

So many details, so little time

View 2011 Abbott GCR in a larger mapIndian visa (ready to be picked up), China visa in process, update photo gear (check), get a haircut (check), updating maps on GPS, relax (check, well half check) the list goes on...Starting to plan some travel for a project that is fast approaching, way too fast. The map shows general locations because many things have not been nailed down yet, also there will be different cities and towns in each area as I speed travel around the world. I think this years travel will be back to back in some parts so no stop overs in NYC to do laundry, replace broken gear, download drives, drop off film to develop (yes film, B+W), see my wife and kids, deal with business stuff, or take a break. I will be on the road from the end of January till mid March. So I have to be extra prepared for anything this time around. I will be in places where anything would be impossible to replace.

I have been thinking a lot on trying some new things, and change my approach to keep things fresh. It's really easy to follow a formula, and sometimes things can get stale. We can't let that happen, can we. Trying to stay true to what you do, and evolve is tough.

I can't wait to get started, and experience the unexpected.