27-OCT-2005
Two Worlds, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2005
In San Miguel, as in other parts of Mexico, there is often a striking contrast of life-styles between the young and the not so young. These women were waiting at a bus stop, looking at each other in silence. Both women display similarly impassive expressions, but great differences in appearance. I used the full extent of my 420mm telephoto zoom to reach across a busy street and make this image. It is a study in contrasts. One woman wears the traditional shawl; the other wears trousers that drag on the ground. One instinctively hides her arms within her clothing while the other carries a bag of fruit in one hand and bag of schoolbooks on her back. One modestly covers her head, while the other does not. All of these contrasts imply differences between traditional and contemporary value systems within the same culture.
03-SEP-2005
Stone Gate Chapel, Zagreb, Croatia, 2005
This chapel is lodged in the only remaining 13th century gate to the old town of Gradec, now part of Zagreb's historic Upper Town. In 1731 a fire ravaged the area but a religious painting on the wall was left undamaged. Hundreds of visitors a day still come to this chapel to see the painting and stay a few moments to stand or stand or sit in silence before the painting. I waited until the crowds thinned, and only two visitors remained. They chose to sit in the rear, as far away from the actual shrine as possible, yet still be within view of it. Solitude is a human value, and this image is largely about being alone with one’s thoughts and prayers. Peacefulness is another human value, and there is a pervasive sense of silence coming from this image. By isolating just one couple in the darkness of the otherwise empty chapel, such values can find a voice. The woman is the most prominent, because she sits closest to the light of the street that runs through the old gate. A man can be dimly seen behind her. The votive plaques that line the walls of the chapel are also almost invisible. They comprise a contextual tapestry of faith for those who notice them and recognize their significance.
15-JUL-2005
Window Seat, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2005
I found this man seated precariously on a window ledge of a jewelry store. A wooden canopy over the sidewalk throws shadows created by a low morning sun on both wall and ground like, creating a series of diagonal and vertical lines enclosing the man, as if he were hemmed in. The abstracted figure seems to be either dozing or sad. I’ve implied a number of human values here, among them loneliness, despair, exhaustion, meditation, and discomfort. Or perhaps he’s just killing time. This image offers us a good example of how body language and context, combined with abstraction, can express values that all of us as humans can relate to and appreciate.
13-JUN-2005
A hug at sunset, Bruges, Belgium, 2005
A simple hug on this park bench conveys many human values. Intimacy, possession, pleasure, passion, and ultimately love, all come to mind. In this image, made with a long 432mm telephoto lens, I carefully wrapped this couple in foliage as well, adding a layer of nature’s own embrace to this image. The evening light is warm and low, the woman’s dress is passionately red, the greens and browns around them are soothing and comforting, all adding important context and additional human values to this photograph. Even the park bench they are using adds a subtle human value – its legs are fashioned into winged serpents, which in mythology have often been regarded as guardian spirits. The man gathers the woman to him with both arms, the winged serpents provide a stable platform, and the old tree provides a natural canopy, all of which tells us that there is a good deal of protection – another important human value – suggested in this image as well.
08-JUN-2005
Bike Rally, The Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium, 2005
In 1695, French guns demolished Brussel's Grand Place. It was quickly rebuilt, and over the centuries it has echoed to the sounds of Napoleon's massed drummers, Wellington's heroic cavalry, and the thud of German jackboots. Today, the loudest noises reverberating off its elegant 18th century buildings come from the shouts of youthful bikers whipping themselves into a frenzy at an early morning road race rally. I abstract the shouting students by shooting them behind, encouraging the viewer to enter the group and cheer along with them, and making the body language tell the story. That body language expresses a number of human values – enthusiasm, energy, competitiveness, companionship, and unity. Some of the students wave tiny flags representing Greece and Italy, so nationalism and pride might be added to the list of human values. I particularly enjoyed the details – the young woman spontaneously leaping on to the back of a friend, the advertising slogans on the backs of the shirts, the triumphant hand gestures, all symbolize human values as well. This was the last cheer – within moments after I made this picture they jumped on their bikes and streamed out of the Grand Place to begin their road race.
22-JAN-2005
Nodding Off, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
I was not sure if these young boys were supposed to be collecting donations or studying their lessons, but one of them is dozing and the other is not far behind. A few moments after I made this photograph, a monk's command sent them scurrying. I saw the potential for a number of Human Values to involved here: exhaustion, shyness, immaturity, discipline, and obedience, for example. One of these kids is exhausted, the other is shy. Given the fact that a monk would soon be lecturing them, I can also assume that they were not really supposed to be doing what they were doing at that table, which stood at the entrance to a Buddhist temple. My camera discovered them before the monk did, however, so both discipline and obedience are human values that were expressed shortly after I made this photo and are not actually expressed within it. I organized the image around the brilliant colors and the geometry of the signs, window, molding, table, and table cover. The children fit perfectly in to the composition, and the fact that one child seems to be peeking at us while the other sleeps is at the heart of the expression.
18-JAN-2005
A Lao Welcome, Mekong River Village, Laos, 2005
As I passed this village house, a woman steered her young son to the front door and encouraged him to warmly greet us. He did. For them, the coming of a group of American visitors to their community was a happy event, and happiness is a human value. This image also expresses enthusiasm and energy – the kid’s hands are blurred as he pumps them up and down in excitement.
Recitation, Buddhist Nunnery, Sagaing, Myanmar, 2005
Much of a nun's life in spent in study. The atmosphere in this nunnery was serene, the work intense. The Principal Nun was very gracious and allowed complete photographic access. The young nuns brought great passion to their recitations, which they chanted in unison along with their teacher. I saw great passion in this moment, and passion is a human value. The knowledge the teacher brings to them, on the other hand is revered, and both knowledge and reverence are also human values. I composed this image to intensify the contrast between the passionate student and knowledgeable teacher by creating a diagonal power line from corner to corner, putting the students head at upper right and the teacher’s at lower left. The flow of the nun’s robe, and her folded hands draws the eye down to the teacher, linking passion with knowledge and reverence.
Wedding Celebration, Banathan, Laos, 2005
At Banlathan, we walked into the middle of a tumultuous wedding celebration. Virtually the entire village turned out – most of them relatives and friends of the bride and groom. They feasted on rice, soup, Lao beer, and home brewed "lao-lao" liquor. We were welcomed into the festivities. This rural Laotian wedding was like a wedding anywhere. There was much dancing, and loud singing of songs, chanted to the beat of clapping hands. A wedding celebration itself is reaffirmation of friendship, love, and support, as well as expressions of excitement, joy and merriment. And perhaps a touch of sadness here and there as well. All of these are human values shared among these villagers at this moment. Using my telephoto lens, I shot right down the center a long table as the drinks flowed, songs were shouted, and hands clapped. Most of the human values I’ve mentioned are implied to a degree somewhere in this image. (The bride herself asked me to make a picture of her, and left her clapping guests long enough to walk with me to a village shrine where she posed for me. You can see the photo I made of her at
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/139137/photo23.html
22-JAN-2005
Under the Baskets, Luang Prabang Market, Laos, 2005
A mother clutches her sleeping child while waiting for baskets to be unloaded at Luang Prabang's market. Of all the images I made on this trip, this one reflected the greatest sense of responsibility. A mother must protect her children, care for them, and provide for them. This woman is doing all three here. She works in this market, and whatever may be in those baskets, or perhaps just the baskets themselves, must be essential to her livelihood. The truck that towers over her is overloaded with baskets – she seems overwhelmed by their massive scale. It gives the feeling that the world as she knows it is closing in on her. She was one of many people waiting for those baskets to be unloaded. Her embrace is extremely protective. Her determined expression implies that somehow she will endure. Threat, responsibility, protection, care, and endurance are all human values, and I tried to put them all into this image.
24-NOV-2004
Dog Day, Denver, Colorado, 2004
Denver offers its residents a large fenced park where they can not only can walk their dogs, but even wear them out by letting them run amok to their hearts content with their fellow canines. I stationed myself near the park’s centerpiece and trademark, a non-functioning full-scale fire hydrant placed within a cement circle. I watched and waited until this pair of dogs entered the hallowed circle to sniff the heady aromas there. As they warily circled each other and the hydrant, another pair surged into my frame at stage right, in full flight and full fight. The result: an image of a pair of pairs, defining the nature of the place, and its particular charms. Why is this image in my “Human Values” gallery? Because I see in it many of the same behaviors and attitudes their owners display: sociability, friendliness, competitiveness, wariness, aggressiveness, inquisitiveness, and enthusiasm. The long shadow of one of the owners at upper right reminds us that are our pets can be extensions of our own behavior, attitudes and values
18-OCT-2004
Victorian Hotel, Bridgeport, California, 2004
This old hotel on Bridgeport’s main street is believed to have several resident ghosts, including the inevitable “woman in the white dress who walks the halls at night”
Ghostly or not, I found the front door of the place to be oddly painted. Notice the blue trim on the right – it just stops. Why? It is one of those inexplicable human quirks you’ll learn to pick up as you develop your sense of observation – an essential tool for any photographer. What human values does this odd trim job suggest? How about forgetfulness? Or thrift – if you run out of paint with so little left to go, why buy a new can? Or perhaps it has something to do with those ghosts. Are they trying to tell us something?