30-OCT-2008
Velma Smith-Bryant
Today I visited Velma in a rehab center. Velma is one of my favorite friends from Hannan House, the Detroit senior learning center where I've been photographing since mid-June. Although she is 94, until two weeks ago Velma was one of our strongest, most healthy elders in the program. She lives alone in a senior residence and is involved in many activities, including the gardening, art and aerobics classes at Hannan House. Two weeks ago Velma suddenly developed pneumonia. She was in the hospital for a week and is now at a rehab center where she's getting physical therapy to strengthen her enough to go back to her apartment. From what I saw, it won't take long. Velma's doing great.
We talked a lot about the election. This afternoon her daughter was going to bring Velma her absentee ballot so she could vote. Velma is thrilled to be voting for Obama. So am I. This morning I took my completed absentee ballot to my City Clerk's office. Not since I cast my ballot for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election have I felt so good about voting for a presidential candidate. I believe Barack Obama is not only going to win in a landslide, but that he will be one of the greatest presidents in our country's history. He makes me proud to be an American and, believe me, it's been a very long time since I've felt anything approaching pride in my country. Yes, he's going to inherit a mess but it's a mess he recognizes and has reasonable solutions to try. January 20th can't come soon enough in my opinion. That is the day Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. I wish it were tomorrow!
28-OCT-2008
We celebrate Samhain, the time to remember those who have gone before
Shhssssssh
Waves,
a jagged frenzy
shattering into light
over the rocks.
Shhssssh
On land, taffeta skirts
of belles.
At sea, sails of
a tall ship
caught in a storm.
Shhssssh
Sleds flying
down a steep white hill,
mother quieting her child.
Shhssssh
Moth
succumbing to the
candle flame,
a soul leaving.
Dorothy Walters
October 23, 2008
24-OCT-2008
on the street in Brooklyn
I've just begun to look at the photos I took on October 3 when my friend Pat Kolon and I spent hours walk/scooting the streets of Brooklyn. This is one of the shots I took at the start of that day. As soon as I've prepared more photos, I'll be posting a gallery of images from that day. By the way, I loved Brooklyn! It reminded me of Detroit in its wonderful diversity of people, feeling of history, and sense of being totally real. Very different from Manhattan...
20-OCT-2008
youth and age
Best viewed in original size
Today I saw and photographed Irene who is 101, and Isabella who is 2. Irene was out walking with Laurie, her home health aide, and Isabella was having lunch at the Subway with her mother April and her mother's friend Anne. These encounters, within minutes of one another, helped me see that our life force has little to do with age. Irene and Isabella were equally radiant and filled with life. Can't you see it in them?
18-OCT-2008
I hold the spiral of life
This self portrait is not yet included in
"Falling Into Place," my gallery of self portraits/daily life, but I wanted to share it here anyway. I need your help, my friends. I've just posted some text to introduce and accompany those images and need honest feedback. If you have the time and inclination, would you please read my text and let me know if it works for you? Be brutal...or at least, totally honest. As many of you know, the Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey and the world-respected social documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark are encouraging me to work towards this project becoming published in book form. If that happens, it will need some text. I've been writing bits and pieces for a matter of months, but this is the first time I've dared to share anything publicly. As often happens, I am too close to the story--MY story--to know if my words enhance or get in the way of the images. That's where YOU come in. I trust your objective eyes, mind and heart to know if the approach I've taken fits or not. I thank you in advance for any comments you might make.
CLICK HERE to view my "Falling Into Place" gallery of photos and text.
15-OCT-2008
working together at Obama's Detroit Campaign Headquarters
This morning I stopped by Barack Obama's Campaign Headquarters here in Detroit. I wanted two bumper stickers, one for my car and the other for my scooter. I also wanted to volunteer to drive folks to the polls on Election Day since I have a wheelchair accessible minivan that might prove helpful for some. At the worker's suggestion I'll be contacting senior housing units in Detroit to see if I can help transport some of their residents. My friend Pat Kolon lives in one so I'll ask there first.
The headquarters was a beehive of activity with most of the staff and volunteers being under 40. It is quite obvious that soon-to-be-President Obama is ushering in a new chapter in American history, a chapter where the young will lead the old. It's about time....
14-OCT-2008
our world's future
How I love kids like this. So full of themselves at the same time that they're feeling uncertain and confused. That betwixt-and-between time of life when everything is a drama, a soap opera in which you are alternately hero/shero and fool. Nothing is clear cut. Nothing is certain. You're riding a roller coaster with someone else at the controls. One minute you're on top of the world, the next you're lying flat on your back. But look at their faces. Can't you see their optimism, their dreams, their hopes? It will turn out better next time, they say. I'll get it together tomorrow. Just watch me! Oh, I do love them. May their lives be all they wish and deserve. And may my generation and their parents' generation not screw things up too badly. May we leave them a world in which they can work and dream together as members of one family. May they find joy and peace.
13-OCT-2008
the perfect day
We here in Detroit have now had two perfect days in a row and are being promised two more. Today was sunny and 80 degrees F/26 C. Everyone was outside, walking, running, roller blading, biking, scooting (me), picnicking, boating, fishing, swimming, gardening, playing tennis and football. They were on the streets, in their yards, on the beach, and out on the lake. Everyone I met was smiling and many said, "Isn't this a beautiful day!" Several commented on how we'll remember days like this in the middle of winter. Oh yes, we will. These days are precious. I find myself gathering sights, smells, tactile sensations and sounds, rather like the squirrels who are scurrying around gathering nuts. Where they bury their treasures in the ground, I am burying my treasures in my heart and mind. Come February, I'll be digging them up and reliving every sensation.
And now I want to offer Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all my sisters and brothers in Canada. I am thankful that you are our neighbors to the north. You are a gentle-spirited people from whom we here in the U.S. have much to learn. And good luck in Tuesday's election. May the party win that will represent the people's best interests.
12-OCT-2008
Margaret Livingston
Best viewed in Original size.
I continue to spend two days a week taking photos of elders at Hannan House, the Senior Learning Center in Detroit. I've been working on this project since mid-June and an exhibition of my photos will be opening at the Ellen Kayrod Gallery here in Detroit on March 27, 2009. Although my self portrait project has gotten more attention thus far, the elders project is probably more significant in the long run.
That came home to me on Friday when I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Detroit (MOCAD) to see a newly-mounted exhibit called
"BECOMING: Photographs from the Wedge Collection." The exhibition of 64 photos by 38 photographers was curated by Dr. Kenneth Montague, founding director of the Wedge Curatorial Projects based in Toronto. The catalogue describes BECOMING as "...a fresh exploration of the strength, beauty and complexity captured within representations of black life as it is both lived and imagined." This jewel of a show includes portraits by James VanDerZee, Aaron Siskind and Seydou Keita. There are also works by young gifted artists like Clement Cooper and Megan Morgan.
After having spent the afternoon taking portraits of Margaret Livingston and Velma Smith at Hannan House, seeing this exhibition was like a voice saying, "What you are doing is important." When I've gone through all my photos from this project, I plan to email Dr. Montague and ask him to look at the gallery I'll be posting here. Maybe my photos will fit into his vision. It would indeed be wonderful for these remarkable individuals I've been photographing to be seen and celebrated by people the world over. In my view, they are our National Treasures.
09-OCT-2008
photographers' feeding frenzy
It was late afternoon on Saturday at Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey's loft in Brooklyn. His 8-day invitational workshop for advanced photographers had just ended. I'd been there since 11 a.m., a fortunate "fly on the wall" who was lapping up everything he and his guest, the French photographer/filmmaker Eric Valli, had been sharing about making your way in the world of professional photography, gallery shows, book publishing and following your passion. The sun was illuminating Kerry, Kristen, Andrea and Judith, while the rest of us--including David and Eric--were snapping like crazy. Yet I found myself more interested in photographing the photographers than their subjects.
CLICK HERE to see this and dozens of other photos I took on Day 8 of David Alan Harvey's loft workshop.
07-OCT-2008
Paul Fusco shares his "Chernobyl Legacy" slides
Best viewed in original size.
The Loft Workshop Slideshow/Fiesta at David Alan Harvey's loft in Brooklyn last Friday was an emotional experience in many ways. One was meeting virtual friends-made-real from DAH's blog "Road Trips," and the other was the poignant and occasionally painful photos shared in the slideshow. The famous Magnum photographer Paul Fusco was a case in point. His photo essay, "Chernobyl Legacy," contains some of the saddest photos I've ever seen, and to see these images as Paul is describing the suffering in a hoarse whisper was practically unbearable. But it showed the power of the photograph to be a witness to the suffering of our world's people.
I spent today (Monday) preparing and posting many of the photos I took last weekend. There's also a sub-gallery of photos that Preston Merchant took with my camera. I still have the photos I took at David's loft on Saturday and the street photos I took on Friday to prepare and post.
CLICK HERE to view my "Weekend in Brooklyn" gallery of photos.
05-OCT-2008
DAH's fiesta in Brooklyn
What can I say??? I just downloaded 450 photos from one night and one day in Brooklyn...but what a night & day that was!!! Today (Sunday) I was on the road for 13 hours and should really be in bed but I wanted to look at/share just a few of the pics. Well, that was two hours ago. I'm exhausted & exhilarated all rolled into one. I'll post the start of what promised to be a huge gallery but then I'm gone. My bed is calling. Loudly.
03-OCT-2008
Sergio of Brooklyn
What a day and we haven't even gone to David's Slideshow/Fiesta yet!!! If you ever want to find interesting people to photograph, come to Brooklyn. I took 150 photos in a couple hours time and would still be out there if we hadn't realized we'd better get a little lie-down before the big evening! I have my friend Pat to thank for seeing Sergio through the window of the barber shop where he works. And then I have her to thank for being willing to wait 30-40 minutes until he was finished with his client, and then another 15-20 minutes while I photographed him. Such a dear man. Shy but gracious. I so appreciate his posing for me and I hope whoever comments here will be respectful to Sergio. He is taking his own unique path in life and I admire him for it.
02-OCT-2008
We're in Brooklyn!
Twelve hours, 640 miles/1030 km, two stops to ask directions, and here we are in Brooklyn, NY! Instead of sitting in front of a TV watching the Veep debate after sitting in a car all day, we went for a delightful walk/scoot in our very cool, rather funky neighborhood (Smith & Atlantic). Looked at dozens of possible places to eat but then decided to go back to our hotel room and nibble on the yummy food we'd brought with us on the trip. But first my friend Pat bought a well-deserved cold beer...
01-OCT-2008
stopping to smell the roses
Well, my friends, sometimes I stop to smell the roses and sometimes I don't. Now is one of those "no time to smell the roses" kind of times. My regular readers are going to laugh out loud or shake their heads in disbelief when I tell you what I'll be doing early tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Can you believe I'll be getting in my wheelchair accessible van, settling myself behind the wheel, stopping to pick up my dear friend Pat Kolon, and heading east...640 miles/1030 km east to be exact. Brooklyn, New York, to be even more exact. And how long will we stay there? Until Sunday morning when we turn around and head back home! Yes, I'm driving from Detroit to Brooklyn for the weekend.
But what a weekend it will be! My primary reason for going is to attend Friday night's Slideshow/Fiesta that marks the end of David Alan Harvey's second invitational loft workshop of the fall. These slideshows are famous for the high caliber of work completed by twelve photographers in one week's time.
CLICK HERE to see the slideshow from DAH's first loft workshop of the autumn. When you get to David's home page, click on "movies" and then select "Loft Workshop 2008." Be sure to turn up your sound as different pieces of music accompany each photographer's work.
This Slideshow/Fiesta is an opportunity for David's students to show their work to the elite in New York's photographic circles, especially other Magnum photogs, magazine & book photo editors, gallery owners, etc. In addition to showing slides of his workshop students, David, a member of Magnum himself, brings in two well-known Magnum photographers to show slides and discuss their own work. This Friday Alessandra Sanguinetti and Paul Fusco will present their work. As if this isn't enough, the whole thing is followed by a party that goes into the wee hours. David Alan Harvey is famous, not just for his photographs & mentoring, but for his parties!
Now, for me there is even another draw: it will be an opportunity to meet some of my favorite participants on David's blog,
"ROAD TRIPS. Panos is coming from Los Angeles, Bob Black & his photographer wife Marina from Toronto, Lee from Hawaii by way of Arkansas, Kyunghee from Korea (a workshop participant), Paola from Brazil (also in the workshop), and lots of NYC members of our blog family like Erica, Mike, Andrew and Anna Maria. Oh my, it is going to be amazing!!!
So I'll see you next week. Have a great weekend yourself!