there are images of mine that are deeply a part of the fabric of my being... when i see them again all these years later i feel exactly the same way as if i were seeing them again for the very first time..
and yet while i continually change over time with maturity and life experience, there are fundamentals as to who i am that are as solid as can be from the beginning... values, heart, commitment, loyalty..deep sense of humanity and decency......... knowing we have been and are one people.. despite the classifications we all have failed under since the beginning of time...
i am deeply grateful for this life of ours... despite the significant highs and lows we all tumble through both together and on our individual paths..... it's still truly a gift.
The Unexplainable
i'm often drawn to something others don't see, or comprehend, and even i am unable to fully explain what is going on in my body that tells me i can’t walk away....and need to use my camera to explore it...
...i don't have an opinion on what others do, or don't see ..whatever calls you.. great....follow your instincts..... i just know when i feel some sort of gravitational pull that doesn't allow me to walk on by., and when i do walk or drive by i’m bothered until i drive myself crazy but being so ignorant to move on.............
so there i am trying to kill it from every angle ,not sure if i got it..got what?.. how do you capture what’s making all the cells in your body go crazy .. it’s not easy bc it’d domrthing you feel, makes you keep looking.. maybe no one else will see it. care…. but then who cares. i see, feel it. and i need to try to capture it.... .. ..just do it .. follow your own lead
in this crazy world and time we are living through.. i'm glad i find something so intriguing that brings me peace in the middle of the madness..
Melting Angel
.... beautiful ..........melting angel..........in the heat of the day
to visually percieve , really feel another... is a gift.....no words necessary....
look at the gentle lift in her right heel.. the way she leans her head to the side to brace herself on that ball .. and her hair floating back mimicking the beads of water spray to the right......the light so catching in all the right spots...her fingers............
i love what i do.... wander.... observe.. anticipate.... engage.. or not...... whatever comes natural.. organicaly unfolds...and sometimes to push against the boundaries.. to tease out and connect our common ancestral dots.......
we all share the same complex range of vastly different emotions..and thought processes.... from great joys... to utter pain......and everything inbetween....... it's our common blood.. our common challenge.. and common good.................... and oh so grateful the camera continues to let me explore it all
The Gift of Time
losing loved ones, family, or having ones that are aging about to go to the other side.. and for many of us over 60, we can't help but to think now and again about the years past... and recognize we are climbing up that numeric ladder......wondering how many more years ahead we have.... how we have marked time in the past.. and how we want to live our lives moving forward with intention and purpose...
unfortunately, i spent a year and a half where i fought for my life.. bc the alternative was to be gone in two years.. because of that nothing is taken for granted, especially time... i want to grab life....love and live it to the fullest.. and create a life that leaves me with no regrets.....
I’ve always been drawn to the elderly in my image making... the wrinkles and scars like a historical map of their lives.. all the untold stories, a treasure trove of experience... i always seek to learn more about them..engage in conversation for small bits of their lives , as their thoughts give an extra layer of insight and a magnifier to what has meaning in the long run...
the jewish people use the expression L’Chaim.... to Life. the holiday of passover just passed.. celebrates freedom.. not just for us, but for ALL people.. what we do with that luxury matters... so..... to life.. freedom... and to loving each other to the fullest.. it's a gift ............of time
Unexpected Beautiful Goodbye
Often when i visit a place.. i walk to see the church/churches.. and often come on Sundays , bc i love to hear the singing and the affirmation of the community bonding...(and good for photos 0f course) and it was no different for me in St Lucia
As i approached the door i noticed many dressed up, but a lot in black and was quickly welcomed to come in and say goodbye....
it was then i realized i happened upon a funeral and an open casket... everyone was gathering around.. touching her.. taking photos... and then there was me....
in judaism.. how i grew up .. there were no open caskets.. seeing the dead was not something i was familiar with.. until i went to one in my 30s of my boss. i found it a bit un-nerving and never went to one again....
the next time i saw someone who had passed ,was when i lay on a bed with my mother when she took flight....and then my dad ,watching his last breath.. with each one i felt more deeply and no longer timid.. in fact the opposite... i pierced my eyes looking at the one who was gone in front of me taking in every piece of them... and thinking about their life, and those who mourned and shared so much history
so on this day.. as i entered.. not expecting. i took my place with everyone else.. and shared in their loss and honor of their sister, mother, friend.......... this one boy and his father told me it was his sister and son's aunt... we talked for awhile..and i spent some time remaining with them as they welcomed me to come stand near
It was so peaceful, tender and uniting , and while sad ,a joyous moment of honoring her
The Photo He Wanted Me To Take
he walks on the same few side streets every time i come to his town of Anselaraye.... i took photos of /with him from the beginning... but never liked any of them, or they felt short
he was always schlepping a rolling cart filled with things... i am not sure where in town he lived, but this time i just said hello and was not going to raise my camera.....
he then asked was i going to take a photo? i said no i was not planning to , but surely if you want me to i will...... he then replied he never saw a good photo of himself.. that he looked ugly... i felt so disheartened.. and said , so let's try to get one where i can see in your soul.. and bring back a photo soon of one you might like.
i am not sure i did any justice, but i spent about 15 minutes with him.. gave him some money afterwards to buy a meal or whatever he wanted..... , not out of disrespect or to be a handout ,but to show respect and gratitude....and told him how much i appreciated that he wanted me to try again.
HIdden Vault of Beauty
omg this moment.. was better than an orgasm... it was a photographic orgasm................ i had to stand on an edge that dropped from the second floor down to the first to take this..... took all i had not to lean in further and go down...
portraits have always been a huge piece of my photographic arsenal... but lately it's as much spaces that speak to me so loudly ..the history.. the clues to a life lived..
i took a few pieces of the turquoise cement on the ground.. a piece of this history with me..
Back Roads of Dominica, There we Met
walking the back streets in Dominica, West Indies..... i met this lady several times serendipitously on different days...in different places... on a small but beautiful island... fragile to the whipping winds of the hurricanes a few years back effecting Puerto Rico, Dominica, St Croix and many others...
i often wonder what happened to her and all those finding cover under the unrelenting bending and push of such storms.. so many homes so fragile to the elements...
i never forget how lucky i am in comparison. i worry about heavy snows on the roof.. a power outage... such a small insignificant troubles in comparison...
I love you West Indies.. and miss you.. coming back for you soon... birthplace of my photography and a big piece of my heart
