Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Heading Back to the U.S.


Heading back to the U.S. tomorrow. I have a 9 hour trip back to El Paso. For the past two days I have been in Guatemala City. I plan on exploring this city more on my next trip to Guate, but for now I'll leave you with some images that show the past here is still very much alive. Posters of the disappeared that have been made into graffiti art image of Justice something I know this country is still searching for.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Return to Demo...

After picking up my friend Jessica from the airport on Wednesday, I'm playing tour guide for the next few days. Can't complain its giving me the chance to go to some of my favorite places like Demo Market.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sin La Cara Mas Ambiente...

Wednesday afternoon, I spent some time snapping frames around the Nuevos Horizontes Women's Shelter. I've pull away from just shooting portraits and started shooting environmental shots of some of the bedrooms and common areas. Shooting in the shelter is much different from my last project at the hospital in San Lucas. Both situations had privacy issues, but shooting at the shelter has a security element involved adding to the challenge of shooting.


Thursday afternoon the teenagers and women of the shelter had a chance to get some pampering, getting their nails painted, having avocado facial masks and dancing in the lunchroom. Activities like these bring a sense of normality to the lives of the teenagers and women in the shelter.


The coordinators at Nuevos Horizontes and I have been talking about putting together a gallery show sometime later this year. Which I'm pretty excited about. I won't be here to see it go up, but my hope is that it helps the shelter raise some more money or at least attract more volunteers.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Cookin' it up...


Rosie one of the cooks at the Black Cat Hostel. She is always ready with a smile and a joke.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Sin La Cara...

May is my last month here in Guatemala and I have found myself working on a portrait project of sorts. I have begun to photograph inside a women's shelter here in Xela. Because of security concerns I am not allowed to show any of the women's faces. But since so much of the human emotion is brought forth through the face, it is presenting me with a challenge that I did not anticipate.


Today was my first day of shooting and, as with many things in life, it did not go according to plan. But I think that might have helped me discover a better way to shoot these "portraits". The women at the shelter seem to be receptive to my presence. They all have terrible stories as to why they are at the shelter; most have children, and some of the children are products of incestuous molestation and rape. The shelter provides a safe place for them to live and heal.


You can feel the sense of community as you walk in. Everyone is lending a hand cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children in the shelter. The shelter is a nondescript building which resides in a secret location in Xela. Nuevo Horizonte, the association that runs the shelter, is in the process of putting the finishing touches on a new larger shelter in Xela's outskirts. But in the meantime, the women still live in this smaller safe haven where I will be working the next few weeks.


With one day under my belt, I'm pretty excited to see where the work takes me. I have the feeling it will not be what I expect.


Monday, May 02, 2011

Portrait...

(photo shot in Quixayá, Sololá ) This week if all goes well I will be the start of a portrait project here in Xela. should be be a good week or two of creating some challenging portraits. More on that later.