Photography

Dark and light I found photographing tales from World War II
Taken in 2000, in Aarhus, Denmark.
Taken in 2000.

In 2000, I completed a photodocumentary project highlighting human rights abuses by the Nazis throughout Europe. For part of that project, I met some Danes who were involved in that country’s famous boat lift of its Jewish citizens to Sweden to escape being deported and murdered by the Nazis at death camps. It is one of the few positive stories from this incredibly sad, psychologically dark, and awful episode of human history. One of the couples I met, David and Lilian Birnbaum of Aarhus, Denmark, met in Sweden after they were successfully carried to temporary safety. Some recent exchanges I had from someone who knows them made me think about their incredible story again and how wonderful it was to have stumbled on such a bright tale from such an awful time. The other photo I am including is a sample from hundreds of photos I took at more than 20 death and concentration camps scattered across Europe. This one, Stutthof, is located about 35 kilometers east of Gdansk. It was a terrible place to those sent there. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Sitka National Historic Park totem poles

 

Taken in 1999.
Taken in 1999.
Taken in 1999.

The Sitka National Historic Park, in the beautiful southeast Alaska city of Sitka, features some of the finest examples of Tlingit totem carvings, old and new, in the world. It is also among my favorite sanctuaries in the world. I lived in Sitka for a summer in 1992 and visited this place several times a week. These photos were taken during a trip I took in 1999, now 15 years ago (wow). So many of these totems most certainly have aged since I photographed them. More examples of my Alaska photos can be found on my Alaska gallery. (Please click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Seattle sunset and selfies from Kerry Park

 

Taken July 7, 2014.
Taken July 7, 2014.
Taken July 7, 2014.

On these amazingly beautiful summer nights in Seattle, one can finds huge crowds of locals and visitors at Kerry Park, on Queen Anne, snapping photos and gazing at Seattle, the Port of Seattle, and the Puget Sound. It’s quite a nice spot. Come if you can. (Click on each photograph to see larger pictures on separate picture pages.)

The Space Needle, icon of the Northwest
Taken from Seattle’s Kerry Park on July 7, 2014.

The Space Needle is perhaps the most photographed landmark in Seattle. On a nice summer night, hundreds of people can be found on the overlook on Queen Anne that gazes upon this 1960s monument built for Seattle’s World Fair. (Click on the photograph to see a larger photograph on a separate picture page.)

Summertime, and it is hot

 

This shot was taken in one of several refreshing lakes near Omak, Wash., a beautiful area about four hours by car from Seattle.

In central Washington, temperatures can push up to 100 F during the mid and late afternoon, and residents head for the nearest body of water to cool down. This shot was taken near Omak, Wash., in 2012. (Click on the picture to open the photograph on a separate picture page.)

The raven and the frog, Tlingit totem
This is one of many totems at Sitka National Historic Park, in Sitka, Ak. (taken in June 2004).

At Sitka National Historic Park, site of a historic battle between invading Russian fur traders and their Native allies against the Native residents of the Tlingit band, amazingly beautiful totems are on display, old and new. Artists keep the tradition alive and carve on-site. This is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and I hold the raven with deep regard, like the Tlingit residents who lived here for thousands of years before. (See more pictures from the Great Land on my Alaska gallery.)

Editor’s note: I have corrected my description of the totem carving after hearing from an apprentice who worked in Sitka at the carving studio at the historic park. I had incorrectly identified one of two animals; I have corrected that calling it the frog.

Eastern Turkey, crossroads of civilization
This fortress, on the Silk Road, in northeast Turkey in the border city of Doğubeyazıt, also has a very distinct and Armenian looking structure that likely predates the later fortress, seen to the left of the structure (taken in 2001). Other and more historic ruins are on the hillside, not seen, include an old Urartu complex that predates the Byzantine Empire.
The Payas Madrassa, one of several historic structures in the coast town of Payas, in Turkey’s Hatay Province (taken 2001).

I travelled throughout all of Turkey in 2001 (see some more of my photographs on my Turkey gallery). It was an unforgettable trip. These are some black and white shots I took. I quickly converted these prints to digital images, and I probably could have been smarter about by using a tripod. But I actually like the look of these now. My actual work prints, and final prints, are a lot sharper. The palace is located in Doğubeyazıt, reportedly near the spot where the Bible’s fabled Noah’s Ark landed after the great flood. This is in far east Turkey, a mostly Kurdish region, near the Iran border. A major military base is here, obviously, and stocked with American made heavy armor, from what I remember seeing. I remember seeing goats walking down the main street, outside the Internet cafe where I passed the time.The shot from Payas, of a somewhat infamous madrassa, is along the coastal area, near Iskenderun. It sits next to a famous caravansary and kalesi (castle). This building dates from the Middle Ages. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Emotions captured in black and white, in Denmark

 

I took this shot on the island of Zealand in Denmark in 2003, with my friends L&T posing, I think with little effort.

I miss the chemical darkroom. For years I used Tri-X, ASA 400 film, and had figured out everything I wanted with that film, and how I liked to shoot it. Most of all, I loved and still love what you create with the silver-halide crystals that leave a type of graininess I have not duplicated precisely with the digital lab.

Here is a shot I took using Tri-X, ASA 400 film of some friends in Denmark, L & T. They agreed to be my subjects for a few shots during a quick trip I took to my favorite country in Europe back in the spring of 2004. This was taken on the island of Zealand, where we took a road trip to see some very old Danish things (cathedrals, pre-Gothic burial mounds, Viking museum exhibits), and to visit a beach house. I like the Danes, and I very much like my Danish friends. We have a lot to learn from them back over here. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Who is that big dude down front?
Every performance I attend these days has someone with some photographic device capturing the moment and definitely disrupting the view and listening experience. Or, has it always been that way and I need to chill out? Taken at the Seattle Center on June 28, 2014.)

One of the hallmarks of a photographer is to be bold, and let no thing or person stand in your way of taking that great picture. Right? Or not? That depends. How important is that picture? That is a topic that I have debated many times in the past with other practitioners. The National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics claims that professionals should “treat all subjects with respect and dignity.” Really? Anyone see a lot of that at events?

Most news videographers I have seen in practice could care less about anyone when they walk in front of live audiences, obstruct views, disrupt paid events, and generally make jerks of themselves to get the 30 seconds of film for whatever broadcast. That is their business, and that is their product. But I personally find their behavior the absolute worst. I have seen my fair share of photographers demonstrate the same winner-take-all mentality. I am not sure if professionals and especially many more amateurs care about these guidelines. Most individuals likely adhere to personal ethics and standards. How important is your need to prioritize yourself over others, just for a picture of a cultural performance, or sporting event? That seems very subjective.

These days, it seems there is always that “big dude” down front, completely destroying the moment onstage so he (or she) can take something away and leave nothing in return. Today, I saw that in full play at the Iranian Festival at the Seattle Center. There was the proverbial big dude, and also big woman, and family members and friends, and many more. Lots of people were filming and running up to the stage and leaning on the stage with their filming device, including monster zoom lenses, camcorders, smart phones, pads, and more. So, I turned the lens on them from my seat.

Hey, big dude, would you please just get out the way, just this once? Thanks.

Look around and you might find art about American Indians
This picture of a buffalo hunt decorates an electric utility box near Forest Park, in St. Louis, Mo., (Taken in May 2013.)
I took this picture depicting the treaty signed by the U.S. Government and tribes in Oregon in 1855, which decorates the side of a building in The Dalles, Ore. (Taken in June 2014.)

 

I took a drive from St. Louis to Seattle in 2013, with the goal of visiting a few places with historic significance to the story of American Indians/Native Americans. Oddly enough, the first thing I took a picture of was an electric box in St. Louis, by the light rail station, which had been painted with scenes of a buffalo hunt. I thought this must have been a locally supported art project, and I really liked these pieces. The same day I visited the Museum of Westward Expansion, under the Gateway Arch, which has a superb exhibit of the story of the West, including the loss of lands, conquest, and cultural collapse of bands who once called the American West their own.

This summer, I was passing through The Dalles, Ore., and saw the side of a local store that was painted with a mural telling the story of the treaty signed by the U.S. Government and Oregon tribes, which ceded much of the state to the United States. Large mural art by Alaskan Natives and American Indians can be found throughout the United States, but also in Canada and Mexico (by their first nations and indigenous artists). When you see something bold and creative, stop for a moment and think about the story. The art tells the tale of the land you are standing on. And the story is long, complex, and continuing.

(Please click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)