Portrait

Turkish laborers near Antalya
Laborers pause inside a hothouse in southern Turkey near Antalya.

Hothouses growing crops for local and international markets were common sights on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean Coast. During my trip in 2001, I travelled the entirety of that coast by bus (loved it!), and had a chance to visit a hothouse by a bus stop. The workers reminded me a lot of the male laborers I saw in my home state of Washington. They were friendly, their clothes revealed the dirt and sweat of their hard labor, and they had pride in who they were. It is a reminder to always stop and just look around the corner and see what you may find. More pictures of my travels in Turkey can be found on my Turkey photo gallery. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Father and son

 

I took this as part of a series I was working on with black and white film. I still miss the drama of loading film in a dark room, and always feeling excited by the drama of waiting for the results. There is something about the grain of silver halide crystals.

More than a decade ago, I was enmeshed in world of black and white portrait photography and enlisted friends, coworkers, and strangers into my open air studio–meaning anywhere outside. Here is one from that time period, and both father and son today are doing just great. See more of my portraits on my web site portrait page. (Click on the photo go see the picture on a separate picture page.)

Before she leaves for college, moms and daughters (black and white)
This is from my latest shoot of mothers and daughters, in black and white.
This is from my latest shoot of mothers and daughters, in black and white.
This is from my latest shoot of mothers and daughters, in black and white.

 

This is the second of my portrait series of mothers and daughters, of F and her daughter K, but this time in black and white. I captured this just as K gets ready to leave home next month to pursue her new life at a four-year program. This is a wonderful time to capture the final moments of a full nest. All smiles here. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Before she leaves for college, moms and daughters

 

This is from my latest shoot of mothers and daughters, in color.

This is the second in my series of moms and daughters pictures. I wanted to capture F and her daughter K before K left home to begin her four-year university program. Today, I will share a color photo from that set. Tomorrow, I will publish black and white photos. I really enjoyed this shoot. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

 

Mothers and daughters … the backyard shoot
From my series of mothers and daughters

About two weeks ago I saw a mother and daughter holding hands and walking together at a local farmer’s market. I thought about the many mothers and daughters I know, and have known, and also have photographed. I realized that some of my best pictures have been through this pairing, which sheds light on this special relationship. Yesterday, I shot the first of my new series. It was a good learning experience for me, and I found some things I can do better. I would do better if I had an underpaid or unpaid intern, but hey, you sometimes cannot have such luxuries. I also can shoot a little slower, but at times it is in those fast and spontaneous moments when the truth of the love between a mother and her daughter are revealed more clearly and captured in pixels. There definitely will be more to come. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture in a separate picture page.)

A life lived well together
I consider this portrait I took to be a classic portrayal of lifelong love and a true partnership. The picture does not lie.

I truly believe that pictures, in fact, do not lie. Pictures speak volumes about emotions, character, purpose, and relationships. This is one of my favorite portraits of two of my favorite people, of Luther and Gladys. RIP, Gladys. (Click on the picture to see the photograph on a separate picture page.)

Traditional Greenland kayak and kayak methods

 

Taken in 2000.

In Greenland. the current generation of Greenlanders have rediscovered the historic kayak building, paddling, and handling techniques. The kayak, or qajaq, enabled Greenlanders to populate the entire western coastline and southeast coastline and survive, mainly by giving the hunters the ability to hunt sea mammals. These boats were all built by hand by people with no modern tools, and all from materials available from animals, bones, and driftwood. Greenlanders, like this man, practice their techniques, including flips with and without their traditional paddles. I took this in Qassaiarsuk in 2000, when there were more than a dozen paddlers showing off their finely honed skins on traditionally built kayaks. See more of my pictures of Greenland on my Greenland gallery. (Click on the photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)