Over the past 21 years, I have had the privilege of serving with Medical Ministry International, an organization that provides eye care and surgery to underserved people in Third World countries. It is estimated that the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness is 285 million globally. Of this number, 80% of cases are preventable with proper care for cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, childhood strabismus, basic eye exams and prescription eyeglasses. I have travelled with MMI teams to Honduras, Ecuador, Jamaica, Myanmar, and Nagaland, India, as well as Colombia, the Amazon, and in 2018, Bolivia. Many of the people we treat, some of whom are cultural outcasts due to their eye condition or disease, either have no access to eye care or do not have the means to pay for it. This series is my attempt to represent the courage and dignity of these men, women, and children, many of whom have never experienced an alternative to blindness. Generations of families wait in lines from as early as 4am, grasping for any element of hope that their vision will be restored. Witnessing this is a compelling experience for our team members, and my intention with this collection is to create a sense of that experience.
20% of the purchase price of images from this collection will be donated to Medical Ministry International (MMI).
This project, “Next Please” , is a departure for me into the arena of photo documentary. These images are of “Old Style” barbershops and the wonderful era of American culture that they represent.
My enthusiasm for this project is based on the premise that the barbershop was, and still is, an essential social setting unique as a forum for discussions of all types of topics: community issues, politics, sports, religion, and local gossip!
Please Check Out the Next Please book available for purchase.
All of this is confined in a safe setting for expression without hostility. Where else does a little boy “come of age” as he sits on the “board” in the chair for his first haircut under the watchful eye of his father? Or an elderly gentleman, who comes in for his biweekly haircut and spends the day visiting with his neighborhood friends, perhaps listening to a ballgame on the AM radio or watching NASCAR. All the time nurturing his need for community. I have found most barbershops are similar, but what is fascinating is that each is a unique reflection of the barber! While one quotes Dante’s “Inferno” to customers, another shares stories from his days as a member of an East LA Chicano gang in the 50’s!
Because of this, the entity of the barbershop spans a diverse cultural background, making it essential to preserving prior to its extinction. Many of these images were created as a “dreamlike” reflection, seen through windows, mirrors and most importantly, memories. Above all, these images reflect the spirit of these men in the fragments of time that adorn their walls in these wonderful places!
All images were shot with a Hasselblad 503CW and a Hasselblad Flex Body camera with either Tri-X 400 black and white film, or later, a digital back. This series is printed by myself, as archival digital prints using the Epson 7900 and P7000, printed on Hahnemuhle Photorag 308 fine art paper.
Life’s experiences can bring all of us excitement, anguish, memories of both pleasurable or sad moments, closures and openings. This (collection) represents images that touch on many of these significant memories.
(I hope these bring a remembrance of fond and impactful moments in your life.)
This is digital interpretation of an alternative photographic process called Gum Bichromate over Platinum. I have designed the technique of using my original platinum/palladium print, digitizing it, and adding a color burn which penetrates into different tones of the print. Each print becomes an original and unique.
What we often see and accept as true, can actually be beyond our perception of reality.
I have always enjoyed creating images from the denuded branches of trees, Their beauty when fully blossomed can be appreciated, as well as its empty branches in winter that heightens our imaginations!
In Spanish, the word avistar or vista, means to “catch sight of”.
These images are usually labeled “landscapes”, but I see so much more in the wide view that we encounter every day!