Importance of time and connections.

It has been a year since I logged into this starship database.... I mean blog.  A great year filled with visuals and learning and parenting and learning!!

For Thanksgiving week we took a road trip to LA.  I was excited to reconnect with old friends who I so value.  I was also excited to reconnect with some subjects from a story that impacted me greatly... exactly 20 years ago.

In 1995 I worked on a story for the NY Times with the wonderful writer Seth Mydans.  I was given great access to local gang members from the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Gangs in LA were in the most active period in history. 

I met, and photographed many of the gang members and kids who were attempting to get out of gangs.  

Two boys I spent the most time with were a 15 year-old baby faced Echo Park newbie who called himself Dreamer.  His girlfriend, 17, was pregnant and I followed them for a couple months as they delivered a beautiful baby girl. 

I also photographed a sweet 17 year-old boy named Alex,  AKA Lil' Wicked.  He had a two year old son with the same stunning blue-green eyes.

Photographing on black and white film, I followed these kids for several months but then as life moved on I never did more with the story. 

Last week I had the pleasure of hanging with and catching up with Alex.  (Dreamer declined to meet with me) Sitting in the same alley where he lived back then and where I photographed him holding hands with his toddler, Alex caught me up on the past 20 years.  Stories of violence, prison, substance abuse were extreme.  He was put in prison about a year after I met him for the first time in 1995 and spent much of the time until 2009 in and out of prison.  He had not seen his son since the boy was 6.

After his last stay in prison in 2009, the man formally known as Wicked, decided to get his life together.  He got sober, got a job and when he felt he had finally grown up enough to be a role model to his son... he knocked on the door. 

It was a great time hearing all of his stories and I plan on keeping in touch with him for more of this project with him and others that were in the gangs at the time.  The importance as a journalist of respecting your subject and building strong relationships based on mutual respect no matter what you think of their lot in life cannot be stressed enough.

Stay tuned.

                                                       Alex and Alex junior 1995

Alex 2015

Devonte Hart and the officer

I don't do protests much anymore.  This rally, in Portland, seemed a place to be with my camera.  The country is divided and yelling out for justice.  So, on this cool, dark afternoon, I went to the Justice Center in downtown to see what was happening.  I stayed on the perimeter of the rally... shot a few iPhone photos and sent them off via instagram.   I was looking for some authentic moments... maybe not just the usual activists holding the usual signs.

 I spotted this small boy with his siblings off to the side holding signs which offered hugs.  This was a very sweet thing to see but then I noticed the boy was overcome with tears.  I watched as a woman (soon I found out she was his mother) urged him thru the crowd and toward the police officers parked with their motorcycles on the street.  The boy, Devonte Hart, was overcome with tears and a few passersby took him up on his offer of hugs.  But he seemed focused on the officer and frightened.  The officer, Bret Barnum, finally called him over and asked him some questions... they were having a special moment.  Finally, Officer Barnum, asked Devonte why he was crying... Devonte said he was concerned about the level of police brutality towards young black kids.  The Officer said "I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"  
Then they exchanged a hug.  Not one for the media cameras (even tho I was there as well as another photographer) but a heartfelt  moment that was a bright spot in this radical world looking for change. 

 But here in this image, I took, I believe is the real representation of where we are as a country.  A frightened, weeping,  young black man wanting some comfort and support  from a looming, scary officer.   It represents, at least to me, how extreme tension and division still lives in our American psyche.  How far we have to go.  How FAR we have to go.  

The elevating of "THE HUG" photo to some sort of healing iconic place and the players in the photo (the boy, the cop and the photographer) to celebrity status only serves as a distraction or "happy ending" to the ongoing strife.  It does not allow us to truly look inside ourselves and force the change.

Some background on the boy...
Devonte's adoptive mother told me Devonte had lived a most horrible early life of drug houses, social services and abuse.  His story had been highlighted before on the Huffington post... Quoting them here:
 "By the time he was four years old he had smoked, consumed alcohol, handled guns, been shot at and suffered severe abuse and neglect.
He knew only a handful of words, including fuck and shit, and he struggled to identify with the names of food, body parts and everyday objects. Devonte was a violent toddler and his health was weighed down by a heavy list of disabilities.

It was a life with little hope and a future that seemed over before it began."


In communicating with Devonte's parents, I see that he has no desire to be famous.  I never felt that when Devonte's mother urged him to talk to the officer it was for any purpose other than for Devonte to heal and walk thru his fear.  I have been touched, greatly,  by the solid focused values of this family but conversely have watched in sadness as a single photo has been used to make our collective selves feel better rather than make a change.

More images I took from the rally.   HERE

Black and White Challenge Day 1

 

Black and White ---  It was that when we were younger.

Believe in something... desire something... say it, do it. 

I have been watching a bit of this black and white challenge on Facebook for the last week and have seen friends pulling out little gems, little pieces of their heart from that place where special things are locked inside.  The true soulfulness of B&W... film, fixer, grain.  Our lives when nothing mattered but moments and connections.  I am actually crying while writing because in my locked place will always be this little guy Patrick.  (Here helping his foster mother administer his meds.)  Ya see, Patrick had AIDS.  Back in the early 1990's  kids still suffered, in large numbers, from AIDS contracted at birth.  

I had just moved back to California after leaving the Dallas Morning News and all I knew was that I loved telling deep stories and that I loved kids.  I was moved to action on this story by the way the media was portraying these beautiful victims... hiding them in shadow and shame.  I look at this little guys' lips and nose and remember the feel of his skin.  I was not about to let his life go by without others seeing his beauty.  Patrick was not defined by AIDS.  He was loved by everyone who was lucky enough to meet him... black and white.

I spent over 4 years photographing Patrick, his foster mom and brother, in the purist fashion of documentary photography I could muster.  One Nikon F4 and my Leica M6.  Rolls of TriX pushed to 1600.   Rushing to their sides as time after time germs made daily routine become life or death, up until Patrick's death on his 6th birthday.  I was lucky to have the story of Patrick be published in several magazines (even LIFE when it was still the best out there) and win a World Press Award where the rest of the world could see this little life that mattered.

Patrick was one of the first kids to be trial subjects for AIDS treatment protocol and I am sure that many of the drugs his body was subjected to have evolved into life saving and extending treatment for AIDS patients today...  black and white.

I might be making a long story longer here.  Pushing this simple challenge beyond what it's purpose is.  BUT we ALL know.  The tight family of photographers who document.  Whose nails once looked a bit brown from hours in the darkroom.  Our lives were touched by souls like Patrick as we recorded life on that delicate piece of film.  Black and White.  We had to go slower in those days, each frame important.  I shoot mostly digital images now and often shift them to black and white in my computer. Those images I shift out of color are usually ones which tell stories that have the soulful feel of real.

Thanks for the challenge AND the memories.

NEXT! iPhone Photography workshop announced!

 OH HAPPY DAY!! 

I have booked a super fun space and will be bringing back my full day iPhone photography workshop to Portland after 2 years on the road and teaching private and small group classes!!

This "advanced-beginner" class teaches you how to take better quality images with your iPhone and process them with fun and cutting-edge professional APPs.  Concentrating on filtering, composition, lighting,  sharing of images and just plain fun, this interactive day will set you up with a set of tools to take your iPhone photography to a new level!

Class will take place in SE Portland on September 14th (Sunday) from 10-4:30.   Cost is $125 per person and space is limited!!

Email me for more info or to reserve your space.  jan@sonnenmair.com

Focused

Such a big part of what clients hire me for is an ability to travel the world, connect with people and convince them to be photographed as part of a story or campaign.  I have worked with Myoptic Optical in the past and was excited when the owner mentioned she wanted some "art for the walls" .
I hatched the concept to take one of their super cool glasses frames and photograph them on all sorts of Portland faces.  I carried the glasses as I attended the old time music festival, visited friends and walked the streets of downtown.  I also connected with some specific friends who I thought would be great for the series.
A few of the images.

iPhone Guatemala

As promised, weeks ago, I am posting some of my images taken with ye ol' iPhone images of our life in Guatemala.  The iPhone was a wonderful camera to have as much of the time was spent trying to not be an obnoxious tourist while jumping on and off the launchas to cross Lake Atitlan or walking the narrow foot paths thru San Marcos.  No matter what we try to argue, the size of this pocket camera is a game changer.  Thinking of moving to a much smaller type of gear and packing up the giant DSLRs.

If you already follow me on instagram (@antjan) you will have seen most of these but for the non-insta converts... Here ya go!

 

The hands of a coffee picker.  One has to be part mountain goat and part pack mule to do this grueling job.  Climbing to the top of 7000 ft peaks to get the final beans of the harvest and then carrying down large burlap bags filled with these juicy red and green beans.

 

 The jump off the platform at Las Rocas in San Marcos is a challenge many take.  Not me.

                  The people... beautiful, magical, kind and humble.

A few of my favorite moments.

Time is precious when one is a parent.  The change in my photo brain is evident in my work.  Hard to completely settle into a day or adventure when my mind is split between my photo subjects and my knowledge of my time constraints.  I don't have the luxury of time as I need to get to my boy, pick him up from school or friend's houses... get him fed, make sure he is not alone.

My photo brain is filled with visuals I want to capture but it often feels like I am only taking a snapshot these days.  The freedom I had before becoming a parent to settle in and really get to know the people I was meeting.  Fostering a warm ease that allows a subject to feel the experience of being photographed is a positive one, takes time.  Parenting is a blessing for me as my kid is a magical, wonderful human but I certainly struggle with my art and my desire to make images and connections that are lasting.

The iPhone has been an interesting tool as I travel lighter with it.  It's "camera" is less obtrusive so quiet moments can be captured more quickly.  Not sure the connections are there tho.  Maybe subjects are more relaxed as people are not so tense with the phone camera and they feel more formal or seen deeply with a big ol' camera.   The DSLR is the thing that might be the hardest tool to interject quickly... As I am shooting film with my Leica or my Mamiya 6, I feel more quiet, more pure.

Again, so much thinking here at the LAKE.. where will we go from here?
I will be heading home in a few days, processing film, viewing memories.  It is the connections that have mattered.  Some connections toxic, some magical, some fun but all important.

Posting a few images I like from my BIG OL' camera.  The stories are what matter most.  Film and iPhone photos to come.

The church (iglesia) of Xajacax, Guatemala.  A wonderful farming village with beautiful traditional peoples.  This place will always have a special place in my heart.

On the Launcha.  The main way of travel between towns on Lake Atitlan is boat.  Many times the boats are so overcrowded that we were basically on each others laps.  The locals putting up with the intrusive tourists.  The ride was often very bumpy as the wind created choppy waves and the boat Captains rushed to get from dock to dock to increase their money for the day.  So many local women, in their traditional clothing, carrying heavy parcels of fruits or with children strapped to their backs.  Many times I saw locals crossing themselves when we left a dock... surprisingly most locals cannot swim.

DANG DOG!  The watchdog, of Christobal's family, scared the crud out of me as I walked on the path near his dog house before I took this photo.  He was chained to his rustic dog house and was only doing his job.  I bet we would have been good pals if I had more time to hang with him.

San Antonio Palopo, Guatemala.  I took a quick trip to this sweet little town a few weeks ago to book a room at the hotel we are going to stay at tonight to enjoy the Good Friday proceedings tomorrow.  A group of boys were bathing in the lake and somehow they allowed me to photograph them (haltingly).  I am finishing up work on a children's book on water and plan on using an image from this meeting in the book.  Not this one specifically... but it was one of my favorites from the day.  These boys are so dang handsome!

Tzununa, Guatemala.  Visiting a wonderful family at our neighbor village.  This is one of the poorest spots in Guatemala but the family bonds are so strong.   This grandmother watches over her sleeping granddaughter as she rocks in a homemade cradle filled with rags and pieces of beautiful woven textiles.  There was also a copy of the New Testament with the niña as she slept.  A testament to the religious lives of the Guatemalans.

NGO a-GO-GO!

Our second month here in Guatemala and I have been reflecting a bunch on what I have learned.  So much about life, travel, my kid's happiness, my happiness and also about NGOs.

I hope to gear my work more toward working with NGOs in the coming years... not just as a photographer but as a creative team.

NGOs (or non-profit organizations) have more presence here, in Guatemala, than in any other country in the world.   A large number of these groups are religious based also many medical and women and children focused projects. All I worked with are seemingly very well-intentioned.  One of my goals, as I volunteered to do photography for several groups, was to learn the image needs of these groups. I want to begin to work with NGOs to certainly create visual content but also to strategize ways to most effectively use imagery to raise funds and awareness for their causes.
NGOs require a slightly different style of photography.  Despite all of the poverty, pain and suffering around, the imagery should show hope, connection and the beauty of the people.

 For the most part I found warm, inviting and wonderful people who embraced my desire to help.  I will be working with them creating books, print exhibitions and other marketing material.  BUT I found that there was some resistance to a photographer offering services without a clear desire from the group.   Some were quite happy in the place they were. Happy just posting their daily pics on Facebook and getting a bunch of likes.  Those folks, I realized, were not my target client.  My target client would understand of the value of quality photography and maintaining control over their visual brand in order for me to jump on board in the future.  I realize that not everyone wants what I feel I can offer.  I am used to people hiring me because they know what I do and they believe that quality imagery sells their product and maintains a level of professionalism that makes viewers pay attention.  I also learned that I need to take it a bit more slowly and listen more before I volunteer and arrive with my agenda   The school of life.

I loved working with the folks from HELPs International.  Their Cascade medical crew from Oregon! was inspiring.  Tears in my eyes, many times, seeing the work they do transforming  lives.  One little girl had been back around 5 times to get surgery on her congenitally deformed feet.  Because the doctors come to the same spot twice a year, they are able to follow up on their patients which is priceless.  Only one story of the many people standing in long lines in the hot sun to see these doctors.

They also have a joyous stove building crew who are working to get Guatemalan women out of horribly smoke filled rooms and cooking on efficient stoves.   The people of the village of Xajacax were magical and so warm.  In their traditional clothes and living in rustic homes the visuals were astounding.  More than that for me was to be able to embrace them, chat with them and laugh with them.  The stove teams were hard workers while being so respectful of the culture and homes where they placed the stoves.

An added bonus for me was to spend a day at the New Life School in Santa Maria de Jesus near Antigua.  This school, run by Judy, a powerhouse woman from Houston, is a place for kids who have disabilities like muscular dystrophy, autism, Down syndrome, mental retardation and dwarfism.   There was no place for these kids to fit in before Judy started this school 14 years ago.  Mayan peoples often believe that a disabled child is a curse on their family so the children are hidden away. There are even several children who are deaf who had never attended school nor had any language before attending New Life.  I wish I could spend many more days there!

These months in Guatemala (we only have one more!!) have been  so growth filled for our little team.  The quiet of the lake, the thundering of the volcanoes and the slow pace allow for simple and deep reflection.  As I move forward in working with NGO's in the future these things are on my mind...
Listening better, moving more slowly, increased awareness of the importance of local/ grassroots ownership and connecting, connecting, connecting!!

I am posting a few selects below and also will be updating as the projects are more complete and more uses are found for the images.

I love a future where I can work with more of these groups!

 

Supporting women and families!

 

 

On my summer road trip to the SW USA, last summer,  I was lucky to have an assignment to work on a project for The Shriver Report.  Great friend Barbara Kinney assembled a phenom group of women to do documentary stories about women living on the edge. Of course, with my love of the Navajo people, I recommended we do my shoot there.  

   Cut to this week as Maria Shriver unveils this years' Shriver Report.  It was launched with a high-powered Washington DC photo exhibit of our work, TV specials and Maria herself dropping the report off to President Obama.

   A few of my images here from the shoot of Jeannie James of Winslow, AZ who is raising her 3 grand-daughters while making a drive of 2 hours each way to work for the Navajo Nation social services.  I loved spending time with them and hope to visit them this spring and bring a few prints.  The strength of these women seen in the report is inspirational.  It was nice to see the support of The Shriver team for documentary, meaningful photography.

"Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo"

BOOK it!

I have had the joy of working with an amazing group on a children's book! "Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo"  will finally arrive in book stores on March 1st!

The experience working with the kids and families that ride the Navajo Rodeo has been a life-affirming experience, to say the least.  I first photographed the rodeo on the Rez about 13 years ago.  When the offer came to head back, I jumped at the chance! To go back to shoot for this book was a treat since some of the same families were still riding!  The kids were grown and had kids of their own.  The positive energy,  belief in hard work and working with animals creates tight families...full of love.  Can't wait to see them again!!
I hope they will enjoy our book... and I hope you will too!

Thanks to author Nancy Bo Flood for being one of the best teammates ever!!   And Boyds Mills Press for amazing support and for believing in photography as illustration for children's books!

You can order it thru this link on Amazon... if you order after clicking this link a tiny few pennies come back to me.  Order several... I will sign them for you!!  (note... it might say there are only 2 left... but that is NOT the case.. try it, order 10 )

Nice mention in ReaderKidz!!

Friends and Food

One of the best reasons to be in Oaxaca is to get to know the FOOD!  I had the pleasure of teaching an iPhone photography class to chef Pilar of the famous La Olla Restaurante here in El Centro.   So, in trade, I took her tamale making class, with Eli, and it was magical.  I also made some images for her to use on her website.  Nice to have found our new favorite restaurant in Oaxaca.  NOT to be missed!  The food is fantastic!
A few photos from the class etc!

                 

                            Eli and Pilar's hijo Luis!  Nice pals!

iPhone mania hits Oaxaca !!

Well, not mania, I guess.  I am in Oaxaca for a year and will be teaching some super fun iPhone classes with the wonderful group from Oaxaca Culture (see link to classes here)  Come on down and join a class while you enjoy the beautiful city of Oaxaca~~~~