a summer bar mitzvah
"I found a fruitful world, because my ancestors planted it for me. Likewise I am planting for my children." ~ Talmud, Taanit 23a
"I found a fruitful world, because my ancestors planted it for me. Likewise I am planting for my children." ~ Talmud, Taanit 23a
The potato plant.
On the session at home a few weeks before the event, I learned that the Bar Mitzvah boy to be had planted a potato and from it, sprouted a plant. And as were but in the first weeks of summer before Solstice), I felt a profound symbolism in this little plant.
His story is one of family ... and friends he's known since he was a little; it is a collage of sports and music and science and community. A personality that is at once both public and private striking the right balance between outer and inner.
We wove a few of the day-to-day goings on in at home and a few weeks later, came together again on the Bar Mitzvah day for portraits at the Temple, family portraits at the venue and a few details of the setting. I have no words to describe my experience inside Temple Ohabei Shalom ....along the lines of what it translates to - Lovers of Peace. Being surrounded by extended family who gathered to celebrate this milestone ... the laughter, the love, the traditions. Our time together ended two days later at the brunch - a gathering that told the story of how exhausting a rich experience can be. I chose a sample of images to share with the collection of them being custom designed into a larger book that tells the story of the people, the places, the moments, the experience and the boy that was and is now a man.
I am always moved by those who choose me to cover this particular event for I am deeply moved by the emotions and nuances, the preservation of customs, and the profound symbolism this day marks.
The sample of images shown will be folded into the collection and presented in a custom designed book
belongings & belonging
This year's annual project with two schools and the local art museum titled Belongings and Belonging.
This year's project with students from Cohen Hillel Academy & Salem Academy Charter School in partnership with the Peabody Essex Museum concluded in wrapping up a year long examination considering how our belongings connect to our identities, our cultures and our values.
What do our belongings reveal about who we are, what we do, and what we value? How are our belongings similar to those of others? How do our belongings differ than the ones owned by young people across town or a century ago?
Guided by these questions and PEM’s Connecting Community philosophy to “present and interpret works of art and culture in ways that connect art to the world,” this project linked two communities of learners who would not otherwise have a way to meet one another and get to know each other’s stories.
My role was similar to prior years (2015, 2014) in that I photographed each session to show the interaction between the student's and the lessons while highlighting the connections between them and the community that evolved. For this year's program, the student's were asked to bring in special belongings that gave insights to their identity, and I photographed in a few ways - one of their object and a portrait of them with their object. All portraits of their objects were taken at a downward angle as I wanted to show their feet as shoes reveal another aspect of identity. For the portrait of them with their object, they were free to pose in any way they wanted to express their personality. Lastly I took a simple portrait of each student and only asked that they cross their arms and lean against a wall.
The collection of photographs was once again designed into a book alongside insights and thoughts from the students and the photographs were displayed at a final class session held at the Peabody Essex Museum.
first year of life story | salem, ma
Born at a time of year when everything muted suddenly fills with color, her entrance was a breath of spring air ...
Born at a time of year when everything muted suddenly fills with color, her entrance was a breath of spring air and the opening of a peony - fragrant and delicate, soft and wrapped in layers of joy. This is the first year story of a beautiful star child filled with an eternal smile, the soul of a sage and a heart that bursts with the radiance of a tiny laughing Buddha.
Signature 12x12 inch Book printed with a beautiful linen cover.
a girl at nine months
I've watched this lil slowly transform, take shape and flight; this time with two teeth and the beginnings of a creep.
I've watched this lil slowly transform, take shape and flight; this time with two teeth and the beginnings of a creep. Her presence is peaceful and pleasant; she's simply sweetly divine. As we are approaching the milestone of one year, and the completion of a first year of life...this is the girl at nine months.
my family - 2014
Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family.
Joseph Brodsky
What to say about this year with the girls who are now older girls ... I cherished my human connectin so much that this year was more about the being there with them than the need/pull to document them with pictures. To be perfectly candid, I wasn't all that into it and neither were they. What's worked in the past doesn't fit any longer and so we will find a new way to explore and expand in the year ahead in a way that is a little more interactive and collaborative. This photograph conveys my sentiments - a passage through to the other side.
And yet there were these beauties which express all i could say and more about who these two are right now.
And here is the larger story - all the pages laid out in a way that tells their story this year.
unforgettable photographs
"photography is about appreciating parts of your life, and then documenting them. it's the process of stopping and saying ah...this is really special because this is only happening in this moment and this moment will be gone." ~ george lange
I happened to catch a segment "the unforgettable photograph" on the today show last week with a photographer talking bout his new book: the unforgettable photograph. And my mouth fell open as he began to talk about the importance of documenting moments, of capturing feelings and telling a story of how a moment feels rather than how you think it should look.
Let me say this again: here was an accomplished photographer telling a "today show" audience that it’s important to document life and how it feels; to tell your story and impression of life with photographs.
As this is the essence of why I photograph and the very core of what I offer, I sat with that for the better part of a day…actually for many days. Validation aside, i was deeply moved for my choice to stand by this vision even though it’s not always been easy or understood or in demand. i've been encouraged little by little to see more and more people interested in documentary and expressive work, choosing real life photographs over staged, retouched, photoshopped unrealistic save idealistic pictures.
I will continue to go rogue; to break free from ... to be shaped by the story of a moment...to be inspired by expressing how it feels and sharing that in a photograph.
Wells Blog
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