by Grryo Community | Jul 13, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
Like many Americans, both my mind and news feed have been filled with thoughts and images related to the events that occurred in Dallas this past Thursday. I was moved by photos I saw by
Richard Hill the following day, many which were titled “…before the peace broke”, because for the most part, what I had seen was only video footage of people running in terror. I asked Richard to answer a few questions and share his images here.
Why did you decide to attend the rally in Dallas?
I attended the rally because I think we’re in the middle of a big moment right now. I’m not sure if it is as big as what was going on in the Civil Rights Era but I haven’t seen anything like this in my adult years. Also, I wanted my son to be a part of something that means a great deal. It’s one thing to sit around the dinner table and talk about race and prejudice but it’s quite another to put feet to your words. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make that happen for both of us.
Tell me a bit about the atmosphere there when you arrived.
When we arrived I noticed very quickly that we were among a heterogeneous mix of America. Everybody was there: black folks and white folks and Asian folks, etc. I felt right at home. We never felt in danger even when the rhetoric got heated. People spoke their minds but no one that I could see felt offended. We all know that something is wrong. It’s hard, especially for white folks like me, to really feel what is happening. I don’t pretend to fathom what my black brothers and sisters are going through and have been going through. I just saw people that were hurting and I wanted to be close them. I would want the same thing if I were in their shoes.
What struck you most about the experience?
I realize that in many ways I’m outsider here. But I’m also a human being and a man and the differences that we may have are certainly eclipsed by what we have in common. Before the rally and march I thought it was optional for me to either be a part of this or stay home. After all, I have been going about my business for all these years and I have been just fine. Or so I thought. After the March was over and the shootings and particularly after I attended a black church the following Sunday, it has been easy to see how wrong I have been.
by Romina Mandrini | Jul 12, 2016 | Romina Mandrini, Stories, You Are Grryo
In Spirit and Truth: An Interview with Laura Valenti by Romina Mandrini
A couple of years ago I enrolled in a six-week online photography course that would impact me – both as a person and as an artist – in ways I never could have imagined. This workshop not only challenged a lot of the pre-conceived ideas I had about photography and art making, but was also the impetus behind a profound journey of self-discovery.
The course was Candela: Finding Inspiration Through Photography, and it was taught by Laura Valenti. Laura is a photographer, curator and educator from Portland, Oregon. She is also the Outreach Director for Photolucida, a non-profit organization that aims to build connections between photographers and the gallery and publishing worlds.
Recently, I had the pleasure of asking Laura a little more about herself, her work and her philosophy.
Image by Fritz Liedtke
As a child you lived in Asia. Tell us a bit about your cultural background and how you grew up.
I spent my first fifteen years in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. Because I had such a transient childhood, it took me a long time to develop a sense of place like many other people have. I didn’t have roots in any particular place. My family used to say, “Home is where the furniture is!” It wasn’t uncommon for us to wake up in the middle of the night and not remember what country we were in, or what the house around us looked like. Over time, I learned that I do have a sense of place – I just carry it with me wherever I go. This concept has made its way into my photographic work, actually. I often photograph scenes that express a sense of home, comfort, and belonging.
What attracted you to photography in particular, as opposed to other forms of art making?
I really don’t know what drew me to photography, though I’ve always had a penchant for artsy, crafty endeavours. My father had a darkroom in the basement, so I was lucky to see the magic of the process at an early age. I know I desperately wanted my parents’ camera when I was very small. I keenly remember my mother allowing me to use it one day when I was five years old, and I remember taking my very first picture. I took pictures when we were out and about in Seoul, I photographed friends at birthday parties, and I set up my stuffed animals in silly little tableaus. The camera shot square images and came equipped with exciting flashcubes. Today I still shoot square format, so you could say I’ve stayed true to my original vision.
You have a deep interest in the intersection of mindfulness and the creative practice, and your focus is very much on the process itself rather than the end product. What are some of the ways in which you apply mindfulness when you are photographing?
Mindfulness and the creative practice are interrelated in so many ways. It’s been said that mindfulness is about deepening the quality of our attention, and photography definitely does that. As a practice, photography can help us to be present. When we look around the world for interesting subjects, hone in on particular compositions, and thoughtfully set our cameras – that can all be an opportunity to slow down and practice mindfulness. Photography can be a meditation, in a way. So yes, process feels very important to me. I also like to use joy as a metric when photographing. Are your process, technique, and subject making you joyful? If so, you’re doing it right. A joyful, enriching process leads to stronger images.
How does your spiritual practice influence your work?
A lot of my images are an investigation of the idea of impermanence – a core Buddhist concept. When I recognize how fragile life is, it makes me appreciate it so much more. So, I make images to celebrate my body as it changes, to celebrate the beauty of changing light, to honor transient, transformative moments, and also to mark times when I feel particularly connected to my experience. I like images that are underpinned with depth of meaning like this.
Through my images, I’m also exploring how exquisitely beautiful, painful and joyous life can be – often all at the same time. Even awful experiences are occasions for insight and growth – and the creative process can be a cathartic way to come to terms with challenging life experiences.
One of the concepts that impacted me the most when I took your course was the idea that all photography is essentially an exploration of self. Was there a particular moment in your life when you distinctly realised this?
When I was nineteen I taught darkroom one summer to a group of “at-risk” teens through a great program called Youth In Focus. The kids photographed their home lives, and I remember seeing some pretty edgy pictures. But, the pictures were much more emotionally powerful than they would have been if they had photographed scenes they had no personal connection to.
When I curate exhibitions, I’m always most drawn to images that show the personality of the artist. I want to see artists really put themselves on the line to make their work. I want to see images that are vulnerable, open, emotional. When people make photographs that are deeply informed by their immediate life experience and emotions, they’re almost always stronger. That’s not to say that all photography should be explicitly autobiographical, but I do think images should reflect the passions and personality of each artist. Who you are matters.
Writers are often told to “write what you know”. It’s good advice for visual artists, too. We have backstage passes to our own lives, essentially. Of course, it can be scary to photograph from a place like this, but when photographers realize their photographs are less about the external world and more about their internal climate (and how they relate to the world), their work gets much more interesting.
A very good example of this, of course, is your series “The Family Home”, in which you pay homage to the house your father grew up in. Can you tell us a bit about this body of work and how it came about?
My grandfather died and his wife was preparing to sell the home. I went back, knowing it would be my last visit. It was a special place for me. I moved every couple years as a child, but visited that house almost every summer. So, it was a nostalgic, significant spot. I wanted to make images that honoured the place and my memories.
It was also a sad place, because the neighbourhood was a “cancer cluster”. Something was wrong that caused an inordinate number of people in the neighbourhood to get cancer. It affected my family too. I wanted the images to touch on the pain of loss as well as the beauty of nostalgia for home. I’m so glad I did the portfolio, since it’s my only tie now to those rich childhood memories.
As a juror and curator, you are constantly surrounded by other photographers’ images. Do you ever feel this gets in the way of your own ideas and style?
I really enjoy looking at a lot of work. It feels like a privilege to regularly be exposed to such a wide diversity of contemporary photography. It keeps me visually educated and inspired. Surprisingly, I don’t get visually overloaded, even when jurying a competition with 1000 entries. If anything, looking at a lot of work makes me feel like a stronger photographer. It gives me a better sense of what I like and don’t like, greater confidence in the direction of my work, and a fuller awareness of what is truly unique in the photo world (and what is overdone). When photographers are unaware of these things, it shows. Visual literacy is critical. Photography is like a language. We can express simple ideas with a basic grip on the syntax, and we can express more complex ideas (even poetry!) with a more fluent, nuanced understanding.
Finally, what makes a great photograph?
I care more about meaning and emotion in a photograph than about its technical perfection. I’m interested in images that really make me feel something. Technical mastery is important, of course, but if the image lacks emotional power, it just falls flat.
Most photography education focuses on the technical, and photographers are often taught that they need a lot of fancy gear and an exhaustive knowledge of post-processing programs in order to make images worth caring about. That’s just not true, and I think this prioritization of technique over vision does a disservice to photographers.
Photographers who just study technique for years and years often wind up feeling like they’ve missed some of the magic and beauty that sparked their interest in photography in the first place. Technical education can feel soulless after a point – but the arts are bursting with vibrancy and soul. So, I’m interested in opening up this conversation when I teach. I’m interested in talking to photographers about moving beyond the technical and doing the deeper work, investigating what it really means to be an artist. That’s the way to set the stage for great images.
You can find out more about Laura’s online courses and in-person retreats – as well as see more of her work – by visiting her website (www.valentiphotography.com). You can also find Laura on Fcebook and Instagram.
by Grryo Community | Jul 7, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
Everyday I have to take the subway to go to work. During the travel period (approximately one hour), I have the opportunity to watch people who spend their time on the underground. Thousands of people, many differences between them: workers, students, children, elderly, girls, guys, policemen, homeless… any of them with their own approach, style or attitude, passing their time on the subway.
Sometimes for only a few seconds, and sometimes even for several minutes, we are obliged to wait for the arrival of the metro that brings us to the destination. Some wait, sitting, or some continue to walk back and forth to the quay. There is the person who is completely absorbed in his own thoughts; someone who reads a book or listens to music. Someone while waiting, is smoking a cigarette (even if it is forbidden). I am always intrigued by the attitude of the people. I like to take their expressions or their motion or their poses while waiting, with my iPhone. Of course I always do this secretly… it would be too embarrassing to explain the reason even though, I believe, maybe I just need a smile to remove any angry expression from the people who have been captured.
Some of them… so beautiful! I do not deny, I am sensitive to feminine beauty… Every day I cross beautiful women on the subway. I am always at the right distance but I like to think that by taking their portrait, capturing their image and editing with my smartphone, they can become part of my little magic world of mobile photography. Blondes, redheads, brunettes, skinny, tall, buxom, cheerful, sad, sentimental, fascinating, bewitching, provocative, grumpy… whatever their style or attitude, they are all to be portrayed.
They also are huge readers… … my daily one-hour journey to get to work allows me to sit comfortably and read a lot. There are so many people doing the same as me. Reading the email from their smartphones; the online newspapers on their tablet, paper books, or e-books on their readers. Many of them seem completely absorbed; some casual, others seem to be having fun. But perhaps, it highlights the fact that we are all lonely and instead of chatting together we isolate ourselves in our readings.
Often people appear thoughtful
Sometimes they look evanescent
They are complicit
…but not always!
but they are in love too…
it’s a community
time to go out… see you soon on the subway!
You can find Fabio on Instagram as @sikander63
by Joe Montoya | Jun 30, 2016 | Joe Montoya, Stories, Storyteller
Last year, I went to my first Instameet and discovered an incredible experience that happens when creative people come together in one place. I drove an hour before sunrise to the #GoldenRiseMeet at Golden Valley Ranch in Santa Clarita, California. It was part of Instagram‘s World Wide Instameet which happens about twice a year. The #WWIM12 theme focused on meeting people and asked Instagram users to post a portrait of the person he/she met at the instameet. This was just one location of many Instameets that were happening in different parts around the world.
When I arrived in the parking lot, there were about 30 people already chatting in almost complete darkness. Once sunlight started to glow over the horizon, we trekked about a half-mile up the hills to take photos. These are some of the folks I met and their thoughts on this remarkable experience known as the instameet.
I met Attila. @popscure
This charismatic man did a phenomenal job of organizing and hosting the event. Just as he served coffee to the group he mixed the perfect blend of photography and community.
“When I joined Instagram I discovered that it wasn’t just about posting my pictures. I was part of this “safe” community. I realized that I could share my experiences with them. The Instameet allowed me to actually share my shooting locations with others and gather them to photograph together at sunrise #GoldenRiseMeet” ~Attila
I met Cheryl.
She was last in line on the hike up, giggling about her age and pace up the hill. I had a foot injury that kept me walking at the same pace. Cheryl didn’t hesitate to engage and share her life’s experiences through the lens as we walked up the hill.
“I don’t have an Instagram. I was invited by a co-worker to come. I got my first 35mm camera in 1978. Many times, I will do road trips alone and will drive as far as Montana. I also know of a not-so-well-known location in this part of California. Can I tell you a story about it?” ~Cheryl
I met Rafael. @2071photo
Rafael and his friends were fun to watch. These millennials made up most of the group, and brought a ton of equipment and creativity with them. The props, smoke bombs, and gear were impressive, but their energy and enthusiasm were more impressive.
“Instagram influenced me to shoot more and share more images with an audience I couldn’t imagine was possible before. When I’m not working as a photographer, I feel that Instagram is a fun way for me to still stay motivated to shoot in my free time. The #goldenrisemeet was actually my first Instameet. I thought I should meet more people who share the same interest of photography.” ~Rafael
I met Jose. @josecardoza
Jose is another creative force wrapped in “California chill” and a beard. It is always inspiring to see someone excelling with the craft he is passionate about. Turns out Jose wasn’t done that morning. He went to another instameet in another part of Los Angeles later in the day. “This is my second time at this Instameet, and I enjoy it. I’ve been shooting for 11 years. I grew up in and around L.A. and now work in the music industry.” ~Jose
I met a number of wonderful and interesting people this day that I didn’t get to interview. It was great to chat with John @jawntorres, Jonathan @mywitsend, Theresa @bluemoodz and Doris @dodovo who I featured on Instagram as a moderator for @wearegrryo. In fact, I stood next to Doris not knowing she was the actual person behind the Instagram name @dodovo. As an observer, I was amazed to experience what happens when creative people who are enthusiastic about the same craft come together.
You can also view my pictorial essay below via Steller.
by Grryo Community | Jun 21, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
I consider everything around me like cinema, novels or theatrical plays. Stories and scenes of life, trying to make sense in the world around me. Everyday poetry. My name is Efi Logginou. I am an actress.
I moved from Greece to Berlin over one year ago. I didn’t know the language nor the society. But I felt the need to come closer and to communicate. I always liked to photograph people, especially strangers, when they seem lost in their thoughts.
Germans have a very reserved attitude towards being photographed in public. Because of the colder climate, life unfolds more often inside coffee shops, stores, restaurants and bars; not outside on the streets. The light is more dim.
My photography changed. I started to take photos of people behind glass. Separated by glass, I could come closer to them and observe them at the same time. It is a transparent layer, like a screen, that is emitting a noise: the thoughts of the strangers.
Thoughts are painted on their faces. I don’t need spoken words to understand the expressions. The feelings are written there. Every day, I encounter these stories. Sometimes the moments are very brief, but to me, they can tell a whole life’s story.
A heart-broken young man; a woman contemplating; a lonely old man that might have lost his wife; a passenger daydreaming; a writer reflecting about his words.
The windows offer a setting to the narration of my photos. The reflections connect the silence of the thoughts with the vibrant life of the outside world. I only know from experience how to frame this kind of photo. I am not trained in photography.
Now, when I am travelling back to Greece, I realize that I continue to take photos of people behind the glass. Even though, in Greece, I could easily photograph strangers on the street, I am stuck on this topic. It has become something I enjoy every day; I am curious to see how people in my country appear in similar situations.
The sun is shining daily, the Greeks are definitely louder, and they don’t have as big an issue being photographed by strangers. I realized that street photography changes from country to country; because sunny countries often have street photographers that work with strong contrasts, colors and shadows. In more northern countries like Germany, the colors are more pale, and photographers tend to use black and white because it is easier to create a mood in low light situations.
Street photography is a challenge. Even more, with the changing light. When I frame one of the many scenes of everyday life, of the symphony of the metropolis, the photo can create a lightness of being. Like poetry. Everyday.
You can find me on Instagram as @efi_o or on Flickr
by Grryo Community | Jun 15, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
To live in Varamin, Iran, enveloped by immensely polluted air, is to literally live in the midst of furnaces of fire. The poor and unemployed from different cities come to Varamin to work under horrendous working conditions inside the furnaces to make bricks. There are more than 40 of these brick kilns in the city, and in the past two years those desperate for work have immigrated to Varamin with their families to work in the kilns. Half of the workforce in furnaces are children and adolescents. Sixty four percent of the children are Afghan refugees. Pollution is more severe in these areas, as the dozens of furnaces burn in the city simultaneously. Many of the adult workers complain that their children are suffering from exposure to the pollution created in the furnaces. Despite these problems, the people all work and continue to live there. The majority of these Afghan children have lost their parents to war; killed or maimed from missile strikes. These children work in the brick kilns 11 hours a day, and they have to transport the clay bricks as well. Their walk is a distance of 7 kilometers, and they carry their bricks under the scorching sun in rugged terrain. These children rely on bread, potatoes and peas to sustain themselves to complete the extremely strenuous workload they endure day after day. These are the children of Varamin.
You can find Soheil on Instagram
by Grryo Community | Jun 12, 2016 | Stories
Russia has a special aesthetic, one which is uncommon, and I try to keep at least one element of this aesthetic in each of my works. My view of things is fragmentary; it’s that way with everything… from the ideas to the material, and so I have a lot of pictures that highlight just one fragment. It can be anything: a fragment of a person, or a house or a plant… even one piece of the whole; it generally interacts with another piece, and so this is the story already.
The story is not told in the sense of cause and effect, but rather in a metaphysical sense. I have always been attracted to street photography, because only the circumstances and events create the composition, and you just watch and collect fragments of these “stories” in the form of photographs. I don’t have a strict rule to shoot only using iPhone; it’s just that it’s always at hand and I have no prejudice against photos with poor quality if I’m fascinated with what has been captured. Most of my photos are the photos taken in Moscow, in the most ordinary places.
I love to walk (and this walk can reach 6 hours in a day). A walk cleans and refreshes the mind; in this state it is easy to pay attention to those little things that are not usually seen. Generally, the photography takes up most of my time even though it’s not my profession. I’m a make-up artist, which I think promotes the expansion of the sense of color and texture. However, the sense of composition: when you find out what surrounds you, and in those few seconds when you take a shot… those few seconds are very precise seconds for me, and that time is so alive! To shape that sense is what inspires me, and it could be from literature, painting (Rothko, Magritte, Manet) and the work of photographers (Bresson and Kertesz). I’m sure everyone has a favorite artist or a photographer that gives them something useful for sure, besides aesthetic pleasure.
While my work can be found only on Instagram, this space is enough for me at the moment. In the end, all I want to say is that communication with a camera becomes a sort of act of philosophizing, and this in turn makes our lives more full.
Find Victoria on Instagram
In Russian :
Привет,меня зовут Виктория и я из России! Россия имеет особую эстетику,которую не везде встретишь и я каждый раз пытаюсь уловить ,хотя бы , один элемент этой эстетики в своих работах. Моё видение вещей очень фрагментарно..так абсолютно всем,от идеи до материального ,поэтому у меня много фотографий которые выделяют какой-то один фрагмент. Это может быть все что угодно: фрагмент человека ,дома или растения..даже одна маленькая часть чего-то,как правило ,взаимодействует с другой частью ,а это уже история. История не в смысле причины и следствия ,а в более метафизическом смысле.
Меня всегда привлекала уличная фотография, потому что только обстоятельства и случай создают композицию ,а ты всего лишь наблюдаешь за этим и коллекционируешь эти истории посредствам фотографий. У меня нет принципиальной позиции снимать исключительно на IPhone, просто он всегда под рукой и у меня также нет предвзятого отношения к фотографиям с плохим качеством, если меня увлекает то, что там изображено..
большая часть моих фотографий сделаны в Москве в самых обычных местах. Я очень люблю прогуливаться пешком ( эта прогулка может достигать до 6 часов в день) Прогулка..она очищает и освежает мысли и в таком состоянии легко обратить внимание на те вещи ,которые обычно едва заметны. Вообще,говоря о себе ,скажу что фотография занимает большую часть мой жизни ,хотя это не моя профессия. Я гример( визажист) и скорее всего моя работа также расширяет моё чувство текстуры и цвета, а вот чувство композиции( то когда вы видите ,что вас окружает и за пару секунд понимаете – “вот это оно”) формировать мне помогают просто книги, картины( Ротко,Магритт, Мане) и просто работы фотографов( из любимых : Брессон и Кертеш).. Наверняка у каждого есть любимый художник или фотограф и он обязательно вам даст что-то полезное , помимо эстетического удовольствия.
Пока мои работы можно найти только в инстаграм, этого пространства мне достаточно на данный момент.. И напоследок я хочу сказать ,что коммуникация тебя и камеры становится, своего рода, актом философствования, а это в свою очередь делает наши жизни более наполненными..
by Grryo Community | Jun 9, 2016 | Stories
HTC10.
Looking at the stills I shot for the new HTC10, I realized that there was a lot of detail in the camera and wondered how that would translate to video, so I set out to challenge the camera in a multitude of places around the country.
The project started to grow and the images started to feel very personal. As a relatively quiet person there was just something about them that felt very private. They said just a little too much about me. As I started to string the images together, I realized, they started to tell the story of all the capabilities the HTC 10 has. Cloud based, music, speed, power and a sense of calm.
Taking the daring step, I realized the very personal route was the way to go, even if it’s a little scary. I asked my daughter to talk about the video. What she thinks is beautiful, what is nature to her, what she thinks about the world and how she feels about the phone. Every word is hers, I didn’t write any of it, but realized that I’ve thought the same things in my life.
Enjoy. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.
by L. Bird | Jun 8, 2016 | Ladybird, Stories, Storyteller, You Are Grryo
‘April In Paris’ is the first series of the project ‘f r a g m e n t s o f a w o m a n ‘ s l i f e’ . Each series is the story of a real and ordinary moment, lived by a woman and documented by ten diptychs with a short story inspired by them. This storytelling project melds photography and literature, explores their own borders, flirts with reality and imagination without trying to find a reasonable balance between them.
In Paris, on a Saturday, a woman is preparing herself to meet a man. She’s known him for a while, although they have only been polite acquaintances, not even friends. With time, his relationship to her, and not knowing what he really feels for her, comes to her mind more often than she would like. She has tried to fight against this strange phenomenon, this increasing sensation it reveals, but there is nothing she can do but let it take the place it reclaims… This afternoon, she’s experiencing the thrill of this coming moment, fed by her suspended hopes that something will happen. In just a few hours they will meet; this event is appearing to be a date.
The light by the end of this afternoon is sweet and tenuous. In front of the window, facing Paris, her thoughts are about nothing and anything. Music is on, but she can barely hear it.
Things she’s left out are like tracks of her day. Shoes and socks abandoned since she came out in the morning, clothes on her undone bed, are tiny signs of her mood.
For an instant, she looked into her own eyes searching for answers to the next hours. She would better…
Sitting down in her bath, she’s cleaning her skin, from her neck to her feet, with delicate movements… The music is coming from the living room and she lets her thoughts follow its rhythm now…
What time can it be?
Back in her bedroom, the waltz of clothing starts. A blouse, a t-shirt, This one would be better?! if ‘better’ can be possible in that matter… If she’s worried, it’s nothing but excitement.
While she’s painting her lips, she tries to figure out this very first moment. Would she know his thoughts at first sight? Shoes on, she smiles at the mirror, as if it were him, to visualize how she would look smiling at something he would say. But it only took her a second to laugh at herself.
Time… She’s not late, but the elevator took so long to come to her floor. She doesn’t think about anything, anymore.
Now, she’s just on his way;
L. Bird is an independent photographer and film maker based in Paris [France]. Her work is all about storytelling, whatever it concerns [whether photography, series or short-movies]. Her work’s aesthetic is mainly inspired by street and documentary photography, but in such manner as that it always turns her images into contemporary tales…
Instagram: @ladybird.notes
Vimeo: Lady Bird
by Grryo Community | Jun 4, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
When I first arrived in Peru, in 1979, photography had somehow already shaped my impression of the place. Before leaving London I had been to an exhibition of the work of Martin Chambi, the brilliant photographer from Cusco whose work from the 1920s and 30s seemed not so distant from what I was now observing …
Shadows, 1979.
The above image is about the permanence and timelessness of the indigenous presence in Cusco – that echo of a pre-colonial past which still pervades the old Inca capital.
International Bank of Peru, 1979.
For a time I had a sense of time moving more slowly than I was used to – of a world from long ago that seemed cut off from the speediness of my reality – and I set about documenting it through my photographs. ‘The New Incas’, published in 1983, was the book that resulted (and which I’m currently working on the revised edition of).
But it was the photographers who really seemed most emblematic of this. And so, in the ancient Inca capital, I began to document the world of the photographers of Cusco…
Inside the darkroom, 1979.
Shown above is a street photographer of the old school in Cusco, plying his trade in the Plaza de Armas. Having taken a portrait, here we see him actually developing the negative, which he will then re-photograph to make the final print (using the wooden slats in front of the lens to change the whole apparatus into a copy camera). The small flap on the side allows light into the “darkroom” – it’s an early form of instant photography.
Kodacolor in Cusco, 1983.
Most of the photographers in Cusco made their living doing black and white studio portraits, but they would subsidize this by selling film to the tourists. It produced some unlikely juxtapositions, as seen above.
The Chambi studio in Cusco, 1983.
The towering figure of Peruvian photography is Martin Chambi (1891-1973). Here are three generations of Chambi family, all of them photographers. Standing on the left and looking around the backdrop (in the manner of an assistant in one of Chambi’s portraits) is Teo Allain Chambi – Martin’s grandson. In the middle is Martin’s devoted daughter Julia, and on the right is her older brother, Victor. The massive glass plate camera on the table belonged to the great Martin Chambi himself.
A couple of years later I made “Martin Chambi and the Heirs of the Incas” for the BBC – sadly by that time Victor Chambi had already died, but Julia appears.
Julia Chambi, 1981.
Julia was Chambi’s middle daughter and she worked in his studio from when she was a child. After her father’s death in 1973, she took over the studio and devoted the rest of her life to looking after Chambi’s amazing photographic legacy.
Cesar Meza, Photographer, 1985.
I met him while doing research for the film about Martin Chambi (“Martin Chambi and the Heirs of the Incas”, BBC 1986). Meza had been an assistant of Chambi’s in the 1930s and later had set up his own studio in Cusco. Note the enormous 10×8 glass plate camera that he was still using. (He does a very engaging cameo performance in the film!)
Cecilia, 1981.
The street sign belonged to Cesar Meza (see my portrait of Meza, above), and Cecilia, who had grown up in Cusco, was my wife.
Eventually I managed to pull all these ideas together by persuading the BBC to finance a film about Chambi, who was at that time relatively little known.
Poster for “Martin Chambi and the Heirs of the Incas”, 1986.
The film in fact proved to be the beginning of something new for me – making movies.
Paul Yule is @paul_yule on Instagram. More about him at www.paulyule.com
by Grryo Community | May 29, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
I love windows – the openings in walls that invite the light in. I think that perhaps light is God’s way of asking us to notice.
Looking back at the long stretch of years my photographs span, I find many images of windows…
a long wall of visual time punctuated by windows. Some let in light, some shut it out, some reflect; windows as picture frames, frames within frames.
It’s never been about the view…..or the curtains, or the cat. It’s always been about the light.
I am delighted by light.
It’s said one picture is worth 1000 words. When I was working from contact sheets of my black and white negatives in the time I now refer to as “long ago”, I was thrilled to find one image worth printing, worth 1000 words, out of every 36.
The rest just said blah blah blah blah blah. It was a bit like panning for gold – or silver, in the case of film photography – the finding one or two precious nuggets amid the waste was cause for elation.
I wish that I could throw a basket of words up into sky and have them fall back down rearranged by Emily Dickinson…..Robinson Jeffers…..Dr. Seuss…..
“ I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me.” – Temple Grandin
My pictures are my poems; my poetic license.
Caren Sturmer is @exphotographer on instagram
by Grryo Community | May 28, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
The first contact with our artistic side I would guess occurs at an early age, through the knowledge of colors and shapes. In my case, I met arts by obsessive stages. In my childhood I used to draw, as a teenager I played music, and now in my adulthood I have taken more interest in photography. In the end each thing has inspired the others.
I believe that within each of us inhabit concerns waiting to be discovered, even in solitude, in every painting you draw, in every song you play, in every photo you take, You Are Not Alone.
I Have Traveled The World
I decided to live in Guadalajara, Mexico. A city that I consider geographically privileged, naturally beautiful, rich in history and art. Its proximity to beaches and other historical destinations help my purpose.
For work and pleasure I’ve been fortunate to know places and people; I inherited my grandfather’s ability to make friends and my greatest treasures are the stories that have inspired each photo.
With all the aforementioned elements as scenarios, I have managed to give life to the stories and characters. I appreciate the opportunity to share them with you.
Guardian Angel
Place: Tlaquepaque, Mexico
{Inspired by a short story written by Enrique Anderson Imbert “Tabù“}
The guardian angel whispered to Fabian over his shoulder.
–Fabian be careful!, it is your destiny to die as soon as you say the word zangolotino.
–Zangolotino? Asked Fabian
He dies.
Alien Turned Human.
Place: Mazatlan, Mexico
The extraterrestrial intelligent life forms have decided to send explorers to the Earth, they have thought of everything, the fragile and innocent body of a child never arouses suspicion. At least it’s what Dario thought while he was playing in his mind near the beach at sunset in Mazatlan, Mexico.
A Cowboy In The City
Place: Downtown Guadalajara, Mexico
I had never seen a cowboy without a horse, but that afternoon walking around downtown I witnessed it.
-Where is your horse, cowboy? I asked him.
After a deep silence he told me.
-It’s sick, and I came to here to get medicine...
-I’m sorry to hear that, what will you do when it recovers? I asked again.
-I will jump on my horse and ride, because a cowboy’s work is never done, He said.
Red Wall
Place: Municipal Market Tlaquepaque, Mexico
Her mother told Emma:
–Life is like a path with a red wall, one day you will be a woman, you will get a job, and you will find a man, then you will fall in love and have kids.
–You know, I don’t really like the colors, She said.
Land Of Freedom
Place: Mazatlan, Mexico
When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he answered without hesitation.
–Free as a bird.
She Doesn’t Remember Me
Place: Leon, Guanajuato. Mexico
You taught me to think beyond the mind, but memory escaped yours.
–Goodbye Grandma, every evening we go back to being friends.
Time to go.
Place: Guadalajara, Mexico
That sunny Saturday afternoon while I was walking, I heard the boss asked to his employee.
-Did you clean the tools?
-Yes
-Did you check the locks?
-Yes, sure.
-Did you park the truck?
-Yes, of course.
-Can we go to check?
-Sorry Sir but it’s time to go…
Family
Place: Leon, Guanajuato. Mexico
That April morning when the sun came up, we discovered that our family was larger than we thought.
Under The Wings
Place: Mazatlan, Mexico
–How it feels to fly? I asked to the wind.
–Close your eyes and three, two, one…open them, He said.
From Another Point Of View.
Place: Zapopan, Jalisco. Mexico
Whenever friends asked Luis for advice, he always said:
-Let me see from another point of view
I’m Leaving The City.
Place: Downtown Leon, Mexico
–I’m leaving the city, nobody needs me, The old man said, grabbing his bike.
–I need you, The kid said.
–Whistle if you need me, The old man said.
–If I would have to whistle every time I need you, I would be the wind, dad, The kid said.
About vondav:
My name is Daniel, I’m from Mexico City but I’m based at Guadalajara. I earned a degree on Industrial Engineering and I’ve worked as a logistics manager for multinational companies.
You can find me on Instagram as @vondav
