In other news I've joined the World Policy Institute as a Project Leader!



Some might think it odd that a photojournalist like myself has joined a think tank but I've always been interested in photography as a vehicle to drive discussion, not simply transmit information. If you missed it here's a link to an article I wrote and photographed for World Policy Journal about the asylum system in Austria

There is some good news today! I've been selected as a Knight Luce religion reporting fellow. From the release:

Damaso Reyes will investigate the growth of European Pentecostalism led by immigrants from former European colonies. Reporting from Spain, England and Ukraine, Reyes will examine how Charismatic faiths are growing while traditional European Christian religious observance continues to decline. Reyes is a photographer and writer whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and The Christian Science Monitor.


I am looking forward to expanding the story I've been working on and seeing where it takes me!

If you haven't gotten a chance to see what I've done on Pentecostals de Barcelona so far please visit this link!

Barcelona



It took me 1 year, 5 months and 10 days to return to Barcelona.

But I have returned.

"Haven't you been saying that for a while now?" Doubters would ask when I told them I was moving here. Timetables shifted, plans were delayed.

But I have returned.

It has been my experience that plans are just that and that reality has a funny way of getting in the way of even the best laid plans. But when I say I'm going to do something I do it. It might take longer than I imagine and be more difficult than I can conceive but I get it done.

So doubters, continue to doubt but look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself: "is this it? Is this what my life is about, how close I will ever come to my dream?"

The answer for me is always no.

The good folks at the St. Louis American did a piece about me and my work that you can check out here.



I also have four signed posters form my show to give away. Just send me an email with your postal address!

I hope that all of you can join me (at least in spirit) on Friday at the opening of my solo show at the May Gallery in St. Louis. It is work from the Europeans and it should be a fun evening!

Rochester, NY



I'm in Rochester for the next few days to talk about my work including The Europeans. I thought I would share a link, in case you haven't seen it already, of the article I wrote for World Policy Journal about the Austrian asylum system.

Even as you read this I am plotting my return to Europe, stay tuned!

Well I'm off for NYC once again. While my time here is done you will be seeing more images from Vienna over the coming weeks. In the meantime don't forget to visit my other blog at damaso.com/blog which I update every weekday. Until I see you again, take care!

Thanks to everyone who came out to my exhibition opening in Vienna last night!

The work for my upcoming show, Vienna From The Shadows, was featured this week on the official Leica Camera blog. Take a look if you have a chance...

If you are in Vienna stop by my exhibition which opens on November 2nd, 2010!

The Europeans is featured in the current issue of Europe & Me Magazine! If you want to learn more about my project and how I go about making pictures, this is a good read. Enjoy!

Vienna


Art opening. Vienna, September 2010

So I'm back in Wien! It's been a few weeks and I'm slowly getting back into the groove. I got a grant from the Ford Foundation to complete a project about asylum seekers here in Austria. As usual things are going slowly but that's why I will be here for three months. I'll keep you posted when something of interest pops up. In the meantime don't forget you can always visit me at www.damaso.com/blog as well.

I really am a post modern kind of guy! I was in Tallinn shooting away but also editing images that I shot in Barcelona last year. Now I am back in New York writing about it all. Cool don’t you think?


The strong arms of the law.

Well I have a few new galleries of images up and you should check out what you might find backstage at a burlesque show; what office life is like or just what you discover when you wander around Barcelona.


Look but don't touch.

Next up will be images from Vienna, which is my next stop! I will be there for about three months finishing up working on my project documenting the lives of asylum seekers. It should be riveting!

Tallinn

Greetings from sunny Estonia! For a little over a week I’ve been an artist in residence at the Polymer Culture Factory here in Tallinn and I will be here until the end of June. Housed in a old toy factory Polymer is the last word in post-industrial. The people are friendly and the international group of artists, as well as the Estonians, have been very warm.


Flowers via a pinhole digital camera.

This is my first time in the former Soviet Republics so I’m still gathering my impressions. As small as the country is the level of technological development is high (apparently this is where Skype was invented). I hope in the coming weeks to spend more time wandering the streets and working on a few documentary projects. Time will tell!