Stuttgart

Once again I have been spending quite a bit of time editing. A lot of you must wonder what it is all about. Well ten or twenty years ago it was all about hanging out in the darkroom and making a lot of small test prints. Today it is all about hanging out in front of the computer and looking at images in Photoshop. Hundreds of images as a matter of fact. Taking a photograph isn’t just about one single moment; it is about a series of moments. I rarely take a single image of something and then move on. I will take many variations, trying different compositions.

What you see when you are taking a photograph isn’t always what you want. Often you don’t consciously know exactly what you want out of an image. Sometimes you don’t see everything there is in the frame. So shooting three or four or five images is a way of figuring out what you want. Photojournalists are not painters; we don’t have the luxury of moving our subjects around or changing the lighting. I have to work with what I am supplied. So I try different ways of framing; I move myself around and hopefully at the end of it all there is something worthwhile. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about…



This image is okay. You get the point. There is clearly some kind of transaction going on. When I put the caption “Asylum seeker checks his mail at a NGO center” you have a clear idea of what the image is trying to communicate.



This image is a little more abstract. You see a hand, not the person; you see an ID card but not much else. This is more “artistic” but it is still pretty simplistic. One of the hardest things I have to do is to try to make the ordinary interesting. As a newspaper photographer editors always want you to make the image as clear as possible. This image is less direct but still pretty simple.



This image is getting there. It is a bit more abstract. Now the focus is on this piece of paper which in this context is very ironic. Maybe too much so. We can still tell there are people waiting for something. I actually like it a lot but it isn’t quite there.



For me this one is the keeper. There are multiple points of focus. The image is very layered, something I consider part of my style. You can also interpret it many different ways. What is the hand in the lower right trying to express? Look how the line of the desk is broken by the hands of the people waiting. This is what I like.

I try to make images that are as complex as the world that I photograph. At the same time I am trying to encapsulate what I am experiencing during the hours or days that I am shooting in a single moment. Tough job, huh?



Normally this is the image I would select. We have eye contact with the subject. But I don’t quite like the way the lines are working and I also feel like it is too direct. You look and say “oh, poor little boy.” Too easy.



Now this photo has some mystery. What is he looking at; who is he? More importantly there are more symbols here. There is the wall that he can barely see over. There is the window that allows him to look but prevents him from coming inside. This image also allows us to focus on the poster on the window which advertises one of the few jobs asylum seekers can have. Too bad there hasn’t been any snow this winter. When I was shooting this I thought that the first image would be the stronger one. Now I see that it is the second one.



I found this at a flea market in Vienna. Cool photo, very symbolic. It seems like J.F.K. is still with us. But I find this take a bit too direct. The background doesn’t really add much to it.



A bit better. I like the woman but you can’t see Kennedy any more!



Getting there, but again I feel like it is too direct.



Now we have it! Just enough of the photo is cut off to make it seem like he is rising out of the bottom of the frame. I also like the man walking toward us in the background and the tree in the middle.

As you can see editing is a very subjective process. But it is also an important part of the artistic process. You can tell more about me as a photographer by how I edit my images. How hope this gives you a better understanding of what I do and how I do it. Which photos would you have selected? I look forward to hearing your thoughts…

Stuttgart

Well you will be happy to know that I finally finished scanning yesterday! Next week I will get to work editing and uploading the images from my stay in Vienna. From what little I’ve seen I am pretty happy with the results. Of course there is still more film to process, scan and edit but far less than what I have already done. The more I do this the more I recognize the need for an assistant. Of course that requires money, unless you know someone who is really good and wants to work for free. In any event, here is your HCB Quote of the Week and a photo from Vienna…


Mirror image. © Damaso Reyes


This recognition, in real life, of a rhythm of surfaces, lines, and values is for me the essence of photography; composition should be a constant of preoccupation, being a simultaneous coalition – an organic coordination of visual elements. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Stuttgart

So as I sit here, scanning my negatives into the computer so that someday soon you can see what I’ve been doing, fat, fluffy snowflakes are falling outside my window, transforming the landscape into a monochrome world of precipitation. I know it seems like I complain about the weather a lot but I was expecting the first buds of spring, not the last gasps of winter. Ah well, at least the white is covering the brown which fills the forest. It also gives me a good excuse to stay inside and work through the dozens of negatives that I have produced over the past two months. Early reports look good, stay tuned!


The view from my window. © Damaso Reyes

Stuttgart

Well it does feel good to be back. I spent the afternoon at the sauna and feel much better after my long train ride from Vienna. Of course as I left Vienna the clouds rolled in and the rain began. As the sun dawned I thought to myself “Ah, I really am back in Germany!”

In all seriousness it is good to be back here at Solitude. I have gotten to see a few of the old fellows that know as well as the staff. I am looking forward to doing a great deal of editing as well as some shooting. Back in America Tuesday is a big day for politics as Texas and Ohio vote for the democratic nominee for President. In the meantime here is your HCB Quote of the Week!


Asylum seekers for Obama. © Damaso Reyes

Avoid making a commotion, just as you wouldn’t stir up the water before fishing. Don’t use a flash out of respect for the natural lighting, even when there isn’t any. If these rules aren’t followed, the photographer becomes unbearably obtrusive. - Henri Cartier-Bresson American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76

Vienna

It is my last day here in Wien and I am already missing it! Well I still have a few more hours but the weather has been spectacular during the past week and I have really been very productive, so much so that I still have to do some packing. But don’t worry, I will get it all done in time. I really hope I have a chance to come back soon to continue the work I started here. Time, as always, will tell.

In the meantime here are some images of asylum seeker, teacher and university graduate Alisa and her three daughters. She came here almost ten years ago from Chechnya and has been trying to make a life for herself, against all odds, ever since.

“I wish that just once I could feel like a human being.”


A strong woman.© Damaso Reyes


Still happy. © Damaso Reyes


A hidden truth. © Damaso Reyes


Edges. © Damaso Reyes


Living history. © Damaso Reyes

Vienna

My time here in Vienna is growing short. I have to say that I have really enjoyed myself since I arrived here on the first of January. I have shot well over forty rolls and am not done yet!


Smiling through the hard times. © Damaso Reyes

You know it’s funny but so far this year I have gotten a number of rejections from various grants and fellowships that I have applied for. At the same time I feel like I have been doing some of my best work over the past two weeks while I have been photographing asylum seekers here in Vienna. Of course I wish I had more time here but I have made a good start and I hope I can find a way of returning at some point later in the year. While I still have a few days left here in Wien my focus is slowly starting to shift back towards Stuttgart where I will be for March. I hope to catch up on some of what I didn’t get to shoot last year but at the same time I will use the time there as an opportunity to meditate a bit on what I have been doing as well as edit what I have shot so far. Without further ado, here are some portraits and your HCB Quote of the Week!


Hope. © Damaso Reyes

As time passes by and you look at portraits, the people come back to you like a silent echo. A photograph is a vestige of a face, a face in transit. Photography has something to do with death. It's a trace. - Henri Cartier-Bresson


Self portrait. © Damaso Reyes


Mass media. © Damaso Reyes


I want my MTV. © Damaso Reyes

Vienna

Well it’s official, Kosovo finally declared independence from Serbia yesterday. It had been a long time coming and is not without controversy but the die has been cast and the people of Kosovo, who are 95% ethnic Albanians, have chosen to move forward after nine years of U.N. supervision.


Pristina, Kosovo 2005. © Damaso Reyes

When I traveled to Kosovo in 2005 the people there were very much in favor of independence and hated the limbo that came with the United Nations. The people I spoke with very much wanted to have a future in which they controlled their own destiny and they felt that could not happen until Kosovo was a sovereign nation. The question now is who will recognize their independence and what will Serbia and Russia do? I hope to get back to Kosovo at some point this year or next because for me the story is just beginning…

Vienna

Working on this story about asylum seekers is really kicking my butt. Sometimes as a photojournalist you feel helpless because you cannot actively help people the way a doctor can. You just have to sit back and document their struggles without being able to do anything about it. Now of course I hope that my images can help in the greater sense of being able to change the way that people see the world but when you see individuals, one of which you could easily be but for an accident of birth and timing, it is hard to keep the distance you need to do the work that must be done. Knowing that the world is unjust on an intellectual level is much different than confronting that injustice on a daily basis. To say the least it makes me uncomfortable, which is only fair since that is the feeling I hope to impart to my viewers.


Found in an asylum seekers center. © Damaso Reyes

In photography, the smallest thing can become a big subject; an insignificant human detail can become a leitmotiv. We see and we make seen as a witness to the world around us; the event, in its natural activity, generates an organic rhythm of forms. - Henri Cartier-Bresson "American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76

Vienna

So every day this week I’ve been taking the train to the Ute Bock Center. It is a place where people seeking asylum can come for counseling, legal advice and even housing. The small staff there does wonders with the few resources they have available and they have opened their doors and allowed me to photograph at the center.


Everyone is a foreigner somewhere...

The first day I have to say I was pretty overwhelmed. Many of the asylum seekers come to the center because they are having a problem which can range from an upcoming legal procedure to being threatened with arrest or deportation. They often have to wait for hours before they can see someone and the sense of frustration with the asylum system is palpable.


Waiting...

I haven’t made too many photographs yet, much of the past few days has been about observing and getting comfortable but the more time I spend there the more I see and begin to understand. For the next two weeks I will probably work on this project exclusively, I hope I can do justice to the stories I encounter.


Karin, a staff member. © Damaso Reyes


Frau Bock herself. © Damaso Reyes


Looking for answers... © Damaso Reyes


Waiting for mail. © Damaso Reyes


Thinking. © Damaso Reyes

Zürich

Yep, I’m in Zurich for the weekend for a meeting and a little downtime with my friend Philippe. I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve been in the darkroom every day this week processing film. 48 rolls down, less than 20 to go! Of course I still have to scan and edit all that. Plus next week I think I will finally get to start working on the immigration theme of my project, something that may very well take up the rest of my time in Vienna.

While I was in NYC back in December I got to shoot some of the new Tmax 400 film from Kodak. Here’s a snap of my hometown to go with your HCB Quote of the Week!

In photojournalistic reporting, inevitably, you’re an outsider. - Henri Cartier-Bresson
"American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76


23rd street looking north. © Damaso Reyes

Vienna

Another week, another ball! I know, it’s tough going from one formal ball to another but hey, I made a commitment to document the changing face of Europe! On Thursday I went to the TU Ball, which was conveniently located about five minutes from my door. It was a little more traditional than the Regenbogen Ball (I even had to buy a bow tie) but it was still fun. The Fulbright Commission got a table and we all went to a fun evening of dancing and music. The ball was held at the Hofburg, and it was lavish to say the least.


The name is Reyes, Damaso Reyes

Often while working on this project I feel like an anthropologist but instead of hacking through the jungles of New Guinea I get to don a jacket and tie and hunt the elusive Wiener. It is fun getting a chance to visit these other worlds. I suppose that is what I like most about the camera: it acts as a passport allowing me to enter places and see things that I would otherwise not be able to. With that, here is you HCB Quote of the Week and some photos. Enjoy!

One has to tiptoe lightly and steal up to one's quarry; you don't swish the water when you are fishing. - Henri Cartier-Bresson


Everybody dance now. © Damaso Reyes


One step forward... © Damaso Reyes


On the sunny side of the street. © Damaso Reyes


Folk music. © Damaso Reyes


Dancing cheek to cheek. © Damaso Reyes


Eye contact. © Damaso Reyes

Vienna

Well I have indeed been a busy little bee! In addition to shooting again at the Vienna City Council it is ball season here in Austria. So I have been doing my waltzing lessons and trying to find some dress clothes. Today I attended my very first ball which was the Regenbogen Ball (Rainbow Ball) which is the largest gay and lesbian ball here in Vienna.


Absolutely Fabulous! © Damaso Reyes

Well my goal was to show how diverse this city is and I feel like I have made a good start. The evening was full of elegant men and women of all orientations dancing and celebrating life. While I am not overwhelmed by the results of my digital photographs I have much higher hopes for the black and white. In all honesty I haven’t been shooting much digitally (just for you and I hope you appreciate it!) because well I don’t have to. Sometimes I just take my two Leicas out when I shoot but I thought you might enjoy a quick snapshot of the night. So after your HCB Quote of the Week enjoy some more photographs of Viennese politics and my first ball!

The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box. - Henri Cartier-Bresson , Photography Year 1980, LIFE Library of Photography , Page: 22


Private Discussions. © Damaso Reyes


Dancing Cheek to Cheek


Working in the Shadows. © Damaso Reyes


Swirls. © Damaso Reyes


Stand and Deliver.


Grand Entrance. © Damaso Reyes


As I was Saying... © Damaso Reyes


Whispers. © Damaso Reyes


A Little Light Reading. © Damaso Reyes


Applause. © Damaso Reyes

Vienna


Politics Time! © Damaso Reyes


In the Halls... © Damaso Reyes

I spent the morning taking photographs at the Vienna City Council (special thanks to Green Party member Marco Schreuder for arranging the visit). Housed in a beautiful 19th century gothic building the City Hall is the nicest municipal building I have been in. The city council, which also serves as the state parliament since Vienna is a city and state, is also remarkably open. Unlike other parliaments or city halls, including New York’s, I didn’t have to be searched nor put my bag through an x-ray machine. It was only when I was actually photographing in the chamber itself did the occasional inquisitive public servant ask to see my credentials.


Overwatch. © Damaso Reyes


In the Shadows. © Damaso Reyes

As usual people were surprised to hear that I was from New York and found it strange that anyone from there would be interested in the Vienna City Council. It’s funny but almost no matter where I go in Europe, or for that matter the world, people are surprised that I would leave New York to come and photograph wherever I happen to be. I guess it must be the effect of all those movies and television shows that are shot in New York (Vienna has The Third Man but can you think of any other famous movies shot here?) which have made the city seem like the place to be. Granted I love New York but there is a big world out there and all of it is interesting it its own way.


Waiting His Turn. © Damaso Reyes


The Conversation. © Damaso Reyes

The only problem I had this morning was that since the council president was a bit of a stickler for protocol I was only allowed to shoot for a half hour during the question hour. As you know I hate working under pressure but all of those years of shooting press conferences and on deadline have at least come in handy. I wandered around the room, photographing the representatives as well as their aides and those supplicants who vie for a moment of their time.


Behind the Scenes. © Damaso Reyes

The more time I spend photographing in the halls of government the more that I realize that the real governing doesn’t happen during the question time or the vigorous back and forth debates that are shown on television or quoted in the newspapers. They happen off to the side, out of the view of the cameras (except for mine!) and the reporters. This is a little bit of what I want to show. Some would say that this is the problem with much of modern government. The U.K.’s parliament is expected to ratify the Lisbon treaty and the fact that the public will likely not get a chance to vote on what will more or less become the E.U. Constitution has sparked a great deal of outrage in that country.

Tomorrow I will return and I hope to spend most of the day photographing various members as they go about their day and give you a little bit of an impression of what political life here is like. Stay tuned…

Vienna

Once again I am celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day abroad. I suppose that the day takes on an added significance for me here in Europe because were it not for King’s dream and the hard work he and millions of other put into realizing it I would not have accomplished what I have modestly been able to do. Here in Europe millions of immigrants are also struggling every day to gain recognition, equality and acceptance and I hope that my project can play a role in that struggle.

If you haven’t heard the famous I Have a Dream speech I suggest you watch it in its entirety. It is the best speech ever given in the English language. Take some time out to read it as well. Note the metaphors he uses and the powerful imagery his words convey. They are every bit as powerful today as the day they were spoken and just as meaningful.




But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Vienna

So how is everyone doing this weekend? Here in Vienna it looks to be warming up so you know that means lots of street shooting for me! In other news I may have even found a darkroom so keep your fingers crossed. I am setting up some shoots for next week which will hopefully include the Vienna City Council. As usual things tend to come together after a few weeks on the ground which is why it is so important to take your time (and have the time to take) when you are in a new environment. Well enough about me, tell me about your adventures and while you do here is your HCB Quote of the Week!


Everybody loves the sunshine. © Damaso Reyes

You are asking me what makes a good picture. For me, it is the harmony between subject and form that leads each one of those elements to its maximum of expression and vigor. - Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Best of Popular Photography by Harvey V. Fondiller Page: 272