Thursday, October 2, 2008, 15:03 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Continuing on our immigration theme from yesterday comes an interesting article from Der Spiegel online about a hunger strike being led by a group of asylum seekers and immigrants in Belgium.“Debkota and seven other people on hunger strikes are being cared for at the Latin America House in Brussels. They come from Nepal, the Ivory Coast, Congo, Guinea, Brazil and Iran. The hunger strikes are being conducted by illegal immigrants or asylum seekers whose applications for residency permits to stay in Belgium are pending or have been rejected. In recent years, hunger strikes and other protests have become a common way for illegal immigrants to try to stay in the country,” Petra de Koning writes.
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A future hunger striker? Vienna 2008 © Damaso Reyes
It’s interesting that such extreme actions must be taken by those seeking a better life. In contrast a recent article in the New York Times talks about how underserved communities in New York are actively seeking foreign doctors and sponsoring their visas. Given the demographic issues facing Europe you would think that more countries would start long needed reforms but as we saw yesterday in Austria the far right can still use immigration and the fear of it as a vote generating machine.
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Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 12:48 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
For all of those who missed them while you were gone today marks the return of the Photo of the Day. As you might recall the goal of this daily posting is to both introduce, or reintroduce, you to my images as well as keep you up to date on the latest news from Europe. I hope that my work is not just about documenting history but capturing moments that are relevant to our lives today.;)
A protest vote. Vienna 2008 © Damaso Reyes
It was no surprise that Austria’s far right Freedom party gained in the recent election this weekend but commentators were shocked at the nearly one third of votes they managed to pull. To say that the party is xenophobic would be charitable. As we read in this article in The Guardian they have long used anti-immigrant sentiment to pull votes, especially in the country’s rural districts.
Austria, like many other European nations, is going to have to come to terms with their need for immigrant labor and how this will change their culture and society. Just because an ostrich sticks its head in the sand doesn’t mean that nothing is happing above ground…
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:52 - Travel, Commentary
BrooklynIt feels good to be home again. I spent a good part of yesterday walking around, meeting friends and running errands and it was just another reminder of the powerful link I have to this great city. It will always be my home, of that there can be no question.
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Leaving… © Damaso Reyes
But I also had an opportunity to reflect I bit on the past month. While I don’t feel like I captured any great narrative stories I do feel like I got many individual images that will serve as a window to that place and time that I inhabited. The more time I spend in France the more and more I like it. The French have a relaxed but passionate sensibility that I can very much relate to. I look forward to exploring the country more in the coming years.
But for now I am back but don’t think that I am not planning my return!
Saturday, September 27, 2008, 14:15 - Travel, Commentary
ParisI am here in Paris getting ready to head out on a flight towards New York. It has been a great month here and I hope you have enjoyed the images. See you on the other side!
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Cheers! © Damaso Reyes
In photography, visual organization can stem only from a developed instinct. - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Thursday, September 25, 2008, 12:07 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreYesterday I traveled to the Cote Sauvage or Savage Coast here in Brittany. The place lived up to its name with dramatic vistas of wave battered coastline. It really was amazing to stand at the very end of France and look over the distant horizon towards America, where I will be heading back on Saturday. It was a great trip to end my travels here in France and here are a few images!
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You are here! © Damaso Reyes
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Crash, bang! © Damaso Reyes
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The Channel. © Damaso Reyes
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Rocks and waves. © Damaso Reyes
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Turbulence. © Damaso Reyes
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Thinking. © Damaso Reyes
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The castle in the distance. © Damaso Reyes
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The lonely fisherman. © Damaso Reyes
Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 11:40 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreOn Saturday there was a traditional Fest-Noz in Elven, just a few kilometers away. An evening of music and dance the Fest-Noz provides an opportunity to both preserve and celebrate local culture. If you just wandered in one might have thought that one was in Scotland or Ireland what with the sounds of the pipes and drums ringing in the night air. But we were safely in Brittany enjoying another great evening.
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And the band played on. © Damaso Reyes
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We were dancing through the night. © Damaso Reyes
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Playing in the shadows… © Damaso Reyes
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Just you and I… © Damaso Reyes
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Free Brittany! © Damaso Reyes
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The pipes, the pipes are calling… © Damaso Reyes
Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 11:35 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreIt was a busy weekend. Once again the sun was shining and on Sunday several of us took the opportunity of visit an arts festival at Gorvello. There was some traditional dancing and music and well as lots of food and drink. I was pretty wiped out from the night before but I managed to get a few good pictures…
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Let’s start from the beginning… © Damaso Reyes
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Jesus says hello. © Damaso Reyes
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Generations of tradition. © Damaso Reyes
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Random moth. © Damaso Reyes
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Shoes. © Damaso Reyes
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The passion of the flower. © Damaso Reyes
Monday, September 22, 2008, 11:25 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreOne of the things I like most about spending time in small towns are the festivals and circuses one can find. Last week there was a small family circus in Pluherlin, a village within walking distance. So I packed my camera bag and went for a stroll down the road. It was a small tent but I got to spend a little time with the Bertrand family before the show. Here are a few images…
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Big show, this way! © Damaso Reyes
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Laetita, Christhophe, Leslie, Dannob and BoBoye. © Damaso Reyes
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Send in the clowns. © Damaso Reyes
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My kingdom for a llama. © Damaso Reyes
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Brother and sister. © Damaso Reyes
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Time for a show. © Damaso Reyes
Saturday, September 20, 2008, 14:52 - Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreThe sun is shining here in western France and I am out shooting! As always, here is your HCB Quote of the Week!
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The Gulf of Morhiban. © Damaso Reyes
"They . . . asked me:
"'How do you make your pictures?' I was puzzled . . .
"I said, 'I don't know, it's not important.'" Henri Cartier-Bresson
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 14:24 - Personal
Rochefort-en-TerreAll is well here in Western France and as my time here dwindles I am shooting more and more. But that does not mean that I do not have time to, as we say, have a good time. Last week Madam Isabel Klots invited several of the American artists in town for dinner and we had a great time. Mrs. Klots is the wife and daughter-in-law of Trafford and Alfred Klots, the American painters who brought the chateau here in Rochefort. Nineteen years ago Mrs. Klots, in cooperation with MICA, started the residency program here to honor the memory of her husband and father-in-law. She missed all the artists who used to stay here in Rochefort when her husband was alive and because of her generosity for nearly twenty years artists have had the opportunity to come here.
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The Madame receives us. © Damaso Reyes
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And what a reception it was! © Damaso Reyes
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We had all we desired. © Damaso Reyes
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And I mean everything! © Damaso Reyes
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It was hard to keep up… © Damaso Reyes
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But we tried our best! © Damaso Reyes
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Dinner was excellent! © Damaso Reyes
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 08:29 - Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreOn Sunday I had an opportunity to hear some traditional Breton singing at Café Gorvello, just a few towns over. Imagine American idol on a much smaller scale. The event was a local competition for a regional signing festival to be held later next month. Dozens of local residents came out on a lovely Sunday afternoon to sing traditional folk songs.
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Keeper of the Flame. © Damaso Reyes
This kind of music is called Kan ha diskan or call and response. The singer will start with several verses and the audience will respond with what we might call the bridge. It was a really interesting experience, especially since almost all of the participants were over 50. As much as there has been a revival of Breton culture over the past thirty years, clearly many parts of this unique heritage are in peril as fewer and fewer young people choose to take on the traditions of their ancestors. Here are a few images!
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Song of the shadows. © Damaso Reyes
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Documentation. © Damaso Reyes
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Noble song. © Damaso Reyes
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Local color. © Damaso Reyes
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The face of history. © Damaso Reyes
Friday, September 12, 2008, 10:23 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreEarlier this week several of the artists here took a trip to the nearby island of Gavrinis which contains a megathic tomb which dates back to 3,500 B.C.E. Just a short ferry ride through the Gulf of Morbihan, Gavrinis is an interesting example of Europe’s wonderfully preserved history. Thousands of years ago humans were building complex societies complete with the kind of memorials that we are familiar with. Here are a few images!
Can you smell the salt air? © Damaso Reyes
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You are here! © Damaso Reyes
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Monument. © Damaso Reyes
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Entrance. © Damaso Reyes
Thursday, September 11, 2008, 08:09 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreAnniversaries are interesting things. The further we get from the date the harder it is to remember why we are trying to remember. This date means many different things to many people. Some see it as an excuse for war; others remember a pain that tore their lives apart on a clear September morning. For far too many it stands as a gate; a date which can only be seen through the lens of before and after. It is getting harder to remember before and more difficult to understand after.
As always the children shall lead the way…
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World Trade Center Memorial Groundbreaking. September 11, 2004. © Damaso Reyes
Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 14:03 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreThey say the world is going to end today.
Or not. Sometimes it is hard to know who or what to believe.
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Turn on the juice! Geneva 2007.
Just kidding. While some members of the tinfoil hat society believe that our friends at CERN are going to kill us all by unleashing a microscopic black hole in Geneva, those of us in the know have no fear. Of course this is a great moment in science as well as for Europe. After all CERN is doing what we in the United States chose not to: build the world’s largest particle accelerator. With this amazing tool we will push back the limits of human knowledge and it came together through the cooperation and vision of dozens of nations around the world, most of them located in Europe. It’s a great day for science!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 10:58 - Travel, Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreOne of the nicest ways to get to know a place is to walk. Perhaps it comes from having grown up in New York, that most walkable of cities, but I do enjoy spending time on the streets of whatever city or town I happen to be in. Rochefort-en-Terre is no exception and I have spent much of the past ten days, weather permitting, strolling around this idyllic medieval village. And since we are such good friends you get to see some of the fruits of my labor, enjoy!
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Signs. © Damaso Reyes
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Rocherfort-en-Terre. © Damaso Reyes
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The Chateau. © Damaso Reyes
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Local delicacies. © Damaso Reyes
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Timeless. © Damaso Reyes
Going home. © Damaso Reyes
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