People are funny creatures
These pictures document one of the funniest sights I saw in Italy last year: the walkway leading to the Pisa Tower.
For about a quarter mile, all you see are people with their arms thrown up in the air “supporting” the leaning monument. Some of the more creative tourists try to “eat” the tower or “kiss” it or “lift” it. Most people are enthusiastic, really hamming it up for the camera. Others are like, “Just take the picture and get me out of here.”
I witnessed one argument break out between a couple. The woman couldn’t hit the pose that her boyfriend was art directing her to make. He got out from behind his camera to move her arms, hands, legs and hips into the “right” position. Heated words flew between the two. She did not smile for her picture. This is serious stuff, people! (You can see this couple in the fourth-to-the-last photograph.)
The last picture is my Mom in the Pisa pose most people seemed to be aiming for: hand supporting the tower, body leaning slightly back (because the building is so heavy, you know?) and a smile on her face. Bonus points for planting one foot in the street for extra support.
Farming in Appalachia
Rhubarb – the leaves are poisonous but the stems taste delicious in strawberry rhubarb pie.
I love my job. I sometimes get to travel around and ask people questions and photograph and film their lives. Basically, I have professional license to be nosy. This past week I worked in southwestern Virginia, documenting farms and farm-related activities. I learned a lot about small-holder farms and what it takes to survive in this country. These are some generic photographs from the past few days. More will eventually appear as stories on the Bread for the World website.
Winter rye in a field near Duffield, Va.
Farms near Duffield, Va.
Did you know asparagus grows straight out of the ground? I didn’t.
The Price of Immigration for Bread for the World
Part of my work as multimedia manager at Bread for the World involves producing poverty- and hunger-related stories that humanize these issues. It’s not easy. I think people suffer from ennui when it comes to seeing pictures and reading stories about poor and hungry people. It’s like, “Oh, another hungry child. Another poor, homeless man. I feel so bad.” And then people move on.
The response has been different with “The Price of Immigration,” a story that I worked on earlier this year with my colleagues Molly Marsh, Ivone Guillen and freelance multimedia editor Brad Horn. The idea was to show the life of an undocumented Mexican worker in the United States – to show that he is a real person with real dreams, hopes and feelings.
The immigration dialogue in the United States tends to characterize undocumented workers as unwanteds who steal American jobs and must be kept out with a border fence. In most cases, these people have come to the United States because they couldn’t support themselves or their families back home. A border fence will not prevent them from trying to help their families. Just think: If the United States were plunged into poverty and Canada loomed as a source of jobs – any jobs – wouldn’t many Americans do whatever they could to get to Canada and make money to support their families back home?
My colleagues and I spent five days getting to know “Jose,” the main subject of this story. It was challenging to photograph and film him in a way that didn’t reveal his identity. There are several photographs and video clips that made it into the final edit but I had to exchange out at the last minute because some of my co-workers thought they could identify “Jose.” From the day I started researching this story to the day I published this video was almost four months. It takes time to produce a good story. I think this one is pretty good. Though, of course, there are quite a few things I’d do differently. But that’s for another blog post on another day.
What follows is my original text that ran with the video on Bread for the World’s blog.
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Jose likes soccer. He likes his car. And he loves his family, which is why he left Mexico for the United States when he was 17, started working, and now sends home about 20 percent of his pay to support them. Like many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, Jose came here for opportunities that don’t exist at home.
“We’re not criminals,” said Jose (not his real name). “We just come here to seek a better life.”
Indeed, economic necessity is the reason people risk their lives to work in the United States. And contrary to rhetoric that immigrants steal American jobs and drive down wages, immigrant labor is essential to the U.S. economy, as research shows:
- The Arizona economy would shrink by $48.8 billion, or 20 percent, if all undocumented workers left the state, according to an Immigration Policy Center study out last week.
- Immigration improves employment, productivity, and income but needs adjustments that respond to the economic cycle, states a 2010 Migration Policy Institute study.
- Hispanic immigrants contributed $9.2 billion to the North Carolina economy in 2006 and created 89,000 spinoff jobs, according to research by Dr. James Johnson, professor at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan Flagler Business School.
Jose is one Hispanic immigrant contributing to North Carolina’s economy. He moved there five years ago, found a job, and joined a church. My colleagues Ivone Guillen, Molly Marsh, and I first met Jose at his church this past January, and we found him to be very kind, polite, and open to talking with us. We could tell he missed his family. He showed us pictures. He shared stories of life back home.
Listening to Jose speak and watching him live his limited life in North Carolina (we spent five days with him), you just think to yourself, “You don’t leave people you love unless you must, because economic and social circumstances force you to go.”
Reminds me of summer
This picture reminds me of summer even though I photographed it at the tail end of Peru’s winter, in Cusco. I think it’s the yellow. And the warm tones of the plantholder. And the shadows. i can’t wait for warmer weather.
Fog
North Carolina, 2011
FOG
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
- By Carl Sandburg
Road trip
It’s always nice to hit the road and see something new. Yesterday we drove to Philadelphia and visited the Mutter Museum, which houses a fascinating collection of medical specimens ranging from an 8-foot-long colon to a cabinet full of skulls to a catalog of hundreds of items swallowed by people and recovered by medical professionals. (Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside.) I’m glad we ate our lunch before walking the museum’s halls.
As we drove up, I challenged myself to photograph what a road trip looks like only on the inside of the car and mostly in detail shots. If only we’d been driving for hours and hours I’d have photographs of empty water bottles and chip bags and magazines and napkins strewn everywhere like some kind of mobile trash dump. Come to think of it, that’s sort of how my car looked like when I shot for newspapers. I should recategorize the shots in this post: This is what a two-hour road trip looks like in the car of a non-journalist, shot only on the inside of the car and mostly in details.
Finding Jesus in Cusco, Peru
It’s not all that difficult to find Jesus in Cusco, Peru. He’s omnipresent, glowing white from atop a mountain on the outskirts of the city.
People I love
This is a Thanksgiving post thinly disguised as something else. And really, it’s mostly pictures of my niece. That tends to happen when there’s a cute kid around the house.
The Zócalo in Mexico City
Police are present every few feet in the Zócalo, the main public square in Mexico City. My hotel is near the plaza, so I’ve had the chance to walk through the area a few times. I love the colonial architecture and the hustle and bustle.
Above: A policeman silhouetted with the Catedral Metropolitana in the back, on the northern side of the square.
Below: A policeman on his Segway in front of the Palacio Nacional, on the eastern side of the Zócalo.
The Basilica of Guadalupe
Unfortunately, I haven’t had much of a chance to be a tourist in Mexico City because I’m busy with work-related activities. But I did have a chance to catch this machete dance in front of the Basilica of Guadalupe today. The men in white clothes and plumed hats represent Spaniards. The men in colors represent natives, who fight a valorous battle against the conquistadores. My Mexican colleague wasn’t sure why this drama took place in front of the Basilica but it was fun to watch.
Charlotte Douglas Airport
Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina really got dressed up for the holidays. The festive decorations made me smile as I transited through the airport on my way to Mexico City.
Cocoa in Wehplay, Liberia
Last month I had the privilege of getting to know David Kpan, a cocoa farmer in Wehplay, Liberia. After the civil war ended in 2003, David rehabilitated his ravaged farm and grew just enough crops to support his family. Now, with help from a U.S. organization, he runs the farm as a business and is prospering. David has the greatest laugh and the most wonderful spirit, something that I hope people will see in the multimedia story I’m currently editing about him and his farm. More to come….
Accra, Ghana
On my way back from Liberia last month, I took advantage of a 14-hour layover in Accra, Ghana, by exploring as much of the city as possible. I loved feeling and hearing the Atlantic Ocean from the other side of the world than usual. The waves seemed stronger and louder in Africa than in the United States, which might explain why there were so few people at the shore. Just a few minutes walk from the beach is Independence Square, a large parade ground flanked by the Independence Arch and the Independence Monument. In a way, its layout and vastness reminded me of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but a bit smaller and with fewer tourists.
The power of the purse: Haitian women build their economic strength
Therese Vilfare, 40, Fonkoze client since 2010
Purses: They carry all sorts of useful sundries such as pens, business cards, lipstick, and gum. Most importantly, purses carry money.In Haiti, where 54 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, microfinance organization Fonkoze is helping women build businesses that feed their families, lift them out of poverty and pad their purses with a bit of cash.
Last week at a Fonkoze community meeting in Mirebalais, I noticed the variety of handbags women carried around. Many bags were black. Some were small. All seemed to be carried with pride by their owners. I had been looking for a way to visually connect non-Haitians with Haitians in a way that wasn’t patronizing or demeaning; here was my way. Many women around the world carry handbags and can relate to carrying a purse that reflects her personality and style.
The Fonkoze women were more than happy to be photographed with their purses. They patiently waited in line while I photographed woman after woman against the exterior white wall of an old church. Women who didn’t bring handbags to the meeting borrowed one from a friend. Everyone wanted to be photographed. I had fun watching the different ways women chose to hold their bags. Some held them, others clutched them, some hung them around their neck, which really made me laugh. You can see all the portraits on Bread for the World’s blog.
Fortifying Haitian kids against malnutrition
Molly and I had the privilege of visiting a Fonkoze vitamin distribution meeting in rural Haiti. Babies and toddlers everywhere, some crying and some silently awaiting their fate: a dark blue gel capsule cut open and the contents drained into each kid’s mouth. See more on Bread for the World’s YouTube channel.
Trees take root in Haiti
Children help line up seedlings at a Trees for the Future nursery in Gericher, Haiti. Read more and see more photographs on Bread for the World’s blog.
Ice cream in Pisa, Italy
I know, I know: This is a post about Pisa, Italy, so where’s the picture of the Leaning Tower?
Pisa is so much more than its most famous landmark. It’s a college town, home to the University of Pisa, which has been educating students since the 12th century and which once employed Galileo Galilei as a math professor. It’s a walkable little city split by the Arno River and lined with cobblestone streets and colorful homes.
But the tower – just “tower,” as the natives call it – well, my how it dominates most peoples’ conception of the city. Which is why I posted this photograph from Pisa before I posted any Leaning Tower pictures. Those are coming, of course.
A procession of the Virgin Mary through Cusco, Peru
There she is: a purple-enthroned picture of the Virgin Mary, parading through the streets of Cusco. A Peruvian friend said these Virgin Mary processions take place all the time. Marissa said she sees parades almost every week. I imagine how much a parade a week would enliven my life and hope I wouldn’t take it for granted.
Cusco, Peru
The Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru, attracts both tourists and birds to its colonial architecture, such as La Compañia de Jesus (Jesuit Church) and the fountain in the middle of the square. I love this picture because there’s so much going on: church spires glowing in the setting sun, bird flying, tourist in tough vest looking at the sites, fountain spouting water, person walking past the fountain… More to come!
Raining & singing in the Pantheon
When my mom and I visited Rome, I couldn’t wait to visit the Pantheon. You see, not only is the building 2,000 years old, it also has a hole in its dome. When it’s sunny, light streams through this oculus; when it rains, water falls through. I could see storm clouds building in the distance. Maybe, just maybe, I’d be lucky enough to see it rain in the Pantheon? My mom said she was ready to go. I stalled. “Oh, look at those pretty engravings over there! Aren’t these crosses over here shiny?” Yeah. What I really wanted was rain, rain, rain. And finally, it came. And it was magical. The rain fell in slow, sparkling sheets. Most everyone stopped what they were doing and stared up at the dome. Flashes popped and cameras clicked. A couple umbrellas snapped open. A red-and-white chain kept visitors out of the direct path of the rainfall but many people still got wet. Oooh. Ahhh.
While at the Pantheon we were also lucky enough to hear a choir performing inside. A Catholic church group from Manhattan, Kansas (my birth city!) were walking from famous public building to famous public building in Rome and singing their hearts out for free. So lovely.
Assisi, Italy
(My mom patiently waited 20 minutes while I waited for the moment above to happen so I could photograph it. Oh, what is it like to have a child so intensely interested in something you don’t care about as much? Thanks, Mom!)
Assisi was by far my favorite stop on the Catholic Extravaganza Tour with my mom. The city is a landscape photographer’s dream: untouched by modern architecture, filled with winding medieval walkways and perched on a hilltop overlooking a vast, green valley. The city’s main draw is St. Francis Basilica, the 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage site that’s the final resting place for St. Francis, who founded the Franciscans. Walking around this old town I could imagine Francis and his followers (including St. Clare, or Santa Chiara, as she’s called in Italian) spreading the Gospel, much to the consternation of some family and friends.
Most everything in Assisi closed by 7 PM, so Mom and I had plenty of time to relax. For me, that meant attending vespers, taking pictures and wandering around. For mom, that meant attending vespers or evening services at one of the half-dozen churches. Mom and I wondered how such a small city – the population is about 3,000 – could support so many churches. Do they not have the priest shortage problem we have in the US? Or is the fact that Assisi is such a global tourist destination enough for the diocese there to keep all the Assisi churches well-manned?
One of the most pleasing and surprising parts of our Assisi visit was our stay at St. Anthony’s Guest House, which is run by Franciscans (of course). I booked a room only a couple days before we arrived, expecting something a step above a hostel. Indeed, the place was sparsely furnished but oh-so comfortable, friendly and pleasant. Every morning they woke up the guests for breakfast by pumping soft classical music over the speaker system. When I visit Assisi again I’ll definitely be sleeping at St. Anthony’s.
St. Francis Basilica
The start of my obsession with Santa Chiara plaza.
Santa Chiara Church, which I consider to be the most gorgeous of the many churches in Assisi.
Flags hanging from a building near Santa Chiara plaza
Assisi as seen from Rocca Maggiore, the hilltop fortress.
Playing with light in Santa Chiara plaza.
Even the grass near a parking lot was beautiful!
This was the start of my obsession with beautiful door knockers
Tourists sitting on a wall outside St. Francis Basilica
Mom standing in a perfect ring of light in Assisi.
Assisi is the home of St. Francis, founder of the Franciscans, known for wearing sandals
Red flowers like these hang everywhere in Assisi.
Sunset at Santa Chiara plaza
Mom, the world traveler, in Paris
Doesn’t my Mom look so cute in this picture? This is as close* as she and I got to famous Paris monuments during what I’ve dubbed our “Catholic Extravaganza Tour,” a 2+ week adventure through pilgrimage sites in France, Italy and Germany. At this point in the journey – the beginning, that is – my Mom was still oh-so willing to let me photograph her. By the end, she was tired of her personal paparazzi. But hey! She now has some of the most awesome and candid vacation shots ever. I’ll be sharing more of them over the next couple weeks.
*We had planned to use our five-hour layover in Paris to venture into the city for lunch. But Air France didn’t cooperate with us. Our flight left DC late and we had just enough time in Paris to transfer from one airport to another, where we caught our next flight.
(Above: That's me photographing while snowshoeing through a snowstorm. Picture by