Portland Oregon Portrait and Wedding Photography Blog
Haiti. I got the call just two and a half weeks before we left. Seth Johnson rang me up and told me he couldn’t get me off his mind. He was going to Haiti with a friend, and thought I might want to join them. I told him I’d think about it. Haiti is not someplace I have ever…
I just love to photograph children, and have from the very beginning of my interest in photography. Among the many assignments and adventures I’ve had in Nicaragua, I’ve often had opportunity to turn my lens on many children. (One of the striking features of some people here in Latin America is their light-colored, often green or blue, eyes.) Here are…
Abraham and his family and staff continue to welcome me with open arms to their coffee beneficio here in Esteli, and I continue to be enchanted by the beautiful light, the rustic building, and the hard-working team. And so I continue with my photo essay (view the previous post here), a bit of visual poetry from the highlands of Nicaragua:…
I spent an afternoon on a local tobacco farm, during harvest, here in Esteli, Nicaragua. While I’m not a proponent of smoking, nonetheless tobacco farming and cigar manufacturing are major enterprises here, and are worthy of investigation. Esteli creates a major part of the cigars manufactured in the world, and grows a rich variety of its own quality cuban-seed tobaccos.…
Tucked away in a barrio in Esteli, Nicaragua, on the edge of a dry, dusty stream bed, is the family-owned coffee processing company of Abraham Enrique Castillo, Beneficio Centro America. It’s not a large facility, although at one time it was twice its current size, before their land was seized and inhabited by others. Nor is it a high-tech operation. …
While in Esteli, Nicaragua, I’ve spent several days working with a non-profit called Instituto de Formacion Permanente. Among their many programs, INSFOP offers a Saturday day camp for marginalized youth. They pick the kids up by bus in the city, and drive everyone just past the outskirts of Esteli, to their camp. (Do you remember those schoolbuses we rode in…
Alberto Gutierrez could be called many things: hermit, farmer, eccentric, recluse, sculptor, folk artist, walking piece of history, national treasure. I don’t know that all of these would be accurate descriptions, but I do know this: he is a talkative, friendly fellow, who loves art, loves poetry, and loves his property in Cerro Jalacate, in the hills of Tisey. Tisey,…
Now, here is a man who appreciates his craft. I’ve spent a few hours in the Nica Libre cigar factory here in Esteli, getting to know the process of cigar making, and photographing it. While I don’t care for cigars myself, nonetheless, I find the process to be fascinating and the product to be beautiful. And the folks here in…
The other day, while photographing in a Nicaraguan cigar factory, I noticed in the courtyard several cages containing exotic animals. One contained a cat of some sort, perhaps a lynx or bobcat, pacing his 4-foot square cage. Another contained several parrots. And the third contained 2 capucin monkeys. Monkeys are pretty cute creatures, and strangely familiar. When they came up…
On the Road Again So I’m sitting on an American Airlines flight between Dallas and Miami, on the way to Nicaragua, reading Nexos, their Spanish-language in-flight magazine. After twenty minutes, my head is already spinning, as I try to recall the meaning of words I haven’t studied in 20 years. I made my way through a third of an article…
Thailand has a plethora of beautiful islands off of its coasts. Some are well known and filled with tourists, such as Phuket or Koh Chang. Others are much less touristy, where the slower pace of life is preserved and enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Koh Maak is an island in the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Bangkok and near…
An Australian getting married to a Cambodian on a beach in Thailand. That’s a recipe for a beautiful day. Seth and Gabi and their families and friends gathered together at a small resort on the beach south of Bangkok, and we all had a great time. Seth’s a talented musician and sang during the ceremony. And Gabi–she’s gorgeous. I have…