Exploration with Culture
I know Ryan from the local community on Bainbridge Island, and as we got to know each other, I asked to come and shoot him at work in his shop. As I walked into his space, I realized what an extreme artform this age-old process is. Lots of heat. Huge machinery. And tons of force. Here is a test phase of more shooting to come with blacksmith artisan Ryan Landworth.
Tracy Lang moves from huge woodblock prints to the art of the tattoo. Welcome the new Ryderville Ink. Unlike any tattoo I’ve seen before, her Tsunami Over Mt. Baker wraps the right shoulder with a pinhole view of Mt. Baker as the body’s shoulder blade carries a wispy yet powerful Japanese-style tsunami over its summit. Bad ass. And if you would ever want a piece of art on your body, it would be by Tracy Lang of Ryderville Ink.
I shot this series of images as Tracy’s friend Shelley from Whidbey Island sat through the final three hours of work.
Having recently connected with International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Seattle Chapter, doors opened to a host of incredibly humbling experiences. Shooting for them takes me back to my travel roots, experiencing other cultures and the people. The above photograph is a group of recently arrived refugees from Nepal and Bhutan who wanted to create a knitting community. The experience being there resulted in the women erupting in traditional song and laughter, with communication spoken via hand and body gesture.
Started in Seattle in 1976, little presence is known of their existence within the city. The continuing goal working with them is to create a library of imagery that they can utilize as posters, thank you cards, newsletters, website material and more. Below are more images taken for IRC’s Seattle Chapter.
A knitting community created by recent arrivals of IRC’s Seattle Chapter
A daughter who recently arrived from Eritrea sees her father for the first time in over one year.
A joyous father is happily reunited with his daughters after flying into SeaTac from Eritrea.
A woman practices job training skills at an activity created by IRC for newly arrived refugees.
A man from Burma studies basic job training skills in Tukwila, WA after arriving to the United States three months ago.
A teacher back in Burma, now faces a new language, a new culture, and a new set of skills acquired at IRC’s job training class.
Denis, a refugee from Bosnia under IRC from over 14 years ago, now volunteers to help new arrivals adapt to American culture and job market.
Learn more by visiting IRC Seattle Chapter
An idea pops into your. You’ve been listening to the radio, following current events, examining your place in the constant shifting world. Then the idea takes shape, morphs into words, thoughts, conversations and a variety of imagery.
The gun buy-back program has been incorporating our society. The process flowed through my brain-waves and thus the above image. I wondered about the origins, the beginnings of such violence permeating humanity. Then I read an article in this month’s National Geographic entitled The Left Bank Ape, which explores the unique adaptations between two species along the Africa’s Congo River. The north side (or right bank) are our common ancestors, the chimpanzee, whom we share 98.4% of our genetic DNA, while the south side (or left bank) is the bonobo. And what makes these two species of primates markedly different are their social behaviors; during disputes the chimp is more aggressive, often resulting in death, while the bonobo prefers the tender acts of affection and using sex to solve issues within the community.
Observing today’s violence around the world, I ask: Where did we come from? Where are we going? And what are we doing to get there?
By approaching Rwanda Partners and offering them my help, I scored the opportunity to take a selection of their bowls into the studio and photograph them for their website. With three lights, some plexi glass and fishing line, I was able to create a clean, depth-defining product shot to help them better portray their products. Hopefully, more opportunities will arise with Rwanda Partners after the initial shoot. Visit RwandaPartners.org for more.
Location: SCCA Studios
Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark III with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens
100mm, 1/160 sec at ƒ/16, ISO 100, tripod.
Post: Capture One & Adobe PS6
I had the opportunity to connect with CannaTest, LLC. to explore the new changes in Washington State regarding the passing of Initiative 502 and the legalization of recreational marijuana. CannaTest’s tagline “What’s in your medicine?” legitimizes the professionalism of medical cannabis in the emerging industry, breaking down the percentages of Cannabinoids that are within each strain of plant. From THC to THCV, CBD, CBG and other active ingredients, CannaTest provides qualitative numbers for accurate labeling to insure clients are receiving the necessary medicine for their specified therapy.
Visit www.Canna-Test.com for more information.
America’s recycling program. It’s fantastic in my city, sucks in others. So I took the idea of recycling into the studio, and placed one shot in context (above) and took the other two slightly out of the box.
Composting. Try it, you’ll cut back on your weekly load of trash and also create a healthy garden
CPS: Child Protective Services or the Department of Social Services. Putting children through America’s foster care system since 1974.
I had the opportunity to shoot some promotional material for Bainbridge Island Boxing Club. The owner, Ben (i.e. The Bear), is an ex-pro, coaching his students in both traditional boxing as well as Muay Thai, or Thai boxing. It was thrilling to spend a couple of evenings with them, watching as they used every muscle in their bodies with agility and speed. Next time I step foot in the gym, hopefully it will be without camera and only gloves.
As prophesied throughout the Western world, 12/21/12 was thought to be the last day of civilization, the last Friday, the end of the Mayan calendar. But as expressed via the wisest of the oldest known cultures (i.e. Hindu culture, i.e. Mayan culture), civilization does not come to an end, but embarks upon a new era. Within tens to hundreds of thousands of years, humanity lives through periods of certain growth. The Hindu calendar currently resides within the Kali Yuga, which according to ancient scriptures began in 3012 BC and is expect to last 10,000 years. The Mayans have a similar system. December 21st, 2012 was the end of an era, specifically the 13th Baktun, a 5,125-year cycle overall. The Mayan Long Count Calendar continues.
And so, we embark into a new cycle of life (according to the Mayans), and on that fateful day of Friday, December 21st, 2012, we visited Lamanai, the one of many Mayan ruins located within the jungles of Belize. We found plenty of old, and many things anew.
Visitors standing atop the largest remaining temple dedicated to astrological research.
A local rum distillery, located directly next to a rehabilitation center for rich foreigners…
Welcome to the jungle
While traveling to Ambergris Caye in Belize, I reached out to local workers and artists about creating captivating imagery about their careers or passions. Below is a taste of what came to be while visiting.
Local handyman and contractor, Landy T. laying tiles in a vacation home.
Workers at Graniel’s Dreamland build furniture, piers, bowls and anything wood out of locally harvested trees from the mainland of Belize.
Glenn Schwendinger is an entrepeneur extraordinaire. Fourteen years ago he landed on Ambergris Caye with his wife and chef Colleen, opened the fabulous Rendezvous Restaurant on the north end, created it’s own wine label and became the world’s largest conch pearl dealer. Conch pearls? you might ask. The world’s rarest gem found in 1 of every 10,000 conch shells.
Cameron Karsten's Imaginarium 