23-SEP-2011
Bus riders, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
The big blue busses that make up Cuenca’s public transportation system are everywhere. They cost only 25 cents, and carry passengers to every corner of the city and to outlying villages. I often photographed people waiting for buses. Although most of these people probably do not know each other, they seem to become a family group here, sharing a common routine and experience. They gather around the “recargas de bus”sign – marking the place where they can renew their bus passes. The bus will stop here as well, but nobody seems to be sure as to when it will happen. Most of them seem resigned to the daily ritual of waiting for the bus. All it takes is time, patience, and 25 cents.
10-SEP-2011
Coachman, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
Yes, there still are horses and carriages in Cuenca. This coachman waits for customers near Cuenca’s central square. The coach ride is brief, and largely a tourist attraction, but the costume and expression seems to fit the vintage ambiance of Cuenca very well. So does his posture – he sits on his bench with an almost regal bearing.
12-SEP-2011
A personal matter, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
Four people gather to pray in an intimate chapel. Each of them worships here, yet with varying degrees of intensity. They are together, yet ultimately alone, in their prayers. They are praying within a very small place. There are no awe -inspiring altars and naves, no choirs singing, and no priests preaching. Faith comes down to a deeply personal matter, and each of them expresses it in their own way.
04-SEP-2011
Pollution, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
Cuenca’s air quality, as in most Latin American urban areas, can be poor at times, depending on the season and the weather. The culprit is not heavy industry – it is traffic. Busses, cars and trucks cause ninety per cent of Cuenca’s pollution. It is particularly difficult to breathe in the oldest part of the city – the traffic is heavier, and the busses spew plumes of black smoke as they start their engines. In this image, I express the vulnerability of the town’s residents – I don’t show pollution itself, but rather a nun emerging from a convent with a facemask in hand. She draws back the elastic band, ready to start another day in Cuenca.
15-SEP-2011
Grave marker, Cuenca Cemetery, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
Nearly all of the graves here reflect the traditions of the Catholic Church. Yet there are also about 25 Jewish people buried in this cemetery, most of the burials dating back to the 1940s and 50s. Cuenca’s Jewish community apparently no longer survives, and this section of the cemetery offers the only reminder of its former existence. This is one of those 25 graves. A single withered leaf rests on the headstone, lending a temporary touch of gold to an abandoned grave.
12-SEP-2011
A touch of Art Deco, Cuenca Cemetery, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
I liked the slender Art Deco style of this grave monument – I juxtaposed its delicate vertical form against the curving limbs of a massive tree. I contrast the work of man to the work of nature here, as well as pair a memorial sculpture with a massive example of vitality.
18-SEP-2011
Luncheon drink, Paute, Ecuador, 2011
This child was sipping his juice in an outdoor restaurant. I was having lunch at a nearby table, and made this image of him as he lifted his eyes towards the humming birds that made their home in the nearby trees. I liked the play of light on his cheeks, and the masses of curly hair that frame his face. A softly focused branch of flower blossoms in the background creates a fanciful halo over his head. His hands still grip the straw that he will soon use to extract the balance of his juice.
07-SEP-2011
Bus passenger, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
The hand pressed to the face of this bus passenger gives this image its expressive quality. Her thoughts seem to be far away, and she seems to wish that she were anywhere else but on this bus at the moment. It liked the way the rhythmic lines of the bus’s window trim echo the lines of her fingers. The blue exterior of the bus gives the image its sense of place – all the buses in Cuenca are this precise shade of blue.
21-SEP-2011
Three birds on church, Paccha, Ecuador, 2011
This image is all about rhythm – the birds repeat, the tiles repeat, and the clouds repeat. The branch that extends into the frame at left, and the cross, which gives the image its identity, are the only elements that break the rhythmic flow. Perhaps the birds feel safer on the roof of a church than elsewhere?
19-SEP-2011
Cathedral in late light, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
The Romanesque turrets of “new” 19th century cathedral glow in the reflected late afternoon light. The billowing white cloud in the background adds important context, while one of its three Czech-made dome retains its identity. It looks more like a castle than a church from this angle, reaffirming the role that money and power always has when it comes to building cathedrals.
31-AUG-2011
Skirts, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
Among the most prevalent symbols of Ecuador and its traditional life style is the clothing worn by its older people. Full red and blue skirts, worn with the hem well down on the leg, are seen everywhere. I found this line of Cuenca people waiting a bank to open. I abstract my image to include only the skirts, legs, and shoes of these patiently waiting bank customers. They symbolize a cross section of Ecuadorian society. Two traditionally dressed women stand at left, and two more contemporarily dressed women stand at right. The array of colors draws the eye, while the abstract qualities of the image draw the imagination into the image.
03-SEP-2011
Day’s end, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
I made this image from my own balcony in Cuenca, at the end of one of the few perfectly sunny days granted to us over our month-long stay. The three great domes of the city’s main cathedral, virtually across the street from my apartment, are silhouetted against a clear blue evening sky, flecked with scattered golden clouds. The Romanesque turrets break up the flow of the domes, just as the architect intended. It appears here almost as a stage set, yet it was a living reality for me for four weeks. I never came to take this building for granted. It was like a chameleon, changing as the light and weather changed, and as my viewpoint changed. This cathedral is very much at the heart of Cuenca itself, functioning as an iconic rendering of its spirit. This image brings a fitting close to this portrait of a city.