04-APR-2008
Hauling in the nets, Cochin, India, 2008
Chinese traders introduced these huge cantilevered nets to Cochin six hundred years ago. They still work as they have always worked -- requiring great effort to haul in the catch. The platform on which they work is built of logs lashed together, and the moment at hand expresses the very essence of hard, physical work.
29-MAR-2008
Street breakfast, Varanasi, India, 2008
Three cooks prepare breakfasts of street food, the ovens below them glowing with red-hot coals. Even though it is a hot day, and the ovens throw intense heat, the cooks seem none the worse for wear. The food is largely deep-fried.
04-APR-2008
Street sweepers, Cochin, India, 2008
The streets of Cochin are cleaner and more orderly than those we saw in Northern India. Cochin’s European roots are part of the reason. I juxtapose two sweepers here – making one larger than the other to add perspective the scene. I liked the textures the brooms have left in the dust. The two sweepers work at the problem from opposite ends of the square, and only a delicate of band of floral droppings remains in their sights.
04-APR-2008
Fishermen, Cochin, India, 2008
Fishing is the lifeblood of Cochin. Some still seek fish by using the town's ancient nets (background). Others work the harbor with smaller nets, hoping for a catch. This image tells a story of preparation and cooperation, including the ever-optimistic presence of two crows and a cat.
03-JAN-2008
Construction worker, Vinh Long, Vietnam, 2008
The nature of this country’s vibrant, yet delicate economy is clearly evident in my images, including this photograph of a determined young man at work on the back of a vintage cement mixer in the small Mekong Delta city of Vinh Long. I saw him working but he stopped just as I raised the camera, and pointed at me with a smile. As I found in many other instances, the Vietnamese are so proud of being photographed by visitors that they stopped whatever they may have been doing and posed for me. This worker spent several minutes alternately self-consciously pretending to work and simply grinning at me. I kept on shooting him, knowing that eventually he would tire of the game and get back to work. Finally, he did just that. He geared up the ancient cement mixer and a look of concern and determination came to his face. He had forgotten all about me, and that’s when I made this photograph. If you desire credibility in your own images of people at work, it is a good idea to spend awhile getting them used to your presence. Eventually your subjects should gradually drift back to work, and then you can make images that tell the story of what is actually happening, instead of just a picture of somebody having their picture taken.
22-DEC-2007
Locksmith, Hue, Vietnam, 2007
I found this man waiting for business on a Hue street. From the locks hanging on his stand, he appears to be a locksmith, but since I don't speak Vietnamese, I can't be sure of that. Vietnam has a Communist government, yet its entrepreneurial populace lives largely by practicing Capitalism at the grass roots. I was drawn this subject because of the vivid colors of the construction fence behind him and his relaxed attitude in spite of the multi-colored energy exploding behind him. He simply hangs out his shingle and lets the world beat a path to his door.
23-DEC-2007
Rice farmer, near Hoi An, Vietnam, 2007
As I made this image, this rice farmer turned to look at me. He had a small cigar in his mouth, and his reflection in the rice paddy gave me two for the price of one. He seems to express a sense of jaunty pride – the job is physically brutal, muddy, and wet, but he seems to enjoy what he does. I showed this image to a student at Hanoi University and she told me that her mother was also a rice farmer. She said the image told the truth about the work at hand. As a photographic communicator, I feel an obligation to get the story right, and in this case, I think I’ve done so.
24-DEC-2007
Tied to her job, Hoi An, Vietnam, 2007
It was the tape measure that drew my eye. It hangs around her neck and around the bars that guard her window. While much of the world celebrated Christmas Eve, her work was her priority. The image is rich in color – reds, yellows, blues and a lavish spread of green, give life to the image. She may seem to be locked away here, but that tape measure linked to the window bars symbolically speaks of her connection to the world at large.
01-SEP-2007
Chef, Muar, Malaysia, 2007
Enthusiastic, proud, and generous, this street side chef was so happy we were photographing him in action that he offered everyone in our group of photographers a complimentary dish of spicy Malay food. The food, however, does not make the picture. It is the man who makes this photograph expressive. We can feel his warmth and spontaneity as he reaches for that plate of nourishment. He spent a lot of time posing for the camera. I tried to make my picture between those poses, when he reacted instead of acted.
10-SEP-2007
Grinder, Nanjing, China, 2007
A street-side grinder carefully appraises his work. There are many such skills on display in the streets of this city. I found a vantage point that relates his body language to his tools. The curves in his shoulders echo the curves of the grinders behind him and in front of him. I made this image from in front of him, rather than from the side, because I wanted the viewer to feel as if they were his customers –active, rather than passive, partners in the picture.
06-SEP-2007
Haircut, Shanghai, China, 2007
I made this image in the French Concession, an area of Shanghai that was once governed by France. The barber works on the city sidewalk, using the day's last light to ply his craft. It is the interplay of that light with the shadows that make this image an expressive one. The light abstracts the figures, showing less and leaving more of them to the imagination of the viewer. The light has a calming effect on the image as well – emotions are subdued, the steel scissors is invisible, the tension between the two men is drained away. What is left is the end of a perfect day.
13-SEP-2007
Mop and pail, Pingyao, China, 2007
The day begins for Pingyao's small businesses with a scrubdown. This woman is ready to go to work. This image asks us more questions than it answers. What does the Chinese words chalked on the door panels mean? What are the garments hanging on those racks? And what kind of business goes on within? The body language of the young woman speaks eloquently. She takes a firm stance, her red shoes complementing her red jacket. She is wary of the camera, not sure how to respond. She neither smiles nor frowns but seems to wait for me to make my picture and move on, leaving the viewer to answer the questions raised by this image.
(After I posted this image, Kal Khogali linked me to an image he made in Shanghai two years earlier. You can see
they share a task and a culture that makes a remarkable comparison.)