10-MAY-2006
Auto graveyard, Phoenix, Arizona, 2006
There are no people in this image, yet it speaks strongly to me of human values. Waste is a human value, and the ravaged hulks of ruined automobiles piled upon each other can be seen as a powerful symbol of a culture that spends much of its wealth on resources that are eventually towed away and junked. An optimist might see this image as a resource in itself because some of this debris might eventually be recycled. Yet I saw and photographed it as a colossal pile of rusted and smashed steel that represented the dreams and perhaps even the identity of the people who once owned these cars. Those dreams also represent human values. My tight framing suggests that this pile of broken cars spreads far beyond the borders of this image – the wastage goes on and on and on. It never really ends, because many of us will eventually throw away much of what we make, buy and use.
28-MAR-2006
Chanting, Longshan Temple, Taipei, Taiwan, 2006
The Longshan Temple, home to more than three different religions, was a cauldron of incense and song the day I visited. I brought my long lens to bear on this worshipper, who holds his incense sticks and chants prayers with great fervor. This image is all about faith and fervor, two very real human values.
05-APR-2006
At rest, Guilin, China, 2006
A few moments earlier this woman had been digging dirt, deep within this trench. She now watches the labors of her partner, who is so deep within the ditch that we can't see her at the moment. The two men in the background pay no heed to either of them. This woman needs these few moments of rest in order to recapture her strength. It is brutally difficult physical work, and in China, such work seems to be performed as much or more by women as men. This image conveys such human values as rest and recuperation, and perhaps a touch of resentment as well.
20-MAR-2006
Readers, Luxun Park, Shanghai, China, 2006
Bundled against the morning chill, these Shanghai residents prefer to do their reading outdoors. Perseverance and determination come to mind here – both are human values that I found demonstrated time and time again on my journey through China.
(I owe a debt of thanks to Shanghai pbase photographer Jen Zhou --
http://www.pbase.com/angeleyes_zyl/root -- for this and other images made in Luxun Park. Jen spent a day and half shooting with me in Shanghai, and it was at her suggestion that we spent several hours photographing people in this relatively obscure but beautiful Shanghai Park.)
17-MAR-2006
Changing of the Guard, Toksugung Palace, Seoul, Korea, 2006
Several times each day, a historical pageant unfolds before this historic palace in downtown Seoul as new guards arrive to relieve the old. And history takes on a human dimension when one of them cracks a small but meaningful smile. Using a long zoom lens to blur the background and bring my subject closer, I framed the smiling guardsman with a series of lances, creating a diagonal counterpoint to his own.
20-MAR-2006
Exercise, Luxun Park, Shanghai, China, 2006
Luxun Park draws hundreds of exercisers each day -- this trio is working out on rope pulling apparatus. The interplay between the two clearly visible facial expressions holds the key to the expression of human values in this image. The man is a study in determination. The woman conveys a sense of duty. Between the two expressions, the motivations for exercising are defined.
26-MAR-2006
Crossing Kokusai-dori, Naha, Okinawa, Japan, 2006
I stood below a traffic light on Naha’s main street for fifteen minutes and watched Okinawans and visitors cross Naha's main street. They came at me in waves. This wave includes a father and his very young child. He conveys a sense of fatherly pride in his bearing, while his ultimate goal is protecting his child on this journey into a busy downtown street. Both pride and protection are human values that all of us can relate to.
02-APR-2006
Teamwork, Baisha, China, 2006
One man pulls while another pushes in order to move a heavily loaded cart up the sloping street of this small farming town just outside of Lijiang. Both move in perfect synch, step for step. No effort is wasted. They had obviously done this before and will do it again.
It’s a perfect demonstration of cooperation, which is an essential human value.
09-FEB-2006
Unknowns, Catholic Cemetery, Silver Reef, Utah, 2006
The ghost town of Silver Reef has two cemeteries. In its Catholic cemetery, most of the graves are marked "unknown." This is one of those images that can take us by surprise. At first glance it is simply an image of seven crosses on the edge of desert cemetery. But when we see the word “unknown” on every one of them, the image takes on an entirely new meaning. The people who are buried beneath them not only died a long time ago, in what has since become a ghost town, but they are anonymous. Lost, forgotten, unknown. One might ask if it even matters. It is certainly an image that triggers thoughts, asking questions and demanding answers about the most fundamental human value --- the meaning of life itself.
10-FEB-2006
Security, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Nevada, 2006
Given the state of the world, there is a heavy security presence at Hoover Dam these days. This officer keeps careful watch on pedestrians and traffic crossing the road on top of the dam. His body language tells us that he is vigilant, concerned, thoughtful and curious. All of these responses reflect human values. His task is not easy, and there is no room for error. He does his job in the open – his four identification badges are in plain view of all who pass him. Yet he must incongruously work from behind a fence.
02-NOV-2005
Morning Hug, Mercado de San Juan de Dios, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2005
A huge embrace greets a small child at one of San Miguel’s major markets. I shot this at medium telephoto length --- about 85mm. The key to the image is the expression of the woman and the large scale of her head and hand contrasted to the smaller head of the child. The image expresses intimate, intense and soulful contact between two human beings. It speaks of love and care and protection – all basic human values.
31-OCT-2005
Remembrance, Sanctuary of Atotonilco, Atotonilco, Mexico, 2005
Seven miles outside of San Miguel is the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, where father Miguel Hidalgo launched the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. He took a cloth bearing the likeness of the Virgin of Guadalupe from its altar and raised it as a banner to inspire those who followed him and Ignacio Allende in trying to drive the Spaniards out of Mexico. Today a solitary nun tends the floor of very same altar. She seems to sense the importance of what once happened on those very steps. Using my zoom lens at the classic medium telephoto focal length of 105mm, I created an image based on body language and expression that imply several important human values: reflection, devotion, humility, and thoughtfulness.