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The citizens of the Kathputli Colony slum in North Delhi live much like the other 220 million slum dwellers in modern India. Large families overcrowd one room shanties with dysfunctional electricity, non-existent plumbing and poor sanitation. But unlike the rest of the slum dwellers in India, this slum has been touched by magic.
For the past five decades, magicians, acrobats, jugglers, musicians, dancers and puppeteers have migrated from all over India to the small illegal settlement. Nearly all of the 1,500-3,000 (depending on who you ask) families in the colony are professional performing artists. Many have found success operating at 5-star hotels in India and at Cultural Festivals abroad, but they continue to return to their homes in the cramped, dirty streets of Kathputli. But these are also the streets where friends entertain each other by turning a burning piece of paper into a crisp 100 rupee note. Where the sounds of tablas and singing can always be heard in the distance. And where a daughter and father can be seen on a rooftop practicing magic…
Zackary Canepari
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It was 1979. I had only just begun to take photographs. Most of my time in life at that point was spent late into the evening, until the sun was coming up, at the Mudd Club in lower Manhattan. There I observed a downtown scene that was bizarre, fashionably cryptic at times, youthfully exuberant, its veneer quasi-religious. So when I decided to make a spontaneous journey to Haiti, nothing could prepare me for the magic realism that I was about to witness. Yes ~ this was no Mudd Club.
I was a portraitist. I had met my new girlfriend Kirsten in the aforementioned club only three weeks prior to my flight to the Caribbean island. Oddly enough, we had both thought about Haiti, and we were aware of Maya Deren and Voodoo, the paintings, the street scene, and the intense poverty. We went fearlessly and jumped at the chance to go. Jacmel, the wonderfully idyllic coastal town that had prospered during the colonial turn of the century due to it’s rich coffee plantations, had a charm unlike any other I had ever seen. The French colonial mansions were stunning. The people so warm and engaging. They wanted to bring you in. But my French was not so good. My Creole non-existent. The indigenous folk music rang out at night and the festive environment was a first for this New Yorker. I was initiated into the magic that was to be Haiti. You have to remember, this was the era of Baby Doc Duvalier and the poor were many. He controlled the repressive Ton-Ton Macoute, the “Revolutionary Guard” of Haiti. The first independent republic in the Caribbean, Haiti nonetheless remained in a time warp, a living anachronomism, like in the time of the early 1800’s. Throw in very little investment and deforestation, and you have a very poor place.
I had brought my Balcar studio strobe light with me along with my Rollei 2 ¼ camera, my Pan-X film, but, not being an electrician and even then knowing about voltage, the unit blew up ~ it was a 110v light/power source. (The current there was 220v).
So I used a little hand flash I brought, thank God, and grabbed the bedspread from the Hotel Jacmelienne to use as a makeshift backdrop, and I sought a boutique off the Iron Market to set up the portraits. “Deux Gourdes por foto?” I would ask. I wound up “casting” right off the main market. And for the equivalent of 40 cents, I had 200+ people willing to sit for a portrait and a Polaroid.
So I used a little hand flash I brought, thank God, and grabbed the bedspread from the Hotel Jacmelienne to use as a makeshift backdrop, and I sought a boutique off the Iron Market to set up the portraits. “Deux Gourdes por foto?” I would ask. I wound up “casting” right off the main market. And for the equivalent of 40 cents, I had 200+ people willing to sit for a portrait and a Polaroid. It all worked out, in the intense heat of the day and the intense heat of that flow. I got the mix, even with the little light source which taught me so much about minimalism.
And at night, the place felt like magic, too. If you ever doubted Voodoo’s existence, Jacmel was not the place to disbelieve.
In any case, I’ve always loved these portraits. They look spontaneous. Like they were shot in a cave. The hand flash was perfect. And the Polaroids were a great touch in the sense that giving them to the subjects was a wonderful gift for having sat for me.
I could only hope that the black and white film looked as good as the sample Polaroids had looked. And it really was the start of a certain fascination documenting the “unseen” peoples of the world. Other people could handle the celebrities. I’ll take the common man pushing the wheelbarrow.
I used to say to myself that I would begin an art career in order to photograph everyone in the world. I got off to a pretty good jump, but after some time I realized it was going to take alot more time than I had anticipated. But Haiti was a good start.
–William Coupon
Photo Booth Self-Portrait/William Coupon
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“Elijah.” © Timothy Archibald
“When my eldest son Elijah turned five we began working on making photographs in a collaborative manner. Together we made the photographs that he was a subject in. Singularly I made the scans of objects that he had created, things that showed his hand. I was looking for clues in the objects, looking for a way to understand him. I imagine he is collaborating with the photography as a way to understand me. Echolilia is our document of this process.”
Timothy Archibald
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Balbuki is a very ordinary village in Pskov Region, one of many small regions in western part of Russia. The local farmers who have lived and worked this land are being gradually being replaced with summer residents from nearest towns, and a lot of customary traditons are disappearing as well. This style of steam bath called Banya is one of the traditions that are being lost to gentrification. Read More/Comment
About Tatiana Plotnikova: Born in Leningrad, Russia. Active as a photographer since 2008.
Graduated from the St.Petersburg Economical University with a degree in Accounting and Audit, and the St.Petersburg Politechnical University with a degree in Graphic design.
In 2006-2008 studied at the St.Petersburg Photojournalism Faculty in Sergey Maximishin group.
At present – Tatiana is an independent photographer focusing her attention on a social photography.
You can reach her by email at: plotnikovoy@yandex.ru
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“Ariel.” © Stefan Rohner
Stefan Rohner is a photographer living in Ibiza, Spain. This series includes photographs of his daughter Ariel.
Comments
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According to R. Scott Hanson, author of the book, “City of Gods: Religious Freedom, Immigration, and Pluralism in Flushing, Queens—New York City, 1945-2001,” there are over 200 places of worship in the borough. Religion is literally on display on the streets of this chaotic urban community. Economically devasted in the 1970s, Flushing was reborn by Asian businesses and residents leaving the
overflowing Chinatown of Manhattan; new immigrants found friendly faces and cheap housing on the outskirts of the city. Unqiue zoning laws allowed for the proliferation of houses of worship and as immigration grew and became more diverse, a perfect set of circumstances gave way to the most religiously diverse spot on the planet.
I’ve spent time documenting a selection of religious communities from the oldest, Quakers, to the newest at the China Buddhist Association whose temples serves mostly new Chinese immigrants to the active and flourishing Hindu Temple Society of North America (the first Hindu Temple in the U.S.). As new groups settle into the fabric of the community, established churches have evolved to incorporate new languages and traditions such as St. George’s Episcopal church and Bowne Street Community Church which both incorporate Taiwanese and Latin American traditions along with their more commonplace English language and American traditions. While the Eastern faiths and faces are flourishing, some of the older established communities struggle to maintain their place in the evolving landscape. Most of the Jewish synagogues’ memberships are in rapid decline as Jews move farther out in the suburbs. Temple Gates of Prayer is the most active and vibrant synagogues in this part of Flushing due in large part to the leadership of charismatic Rabbi Albert Thaler.
I have documented rituals and everyday moments that bind followers of various faith traditions. A deep connection to a faith’s spiritual roots as well as the strong bonds of fellowship are the core of these communities regardless of faith doctrines. I have tried to steer clear of what I feel is previously known or understood as well as trying to dispell some stereotypes, all the while tapping into the intense beliefs and joyous celebration of believers. A man praying silently during the Lunar New Year blends in perfectly well on the streets of the city, his red fleece vest providing no hint of his Buddhist faith. Faith is so much more than doctrine, didaticism and costume, although seeing Rabbi Thaler dressed as a nun in his annual outlandish Purim actions
was a fantastic moment of levity and life. A reminder that religion does not need to be an uptight,
solemn practice.
The relative peace and calm of such a diverse and densely populated community as Flushing is a testament to a multicultural society. It is noteworthy to see what’s possible when the profound but paralyzing battles between faiths are supplanted by the equal space for mundane everyday practices of life, work and prayer.
NYC hasn’t been the most religiously diverse city in the world for more than a decade. You might want to look at current census data and rethink your wording.
Nice photos though…and the positive message behind your work is fantastic!
anon — August 31, 2009
Thanks for the comment. I’m not talking about New York City as a whole but rather just Flushing. The academic research on this is not mine, but according to religious historians, there is no place that has as many different religious communities in such a concentrated area as Flushing. I’ll have the historian whose work forms this assertion respond more fully.
Scott Lewis — September 1, 2009
A refreshing take on religions. Is it still a work in progress?
Luc Novovitch — September 4, 2009
The U.S. Census stopped recording data about religion in 1936, but you can get a pretty good sense of the picture with data from the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) of the Glenmary Research Center. Although Los Angeles has been reported to be the most ethnically diverse city overall in recent years, the 1990 and 2000 Census show that the borough of Queens in New York City is the most ethnically diverse county in the country. Because of the large amount of immigration since 1965 from East Asia (Japan, China, Korea) and South Asia (India, Pakistan) as well as Latin America, Flushing has become a microcosm of world religions with each community establishing many new places of worship alongside older churches and synagogues. Religious diversity is not unique to Flushing, but nowhere else are so many different places of worship as densely concentrated in such a small urban neighborhood.
The book, City of Gods, is not yet out but is expected to be published later in 2010. For more info about the project, see:
http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/shanson/index.php
and
http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2008/August/20080825143428xlrennef0.4305994.html
R. Scott Hanson — September 6, 2009
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Grown up West: Children of the Blackfeet Reservation in NW Montana
I have spent the past three summers making portraits of kids on the Blackfeet Reservation to illustrate the emotional and visual experience of childhood in this extreme land of vast beauty, endless sky and harsh deprivation.
On the US-Canadian border, twelve miles from Glacier National Park, lies the remote Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The reservation is a tough place to grow up for white and native children who are subjected to grinding poverty, substandard schools and a dearth of opportunity. Many families and kids are affected by alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and parental absenteeism.
Most kids on the reservation must take care of younger siblings and themselves, burdened by the responsibilities of the adult world while still clinging to the playful adventurousness of youth.
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Despite their circumstances, the children are strong, brave and resilient. They manifest tremendous independence and resourcefulness. This project is a window into their world; an exploration of the precarious balance between imaginative innocence and premature experience that defines childhood on the Blackfeet Reservation.
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Detroit was once an icon of America’s prosperity. The town was one of the best manufacturing hubs in the U.S.. However, Detroit is now in a serious economic crisis. About one-third of the city lies vacant. As many of the populations relay on the big three U.S automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, those are facing the possible default. The three, to chase the survival, have already announced to close a big portion of their plants, resulting in many unemployment people. Detroit’s unemployment rate has reached 20 percent or so. Plus, due to such this big economic crisis, foreclosurers and crimes have dramatically increased. Moreover, the situation might be worse. The Obama administration, on March 30th, forced General Motors Corp’s chief executive to quit and pushed Chrysler LLC toward a merger, threatening bankruptcy for both. If the U.S. government lets the auto-makers fall into bankruptcy, many of Detroit communities would be really vanished.
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Albino Beauty
“Albino Beauty” proposes to search for and a show the diversity of the world we live in. The portraits of albinos celebrate a different kind of beauty and eliminate the stigma sometimes associated with difference.
Albinism comes from the Latin word albus, meaning “white”. It is a hypopigmentary congenital disorder, characterized by a partial lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair, and very rarely, in the eyes alone. The eyes, however, appear pink or red because the blood vessels in the iris and retina reflect light, whereas in normally coloured individuals they are hidden by pigment. Albino people have very defective vision and their eyes are extremely sensitive to light. The skin is very white and never tans, so that sunburn is much more serious than in ordinary blondes.
Albinism is hereditary; it is not an infectious disease and cannot be transmitted through, blood transfusions and contact for instance. The principal gene, which results in albinism, prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin. Most forms of albinism are the result of the biological inheritance of genetically recessive alleles (genes) passed from both parents of an individual, though some uncommon forms are inherited from only one parent.
However, because organisms can be carriers of genes for albinism without exhibiting any traits, two non-albinistic parents can produce albinistic offspring. Albinism generally occurs with the same frequency in both genders. An exception to this is optical albinism, because it is passed on to offspring through X-linked inheritance. Thus, males more frequently have ocular albinism as they do not have a second X chromosome.
There are two main categories of albinism in humans:
• In oculocutaneous albinism (despite its Latin-derived name meaning “eye-and-skin” albinism), pigment is lacking in the eyes, skin and hair. People with oculocutaneous albinism can have anywhere from no pigment at all to almost-normal levels.
• In ocular albinism, only the eyes lack pigment. People who have ocular albinism have generally normal skin and hair colour, and many even have a normal eye appearance.
As mentioned before, in physical terms, albinos usually have vision problems and need sun protection. Nevertheless, they also have to face, very often, social and cultural challenges because of their ‘special’ human condition that frequently cause them a source of ridicule, discrimination, or even fear and violence. Cultures around the world have developed many beliefs concerning people with albinism. This folklore ranges from harmless myth to dangerous superstitions that cost human lives. Furthermore, brutal discrimination almost always happens in less developed countries where the general scientific knowledge of such occurrences are not widespread and superstition takes hold. It is also more frequent in countries where the skin colour varies from people with albinism the most likely because they are more easily differentiated from the general population. Portrayals of people with albinism in literature and films have historically rarely been positive. This fact is sometimes referred to as the “evil albino” stereotype, or albino bias from other people, although one must recognize them as normal human being with physical problems as other have differently perhaps.
These pictures have been taken mainly in Argentina, Spain, United Kingdom.
Paola de Grenet
hello it’s photographer strong with compositions paola de grenet..
i’m to photographer music and reportages
good visit in my link
http://photographike.ovh.org/spip.php?article60
hasta luegos..
kats bartok
bartok — December 21, 2009
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The Jardim Edite favela, located at the foot of the landmark Estaiada bridge in an affluent section of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was once home to more than 550 families. Most are gone now, as the government of Sao Paulo has forced them to leave their homes to make room for a new development.
Many of the residents of Jardim Edite came from the countryside, often from poor rural communities in the North, seeking opportunity in the bright lights of the city. They built their homes first out of scrap wood and cardboard and whatever else they could find, but over the years some of the homes have grown into reinforced concrete structures with running water and electricity.
The neighborhood was home to several bars and restaurants, a barber shop and beauty salon, a bicycle repair shop and several other businesses. Some residents supported their families working for businesses outside the favela, many worked long hours collecting recyclables to take to a nearby sorting facility.
City officials have long wanted to remove the ramshackle homes and businesses that make up Jardim Edite. As part of the Favela Urbanization Project the government wants to replace the favela with a modern housing development. In September of 2008, a court order sealed the fate of this tight-knit community when a state tribunal judge said the project could go forward and the occupants should be evicted.
Plans call for a complex of buildings with 248 two- and three-bedroom. Officials from the Secretaria Municipal de Habitação (Municipal Department of Housing) have denied repeated requests for interviews and information about the proposed development project.
Some residents, those who were previously registered with the city as official occupants of the favela, are eligible for rent subsidies or cash payouts if they leave their homes. But these payouts are often not sufficient to find suitable housing , so many families end up moving to other favelas. Meanwhile the neighborhood, where some have lived for more than 30 years, is slowly being demolished.
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Loved the work! I am planning to buy a medium format , what camera did you use ?
Saiful Huq Omi/ Photographer
Saiful Huq Omi — September 28, 2009
Amazing work.. Great colors and the subject matter is just GOLD..
Really enjoyed it.
The Light Search — September 28, 2009
Wow!! Great !!! Loved the story and the way photographer used color.
Tanvir Ahmed — September 28, 2009
really quite beautiful photos. thanks, i think i just fell in love
con — September 29, 2009
this is breathtaking work. the colours, the textures, the subjects. just wonderful – bravo
ciara — October 2, 2009
The light. The color. The captured moments. Words fail me, right now. Absolutely magical photos.
And I love the way Canepari works the square.
I’m definitely going to show these to my students next week.
John Edwin Mason — October 2, 2009
I just admire people like you, thank you for showing us the world.
Ezequiel Resenite — October 6, 2009
Inspirational. Thank you.
Charles Meacham — October 15, 2009