Friday, September 23, 2011

Going Back to Mexico In My Mind or Full Disclosure

"Joshua's Sister", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley




Yesterday, I had the wonderful pleasure of having Mexican photographer, Eunice Adorno come out to my hometown, Jersey City for a visit. The last time I saw Eunice was in Mexico City in the summer of 2010, when she was my student in a workshop that Tema Stauffer and I taught in collaboration with Toxico Cultura. 

I am very elated and proud of Eunice! She has a book called Fraum Blaum about women Mennonites living in northern Mexico coming out shortly. In Spanish the book is called "Las Mujeres Flores" or in English "The Flower Women :  the editor is Pablo Ortiz Monasterio and Fernando Gutierrez and is published with FabricaThe images are very intimate and the color palette very soothing.




Cover of "Las Mujeres Flores" by Eunice Adorno.



Now, Eunice and her dog, Cleto are living temporarily in New York and she is partaking in a residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program. And to top it off she is off to Holland in October, to take part in the prestigious Joop Swart Masterclass.  Wowsie! What an amazing year for such a talented and young photographer.

I am looking forward to her next visit and next time with Cleto who can keep my little Howard (Howard definitely needs a FB page) company, now that he is an only child.

Check in:

I wish I could put a torch to most of my life right now. In fact, as an experiment and because I feel that I feel compelled to document the state of my life visually... I will take some photographs to post next time. Because I hope that soon my situation will change. And I hope that the state of it right now will soon be a memory only visible in photographs.

I also believe that since things feel completely impossible right now (or simply feel that way)  that I want to expose myself.

Why?

No, this isn't a shaming masochistic technique to haul ass and clean up and stop avoiding... but a full disclosure or a substantial disclosure of me right now as I am.

AGAIN WHY?

I wouldn't ask less from any of my subjects so, why should I pretend to be anything more that I am. Yes, the shit has hit the fan and it's time to accept it as it is right now because as said, it will change. Slowly, but it will change.

Will this help my career as a photographer? Could it damage it? These are some of the questions that have come up over the last year when speaking to close friends. Only time can tell. I'll go with my instincts.

It's time for self-portraits. Anyone, with skills in this realm... please, contact me through Facebook. I have some questions on how to set it up, etc. I have questions.

In the meantime, I still have the fantasy of my vacation in Mexico with Victoria over 5 years ago. And so, here are some more photographs to keep me out of harm's way or rather just away from the present. Here are more images about Joshua and his family in the south of Mexico

Thank the Universe that I will be photographing this weekend. And in the spirit of all the young photographers out there and even my contemporaries, I will be shooting with my Canon dSLR and not with my Rollei TLR... how avant garde... right?




"Joshua's Brother and Sister Upside Down", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley




"Joshua's Other Brother in Bed", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Mexico Series on Hold

"Victoria at Parent's Sink", Redding, CT, 9/11. Juliana Beasley.



 I want to thank all the wonderful people in my life who got me through the last couple of weeks; in particular, the last week. Without your support, things would have been much rougher. As most of my family, close friends, Van Vorst dog run comrades, acquainances, and Facebook friends know, my dear Moishe died this past week. I also managed to somehow apply for a grant at the same time; again, without the help of friends like Benj (my dear cousin who has just came into my life and miraculously, at the right time), Drew, Victoria, Jeffrey, Jacques, Amy and John this would have been impossible. I realized how fortunate I am to have such wonderful, caring, interesting, smart and unique people in have in my life.

Now, life goes on. I am spending the weekend out in Connecticut with Victoria at her parents home. It's nice and slow here. I get the chance to step back from my life in Jersey City. It's nice to see Victoria's family. It's hard not see Moishe taking in the country air and sniffing around the ivy and shrubs but I am blessed to have little Howie here who adorns me with an excess of affection and kisses upon the moment I wake.

I took these photos last night of Victoria and the kitchen at her parents place with my new camera apps. I feel the need to be creative even if it means picking up my Android phone and taking crappy low res photos. It's one way that I can move out of myself and connect with the outside world and incorporate it into something visual, something that I can share with others.

I couldn't decide whether I like the tighter shot of the kitchen counter or the wider so, I have posted both.




"Kitchen Counter in Redding 1", Redding, CT, 9/11. Juliana Beasley.





"Victoria in Kitchen #1", Redding, CT, 9/11. Juliana Beasley.





"Kitchen Counter in Redding 2", Redding, CT, 9/11. Juliana Beasley.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Mexico Part 3



"Victoria After Shower", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley.





"Victoria in Shower", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley.





"Victoria Balancing Beer Can on Her Head", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley.




"Victoria and Beer", Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley.



I want to escape. Not forever. Just now. These photos are sweet reminders of past getaways.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

I Miss You Mexico Part Two

More of Mexico photos from 2006. It's amazing how time passing can change your mind about how you perceive photographs. These following photographs I took randomly during my vacation with Victoria along the Yucatan Riviera. I will return to posting photographs of the small reportage I did on Joshua and his family. For now these.

I really miss traveling and the excitement of all senses... picking up my camera and recording it and editing with my mind's eye when I snap the shutter.

I miss Mexico. I think I can write that again and again.




 "She Caught My Eye", Yucatan Coast, Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley





 "The Cake", Yucatan Coast, Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley





"She Showed Me Her Bedroom"Yucatan Coast, Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Back to Mexico. I Miss You!

I was looking for a photograph that I took of Victoria from our trip to Mexico about 5 years ago. I love those pictures and she is so wonderful in front of the camera. And then I came upon these.



 "Joshua on His Couch", Yucatan Coast, Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley



I had brought my first dSR with me-- a Canon 3D. I had only shot with it maybe once before and I thought the trip down to the Yucatan Coast would be a great opportunity to pull it out of my Domke bag. After all, I knew I would have some time alone while Victoria went scuba diving. And it has just become impossible to go on any trip without wanting to stop the car and get out and take a photograph. My brain spins into creative mayhem once I get outside the urban jungle.

I was riding a bicycle along the dirt roads of a small fishing village not far from the Belize border. I passed a soccer field and saw a group of young teenagers training and suddenly, a fair skin kid with reddish hair caught my eye. He was completely out of place, as much as I was. He was lanky and taller than the rest of the Mexican kids and his skin was burnt. At first, I thought he might be a girl. I was intrigued.

I approached him and began to speak to him in the Spanish I had concocted from years of Italian lessons and French conversations. He responded in English.

"My name is Joshua," he told me.

I sat down next to him on the sidelines and he eagerly asked me many questions about the United States and specifically, New York City.

When I was getting ready to leave, he invited me to his house to meet his family the next day.

Here are some of the pictures I took. I had previously posted one of the images. More to come. I miss Mexico.




 "Portrait of Joshua's Mother as a Young Woman", Yucatan Coast, Mexico, 2006. Juliana Beasley

Monday, September 5, 2011

Off to the Party

I met the woman in pink and her friend on the day of her wedding. A couple of weeks later, I was back in the Rockaway's and this time,  with my cousin, Benj who was visiting me from Toronto. They told me they were off to a party.

It's funny I have so much to say and yet, I feel like I don't know where to begin. Oh, yes, I know where to start. I will say this... it's good to have family and friends. Especially, when you need them.
,
To Moishe:

Every day that is left and that we spend together, I have promised you something that will make you understand how much I love you.



"Off to The Party", Rockaways, NYC, Sumer 2011. Juliana Beasley

Thursday, September 1, 2011

End of Season #2




 "Tristan #1", Rockaways, Queens, NYC, Summer 2012. Juliana Beasley




"Little Girl with Doll in Stroller", Rockaways, Queens, NYC. Summer, 2011. Juliana Beasley