Leaves of Grass 2

“Leaves of Grass”
‘When two elephants fight, it is only the grass that suffers.”

-African Proverb

“Leaves of Grass” is an intimate portrait of Afghanistan, a country looked at but rarely seen, we often only see a country in the constant throes of war. We divide simplistically the country’s people in to those who visit war upon others and then those upon whom war is visited. However the most common narrative is the one that is lived quietly and spun daily in the lives of ordinary Afghans. It is this narrative of quiet, personal industry, one that is shaping up to be the dominant narrative of Afghanistan where up to now we have thought of a people only as those irrevocably linked with conflict.

These images then illustrate for us all the ambiguity and tragedy of people finding their way in war. For some, work is the descent in to perennial night in mines, for others it is the moral conundrum of farming poppy that provides half...

Women of the Omo

Description coming soon.

Leaves of Grass 1

“Leaves of Grass”
‘When two elephants fight, it is only the grass that suffers.”

-African Proverb

“Leaves of Grass” is an intimate portrait of Afghanistan, a country looked at but rarely seen, we often only see a country in the constant throes of war. We divide simplistically the country’s people in to those who visit war upon others and then those upon whom war is visited. However the most common narrative is the one that is lived quietly and spun daily in the lives of ordinary Afghans. It is this narrative of quiet, personal industry, one that is shaping up to be the dominant narrative of Afghanistan where up to now we have thought of a people only as those irrevocably linked with conflict.

These images then illustrate for us all the ambiguity and tragedy of people finding their way in war. For some, work is the descent in to perennial night in mines, for others it is the moral conundrum of farming poppy that provides half...

Death of the Colorado

The Colorado River, a waterway that stretches over 1400 miles from its origins in the Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez, is a dying river. The waterway is now a shell of it’s former self as overpopulation, pollution, over-damning, and global warming all combine to deteriorate not only the natural habitat, but degrade the cultures that historically relied upon its bounty for life.
This extended photo essay chronicles my journey along its shores focusing on the American Southwest and the Northern Baja and Sonora regions of Mexico. From Las Vegas to San Luis del Rio Colorado, a thread of sorrow being suffered by the common people stands in stark contrast to the occasional vein of plenty being enjoyed by the wealthy few.

La Frontera

La Frontera is a depiction of faith facing conflict along the Mexican border from city of Juarez to Tijuana; two Mexican cities where the “war on drugs” has become for the control of drugs. Due to the lawless gang violence, cartel murders, ties with drugs, and their gateway to greed and fortune, these cities struggle to control the lawlessness of the border. The local population is praying for salvation and peace while looking to saints of death for protection. A population accustomed to death and violence and forced to live with in its limitations.

The expendable value of human life and the constant echo of conflict highlights the accelerating pace at which the violence is growing and is what gave these cities a voice. Their geographic location and proximity to the Unites States is what put them on the map. With over 10,000 deaths since 2007 Mexico has become a bloodier battleground than both Afghanistan and Iraq have been for the U.S.  And with 2010 promising to be...

Nu-A Child in Isolation

Dang Thi Nu lives with autism in the Friendship Village, near Hanoi, Vietnam. She is blind, mostly deaf, and she cannot speak. Nu’s condition, although complicated and expensive to prove, is believed to be linked to Agent Orange poisoning because her grandfather was exposed to the chemicals while fighting in the American war and her father also suffers from severe mental disorders. Nu often roams the halls of her living quarters, bumping into random objects. Her caretakers or the other children have to put her back in her room where it is safer for her to wander. Although Nu can’t see she has taught herself to walk up and down the stairs on her own. Nu spends most her days alone in her room without human interaction.

Renewed Fighting DRC

A document of the renewed fighting in North Kivu, The Democratic Republic of the Congo from October and November of 2008. Although a peace deal was signed between the government and multiple rebel groups at the end of January, CNDP rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda refused to disarm while Rwandan Hutu rebels still operated in the area. On October 30th, 2008, NkundaÌs troops came within kilometers of taking Goma, forcing thousands of displaced Congolese civilians to flee the intense fighting. Nkunda called a ceasefire and withdrew his troops, but fighting continued in the surrounding area. On January 22nd, General Laurent Nkunda was arrested in neighboring Rwanda for war crimes consisting of numerous killings, rapes and torture. Some five million people are estimated to have died as a result of almost 15 years of conflict in DR Congo, following the Rwandan genocide.

La Guerra Mexicana

This Story offers a glimpse at the drug wars that raged across Mexico in 2008. Thousands died from Juarez to Chiapas in the bloodiest year of violence in the decades old war.  The essay takes a look at the other side of the coin to this story.  Instead of covering police actions and press conferences, bodies and bullet holes, it shows the view from the street in some of the most notorious barrios in Mexico and offers a peek at the culture of violence that has sprouted because of this on going travesty.

When the Spirit Moves

Those living in Chester, PA, USA, grow up in an environment where forces everywhere are against them; where gravity seems to be stronger and less forgiving. It is a place where pollution alters cognitive development, violence and crime are commonplace, poverty is oppressive, jobs are virtually non-existent, and people with nothing take from others who have little

There is little for people to grasp a hold of for support, to deliver them through. People are forced into carrying this burden of weight and thus are required to be strong to withstand it.

I was besieged while witnessing the issues weighing heavily on the lives of the people in this community. In experimenting with multiple exposures, I’m attempting to speak to the complexities I felt were so tightly woven into their lives.

This project is an attempt to bring awareness to the issues that plague many inner city Black communities, like Chester, throughout America. Mostly importantly though, it’s an...

Dandora Dump

Dandora Dump, located in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi covers over 30 acres and is one of Africa’s largest dumps. Poor waste management in Kenya and lack of recycling leads to uncontrolled dumping of medical waste and pharmaceuticals such as syringes and other used hospital supplies. Pesticides, lead paint, electronics and plastics are also disposed of in Dandora Dump, containing poisonous chemicals. Kenyans living around Dandora sift through the unrecycled mountains of garbage, gleaning from it plastics, glass, food and anything else they can sell to make an income; this is their livelihood. The population in Dandora, who are not necessarily working in the dump are still affected by pollutants, through soil, water and the smoke of burning solid waste.

Legacy of Horror

Severely disabled and abandoned at birth, 124 children live at the Ba Vi Orphanage and Elderly home near Hanoi, Vietnam. They are believed to be 3rd generation Agent Orange(a defoliant used by the US military during the Vietnam War) victims,  but nothing is known about their family history and the center lacks the resources to conduct medical tests to prove such a link.
For the 124 children there is one doctor, two nurses, and six caretakers. Eighty percent of the children are mentally disabled. The center receives national funding of $15 USD for every child per month.
Most of the children live a life without recreation, education, or physical therapy and spend the majority of their day in wooden chairs or in mass beds. Some of the children more prone to wandering off at night or harming the other children are kept in locked iron cages overnight and during afternoon naps. The majority of the children will live their entire lives at the center.
Currently the Vietnam Victims...

La Cuidad

Mexico City, The world’s most populated metropolis is in the midst of a crime wave that has even the most jaded of residents shocked. By conservative estimates, the casualty scale has climbed to an average of 16 murders a day. And the police are widely perceived as too corrupt to tackle the crisis. Drug wars are, of course, nothing new in Mexico, but authorities say the battlefield is now expanding from cartel strongholds such as Juarez and Matamoras to the capital itself. Robberies and botched kidnappings are commonplace. The city’s poor neighborhoods remain the most crime-filled, with poverty fueling much of the violence. But wealthier areas are not immune either. Drug-related violence has increased dramatically in recent months, and shows no sign of abating.

The Food Chain

Images in this series are part of The New York Times series titled “The Food Chain.” The series examines the growing demands on, and changes in, the world’s production of food. These images are singles I took on assignment for this series in 2008. The three assignments cover palm oil shortages in Malaysia, inflated fertilizer prices in Vietnam effects on crops, and the effects of drought on Australia’s livestock and rice production.

Mui and Pha

Mui, and her son Pha, lived on the homeless on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam, for around five years. They slept on straw mats on the ground and scavenged through garbage for their food. Even though they faced many daily challenges, they found happiness in their affection for each other.

Somali Pirates

According to The International Maritime Bureau there were 209 Somali Pirate related attacks off the Somali Coast from January to mid December of 2009. In early October 2009 in Mombasa, Kenya’s Central Law Court, 120 men were being tried as suspected Somali Pirates. Abdi Kheyre, 35, and captain of 6 men who are now his co-defendants, claim they were fishing on February 11th in The Gulf of Aden. But according to US Sailors who testified in court the only thing found on their skiff that day were five AK-47’s, a rocket propelled grenade launcher with spare ammunition, and a grappling hook along with multiple cell phones, cash and a single family photograph. After a large number of Somali Pirate attacks against both civilian boats and commercial ships last year, Kenya procured a deal with the US and EU to try suspected pirates in the coastal town of Mombasa.  Details on this arrangement are as uncertain as the suspected Somali pirates fate, whether convicted or acquitted....

Georgia

Description coming soon

Afghan Corners

Afghan Corners is a depiction of daily life in a country struggling to rebuild itself. It’s where two places meet or it’s the occupied spaces that sometimes demand more attention. It’s but a blink in time but a life of stories. The country’s slowly changing faÁade masks the years of anticipation of a standard of living that yet still has not been achieved. Unemployment is ever greater as refugees repatriate into society and find a growing capital with very little opportunity and saturated with uncertainty.