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Cowboy Logic

The spirit of the west still lives and my trip to Wyoming lived up to my lifelong dreams. How often does that happen…

The ranch was  300,00 acres and the landscape incredibly diverse. Some days we were shooting in a Painted Desert moonscape and others in high mountain passes filled with golden aspen trees. One of the  moments I will always remember was moving 50 head of horses across Shell Creek from one pasture to another. The horses splashing through the water and the dust kicked up from the running horses and cattle combined with the shafts of sunlight were spectacular. We got to experience many facets of life on the ranch-from shoeing the horses to training sessions with young colts.
The wranglers all had different stories of how they came to be in Wyoming. One of the families running the ranch is originally from Belgium and having just been to Belgium this summer and seeing the city life there I was in awe of the courage it takes to make that kind of complete change in one’s life and lifestyle. The home they are building now had the most amazing view and a canyon in their front yard that was calling me to ride off into the sunset. I am sure everyone they know in Belgium is coming to visit and taking back the fabulous feeling of freedom that I took back to New York City with me.
Most of the wranglers had ridden and worked with animals all their lives. One woman came from Bolinas in Northern Ca. and was in college and planning to run a horseback camping travel company.The head wrangler was from Mexico and rode with amazing grace and power. It looked like the horse was an extension of his body. Another cowboy was from  Idaho and had grown up on a dairy farm riding horses in his neighbors paddocks as a way to get to school. One from Texas was a former football player and the one of the women in the office had seen an advertisement  for job in her home in Florida. One couple met in China doing mission work-she from New Zealand and he from Colorado-they met, then  married and now live in Wyoming.
One of the best parts of the trip was meeting everyone and  experiencing the rhythm of the life on a working ranch and watching the cooperation, camaraderie and teamwork necessary to run a ranch and the family feeling  that develops.
I have traveled to many far off lands and will continue to do so but I have to say this was one of my favorite trips ever !

Ramone

Ramone

The mountains and the moon

Ramone at Tablerock

Boots and Spurs

Shawn

Luke the Duke

Sunset On the Ridge

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Wyoming Roaming

Ever since I was a little girl I have wondered about the life of the American Cowboy. I have seen every movie and read many books about horses and the western lifestyle but had never experienced it. So I decided it was time to check it out. I always focus on vanishing rituals and lifestyles in my work throughout Asia so why not investigate closer to home. I traveled to the Hideout Ranch in Shell, Wyoming and spent some time making images there with the wonderful staff of wranglers and  other photographers too – led by  Darryl Guilin and Jeff Vanuga who were great to work with.

It was spectacular in every sense…The ranch magnificent-the landscape varied from rocky moonscapes to aspen groves beginning to turn into their golden fall colors. They practice natural horsemanship and all the training is focused on creating a team between the horse and rider. The cowboys and cowgirls all had unique stories of how they arrived in Wyoming. I will tell the stories in the next posts. The spirit of the west still lives!

 

Cowboys of Wyoming

Ben

Cowboys and Horses in Wyoming

 

Shawn

 

Ramone

Ramone

 

Marijn

Marijn

 

Luke the Duke

Luke The Duke




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Yours truly in the London International Creative Competition

I  just received news that I’ve been included in the London International Creative Competition 2010 Shortlist Awards.

MISSION STATEMENT: London International Creative Competition is a vehicle for facilitating contact between artists and an international audience.

LONDON CREATIVE COMPETITION: LICC invites visual artists from around the globe to submit their innovative artwork for inclusion in the competition.  The artwork is juried by a board of international luminaries of the visual arts.  The jury-selected Final Selection and Shortlist will be published in the LICC Annual Awards Book.

“Still Points of A Turning World”

2010 LICC Finalists Shortlist

Click here to view Winning images.

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aCurator- Featured Photographer

View the magazine photo feature

aCurator is a full screen magazine featuring photography and art, edited and published by Julie Grahame in New York…

I am happy to be the current featured artist.

“My ongoing body of work, ‘Still Points in a Turning World’, explores our universal cross-cultural truths: the importance of family, community, ritual and the amazing diversity of its expression.

“The differences between our many world cultures are fading away. We all lose when ancient skills and visionary wisdom are forgotten. As a ‘visual archeologist’, photography has become my way to honor and celebrate an existence that may soon vanish and what it is that makes a people unique. I believe that sharing these stories and rituals can have a positive impact by providing a window on our common humanity.” – Terri Gold, July 2010

Click here to View the Blog Site feature

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The North Fork

Spent the  day in Cutchogue on Sunday at my good friends home, which is a feast for the eyes and spirit on the North Fork. The skies were filled with ever-increasing dramatic  light and clouds moving quickly as a summer storm blew in. A delicious  luncheon with friends finished just in time for a wonderful  rainstorm on the way home . The vineyards  and farms are in all their summer glory.

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The Coney Island Mermaid Parade

Saturday was the fabulous Coney Island Mermaid Parade. This year the parade also had a message.  As one sign put it: “Fuck You BP, Save the Mermaids.”  “Performance artist  (Tigger) Ferguson told the Daily News, “Today is a celebration of sea life trying to survive in the gulf. The Mermaid Parade is a celebration of marine life, mythical and real.”

Still, the parade was as colorful and festive as ever. Lou Reed and wife Laurie Anderson served as the parade’s King and Queen, and everyone including the large group of  inventive photographers had a great time. Along with the amazing mermaids and mermen and their creative costumes , the array of photographic gear is always inspirational. Every unique flash contraption, medium and large format film cameras and  polaroid cameras and more are  on display.

Coney Island is filled with new rides and the Circus and music on the boardwalk every night. I am definitely going back for a sunset visit to photograph more of the scene.



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Buglisi Dance Theatre: Letters of Love on Ripped Paper

On Wednesday, June 16th, I photographed a wonderful preview performance by the Buglisi Dance Theatre, “Letters of Love on Ripped Paper”. It is a work in progress that will premiere in 2011 and was hosted by Ralph Pucci at his beautiful penthouse. The work is based on love letters through the ages; one is from Napoleon to Josephine:

Josephine

Your image…the intoxicating pleasure…allow my senses no rest

My soul is broken with grief when I drink from your lips…your heart a scorching flame.

Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amore, set my blood on fire…







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Connecting Through Photography


As material and technological improvements replace old traditions in rural village life the cultural impact radiates throughout the community. In the encounters I have when traveling and photographing tribal life there are fleeting moments of connection. We know we are different but similar at the same time. The encounter can lead to a personal connection through photography.

It is this spontaneous connection I am looking for.

Change is coming and is inevitable and the unique traditions that separate our ancient cultures are vanishing. I hope to capture and make images that celebrate our differences and our common threads.

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Rajasthan and Gujarat-The Journey Continues

Village Life

Men In The Village

Village Schoolgirls

The group  would arrive at a village and spread out to see who we could meet and what was the story here.

Village life  is quiet in the heat of the day- much of the work is  done early in the morning and at the end of the day, so people had time to invite us into

their homes for tea.We met  school children everywhere  and sometimes would go into the schools and talk to them about  where we are   from.

By the time we left a village we would  have a trail of children and others following us back to the van. It was a good way to connect but often at odds with

creating an  unposed  photographic moment.

There was  curiosity on both sides. The women dress in floating  pink and orange chiffon saris no matter

what kind of work they are doing. They are the most  colorful  part of the harsh desert  landscape.

Yet for me , it is often  my  split toned infrared images, stripped of color, that capture the feel of the land and the rhythm of the life here.



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Spotlight on Travel Photgrapher Blog

Rabiri Shepherd In Nomads Camp-Gujarat

Tewfic El-Sawy’s The Travel Photographer Blog is my one my favorite online destinations.  I have been following his travel

tales and multimedia slide shows and now after traveling with him in India, we have become good friends.

There is so much new technology available to photographers  today ; keeping up with it is a challenge.

It ‘s so important to find the balance between the lure of  additional gear and then learning how to use it and finding

the time for keeping up our sites and blogs while still  stretching our vision and craft and actually getting to take pictures too.

In a field where we often work alone, it is wonderful to have other photographers to talk to…

Click here to article