haiti

Yesterday I was hauling frames up to my office. 30 of them, to be exact. I’m getting reading for the 30 Strangers exhibit so that has meant making prints and getting everything framed. That’s all being done in-house. Which is to say, I’m doing it, which is really to say, our very capable employee Laura is doing it.

I was taking everything up the back stairs to the office and all the sudden I started thinking about our first 30 Strangers exhibit which took place in the studio adjacent to my office. We only kept it up for two days and on the night we took it down, Ashley and her then boyfriend, Alden came to the studio to help me take down the show. (They are married now, but this was back when things were just starting to heat up. I don’t even know if had the label “boyfriend” at this point). I’m sure there was a certain element where he wanted to impress her and show how helpful he was so he stuck around until the lights went out, but the truth is, the truth shined through because Alden is helpful whether he’s your boyfriend or your husband or a guy you just happen to know.

So there we were. 2009 in July, taking down the 30 Strangers exhibit, and the next day I left for Haiti. It was my second time being in Haiti. The first time I went there I ate goat for the first time, saw men betting on a cock fight, and I pulled a dead guy from the ocean. The first time I went to Haiti I saw a voodoo priest chant about this and that, and I drank milk straight from a coconut. The fist time I went to Haiti, I imagined it would be my last. I mean, who goes to Haiti?

And yesterday when I was taking frames up the stairs and remembering I left the night after Alden and Ashley helped me take everything down, I thought about Haiti again. I love that place and I would love to go back.

Haiti photographs taken on assignment for Partners of the Americas.

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It’s disturbing to see the news from Haiti. I think, how can another bad thing happen to Haiti. Although poverty-stricken, it’s a vibrant county with a rich and lively culture. I’ve been to Haiti twice and have loved my time spent there and fallen in love with the people I’ve met.

And now, an earthquake. It has decimated the most populated area of the island. There are a number of worthy organizations that have stepped up to help our Haitian neighbors and I’d like to mention one such group and encourage you to take some action: Partners of the Americas. From their website: Partners’ mission is to work together as citizen volunteers from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States to improve the lives of people across the hemisphere. I’ve taken a number of trips for Partners to document the good work they are doing to fulfill their mission. It’s not hyperbolic to say they change lives.

Care to do something for the people of Haiti? You can donate here (specify Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund). Those people need help.

Here are some of the photographs I took on my trip to Haiti in July, 2009