Suvive

Today I spoke with a verteran who was one of the first American soldiers to enter Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped in August 1945. He spoke with passion and fear and dismay of what he saw and the future of what will happen if the world goes nuclear against Iran or some group detonates a dirty bomb in a populated area. I was struck by his passion, his fear, his life. He is sick. Radiation is a killer. He said out of 10 soldiers that marched through Nagasaki, 9 are now dead.

I was thinking of Aceh. Of tsunamis of turmoil. Japan, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, atomic testing...we only have to blame ourselves. Who do we blamb for nature? God?



This Aceh man rode his bike thorugh a destroyed city. The destruction lingered after the tsunami. It still lingers in me.

Smokie

The same day I shot Josh and his friends at Kewalo Basin, I met Smokie who was part of the click that was hanging out at the park.

Smokie was a green eyed Mexican kid from California who claimed pure blood Azteca blood and spirits of Cuahtemoc. The wool had obscured his good looks but his physique canvased his body like a piece of artwork. An almond eyed woman outfitted as a beautiful Pancho Villa graced a thick shoulder and other various histories and dramas played out across his chest and back.

He showed me scars and pains and allowed me a hint into his life.

Very interesting man. I will probably run into Smokie again.

Gracias hombre!

Joys of a new format.

Kramer after a surf.

Diving in head first into something isn't always the wisest or prudent choice in life but I decided to move forward with a 4x5 camera. As digital is by far surpassing all that is film, one must think about why anyone would choose to use a nitrocellulose coated with a type of emulsion over a "somewhat" superior image created by a CCD with a Bayer filter. Digicams are so easy! Point, shoot, transfer, publsh! Done. A fact found on wikipedia points out that the first filmless analogue cameras were designed in the early 1970's. Unbelievable.

Ah but with film and a 4x5, you gotta drag out the tripod, you have to compose, focus, think, and put forward a good image. It takes time, effort, and thought. Something digicams are allowing the photographer to forget about.

As far as this new toy, its Toyo View cream colored 4x5. It has a Nikor 210mm lens and its allowing me to make magic. Why go through this struggle, you might ask? Well, there is a psychology to the portrait. A true psychology the subject feels when he is placed behind this monstrosity, an accordion with an upside down image that can only be seen with a dark cloth placed over the head.

People take you seriously...oh this guy knows what he is doing. they pose, the take themselves serious. you won't see stupid grins, hand signs, etc...but the serious "I am being preserved" attitudes.

At the same park where I shot that surfer, a gang of guys drinking beer called me over and asked me to photograph them. None shied away from saying they were from the other side of the tracks...jail time, stab wounds, gunshot scars, etc...they shared beer, time and stories. I, not the type to shy away from life, embraced these guys, who in many ways, would have probably sneered at me if I had a 35mm camera, but coddled me as one of their own. They were the nicest kindest, friendliest people you could ever image. If I had been on the other side of the island (you know...the rich side) I never would have been allowed a rich world party. Those types are snotty and pretentious. What did Josh and his friends have to loose?

We shared polaroids, family snaps, etc...they loved it. I loved it. Here is Josh. What a guy.




That is what makes them so interesting...
And makes us so boring.

ah, the joy of cameras.


Thank you Yong Yoo for your efforts and support. You are never far from my thoughts.

The Lakers

I hate sports. I really do...only because there is no way to really control anything about what happens. You spend your photo time hoping the star will do a slam dunk, run in a touchdown, or score that winning goal. If you line up on left side of the field or net, the pass will go the right side and you won't get the shot.

Nathaniel Welch told me once he wanted to be a pro surf photographer and spend hours shooting barrels at Pipeline. He never made a dime shooting sports action. Nathaniel now kicks butt in New York and still claims he makes nothing! He is one of the more successful guys in New York but you'd never know it. Yet he told me never to shoot sports as you'll spend your career waiting for that sport star to run your way or catch that ball perfectly in your eye piece. If he doesn't, you're done.


You can't control fate or chance...no matter how good you are with a camera.

Many pro sports guys will tell you that you can control many of the aspects of chance but most of what takes place is random. And many of those pro photographers have strobes set up in the rafters and make their lives shooting NBA or whatnot. They also have exclusive relations with sport stars and they learn to know how these athletes will move or run.

As But the...POW! Kobe Bryant runs at the basket for a lay up and pow! I get a shot.

Made TOPIX at AP...best in show for the day or something like that. I did good for someone who hates sports. Then...

Bam!



Ronny Turiaf slams one in the bucket. Either I got good or just lucky...

Headline News

I made CNN on 22 September with my well worn Superferry image. I recall the Superferry sailing into port and feeling there was a huge hesitation as local shipping monopoly scheduled a ship to sail at roughly the same time. The superferry had to sit out in the channel for some time...almost foreboding as the Superferry has received so much gruff from the locals not only on Kauai but Maui, and the rest of the state. Seems locals just don't want change and that suits those in power.

We do seem like a backwater...



as far as the photo goes, it was big surf on the south side of Oahu so all the surfers were out. Kakaako was full of people and this guy just so happen to jump out into the picture.

I must say that I envisioned this photo. There is much to say on thinking forward and projecting the image you are looking to capture. I am learning that a pre focused idea will and does work in most cases. I did see this surfer and boat but just couldn't get the stars to line up. I was caught off guard as the Superferry sailed quickly into port. I was on the other side of the park and had to book to the other side. Autofocus and foresight got the image in line. A burst on the trusty ol 1D MII and voila!

My Laotian monk series

May 2007
www.marcpix.com

New views

WTC was replaced by...

WTC

Its almost anniversary time for 9/11.

Here is my homage to the view from our side... the Jersey City side. The late summer sun sinking into the West. A cross processed look of a city summer with blown highlights, aqua water, and gushing winds across the Hudson. Such a view from the dock near Pavonia Newport. A little dutched but a view none the less.

I think this image was from 1999 or so. I remember thinking how New York and photography and life was so far away from me. It was one of those days. Remembering the first few days. A cold February day...walking down 9th Ave to meet Yukako at a share. My luggage and a Texas winter coat. The coat didn't last. Subways, Times Square, pizza, taxis, strange aggressive people. What a time. Its still far away but the distance isn't so bad. Life changes. The view is gone.

Michele

Michele.
August 2007
on the North Shore at sunset.

These are the fun days.

Toilet

Only in New York can you come across a sight like this? I think I found this image near Washington Square Park in November 2000. Everyone seem to have election sickness from the problems at hand. Courts deciding the outcome was just wearing on the public.

You could find just about anything on the streets of New York. Garbage was just a matter of public discourse. Where else in the world can you find a toilet with headlines as such?

Fall in New York

I think this was in 2001. We were in Westchester.
The fall is so nice.

Mamiya RZ
110mm
Fuji RDP III

Golf

Here are some of the best images from golf from last season. Getty Images purchased Wire Image and their sports department. No one seems to realize the writing is on the wall. Wake up, the freelance world just got smaller.

I really like these two pictures. I am a good golf photographer.

Gun play

Around 1998 or 1999 when I was still living in NYC, I tested three models and decided to do something different. I wanted to do a sort of action spy type of photo. So I borrowed a bunch of suits from a stylists, painted a water gun black, and created a fairly interesting shot.

the police came soon afterwards. I got in trouble. This was before 9-11. I am glad I didn't get shot.

It was a good shot.

Tri X
Nikon F4s
35mm 2.0

Mexican wall

I came across a great poster up against a wall in Oaxaca.

The lyrics are "...take another piece of my heart...Break It...Another piece of my heart..."

I am not sure what the poster means but its something I couldn't pass up.

June, 2007
Oaxaca
RZ 140mm
Tri X

4th of July

I think this is an appropriate image for the day...

I photographed several veterans from the 100th Infantry Battalion a few days ago as the group celebrated their 6th anniversary. The Battalion, activated in 1942, was made up of a majority of second generation Japanese Americans. Its said that many of the members joined the Army in order to prove their loyalty after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Born in America, they faced a racism because of the Pacific War. I wonder if the US could make a battalion made up of second generation Arab/Persian/Muslim Americans?

Would the lawyers, ACLU, and the public allow it?

Shizuya Hayashi was the first individual I photographed of the day. This is the last frame.

Mr Hayashi received the Medal of Honor for actions in Cerasuolo, Italy.

From the official citation:

"Private Shizuya Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 29 November 1943, near Cerasuolo, Italy. During a flank assault on high ground held by the enemy, Private Hayashi rose alone in the face of grenade, rifle, and machine gun fire. Firing his automatic rifle from the hip, he charged and overtook an enemy machine gun position, killing seven men in the nest and two more as they fled. After his platoon advanced 200 yards from this point, an enemy antiaircraft gun opened fire on the men. Private Hayashi returned fire at the hostile position, killing nine of the enemy, taking four prisoners, and forcing the remainder of the force to withdraw from the hill. Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army."

Thank you.

Carrie

1992--I think this photo was taken. I took it with an old Mamiya 645--a camera I purchased for $475 from a guy in Austin. I really loved that camera. I should buy another...

The model's name is Carrie. I remember I was taking photos for this young fashion designer. I didn't know what I was doing. I just wanted to take pictures. Little did I know I would have this image. Carrie had such flair, I don't remember much more about her. I really like this photo. I will revisit images from the past every so often.

Lidia

Lidia,

Thank you for giving me a moment to photograph you. Your eyes are mesmerizing. Haunting, translucent, showing something not everyone can see...a glimpse into your life...a life in Oaxaca...a student maybe...serving cafe and crepes to strangers from far away. did you think you'd ever be perserved in nitrocellulose and silver halide?





Taken in Oaxaca City.
June 15, 2007.
Tri-X
Mamiya RZ w/ 140mm at 5.6 at 90

See the rest of my portraits at marcpix.com under Projects and Portraits in Mexico.

Viva Mexico! y los estados unidos tambien!

We spent ten days in Mexico this past June. I had been to Mexico many times as I grew up in Texas and even backpacked through the country about ten years ago. I had been through Central Mexico as well as spent a summer traveling through Central America. I am very familiar with Hispanic culture, the history of the region and whatnot. This trip; however, forced me to see things from a much different viewpoint. Immigration issues, assimilation problems in the US, poverty in Mexico and wealth in the US. Living abroad, living in New York, visiting other nations gave me a greater ability to understand my heritage, my history, and understanding being American.

It’s easy to understand why Mexicans risk their lives to cross over to America to work and send money home. Many well educated individuals, young and old, did not have jobs. And when questioned, there were just no jobs available and those that were seemed to be very low paid. A friend told us he had been offered a great job with a great well know company but the pay was roughly $300+ a month. Mexico, as far as what we saw, wasn't cheap. $300 doesn't go far.

To see from American eyes the opportunities America provides to those and the lack there of for the average person in Mexico. From the small group of people we met, almost everyone seem to have or knew someone who was illegal in the United States or elsewhere. One girl, Minerva, even told us her brother's girlfriend died in the desert crossing over. The many conversations had demonstrated the massive wealthy America has...

Yet why is Mexico so devoid of wealth? With all the natural resources, labor, and capital, why wouldn't our neighbor to the south maintain a higher level of wealth for its citizens? Why do so many seek shelter in America? I can't help but to wonder how NAFTA really helps any of us other than helping the shareholders.

*****************

Our trip took us to Mexico City via Houston (about 9 hours total from HNL) and we spent several days in that really crowded, polluted, yet wonderfully historical mega city. Flying over DF took an eternity...as if the city went on forever.

Crowds, noise, pollution. Red eyes, a bit of a wheeze, and a sore throat.

After a few days we took off to Oaxaca in the south and ate great, stayed in a really great hotel, and found a really nice peaceful life in that region. Locals moved at a different pace. Many were very used to tourists and many were also ready to give us a tourist price for goods in the market. Massive churches, beautiful squares, wonderful parks...Oaxaca has a great feel. I do like Guanajato better but Oaxaca was great.

There is political strife in the region and the city as the political group APPO is demanding the Oaxacan governor step down after the murder of over 25 people protesting inequality, land reform, and many other social injustices. This is a complicated issue and I urge you to research more on the Oaxacan issues. I've been told that many of the southern states were not conquered by the Spanish and the indigenous peoples of the regions feel very independent from the rest of the bureaucracy of Mexico City. Isn't this why Texas fell in the old days?

****************

In Mexico City, I contacted the Mexican rescue workers I met and photographed in Indonesia in 2005. Topos played an integral part of my work in Banda Aceh. The guys involved showed me such a different part of life I never would have expected. We stayed in touch and met (and drank way too much) with them in Mexico. We had a great time meeting and learning really bad words in Mexican (yes--Mexican as they said they were typically words Mexicans used.) My accent improved with every Negra Modelo and got really good once the pulque started flowing. Gracias Hector, Omar, Ramon and Juan Carlos...you guys touched us so much. We wish you the best in the future.



In the photo is Hector, Marco (that’s me!), Ramon, and Juan Carlos.




Here is pinche Hector, me, and el cabron Omar. --no mames wey!





Its just amazing that I photographed these guys doing this just a few years back. Recovering bodies from neighborhoods in Banda Aceh. Que vive!

We got to see Teotihuacán and one of the most impressive sights was the Templo Mayor. In so many ways it was hard to see the history of the Spanish conquest of the new world. Aztec warriors dressed as eagles and jaguars fighting Europeans with steel and horses--as well as disease. In my opinion, so much of that conquest filtered down into the masses, as to me, it seems that defeat has never left the Mexican conscious. I don't know...I grew up American but I felt the defeat, the destruction of the once great nation, the massive Catholic cathedrals (European-Spanish temples) and oppression (religion, poverty, cultural, and racism) is so apparent to me.

Aside from all the social economic problems I mentioned...food was great, micheladas are wonderful, and people were really nice. It was difficult this time around but we did see lots of different faces and places. I did get to see a live futbol match on TV in the hotel bar. The locals couldn't understand why I was cheering for Mexico over Panama but I guess they couldn't see my heritage in my face. To them, I am just a gringo.

Fresh cabrito was unbelievable. It seems like I ate a whole goat at this one taco stand...



Church and religion had that old world feeling with the gild and glory...



and color seemed to be in everything. Americans don't have the color and spice Mexicans have. With all that was lost I guess color makes life worth living.










All in all...the trip was successful and we came back with lots to ponder and weight to loose.

Dec 7

Mr. Takeshi Maeda is another pilot that bombed Pearl Harbor. During a seminar in Honolulu this past week, Mr. Maeda came across Mr. John Rauschkolb who served on the USS West Virginia. Mr. Maeda bombed the West Virginia. When the met, John stated, "you probably shot at me." All Mr. Maeda could do was utter "I'm sorry..."

techie stuff...Mamiya RZ, 140mm. Profoto 7B, white umbrella. Tri-X. Yes, I shot film. Scanned on a Nikon 8000.

Pearl Harbor

This is 90 year old Zenji Abe. Mr. Abe was a dive bomber pilot from the aircraft carrier Akagi. He was part of the second wave of Japanese planes that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He is one of the few pilots from Japan to survive the war and to still be alive.

Mr. Abe, like those of his generation, participated in a great war. A war that still permiates our current condition. How oftend did we relate the 9-11 attack to Pearl Harbor?

Mr. Abe still has that look...those eyes of something he saw so long ago...although clouded by age...but that look of someone who still dreams of the sounds of the engines. The runway, the Imperial flag. Of white clouds, blue water, green mountains. Battleship row. Arizona, Utah, West Virginia. Of billowing smoke and fire. Of sinking ships...of a war that just begun.

Photographing him, along with another Japanese pilot and Pearl Harbor survivors game me the feeling that I was recording history. A history that may well be forgotten by today's generation but surely not forgotten in the eyes of Mr. Abe or those who participated.

techincal...Canon 1D MII, 85mm 1.8, natural light. F 2.0.