Chance encounter in Seattle

I met this guy on Olive’s Way in Seattle. He eyed my Leica around my neck and approached me. He told me that he was a fine art photographer before. He was in New Mexico producing fine art landscape photography, studying the works of Anselm Adams and Georgia O’Keefe. Then he told me he stopped taking pictures because in a row his mother burned all his negatives. Before I could enquire about the reason why she burnt his life’s work and what the dispute was about, he disappeared off on a bus… I will never know the full story. He left me intrigued.

Twee Vaders

Peter made me aware of this song on youtube which may form a perfect background sound for my slideshow:

Still in Seattle

I have decided to stay in Seattle and not venture out on my own for a variety of reasons. But I did not spend much time shooting either over the last two days or so. Instead, I was trying to focus on getting more sound bites and interview pieces from the boys for my slideshow. In addition, the daily life routine sets in now and I feel that it is time to wrap up this part of the project (I intend to follow the young family over the next few years as a long-term project).

As I am not so experienced with editing sound, I was experimenting with various pieces of software and ended up with Apple’s GarageBand, which seems to work nicely. For one thing, you can have various tracks and edit them separately and for another you can export the resulting sound file to an mp3 format, which in turn can be imported in iView Media Pro for the slideshow. But I am still learning how to use it. I have not figured out yet how to fade in and out sound and adjust the volume of the various tracks so that they fit together.

I have also spent a good amount of time editing my images and have now edited them down to about 150 images. I like the shot that I have posted here – it shows Peter and Frans feeding their babies in the Northwest lounge in Detroit, waiting for our connecting flight to Seattle – although it is flawed on a technical level: it is shot (deliberately) against the sun and has resulting lens flare. I have a few similar shots of the same scene without the technical flaws, which are not nearly as exciting – in my opinion. I have been experimenting with these kinds of shots lately (for example the shot I have done in the Black Forest over Christmas was using the same approach) and have always been keen to see what the lens flare would be.

As I said, I will probably wrap up soon and leave Seattle…

The Nappy Diaries

The last two weeks have represented a really steep learning curve for me. I have learnt what a “doula” is (for those of you who are as ignorant as me: it is a person, something between a nurse and a nanny who comes to new parents’ houses and helps them in the first few days), that you can feed newborns with Similac if they cannot be breastfed (they won’t notice the difference, believe me :-) and I listened to very arcane and heated discussions about the usefulness and harmfulness of pacifiers (or “binky” for the British) – yes/no, until which age?

But as a non-parent you still feel like being in an advanced astrophysics class when you listen to parents talking about the different forms of nappies (Huggies vs. Pampers) and how to apply them. When Peter and Frans were visited by another gay couple yesterday who have also become parents recently, the discussions on nappies were so arcane that I cannot even repeat them here. I just sat there with an ignorant and gormless expression in my face and nodded in agreement from time to time.

On a more serious note, the last two weeks have almost been a case study for the notion of photography as a way to explore the world and gain experiences. Without me doing this documentary photography project, I would not have been able to make this experience and participate in Frans’ and Peter’s journey to parenthood. At least I would not have been so close and constantly involved without a camera. That’s why I love photography!

Back in Seattle

After a very, very long and tiring day, we arrived back in Seattle at midnight yesterday. Our connecting flight from Detroit was three hours late – due to an emergency on the incoming flight – so that the whole journey from Akron to Cleveland, then via Detroit to Seattle took us nearly 14 hours. Well, the twins took it with a lot of imperturbability and the young parents coped well with feeding and nappies changing in public places and airports.





And I guess the young family is glad to be back home, starting their normal daily life/routine and bonding now.



I have now got a lot of material for the story and will soon be starting the daunting task of editing (while still continuing shooting parts of the story). I have been shooting this story for almost two weeks now and apart from showing some images to Peter and Frans, I have not had any feedback on my images. So to speak, I have been stewing in my own juice for a while and would not mind to have some kind of outside “sanity check” whether this is moving in the right direction and which parts might still be missing. But I guess that will have to wait until I get home. I understand that even seasoned photojournalists get to this point at some stage.

I am also tempted to give the young family a few days of breathing space from the ever-present photographer, literally documenting every fart and burp :-) So I might head to Vancouver or Portland for a few days on my own.

When do you have enough?

The DNA test arrived in time and – again the boys have been very lucky – one of each is the father of one of each of the twins. Peter is the father of Coco and Frans of Jonas. The outcome could not have been better for them. Since these results are now available, the birth certificates can be issued and we can leave Akron. Tomorrow we are flying back to Seattle – with a lot of baggage and, of course, two additional small human beings.

I have now shot close to 900 images for the story and two conflicting emotions appear. On the one hand I feel more and more comfortable that the story is coming together and that I have a few strong images that will tell the story. On the other hand, I am getting increasingly paranoid and tensed up not to miss any part of the story. It would be a shame if I missed a part now that I have come all this way. Often you cannot go back, and certainly in this case, once I am gone there is no way I can re-shoot any part that I may find out missing later on. But when do you know that you have nailed a part of the story? I guess you have to rely on your intuition.

Stepping out of your comfort zone

I have to renege on my intention not to publish any images before my project is completed. The “triptych” I shot today of the adorable twins is just too cute not to share it (obviously I am also shooting some images that Peter and Frans can share with their families and friends).







Well, just to continue with the story: the twins were discharged from the hospital today along with the surrogate mother. Peter and Frans took their children back to the hotel in Akron where they are going to have their first sleepless night, I presume. We are staying in Akron until the results of the DNA test are available and the birth certificates can be issued. Hopefully by Thursday we can leave Akron and fly back to Seattle.

I have some further thoughts on the “sound” issue – apologies to those who are getting fed up with this topic but this is a very pertinent issue on my mind. Apart from the reason that it is physically difficult to record sound while taking images (try to focus with a rangefinder camera while you are fiddling with a digital voice recorder): I am simply more comfortable taking pictures than recording sound. It just dawned on me today that there is a major difference between taking images and recording sound. I am getting increasingly comfortable taking pictures in sometimes delicate situations, I just manage somehow to blend into the background at some stage, nobody takes notice of me anymore and I can just observe and photograph – when I believe you get the best shots. Recording sound means that you have to approach people and ask questions and get more involved, i.e. it means stepping out of your (i.e. my) comfort zone.

Well, today I did step out of my comfort zone and did an interview with the surrogate mother with my voice recorder running. After two to three hours of editing the recorded interview afterwards I am quite pleased with the result. I think it will form the backbone of the slideshow I intend to produce as part of this project. Still it meant that I took fewer images today… You can’t have it both still applies in my opinion.

Akron, Ohio

It seems that we are now deep in Eggleston country :-) Or is it just me that I see all these Egglestonesque images around because I spent quite a bit time analysing his work and looking at his images recently?





Well, obviously these are just the ancillary images I am taking while doing my main project. I guess I have shot now about 600 images (or about the equivalent of 15 rolls of film for those of you who are still old school :-) for the main project. I attempt to post the images in a slideshow once I have edited the images and completed and the project. I have decided against publishing individual images before completing the project (well, I post a “teaser” here, to show that the twins have been born.).





In short, the twins came two days earlier as planned since there was not enough amniotic fluid to support them for few more days, so the doctors decided to deliver them on Thursday instead on Saturday as planned. Since Peter and Frans only learned about this on Thursday morning in Seattle, there was no way they could have made it to Ohio in time for the birth (it is about a six hour flight). However, all went according to plan and two healthy twins (a boy: Jonas Maup and a girl: Coco Anemone) were born on Thursday afternoon.

We arrived in Akron, Ohio, on Friday evening and went straight to the hospital. It was quite a moving moment when Peter and Frans saw their children for the first time. I feel very privileged to have been able to observe (and photograph) these precious moments.

A few observations on the project: I am very grateful for the access that Peter and Frans have given me to this very special moment of their lives. I have been able to be around and photograph whenever and whatever I wanted (the hospital has also been very forthcoming. I even managed to photograph the DNA testing). I expected that to be much more difficult. I guess I have been quite lucky.

What is quite interesting - due to the familiarity I have with the main protagonists - I start to become quite involved (I hugged the surrogate mother, held the twins, etc.). How much can I get involved without losing the ability to observe and document properly? Do I have to detach myself more to be able to stay the neutral and alert observer? Does it affect the quality of the images/project if I get too involved?

And, I am still struggling with taking pictures and recording sound at the same time. I either do a lousy job at both if I attempt to do it at the same time or I end up with (decent) images and no sound. So far, I have been focusing on the images (which is closer to my heart) but am quite aware that I missed out on some key sound bites.

St. Patrick's Day...

... in Akron, Ohio.

Blog service back online...

It seems that the blog image upload service works again. So here is a backlog of images I have taken over the last few days in Seattle...









And the Seattle library with the all red fourth floor I was writing about:

Seattle so far...

I had trouble to upload any images into my blog this week, therefore I haven’t posted anything. I still cannot upload any images but decided to post at least a bit of written text (although would have been nice to show some images of Seattle – I might add them as soon as this problem is resolved).

I arrived in Seattle on Monday evening and spent about two days wandering around Seattle before starting my project with Peter and Frans (they were also busy working, still are in fact, so it was good that I could spend a bit of time on my own and get over my jetlag).

Among others, I went to the public library on Fifth Avenue/Spring, which was opened in 2004 and designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The library includes a nice view over the city from the tenth floor and a fancy all red fourth floor (you will see just how red it is, once I can upload images again). And also went up the Seattle tower (157m high), despite me being scared of heights.

Yesterday evening I started my documentary project with Peter and Frans, documenting their last few days before their twins get born this Saturday. I focused in particular on their preparations for this life-changing event. The birth will happen in Akron, Ohio where their surrogate mother lives. This means that not only the “arrival” of the twins has to be planned but also the travel to and from Ohio.

Part of this project has been easy for me since I know Peter and Frans quite well and therefore access and “breaking the ice” is not an issue at all. On the other hand, this makes it sometimes more difficult for me to step into the shoes of someone who is not so familiar with their situation and to produce images that are both informative but at the same time still interesting and not too bland. In addition, I have been trying to make sure that all of the images show some aspects of the relationship between Peter and Frans. Otherwise I might just end up with a few images that show two men going about their daily business.

Moreover, especially in this context when you are very familiar with the people and the situation there is a very fine line between just observing and documenting and starting to direct events. Can I put the proverbial glass of water out of the frame when it is in my way taking a picture or am I already interfering too much? Can I ask to change the lighting when it is not suitable? When I am observing interaction between them, can I direct them to a location in their flat that would produce a more interesting image? Where do you draw the line between truly documentary photography and staged photography? So far I have refused to have anything arranged for me, apart obviously from some formal portraits I have been taking of Peter and Frans.

Hopefully I will be able to post some images again soon.

Last day at LCC

Yesterday was my last day at college for this term. Yes, the first term is over already. It went by so quickly. The last ten weeks went over so fast. I can’t believe that one third of my studies is already done and over. I learnt a lot, met a very nice group of people at college and even forged some friendships that may last.









Now I am gearing up for the Easter break and the project I am going to shoot in the USA (which will also be the major piece for the assessment for the first term). I am flying to Seattle on Monday to meet my friends Peter and Frans. Peter and Frans are a gay couple who have been together for many, many years and are about to become parents of twins in about a week’s time.

I intend to accompany them and document their exciting journey to parenthood. Watch this space for more on this story. Obviously, I am very grateful that they (and the surrogate mother) let me into their lives at this key juncture of their lives. But I also feel the burden of the responsibility to do a good job at this. Not just for me, but for them as well. I feel privileged to have this kind of access to their lives; I don’t want to mess it up. And I would like to produce a good piece of work that they will like and will be a good document of this seminal event in their lives. I hope that I deserve their trust.

Killing of journalists

I read an interesting – if sad – statistics in the “Financial Times” today, compiled by Reuters. The FT showed a map of the world, indicating the number of killed journalists between the years 1996 to June 2006. Sadly – but unsurprisingly – Iraq came first with 138 deaths. Considering that a major war is going on, this is hardly unexpected. However, guess which country occupied the second spot? Russia! With 88 killed journalists - and this number excludes Chechnya. Russia came second even before Columbia with 72 murdered journalists. How come that there are 88 cases of murdered journalists in a country where there is no major ongoing war and with this country apparently being a democracy?

Lumpini Park, Bangkok

I am currently totally immersed in writing my term essay on Eggleston and tidying up a few things here in London before I head off to Seattle next Monday (I’ll write more about the reason for my trip to the States and the photo project connected to it next week – in fact, I’ll report on it quite extensively in this blog once the project is underway).

But back to “William Eggleston:” the more I read about him and his work, the more I am fascinated by him and his work. He really grows on you, the more you start to understand what he was trying to do. Hopefully I can pick up the documentary DVD “By the Ways” while I am in the States. The DVD seems to be unavailable here in London.

Well, it made me dig through my archive and bring this image out which I took in Lumpini Park in Bangkok last November. Quite Egglestonesque, isn’t it?

Simon and Agnieszka

Simon and his girlfriend Agnieszka at a friend's flat in Richmond.

Spoilt salt

Today there are no images. In addition, I do not quite understand what is means and maybe therefore I feel I need to document it. My Persian taxi driver today was quite philosophical and talked a lot about religion and confessions when he drove me to my home from the airport. I did not quite understand where he was going and what his point was. But I played along – also not to appear impolite. And then he made the quite puzzling remark that “people often use salt to conserve things but how do they know whether the salt is not spoilt itself”?

As I said, I have no real idea what he meant but the remark was following me for the rest of the day.