henry: parting shots

henry's hands

granny photographer

I am joyfully spending the week helping look after my grandson Henry. This kid is clever, good natured, silly, curious and affectionate. He's a good dancer, loves pesto and thinks it's funny when I put a bowl on my head. Such a wonderful little boy. Not a bad model either.

last night

I noticed a lot of birds at sunset.

And I experienced the rattlings of an earthquake for the very first time.

my studio

Here are some pictures I took just before the open studio last night. As you can see, there are a few things mixed in with my photographs, like the Change the Truth store and some pieces I made recently in my ceramics class.

open studio

Tonight many of the artist's studios at the Livestock Exchange Building,1600 Genessee, will be open for touring. It is part of a "Hello Art" event, but please feel free to come down even if you're not signed up for that. Eighteen studios will be open, including mine.

I spent the day yesterday getting my place all spiffed up. I'll be there from 5:30 - 9:00 PM; please come by for a visit. I'll have old and new work available for viewing; the Change the Truth store has found its way there, as well. I might even have some wine.

Hope to see you tonight! I'm in studio #525, just as you get off the elevator on the fifth floor. There will be lots of fun studios to visit, and there are great places to eat right across the street (The R Bar and Genessee Royale) so make a night of it!

There's plenty of parking next to the Golden Ox. Now when was the last time you were there? Add it to the list of possible places to dine...

suzanne's photographs

Change the Truth Team 4 and 5 member Suzanne Garr has been quite busy lately! She's been preparing for an exhibition of the photographs she made in Uganda last December. The cool news is that this is not only an exhibition, it's also a fundraiser.

The show opened last weekend at Marian Gallery, Mt. Mary College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. This Sunday, there will be an opening reception from 2 - 4 PM. Suzanne will celebrate the children from the orphanage by sharing the beautiful photographs she made, showing the Change the Truth documentary (made by Lynne Melcher) selling crafts from Uganda and showing/selling artwork made by the children. All the proceeds taken in that day with go directly to CTT and then back to the very children Suzanne is honoring.

Suzanne has been a loyal and strong supporter of CTT for a couple years now. How lucky we are to have her as one of our greatest cheerleaders!

Her photographs are lovely. They come straight from Suzanne's heart.

If you live in the Milwaukee area, do check out the show. I think you'll be very moved.

team 5: meet lynne

The children at the orphanage will be thrilled when they see that Lynne Melcher is part of Team 5. She is a beloved friend to so many of them. Even though the kids haven't seen her since 2008, they still ask about her and write pen pal letters to her. There's a big "Lynne fan club" in Kajjansi, Uganda!

Lynne has been the magician behind all of the Change the truth films. Her documentaries about the children and their plight have enabled CTT to raise awareness, as well as significant funds. We have been so lucky to have Lynne in our corner. I know we would never have been able to spread the word about the children as effectively as we have these past four years had it not been for Lynne's talent as a filmmaker and her generosity as a human being.

Personally, I am thrilled that Lynne is returning to SMK. I look forward to traveling again with her; she's one of my closest friends!

"Although it’s been several years since my last visit to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage, the children remain a constant presence in my mind and heart. The process of creating documentaries for Change the Truth has kept me connected to them- to their smiles, their stories, their spirit, even when geographically far away. When reviewing footage from my first two trips, or looking at Gloria’s photographs, I often find myself smiling.... just smiling away, which is rare in the labor intensive process of editing. But that’s the effect these children have on me.

The children have also affected the way I think about things.... about life and loss, pain and resilience, struggles and survival. And as a filmmaker, they unknowingly make me want to tell their stories in the most dignified, empowering and compelling way possible.

As I prepare for my third trip to Uganda, I feel honored to once again have the privilege of documenting the children’s lives at St. Mary Kevin, and the efforts of team 5. My goal, as always, is to capture a sense of who these children really are, beyond what we see on the surface, and beyond their circumstances. Ultimately, I hope to educate, inspire and promote change, all of which they have done for me in countless ways."

- Lynne

trip to boston: haley house

We just returned from a visit with our son, Max. Let me tell you about the place where he now lives and works. He has written about it before for me to post on the blog. But now I have seen it for myself!

Haley House has been in the Back Bay area of Boston since before it transitioned into the upscale neighborhood it is now. It’s odd to find a soup kitchen, flanked by boutique shops and restaurants, situated on a beautiful tree lined street. The house itself was built in the mid 1800’s and still has some of the original pine plank floors. It slants and slopes a bit and needs work, but it is home to a group of inspired, compassionate and dedicated staff members and residents. The soup kitchen is on the first floor; the other floors accommodate administrative offices, a few cats, the residents and storage areas.

Max is one of five residents. The residents are wonderfully gentle, kind people who believe in making a difference. They live in very simple accommodations. I was struck by the peaceful, quiet and supportive nature of the place. These four guys and one woman work really well together and have become good friends. They are responsible for getting the food (which comes from the Haley House farm, local food banks and various grocers), planning the menus and then leading the groups of volunteers that arrive each day to prepare and serve the nutritious home-cooked meals. (The volunteers come from surrounding colleges, universities, churches, civic organizations, etc.) The residents take turn leading the meal shifts. Breakfast prep starts at 5:30 AM and is served to 50 – 80 men (the number varies depending on weather, the time of month, etc), who are referred to as Haley House “guests”. Most of the men are homeless, living in shelters or on the street. Many have addiction issues or struggle with mental illness, problems that are, of course, common to the disenfranchised. Some are just down on their luck. At Haley House, they know they can find a safe, warm place, a good breakfast and the pleasant and supportive camaraderie of the residents and volunteers. “Elder Care” lunch is served at noon to homeless men and women over the age of 55. There is also a clothing and food pantry.

The Haley House was founded by a smart, compassionate, socially and politically active, slightly irreverent woman named Kathe. She (and her husband) began doing humanitarian work by taking in destitute men they found sleeping on the street. Haley House is now a large and loving operation that not only helps feed the homeless, but also provides programs and support for the jobless and those transitioning out of homelessness. Haley House has a bakery cafe, an organic farm and residential properties that have been turned into affordable housing for low-income people.

Kathe has become a huge inspiration to Max. Eddie and I had a chance to chat with her, and we can see why. She has accomplished a tremendous amount of good work over the past 45 years and seems to have no thoughts of slowing down. She cares deeply for those who live in poverty and on the fringes of society and has motivated countless people to lend them a helping hand. Haley House functions on private donations and grants from various foundations.

Max heads up the clothing pantry, helps out with IT stuff and works several meal shifts. He LOVES what he’s doing. The residents and volunteers are encouraged to eat and mingle with the guests; since meeting and learning about people are among Max’s favorite things to do, he’s a happy camper! Part of the Haley House philosophy is “…the possibility of transformation through personal relationships, where the advantaged and the disadvantaged are valued equally, while the intrinsic goodness at the heart of every person in honored.” What a great lesson for Max to be learning (and living).

Organic chemistry class, biology class, homework, volunteering at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and tutoring a Harvard student in chemistry are what fill the rest of Max’s dance card. Needless to say, he is a busy boy. Since he sold his car, he has mastered the T and loves getting around Boston that way or on foot. He takes pride in the fact that he's living on $50/month: $30 for his T pass and $20 for the gym! He and the other residents get to eat all their meals at Haley House, where they have access to its large food pantry and a really nice kitchen.

It was great seeing our sonny boy and learning more about what he's doing!



















Tom, one of the other residents. He and Max also go to school together.


Eddie and and Max washing dishes after breakfast. We loved helping and being part of such a wonderful community, if for only one morning.


Our happy young man.

more pictures from nyc

I made these images at Penn Station.

times square

A very quick trip to the east coast this week has included some time in Times Square. Here is a photograph I made there late yesterday afternoon as we were hustling from the matinee of "Billy Elliot" to the evening performance of "The Book of Mormon".

if uganda were your home...

instead of the US, you would...

be 9 times more likely to have HIV/AIDS...
The number of adults living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda is 5.40% while in the United States it is 0.60%.


have 10.4 times higher chance of dying in infancy...
The number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in Uganda is 63.70 while in the United States it is 6.14.


have 3.4 time more babies...
The annual number of births per 1,000 people in Uganda is 47.55 while in the United States it is 13.83.


die 25.26 years sooner...
The life expectancy at birth in Uganda is 52.98 while in the United States it is 78.24.


use 99.5% less electricity...
The per capita consumption of electricity in Uganda is 62kWh while in the United States it is 12,484kWh.


use 99.38% less oil...
Uganda consumes 0.0163 gallons of oil per day per capita while the United States consumes 2.6400


make 97.2% less money...
The GDP per capita in Uganda is $1,300 while in the United States it is $46,400


spend 98.24% less money on health care...
Per capita public and private health expenditures combined in Uganda are $71 USD while the United States spends $6,719 USD


experience 1.56% more of a class divide...
The GINI index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income. In Uganda it is 45.70 while in the United States it is 45.00.


To learn more about these Ugandan statistics or to make US comparisons to other countries, check out the website "If It Were My Home".

harold feinstein: when your mouth drops open, click the shutter

Harold Feinstein was born in Coney Island, New York in 1931. He began photographing at the age of 15, and by 19 he was considered a young prodigy in the field, having his work purchased by Edward Steichen for the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. His career has spanned the greater part of the twentieth century, from his most notable work documenting Coney Island to his more recent color photographs of flowers and seashells. His portfolios cover a wide range of subject matter, including street work, nudes, landscapes and still life. Personally, I prefer his earlier black and white work, and that is what I’m sharing with you here. These images (primarily from the 1940's - 1960's) are from his Coney Island, street work and Korean War series. As far as Coney Island is concerned, he once said: “I feel like I fell out of my mother’s womb onto the beach at Coney Island with a Nathan’s hot dog in my hand." The man clearly has a great sense of humor and a deep appreciation for the joy of living and seeing.

In his early years, Feinstein collaborated closely with W. Eugene Smith, for whom he did the extensive layout of Smith's famous "Pittsburgh Essay." Smith said of Feinstein's work, "He is one of the very few photographers I have known, or have been influenced by, with the ability to reveal the familiar to me in a beautifully new, in a strong and honest way."

Feinstein was fundamentally self-taught and never graduated from high school. His teaching style urged experimentation and emphasized seeing over technique. It is best captured by his well-known statement, “When your mouth drops open, click the shutter.” Even though as a teacher he under-emphasized technique, the editors of Modern Photography, and later Popular Photography utilized his work frequently to showcase technique and asked him to contribute his own articles explaining darkroom technique, composition, and printmaking.

Critic A.D. Coleman wrote this about Feinstein: “Harold Feinstein is a true photographer's photographer, and one of the most seriously under-recognized senior figures in U.S. photography. Until the beginning of this new century he was best-known as a highly respected independent teacher of photography whose private workshops (conducted mostly in his Manhattan studio) influenced hundreds of people in the field, including Mary Ellen Mark. Yet at long last, as he nears the age of 80, Feinstein's work has begun to become familiar to an increasingly wide audience.”

I wish I could say we are related, but we are not. Wouldn't it have been fun to look at and talk about this work around the dinner table during family gatherings?