Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 11:35 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreIt was a busy weekend. Once again the sun was shining and on Sunday several of us took the opportunity of visit an arts festival at Gorvello. There was some traditional dancing and music and well as lots of food and drink. I was pretty wiped out from the night before but I managed to get a few good pictures…
Let’s start from the beginning… © Damaso Reyes
Jesus says hello. © Damaso Reyes
Generations of tradition. © Damaso Reyes
Random moth. © Damaso Reyes
Shoes. © Damaso Reyes
The passion of the flower. © Damaso Reyes
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Monday, September 22, 2008, 11:25 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreOne of the things I like most about spending time in small towns are the festivals and circuses one can find. Last week there was a small family circus in Pluherlin, a village within walking distance. So I packed my camera bag and went for a stroll down the road. It was a small tent but I got to spend a little time with the Bertrand family before the show. Here are a few images…
Big show, this way! © Damaso Reyes
Laetita, Christhophe, Leslie, Dannob and BoBoye. © Damaso Reyes
Send in the clowns. © Damaso Reyes
My kingdom for a llama. © Damaso Reyes
Brother and sister. © Damaso Reyes
Time for a show. © Damaso Reyes
Saturday, September 20, 2008, 14:52 - Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreThe sun is shining here in western France and I am out shooting! As always, here is your HCB Quote of the Week!
The Gulf of Morhiban. © Damaso Reyes
"They . . . asked me:
"'How do you make your pictures?' I was puzzled . . .
"I said, 'I don't know, it's not important.'" Henri Cartier-Bresson
Thursday, September 18, 2008, 14:24 - Personal
Rochefort-en-TerreAll is well here in Western France and as my time here dwindles I am shooting more and more. But that does not mean that I do not have time to, as we say, have a good time. Last week Madam Isabel Klots invited several of the American artists in town for dinner and we had a great time. Mrs. Klots is the wife and daughter-in-law of Trafford and Alfred Klots, the American painters who brought the chateau here in Rochefort. Nineteen years ago Mrs. Klots, in cooperation with MICA, started the residency program here to honor the memory of her husband and father-in-law. She missed all the artists who used to stay here in Rochefort when her husband was alive and because of her generosity for nearly twenty years artists have had the opportunity to come here.
The Madame receives us. © Damaso Reyes
And what a reception it was! © Damaso Reyes
We had all we desired. © Damaso Reyes
And I mean everything! © Damaso Reyes
It was hard to keep up… © Damaso Reyes
But we tried our best! © Damaso Reyes
Dinner was excellent! © Damaso Reyes
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 08:29 - Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreOn Sunday I had an opportunity to hear some traditional Breton singing at Café Gorvello, just a few towns over. Imagine American idol on a much smaller scale. The event was a local competition for a regional signing festival to be held later next month. Dozens of local residents came out on a lovely Sunday afternoon to sing traditional folk songs.
Keeper of the Flame. © Damaso Reyes
This kind of music is called Kan ha diskan or call and response. The singer will start with several verses and the audience will respond with what we might call the bridge. It was a really interesting experience, especially since almost all of the participants were over 50. As much as there has been a revival of Breton culture over the past thirty years, clearly many parts of this unique heritage are in peril as fewer and fewer young people choose to take on the traditions of their ancestors. Here are a few images!
Song of the shadows. © Damaso Reyes
Documentation. © Damaso Reyes
Noble song. © Damaso Reyes
Local color. © Damaso Reyes
The face of history. © Damaso Reyes
Friday, September 12, 2008, 10:23 - Travel, Shooting
Rochefort-en-TerreEarlier this week several of the artists here took a trip to the nearby island of Gavrinis which contains a megathic tomb which dates back to 3,500 B.C.E. Just a short ferry ride through the Gulf of Morbihan, Gavrinis is an interesting example of Europe’s wonderfully preserved history. Thousands of years ago humans were building complex societies complete with the kind of memorials that we are familiar with. Here are a few images!
Can you smell the salt air? © Damaso Reyes
You are here! © Damaso Reyes
Monument. © Damaso Reyes
Entrance. © Damaso Reyes
Thursday, September 11, 2008, 08:09 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreAnniversaries are interesting things. The further we get from the date the harder it is to remember why we are trying to remember. This date means many different things to many people. Some see it as an excuse for war; others remember a pain that tore their lives apart on a clear September morning. For far too many it stands as a gate; a date which can only be seen through the lens of before and after. It is getting harder to remember before and more difficult to understand after.
As always the children shall lead the way…
World Trade Center Memorial Groundbreaking. September 11, 2004. © Damaso Reyes
Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 14:03 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreThey say the world is going to end today.
Or not. Sometimes it is hard to know who or what to believe.
Turn on the juice! Geneva 2007.
Just kidding. While some members of the tinfoil hat society believe that our friends at CERN are going to kill us all by unleashing a microscopic black hole in Geneva, those of us in the know have no fear. Of course this is a great moment in science as well as for Europe. After all CERN is doing what we in the United States chose not to: build the world’s largest particle accelerator. With this amazing tool we will push back the limits of human knowledge and it came together through the cooperation and vision of dozens of nations around the world, most of them located in Europe. It’s a great day for science!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 10:58 - Travel, Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreOne of the nicest ways to get to know a place is to walk. Perhaps it comes from having grown up in New York, that most walkable of cities, but I do enjoy spending time on the streets of whatever city or town I happen to be in. Rochefort-en-Terre is no exception and I have spent much of the past ten days, weather permitting, strolling around this idyllic medieval village. And since we are such good friends you get to see some of the fruits of my labor, enjoy!
Signs. © Damaso Reyes
Rocherfort-en-Terre. © Damaso Reyes
The Chateau. © Damaso Reyes
Local delicacies. © Damaso Reyes
Timeless. © Damaso Reyes
Going home. © Damaso Reyes
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 13:13 - Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreJust cruising around France, don’t mind me! Please enjoy your HCB Quote of the Week!
Stairway to heaven. Rochefort-en-Terre, France 2008 © Damaso Reyes
Only a fraction of the camera's possibilities interests me - the marvelous mixture of emotion and geometry, together in a single instant. - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Friday, September 5, 2008, 12:53 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreThe rain is hiding the sun here in France and there are demographic clouds on the horizon for the European Union as well. Eurostat recently released a study which finds that the soon death rate in the E.U. will surpass the birth rate. In just seven years, as we read in this article, the long predicted population decline will begin in earnest.
The writing on the wall in Vienna’s old Jewish cemetery. Austria 2008
Now just how Europe deals with this issue is a subject of some debate. Clearly immigration is one solution but Europe; especially western Europe, is struggling with how to integrate those immigrants already in its boarders and reactionary right-wing politicians in nations from The Netherlands to Switzerland are calling for a halt to immigration all together.
Will Europeans answer the call of nature and get busy? Perhaps. If not the epitaph of Europe may already be written…
Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:37 - Travel, Shooting, Commentary
Rochefort-en-TerreI have spent the past few days exploring the lovely town that I will be staying at for the next three weeks. Most, if not all of the homes are at least a few hundred years old, a perfect example of how Europe’s history is literally embodied in its towns and cities.
Lost in time. © Damaso Reyes
As much as I like photographing landscapes I do plan on photographing more of the people who make this town and region so special! In the meantime, please enjoy some images…
Flora and fauna. © Damaso Reyes
Green and black. © Damaso Reyes
Home of God and home of man. © Damaso Reyes
Renew, Reuse & Recycle! © Damaso Reyes
Red and white. © Damaso Reyes
Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:15 - Travel, Shooting, Commentary, Photo of the Day
Rochefort-en-TerreGreetings from France! Sorry it has taken me so long to post, but it was a long flight and train ride to get here to Rochefort-en-Terre. Of course it was totally worth it. Brittany is amazing and I actually managed to get over to the coast and shoot a few images of the landscape and the oyster and mussel pickers. Whole families go out on the weekends to pick these bivalve delicacies!
The coast. © Damaso Reyes
Rochefort itself is a lovely small town straight out of the Middle Ages. I promise to grab some shots for you once the rain stops (it might take a while). In the meantime enjoy some images from the coast!
Picking oysters in Brittany. © Damaso Reyes
No sand, only shells. © Damaso Reyes
Low tide. © Damaso Reyes
Friday, August 29, 2008, 15:19 - Travel, Photo of the Day
BrooklynToday I am off to France and Rochefort-en-Terre! I will leave shortly but just wanted to let all you in New York know that I will miss you but of course you can stay up to date on my adventures by tuning in right here! See you soon…
La belle France! 2007 © Damaso Reyes
Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 20:16 - Commentary, Photo of the Day
BrooklynJust two days to go until I take off for France and of course I have too much to do. But of course the news never stops and if you have some time check out this interesting article about the E.U.’s response to the conflict between Russia and Georgia, I feel it nicely sums up the issues:
“The E.U. always has trouble speaking with a single voice,” said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University. “It will find consensus all the more difficult in this crisis. In Central Europe there’s a sense that we told you so, Russia is again an aggressor state. And in Western Europe there is a much more complicated view of the war in Georgia and an unwillingness to jump to the conclusion that it’s time to man the barricades and contain Russia.”
What to do, what to do? Kosovo 2005 © Damaso Reyes
The next few years will no doubt bring many similar foreign policy and military challenges. The question of course is just how the European Union’s member states will choose to deal with them…
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