The Big Day - Erik's Exhibition

In the last few blogs, I have written about teaching photography - or transmitting my love of photography - to Erik, a 10 year old boy. It has been rewarding and sometimes frustrating. But it culminated in an exhibition of Erik's photographs.














Many readers have asked me about the exhibition.



















The good news is that the exhibition, held on Sunday, April 5, was a great success! We sold over 50 photographs, and many, many people attended.

The food was wonderful! Mari (Erik's mom) and her friends cooked some wonderful things. I was sure that they had cooked too much food, but by the end of the event, almost everything was gone.





















Erik signing photographs













During the week before the event, I went to Erik's school to invite the principal and his teacher. Although they promised to come, they didn't make it (remember, this is the teacher that called Erik a "burro" - a dummy) Erik's classroom was stifling - 40 students crammed into a small classroom on a hot day. All of the children were wearing uniforms, including sweaters. Erik later told me that they weren't allowed to remove their sweaters, no matter how hot it was.



















Linda and I worked hard on Friday and Saturday to set up the show. Lavinia's Framing lent us easels and boards to display the works. Mari and Linda worked hard to clean up the house. Erik and I made the final photograph choices and I made display prints (13 x 17) as well as smaller prints to sell. We set up the easels in the courtyard, and the food in the dining room and on the patio.



















I asked Mari whether her parents would attend, and she told me that they lived too far away - 1 1/2 hours by bus. I encouraged her to have them come, and even offered to pick them up. On the day of the show, her proud parents were the first to arrive. They were in their mid-80's, and have 9 children and over 60 grandchildren and great-grandchildren! One of the most popular photographs of the show was of the ancient blue door to their home. At the end of the show, Erik's grandmother kissed and hugged Linda and me, and invited us to visit us at their ranch. We are looking forward to doing so next year.






















You may ask whether we accomplished our goal of enhancing Erik's "auto estimo" (self-confidence). I think we made some real progress. At the entrance to the show was a new photo, taken by Linda the previous week, of a proud Erik. To me, he certainly looks more self-confident. What do you think? He now looks us in the eye when he talks to us, and shakes our hands with a firm grip.

We raised over 5000 pesos (about $400 US). Half the money went towards the purchase of Erik's camera, supplies, expenses and food for the event. He got the other half. Remember that this is a boy whose weekly allowance is 20 pesos, or about $1.50. When I handed him over 2500 pesos, his eyes opened wide, as he had never seen so much money in his life. His mother took it for safekeeping. She asked him what he wanted with the money, and he replied "new clothes." I suggested a bicycle, and his eyes lit up.













A neighbor who is a professional photographer, Robb Kendrick, has volunteered to work with Erik over the summer, so he will continue his work in photography. I expect that Erik, with our encouragement and some hard work, will continue to improve both his photographs and his self-esteem.
















Stay tuned for the next episode in Erik's burgeoning career (and see below)!



















The exhibition consisted of 18 photographs, which are available for $12 (8 1/2 x 11) and $20 (13 x 17), postpaid. Other sizes available on request.

My Grandparents' Door
La Puerta de Mis Abuelos



Sadness
Tristesa


The Chimney and the Clouds
La Chimenea y Las Nubes



Mojigangas Puppets
Las Mojigangas


Broken Christ
Christo Roto



Magic Sombrero
Sombrero Magico



Maracas and Drums
Las maracas y Los Tambores


Maguey Cactus
Maguey


The Musicians
Los Nortenos


Blue Table with Skull & Gourds
Mesa Azul con Calavery y Calabasas


Sombrero on a Cactus
Sombrero arriba Cactus


The House in the Tree
La Casa en el Arbol

Flying Tire
Llanta Volando



Truper



The Virgen of St. John
La Virgen de San Juan

The Dry Streambed
El Arroyo


The Hidden Leaf
La Hoja Escondida


Bar Miami
Bar Miami



Note that almost all of these photographs were taken by Erik without my assistance. In most cases, I wasn't even with him. Most of the prints are straight, or with very modest Photoshop assistance, with the exception of the following:

Broken Christ - I used an uninteresting photograph of a piece of sculpture to show Erik some of the things that Photoshop could do - in this case granulation and color changing.

The original photo of the entire sculpture and the closeup are below.

Truper - this started as a photograph of a sombrero in Erik's father's wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow is made by Truper company, a large manufacturer of tools in Mexico. I showed Erik how sometimes a photograph can be cropped to make it more interesting. Even after cropping, it still lacked something (to my eyes), so I desaturated it to turn it into a black and white semi abstraction. The original photo is shown below.


The Hidden Leaf - this was a shot of dry corn leaves. Because it was taken on a very bright day, the shadows were intense, and the contrast of the photograph was excessive. By removing the color and turning it into a black and white photograph, we were able to use the contrast to benefit the photograph. However, it was still uninteresting to me. I suggested to Erik that we crop the shot to show a closeup of the leaves.

Original photo below
Erik did not do the Photoshop work or the printing. They were done by me. Teaching him may be a photographic project for next year. He's not quite 10 years old, and cannot afford a computer (certainly not with internet access).

Exhibition of Erik's Photographs - Sunday, April 5

Dear Friends,

One of the most gratifying aspects of living in San Miguel is the ability to interact with, and indeed, influence the lives of others. What started as a simple outing with our housekeeper's 9 1/2 year old son Erik has turned into a long term project - teaching him photography and enhancing his self-esteem.

When I gave Erik an old digital camera a couple of months ago, I had no idea that he would develop a passion for photography and would display some real talent. With each lesson, he is more outgoing and enthusiastic. Recently, Linda and I showed some of his work to friends. The response was so positive that we have decided to give him an exhibit at our home in San Miguel.

At the show, Erik's photos will be sold for 100 pesos each (about $8 US). The proceeds will be used to help Erik purchase a new camera in order to pursue his passion for photography. Rather than simply giving him a new camera, we thought it would be important for him to contribute to the purchase.

Come and meet Erik and his family next Sunday, April 5, from 4-6PM at our home on Vergel 6, San Antonio. Drinks and appetizers will be served.

For those of you that are unable to come to the exhibition, you may view Erik's work on this blog and contact Linda or me if you would like to purchases any of Erik's photographs.

Please see the above invitation for details about the event next Sunday, April 5.

Hope to see you there!

Carlos & Linda

Erik Learns Photography

Some faithful readers may recall that in January, I took our housekeeper's son, Erik, on an expedition to purchase holiday gifts http://sanmiguelnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-expedition-with-eric.html

I left open the question of "what next?". After some thought, I decided to teach Erik something about photography. Photography is a hobby I have pursued since I was about 12 years old. It taught me a lot, and enabled me to travel, meet interesting people, and even, for a time, earn a living. I thought that learning such a skill would enhance Eriks' self esteem by teaching him something that his classmates didn't know; in effect, making him an "expert" among his peers.

Fortunately, I had an old digital camera in the house. I spent a couple of hours with Erik, teaching him how to use it. He had no problem - in fact, within a week he knew more about it than I did!

I gave Erik the assignment of taking photographs of his family, friends and neighborhood. He came back a week later with a cardful of stiff, posed pictures of his family, and a few shots of his neighborhood. We went over all the pictures, and I explained the difference between those photographs I called "souvenirs" and those that were "more interesting." I showed him how some were out of focus.

The following week. he came back with more pictures. It was clear that he had understood my lesson because more of the pictures were interesting, and fewer were "souvenirs" or out of focus.

Within a few weeks, his work had improved substantially. I made him some business cards with his name and address, and the title "Photographer". He was very proud! And I was proud of him.

He took a trip to a shrine in Mexico City with his parents, and came back with dozens of pictures, which he and I looked at and discussed. He also brought me a gift - a small candleholder. But the real gift was the accompanying note, which said "Senor Carlos. Thank you for everything you have done for me. Thanks to my best friend."

On our recent trip to the US, I brought back a better camera for him, a small tripod, memory cards, and a digital frame for him to view his pictures (his family has no computer). He was pleased as punch, and spent a week taking several hundred pictures, many of which were excellent.

Last Sunday, Linda and I accompanied Erik and his parents to a piece of land they had purchased on which they are building a new home. The land is barren - flat and dry. With Linda's assistance, Erik was able to take many good shots. She found an old hat that she showed him how to use as a prop.

I resolved to sponsor an exhibit of Erik's photographs, and to sell them to my friends and neighbors. Linda had a terrific idea - use the proceeds of the sale of Erik's photos to contribute towards the equipment we had purchased for him - so it was not simply a gift, but something he had worked for.

Within the next few weeks the show will happen. I am hoping that some of my readers will log on to see Erik's work, and will consider making a purchase. If you like any of the pictures in the blog, and want to support Erik's interest in photography, contact me and I will be happy to send you a print for 100 MXP or $10 US.

Stay tuned!

[Note: all photos in this blog, with the exception of the pictures of Erik, were taken by him!!]

Two New Grandchildren

Linda and I are grinning ear to ear due to the two new additions to our family!

Kaiya Isabella Jackier, born on February 18, 2009 to Tracey. 6 lbs. 6 oz. of healthy, happy baby!



















After Kaiya's birth, Tracey wrote us the following letter.

Hi everyone,

We are ecstatic! Kaiya was born this morning at 9:56am. She weighed 6lbs, 6oz. She is in perfect health and latched immediately for 20 minutes. When she was finished, she did a full push up (seriously!) and pushed herself up on her mom's chest. She sleeps well, feeds well, and calms easily. We couldn't have been more blessed! Thank you all for your love, support and encouragement. Tracey was a champ during the caesarian and is doing well.

Love Tracey

Hannah Sophie Glazer, born on February 25, 2009 to Lisa. 6 lb. 3 oz. of pure love!



















Following is an email Linda sent out after participating in the birth of Hannah.

Dear Friends and Family,

Just wanted to share our newest of the two granddaughters, Hannah Sophia, 6 lbs. 3 oz, 19 1/2", born at 10:04 am on February 25, 2009.

Three days before the scheduled c-section, Lisa asked me to, be with her in the operating room. We arrived early morning yesterday; she was prepped, and just like in the movies, I suited up in one of those androgynous jump suits, mask and booties. The nurses were wonderful, as was the doctor, describing everything that was happening while we were behind a blue sterile curtain.

"Get ready", they said, and wheeled a mirror up so Lisa could see. My cameras ready, they told me," MOM (meaning me!), you can stand up and take pictures". A little shaken, I stood up, quickly snapped a few photos of them pulling out the baby. Tears were streaming as I watched in total disbelief the wonderment of the birth. Within minutes, I was holding her, and then with my wits back, I began shooting madly...

How lucky I am to have witnessed such a miracle, and am still standing to tell the story! We are so blessed!

Love,

Linda, aka Nannie

Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/26103653@N07/sets/ for more photos of the two girls (not to mention a few pictures of Lilah, granddaughter #1 and Lisa and Tracey)!

A Weekend in DF

For those of you not familiar with Mexico, DF is the Distrito Federal, or what we Gringos usually call Mexico City. Mexicans simply call it DF (pronounced Day Effay)as we sometimes call Washington, DC simply "DC".

On Friday, January 30, Linda and I boarded a first class ETN bus for the three and a half hour journey to DF.
Since we are five minutes from the bus station, the total travel time was less than three hours and forty-five minutes. Had we traveled by plane, we would have had a 20 minutes plane ride, but at least three hours of time to get to the airport, wait, get through security, wait, board the plane, wait, fly and wait to deplane in Mexico City. Cost of bus - 285 pesos (less than 20 bucks). Cost to fly - about 300 dollars. Not a difficult choice.


















Unfortunately, there was a demonstration going on in Mexico City on our arrival, and many streets were closed. The normal 15 minute trip in from the bus station turned into a two hour ordeal.

We arrived - finally - at Casa Cranfill, the house/apartment we rented in the upscale Roma neighborhood of DF . Instead of a typical hotel room, we had a suite of rooms - two bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen.



At the corner was a juice stand where we bought fresh orange juice daily. A couple of blocks away was a branch of El Globo, a high end bakery where we obtained our daily pastries. And around the block were the typical street vendors, selling everything from soup to nuts (literally).














Local police patrolled on Segways!



















We strolled through the elegant neighborhood, walking through a park with a fountain containing a full size copy of Michelangelo's David, (excuse the blurry photo...it was dusk).























The next day we started at a small antiques market, where we spent an enjoyable couple of hours (and not much money).






















Helene tried on some sunglasses. Very classic!


















We had a noon appointment at Casa Barragon, the home/museum of Luis Barragon, Mexico's most famous architect. Two architecture students showed us through the home. Photographs were not permitted, but I managed to sneak a few.


A bellringer at work. Can you see the rope leading to the bell in the tower in the photo below?























Inside the Bellas Artes Palacio, a museum and theatre. Giant murals, art exhibits, and more.






















The huge church in the Zocalo, Mexico City's massive main square.










The famous Sanborn's restaurant - Casa de los Azulejos - with a blue tile exterior.





















and a classic interior....



















This blog is not complete, but thought I should publish it before it becomes ancient history...