Haiti. Oct. 1993.

In October 1993 I traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti with two colleagues on my first personal international shooting trip. I remember walking the streets in Cite Soleil, Cite Carton, Bel Air, Delmas and of course Petionville. Working in Haiti on that first self assigned project changed my personal perspectives on approaching long-term projects and of course working in a poverty stricken country. Six years later I returned with an NGO client and moved about the familiar neighborhoods. I know of the landmark buildings, like the Presidential Palace in central Port-au-Prince that have collapsed in this week's earthquake.

As Haitians tonight are living in the streets after Tuesday's devastating earthquake, my heart is aching for the people there. I know from working at earthquakes in Turkey and El Salvador, as well as Hurricane Mitch in Honduras,
and down in the Gulf Coast States a few months after Hurricane Katrina, it'll be a slow rebuilding process for this Caribbean country with it's unimaginable living conditions, minimal infrastructure, and no economy to speak of.

I am waiting to hear from colleagues working there and a few that are in transit now. Think of the people in Haiti and what they're enduring now and what they're faced with for the months, if not years to come.
I am. -cg.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Ironically the following image from the '93 trip was the first one I selected from the archives back in October to introduce "Rewind", occasionally highlighting photographs that may not be in the main portfolio. ~cg. 14 Jan. 10

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Cockfighters. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. October 1993.

Presenting REWIND - Images from the Archive.
I've thought for the longest time on how to showcase some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio for one reason or another. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image from the archives that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Cricket players along the Gall Face / Indian Ocean.
Colombo, Sri Lanka. August 1997.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

During the world changing events in the Middle East and North Africa the last few weeks, I've fondly recalled some of my past work in the region. Here are but a few favorites from Amman and Petra, Jordan in the Spring of 2006. ~cg.

Iraqi women comfort each other as their children undergo surgery at the Jameel Tatonji Hospital in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.

Young Jordanian sheep herder near the Jameel Tatonji Hospital in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.

A Jordanian man walks past large murals of the late King Hussein (left) and his son King Abdullah (right) in Petra, Jordan on Friday, April 28, 2006.

Muslim visitors walk among the ruins in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan on April 28, 2006. Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Cockfighters. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. October 1993.

Presenting REWIND - Images from the Archive.
I've thought for the longest time on how to showcase some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio for one reason or another. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image from the archives that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

NAIROBI, KENYA. Kenyan train passengers at the Nairobi Railway Station on Monday, February 2, 2004. © Chet Gordon/THE IMAGE WORKS

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

KRASNAYORSK, SIBERIA. RUSSIAN FEDERATION. A man sits with his crutches as bridal gowns are seen on display in the background in September 1999. Krasnayorsk, Siberia. Russian Federation. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

*As good a time as any to re-examine some of my older file
images made in the Russian Federation... ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

"Untitled." Yarosliavsky Station in Moscow, Russian Federation on June 22, 2005.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA. An orthopedic patient tries on new orthopedic shoes and leg brace received from the charity Cheshire Services Ethiopia at the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday, December 1, 2005. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN. An Afghan man with an automatic weapon guards the waiting area of the Charasyab health clinic approximately 20 kilometers outside of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, May 26, 2002. A humanitarian mission organized by The Geshundheit Instititute, founded by Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, Lufthansa Cargo, and DHL Worldwide Express collaborated to ship medicines, food and orthopedic supplies to the Indira Ghandi Children's Hospital, clinics and orphanages in Kabul. The German NGO (Non Governmental Organization) Hammer Forum supervised the distribution of the donated supplies from various non-profit organizations in the U.S. and The Netherlands. (26 May 2002. Photograph © Chet Gordon / The Image Works)

*I'd been thinking about this image a lot lately and others from my work in AFG back in 2002. Particularly in light of world events in that part of the world today, both militarily & in the civilian sector. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Baharain. Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE (United Arab Emrites). It's been eight years already, and I remember that initial call on my cell phone from a contact in Washington, like it was just last week; asking if I'd be interested in accompanying an airlift of humanitarian aide from Frankfort to Baharain and connecting through to Kabul... ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Lamu, Kenya. Family butcher shop in Lamu, Kenya on Saturday, May 13, 2006.

Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya. Lamu Old Town, the principal inhabited part of the island, is one of the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlements in East Africa. Built in coral stone and mangrove timber, the town is characterized by the simplicity of structural forms enriched by such features as inner courtyards, verandas, and elaborately carved wooden doors. Lamu has hosted major Muslim religious festivals since the 19th century, and has become a significant center for the study of Islamic and Swahili cultures. The island is linked by boat to Mokowe on the mainland and to Manda Island, where there is an airport. There are no roads on the island, just alleyways and footpaths, and therefore, there are few motorized vehicles on the island. Residents move about on foot or by boat, and donkeys are used to transport goods and materials. A port was founded on the island of Lamu by Arab traders at least as early as the fourteenth century, when the Pwani Mosque was built. The island prospered on the slave trade. After defeating Pate Island in the nineteenth century, the island became a local power, but it declined after the British forced the closure of the slave markets in 1873. In 1890 the island became part of Zanzibar and remained obscure until Kenya was granted independence from Great Britain in 1963. Tourism developed from the 1970s, mainly around the eighteenth century Swahili architecture and traditional culture. ~ from Wikipedia.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career.
*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

BOLEZENO, SIBERIA. RUSSIAN FEDERATION. Train engineer pauses in a railway wagon during a change of locomotives stop along the Trans-Siberian Railway at Bolezeno Station in Bolezno, Siberia, Russian Federation on June 10, 2005. © www.chetgordon.com/blog

"Yea, I've got a serious thing for trains. What some describe as being a "train buff." Making this 11-day journey across the Russian Federation sealed it for me. Can't believe it's been 5 years ago already. Thanks again Ivan..." ~cg.

View a selection / slide show of my Trans-Siberian Railway journey by clicking HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

TOMSK, SIBERIA. RUSSIAN FEDERATION. A "Babushka" (Russian elderly woman) keeps an eye on things from her property in Tomsk, Siberia. June 2001. © www.chetgordon.com/blog

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Kabul, Afghanistan. May 2002

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

BERMUDA. Street scene in St. George, Bermuda on Sunday, October 10, 2010. © Chet Gordon/THE IMAGE WORKS

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Kosovo. July 1999.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio for one reason or another. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

"STATE CHAMPIONS...!!!" NFA defeats Niagara Falls HS 62 - 42 in Glens Falls, NY.

*Is this what they mean by MARCH MADNESS...???

Well, It's taken a little longer than expected to recover from my coverage of NFA's semifinal game on Saturday and championship game on Sunday up in Glens Falls, NY. When I say recover - I mean just that. Physically, mentally and even for a few moments, emotionally. Covering Newburgh Free Academy (NFA) the past two seasons really meant a lot to me and it's very rewarding to see them win the big game, on the big stage. Not only did they defeat the #1 ranked HS team in the state, Niagara Falls HS, they beat them good. By 20 points. The game was literally over in the second quarter, and NFA never looked back. Technically working in the Glens Falls Civic Center (GFCC) proved to be a bit of a challenge for me photographically on Saturday. Making the nearly 3 hour drive upstate is just long enough to be a nuisance, and returning home the same night is down right difficult. Doing the round trip, 300-mile drive two days in a row is miserable...

*Rewind back to Saturday's mindset & observations in the semifinal game against Uniondale. Initially this game wasn't on our work schedule, but since I had an open schedule, I took the initiative at 7AM to make the drive up. This alone proved to be one of the most important decisions of my weekend coverage. I particularly needed to see the arena since I'd never worked there, familiarize myself with the workflow operations like wi-fi accessible networks for the media, clean bathrooms and most of all - media hospitality. See: food! (There wasn't any, so I'd mentally file that tidbit away for Sunday's arrival for the title game...) I wasn't happy at all with the available light in the arena, and realized that I'd have to return home to retrieve a full set of Dyna-Lite strobes for Sunday's Final game if NFA got past Uniondale. They did. The light was pretty bad. Game time exposures were ISO 1600, 1/200th. sec. @ f/2.8. Blah. Flat. Ugly. As dark and bland as any HS gym. I'd overshot a ton of images - with plenty of them slightly out of focus and with motion blur even at this level. I couldn't stand it the whole game, and was already thinking of how I'd install my strobes early Sunday morning. There were other photographers in the arena working the other divisional games on strobes, so I knew I wanted my images for the Sunday's championship game to "pop" too. Obviously images made with arena strobes have a much better "feel" to them and this was what I'd been preparing for all season anyway. (Don't forget the impending 300 miles that still awaited me to head home after the game & return early Sunday morning.) I ended up moving 9 photos back to the paper from the game, so I knew that would at least justify the trip by sending more photos than the wire service guy. The above photo at right of guard Marcus Henderson driving to the basket made Sunday's back page, and was a nice preview to NFA winning, and advancing to the final game, but I wasn't happy at all with the quality. Yuck!

*Fast-forward to early Sunday morning. OK this was going to be big and deserved a big effort. First I had to head out to Middletown (60 miles R/T) at 8AM to pick up two additional strobes from a colleague, before heading up the NYS Thruway yet again. It was as if I knew the route in my sleep. Considering I woke myself up at 4AM thinking about Pocket-Wizards, Super-Clamps, radio transmitter frequencies I could use in the arena, and installing a remote camera if I had time, I was as ready as I'd ever be. In other words - I was a wreck. Remember to eat something I kept repeating on the two & a half hour return drive up. I did. And added plenty of fluids too.

*(more to come... -cg.)